On the matter of which side of the fence do you choose to stand

So much of what takes place in America’s conversation today is our political alignment. Historically, we have been a two party nation, with Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. More recently we have seen Libertarians and the Tea Party enter the scene, but, for the most part, we are still a two party nation. If one is running for elected office, it behooves them to belong to one or the other of the two parties.

I’m of the belief that, as a nation, we are approaching a paradigm shift from Republican/Democrat to Constitutionalist/Communist alignments. Here’s why:

Which side of the fence are you on?

If you ever wondered which side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a Republican doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a Democrat doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a Republican is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat.
If a Democrat is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a Republican is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a Democrat is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a Republican is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A Democrat wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Republican doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Democrats demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a Republican is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A Democrat non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.

If a Republican decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A Democrat demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a Republican reads this, they’ll forward it so their friends can have a good laugh.
A Democrat will delete it because he’s “offended”.

Interesting read. Yes? Interesting to me because had this been written even 20 years ago, it very likely would have made reference to Constitutionalists and Communists rather than Republicans and Democrats. Sadly, in my opinion, the transposition of Constitutionalist or Communist over Republican or Democrat is becoming a better fit all the time. While neither party is truly aligned any longer with the Constitution as the bedrock of our governing process, yet our Democrats are the ones who have truly gone off the rails.

I could leave it there and wander off to the rest of my day, but that would be like leaving behind a half completed statement. Many Democrats today, chiefly he who pretends to be President, believe in government controlled services or in government fixing America’s problems. Republicans believe in Americans fixing America’s problems. Take Healthcare, for instance. Republicans have fought long and hard to establish provide affordable healthcare options, with the choices being left Americans as to who or how much. Democrats? Not even close. Hence, the Healthcare Bill that, please God, is not standing up under Constitutional scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court. Does that bother them? Only to the extent that the Bill might be struck down.

Then there’s the automotive industry, where 2 out of 3 major manufacturers were going belly up. Never mind that Unions were choking the life out of the business models, and never mind that retirement benefits were designed to provide for beneficiaries in an altogether unrealistic fashion. You: “Unrealistic? Really?” Me: “Well, ummm, yeah. Even Unions representing U.S. air carriers had to negotiate down the benefit plans, or risk losing the whole game to bankruptcy.”

Even so, those carriers that went through bankruptcy, did so without the benefit of government bailouts. Imagine that! United Air Lines knocked hell out of the Union benefits, but…wait for it…they’re still around! No federal gooberment to jump in with tax dollars, just sound fiscal rearranging of the business model. Other air carriers merged, some went away, but, through all of it, no tax dollars to stave off failure of the business.

I guess where I’m going with all this is, private business ownership ALWAYS goes where it should. Not all parties involved get a gold star. Not everybody wins. Only the strong survive. Quite the novel notion, isn’t it? Imagine both teams winning the World Series, or both teams winning the Super Bowl? You: “Why, that’s absurd! Both teams can’t possibly win!” Me: “Exactly my point.”

What I find most disturbing about government is propagation of the falsehood that all parties or businesses involved MUST WIN! What a load of crap! How many times did Thomas Edison win? Remember the statement about the 999 ways not to make a light bulb? Yep. That was him. Edison didn’t win every time, but he learned most when he did not win. Implied in the government notion that we all have to win all of the time is “Don’t worry about loss and its associate pain, because we’ll take care of that for you. We’ll take care of you!” Uh huh. Hence our increasing debt, arriving nearly to the breaking point where our GDP will be overcome by our debt service requirements.

So, where’s this going? Back to the beginning of the post. Read through it again and ask yourself on which side of the fence you stand. Constitutionalist, where the people empowered to choose and do for themselves, or Communist, where government chooses and does for you? Empowered or impotent?

Tell me about how Communism has worked out in Cuba, or Zimbabwe, or Venezuela, or in the former Soviet Union. Which do you choose? Ask any Russian which one they choose. I choose ‘Empowered’.

