10 Little Indians

Does my country need me? Yes, solid judgment calls for a return to insensitivity. Actually, ignoring insensitivity builds character, but erecting an imaginary windmill for ideological purposes is bad judgment and weak character. I for one have no intention of conceding my beliefs. In Cincinnati, the title of Agatha Christie’s play, Ten Little Indians has been forcibly changed under protest by the NAACP to its alternative title, And Then There Were None. Why? The NAACP was offended because the original title of 1939 play, Ten Little Niggers is insensitive to African-Americans. In reality the title was quickly changed to Ten Little Indians and has been known as such for 70 years. Relevant is the fact that the meaning of the title referred to Indians from the Asian subcontinent, whose country was administered by the British Empire. Relevant is the fact that since its debut, the play has been a popular success around the world. Two motion pictures have even been made based upon it. Relevant is the fact that no racism or racial slurs were ever intended because the title refers to a nursery rhyme, silly as all nursery rhymes are. The NAACP can be quoted referring to the play’s "origin and the hurt that it originally caused," but there is, was, nor ever will be any hurt intended or caused by the wonderful Agatha Christie mystery play based on her novel of the same name. What hurt has resulted is the hurt to rationality, common sense and judgment. Protestors who take umbrage are always politically motivated by an agenda. If the title of this play were 10 Little Lesbians or 10 Little Liberals, you can bet it would float along on the sea of political correctness without a ripple.

Judging Character

Does my country need me? You bet! If elected, my vice-President would be selected at random from my local phone book. I owe my community a lot over the past 30 years. To quote a professor of business, "experience is not without value. But judgment, fed by solid character, should determine the choice of our next president. "

I think making judgments based on common sense is easy when examples of insanity, irrationality and just plain goofiness are everywhere. As President, I intend to plant a revolution against the status quo and watch the pretty flower of common sense grow and bloom.

Sustainability, carbon credits and expensive alternative energies? I judge them a waste of money. Politically-correct, unreal crises make no sense but sell to gullible millions. I judge that six foot nine and six foot ten basketball players that are "thick, beefy or exhibiting "baby fat," prove there is no obesity epidemic or hunger in America. I judge that a Rock for Tots charity concert and auction, already around for 22 years that raises about $20,000 for Christmas gifts for "needy children," might be unnecessary (needy children being non-existent), but the feel good factor is better than feeling bad at the time of Christ’s birth, the occasion of the ultimate gift to humanity. I judge that athletic coaches are in a class by themselves, repugnant to the literate, with statements such as "His dad been coach," but at least they set an example to youth by remaining outside the drug and alcohol culture. I judge that the Wellness Program mandated for public schools is another waste of taxpayers’ money. The meals follow the Federal guidelines but still cater to the tastes of youth. Whole milk, the staple of growth, has been eliminated. Menu selections grossly outnumber anything considered reasonable. Food selections by the Food Service Director and a pamphlet called Nutrition Nuggets by the school principal beat the dead horse of better eating habits. What happened to the mythical Unicorn that represents the right to free choice? I wish that the Unicorn could thrust his horn in the appropriate place on the body of government and jettison it with all of its health initiatives which are nothing but pure, social engineering. I judge Kevin Rudd, newly elected Prime Minister of Australia to be an ‘idiot’ as a leader, when he states that his #1 priority will be global warming. Unfortunately I am not able to judge how many devotees he will garner in his country or how many peons he will receive from the rest of the world. I judge that Mr. Abbas and Mr. Olmert are dreamers. If Hamas continues to protest a peace settlement and refuses to end its death threats and saber-rattling against Israel, how can two idealistic leaders hope to sustain an accord?

Slanted news, silly Presidential debates, filicide, gang murders, phoney causes, illegals, under-reported heroics, mis-interpreted economics - each needs a reality check. A judgment. When I judge our present cultural milieu, I try to inject common sense in my conclusion after I determine the facts. Judgment of my character is up to God.

My candidacy

Does my country need me? I envision America as a land founded upon the freedom to enjoy the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am eligible to be president. I am a natural-born citizen, a life-long resident in these United States and over thirty-five years of age. Why should I, who have no political connections, elitist status, extra-ordinary wealth or no lack of patriotism not be qualified? Why can I not hope to find some financial sponsors and a campaign manager? Why can’t a Republican from Ohio, with a history of innate, diehard conservatism, lead America forward? Haven’t better days always been on America’s horizon?

All Americans have a right to be live safely without domestic and foreign threats and in a culture that values each human being’s worth. All Americans have a right to liberty that allow one to honestly get and spend money as one chooses. All Americans have a right to pursue happiness, however defined, within the confines of the laws. Freedom got us where we are today; and underlying it is an assumption of the basic goodness of human nature governed by self-interest which personally improves life and improves lives around the globe.

My leadership, symbolic and real, would literally cut the cords of dependency on government and substitute aspiration. Like a political religion. I think young men and women should aspire to defend their country in times of need and know their fellow citizens support them. Immigrants should feel free to aspire to come here, welcomed and needed, knowing the path to citizenship is open, easy and timely, if requirements are fulfilled. Students should aspire to acquire an education uncontrolled by government, Unions or political agendas, at private institutions that suit parents’ interests and encourage learning. Americans should not only aspire to work and spend but also to save and invest more money than they now do. Hard workers know that taxes should be low, at a reasonable rate and applied across the board to all income levels equally. Americans should aspire to do good; sins against the 10 commandments should bring about a sense of shame. One as high as the President must address the ungodly trends in media, entertainment and personal lifestyle habits. Americans should aspire to self-reliance by getting by without welfare programs, racial preferences, social services, unnecessary grants, subsidies, programs and safety nets. Also, lawyers engaging in frivolous litigations for profit, increase the costs of health care and insurance and discourage independence. Businesses can’t flourish if they can’t aspire to acquire wealth for themselves and, if applicable, their shareholders, without fear of governmental interference. And free trade? America could not have attained its economic and military hegemony without aspirations of global interconnectedness.