It’s time to wise up, America. Sadly, the words of the song hold true:
“You won’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. They took paradise, and built up a parking lot.”

To your living empowered…

A strange dichotomy this is…

…that for the last several nights I have watched the last three “Harry Potter” films, along with, on two occasions, the movie “Act of Valor”. Movies of conflict and war, one presented as fiction and the other based on real events. Terrifyingly real events.

I’m a die hard fan of Harry and his friends, having now seen all the movies and read all but the last book. Jo Rowling did herself proud in my opinion, as did the crews and actors who participated in the movie productions. There is no small embodiment of dreams and hope in Ms. Rowling’s work, and I’m grateful she held true to her convictions throughout. Some had hoped for a more fanciful ending, where good triumphed over evil somewhat bloodlessly, but such was not the case. People died, some  with nary a struggle. Dobby the Elf died. That sucked and I about lost it. We see it all the time in real life, and for Jo Rowling it could be no different as both the book and movie series went on.

“Act of Valor” Wow. Back in the day, I saw “First Blood” with Sly Stallone a dozen times in its first week in theater. That’s how much I enjoyed it, and how deeply the plight of Vietnam Veterans sank in. Some saw “First Blood” as self-aggrandizing, self-serving bullsh!t. You know something? Let them. For what it’s worth, the movie is a fitting tribute, of sorts, to those who served bravely and came home afterward largely disowned by their country. A shame we may never live down.

No movie since “First Blood” has had the same effect on me. Until now. “Act of Valor” rekindles that which was ignited so many years ago, thoughtful and grateful consideration toward those who sign blank checks for the value of their service. Pretty good action, laced with an underlying theme of Jihadi’s seeking to spread their hatred throughout the world. More importantly there is the message in “Act of Valor” that good men stand prepared to go in harm’s way to fend off such hatred. Men who sometimes die, men who are utterly committed to giving their all. We find such beings in all walks of life, whether they be Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, LT Engel, LT Murphy, Petty Officer Michael Mansoor, Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry, or some bloke who simply gets up and goes to work each day. The question was once asked “Where do we get such men?” Answer? Here at home in America. Men and women born here, coming from every corner of the nation. The priceless jewels in our crown.

I thought the “something wicked this way comes” theme of the movie a relevant one, most especially because I currently find myself in the highly traveled southern Arizona drug and human trafficking zone. Lots of unknowns make their way through this area, most of them unchallenged. The idea scares me at times, as much because the majority have become so comfortable with the traffic as because we do not know who or what this way comes. “If it doesn’t touch me, it’s not mine to worry about.” {sigh} Not true, but who am I to intrude?

I thought I might be going somewhere with this post earlier, but now find myself wanting to simply publish it. That I continue is born of the angst coming out of knowledge that we find ourselves in perilous times.

Having awakened early, I found myself reading a post regarding a pending Small Arms Treaty to be signed at the United Nations in July.

By our President.

Without Congressional approval.

Without the occasion being made general public knowledge.

We the People are not invited to this party.

Notwithstanding the Second Amendment guarantee that the right to keep and arm bears shall not be infringed. Not rescinded, mind you. Infringed.

First reference came from an article written by Reuters in October of 2009, and I thought “dated and probably meaningless now”. That is until further poking around on ye olde inter-webs produced this: UNODA – United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. I read through the points, and I was not pleased by what I saw. While there is a valid concern about arms and munitions being illegally transported and sold to a number of global cesspools, with considerable international effort going into necessary restrictions against such activity, yet there is a larger scope of constraint and restriction being planned. Historically, any nation or governing body seeking to “make it safer for all” through arms control, has invariably resorted to rescission of private ownership and confiscation of small arms.

Required markings (redundant in the case of most manufacturers worldwide) and tracking (which implies exactly what?). Tracking implying one is being tracked…the eyes of the {fill in the blank} are upon us. Yes? Color me paranoid, if you like, but doesn’t such a practice fall into the category of ‘unwarranted search’? Search then leading to seizure? Probable cause becomes nothing more than suspicion given voice? Perhaps the Bill of Rights was transformed into the Bill of Privileges, and some of us missed that newsworthy event. I don’t know. Throw me a bone here. Someone. Anyone.

President George W. Bush had it right when he declared that such power and authority remain the purview of national government, not that of a global body operating under consensus. Thomas Jefferson, as some will recall, warned against governance by consensus (we call it democracy), declaring it dangerous because of the fickle nature of the people involved (the voting public, who are all too often driven by emotion over reason). Hence, we are a Republic. We are to be governed by elected officials who shall not be fickle. Yes, I know, we’re not a perfect implementation. Nevertheless, our government stands on the basis of governance through reason.

Perhaps any nation may become a signatory to the Small Arms Treaty as they choose, with the exception that ours may not. We may not, we shall not, surrender either power or authority authorized our government to any foreign body or potentate. Yes, dear reader, that includes the United Nations. We shall remain sovereign. Them’s the roolz of the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

This post could go on and become a volume’s worth of conjecture on my part,  but I think you get (I hope you do) that events are transpiring/conspiring to quit us of one of our most basic Constitutional freedoms. We have a national election coming up, so there is a lot of focus and mud slinging in that arena. We have the House of Representatives pursuing Attorney General Eric Holder over Operation Fast and Furious. We are buried up to our noses in economic woes, with the sum of the legislative body flailing about. Yet, we hear nothing from the government about an international treaty that will have a tremendous effect on the Second Amendment. Zip. Zero. Crickets. An event as important as this, and President Obama has nothing to say. The Senate has nothing to say. The House has, say it with me, nothing…to…say.

I’ll be damned if I don’t find that odd. Don’t you?

Again, the angst of these perilous times. Something wicked, indeed, this way comes .

Memorial Day 2012

It is not a day for staying indoors here in sunny Tucson, but this is me leaving a butt mark (big as a tractor seat these days, too. Damn!) in a chair whilst typing away at the ‘puter. It’s a day off from slave labor, but other admin type work remains and won’t go away by itself.Thankfully, the days are longer at this time of year. I shall go out and play in a bit. I Promise.

Memorial Day. Parades, barbecues, fireworks at day’s end, and generally a happy gathering of family and friends to celebrate the arrival of summer. All such is a part of my life, as much as anyone else’s, I suppose, but this day becomes more poignant for me as the years go by.

I’m older now and certain friends I once knew are gone. Some were taken by age, others by disease, and yet others departed as a consequence of service and sacrifice. It is this last group that affects me most, probably because they made a choice that ultimately cost them their lives. As has been so oft quoted “They shall not grow old, as we who remain…”

For some reason I frequently take note of the direction of, and impact upon, people’s lives by the choices they make. While I do my best not to be judgmental, I can’t help but be amazed, if not dismayed, at the utter lack of cognizance that their freedom to act, to choose, or to simply exist, are all owed to the sacrifices made by those who serve.

If you ever find yourself so detached from what has been sacrificed for your our freedom, please do avail yourself of the opportunity to attend a military homecoming. Be it the return of an Infantry Battalion, a ship of war, or squadron of aircraft, just be there and absorb. Absorb the joy of a family receiving back into loving arms one who has been away for too long. Absorb the reunion of those who may have returned early due to injury with their comrades in arms. Absorb the looks on their faces. Absorb all you can…and appreciate, if you will, what it takes for We The People to have enduring freedom. I dare say that you’ll do more than absorb.

I’ll leave you with these from one of my heroes, one whom I revere and dearly miss:

“It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they died, they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for their county, for us. All we can do is remember.”

— Ronald Wilson Reagan – Remarks at Veteran’s Day ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia, November 11, 1985

Amongst the others I shall remember this day, I remember you, Lex. Captain Carroll LeFon USN
Blessed journey, my friend.
For strength!