Our great country can be trusted to step up to the plate when common sense is on the line and to rise to the occasion when our security is threatened. In an atmosphere of hope, Americans can be trusted to make decent choices about their health, insurance, savings, personal safety, education, religion, jobs, and charitable giving. Unfortunately, political correctness, liberalism and socialistic policies are propelling us in the wrong direction. They represent a waste of time and money on pork, programs and unsubstantiated causes such as curbing global warming, courting world approval and seeking alternative energy sources (other than safe and cost-effective nuclear fuel). A revolution is in order against spending, irresponsibility, progressivism and immorality. I hope to reverse the negative thrust of leadership today. Concomitant with rights, Americans have duties. I believe we can count on Americans to do what’s right. I am their candidate.

What's worst?

Why use a superlative? A local mayor said that a new soccer field is the "biggest need" in his city. A sports’ official said to the media that the loss of a Florida football player after a recent shooting, was "the worst tragedy imaginable." Pat Buchanan said mutual trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico would be the "greatest single threat to our sovereignty." What is the purpose of using an adverb such as worst, biggest, best, greatest, most? When is it appropriate?

F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer in the roaring 20's, who believed that a hero is often synonymous with a tragedy (which his life proved), said: "The worst things: To be in bed and sleep not, To want for one who comes not, To try to please and please not." (From an Egyptian proverb)

Insomnia, loneliness and inadequacy - can each can be symptomatic of the worst fate? What is the ultimate undesirable condition? The loss of faith in God, hopelessness in life which is worse than death.

Politicians and sports fans, homo sapiens as a species, often rush to judgment and fail to put thought before words. This is too bad (meaning to an excessive degree), but not the worst behavior for which there can be no equal. The worst fate is the loss of a soul to the Devil.

Risky business

There is no home mortgage crisis -just prodigality. A family should expect foreclosure if it engages in over-spending and over-reaching. Amen. A consumer accustomed to funding life’s little extras - from big-screen TV’s to a Caribbean vacation - by borrowing against his home’s value ought to repent. A single mother purchasing a home for $385,000 on a $34,000 salary by taking out a first and second mortgage, buying it with no money down out to see her behavior as shameful. Buying only what you can afford or foregoing a purchase that is unrealistic in today’s economic climate can be downright humiliating when the opposite is being justified by our ‘you deserve itl’ culture. It may be un-American not to have the dream but it should be American to afford it. Really! Waste-thrift is still dissipation. An attitude of ‘hang the expense,’ is still greed. Wanting it all, having it all is not a right or right.

One third of households pulled equity from their homes in the last several years with the result that they have a collective saving rate of a negative 10%. Ignorance of math or percentages will never excuse narcissism. A forced cutback from both turkey and lasagna at Christmas to one entree should tell those who revel in decorating for holidays and pursue luxuries to re-examine their lifestyles and re-define what’s affordable. Shoppers use the excuse that they are victims to stores who work overtime to lure shoppers with earlier promotions and no interest payments. What happened to self-control? Lenders who should know better than to finance risky loans. Common sense was missing when bankers and realtors made such wacky loans. How much government policy insisted that these high risk loans be made to un-creditworthy borrowers in the name of equality? If an institution that intends to lose money should not be in business. Irresponsible spenders deserve to reward themselves with a Christmas of gifts from the local dollar store. The tragedy, unfortunately, is that unfettered consumption and entitlement are justified by many Americans, politicians and lending institutions. Sympathy for profligates should be replaced with counseling for them (and good old-fashioned guilt) do what’s right rather than what’s possible in this country today. Those who don’t splurge unless they can afford it, those who don’t overindulge at the dinner table or at the trough of materialism don’t file for bankruptcy. Nor do they re-finance the 7th, 9th and 10th commandments.

LONE SURVIVOR

Read LONE SURVIVOR, by Marcus Luttrell. Ask your self why? Why earn a trident as a Navy Seal? Why fight for country? Are only Americans capable of braving death? What inspires a man to become a soldier, an extraordinary soldier, a hero, a recipient of Navy Cross, or be worthy of a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor? What motivates a man to test the limits of human endurance or fight past it? Why did the rifle of Marcus fly to his side repeatedly as if on angel’s wings? Why do men fight as a raison d’etre? Why do some fighters never think of God as they die? What makes some men warriors when others condemn war at any price? Why will the courage and cost in LONE SURVIVOR make you cry? Try it; ask yourself why?

Are we smart enough?

Are we Americans smart enough to know the difference between dependency and aspiration? Aspiration means ‘to strive for something higher,’ after a root word for ‘breathe.’ Dependency means ‘to rely on for support,’ from a root for ‘hanging down.’ Note that letter ‘a’ precedes ‘d’ and surely breathing is preferable to hanging. An aspirational ideology calls forth hope. Remember our founding fathers? They were great leaders with great aspirations and no government dole to support them. An ideology of victim hood just encourages helplessness. Where should we be as Americans? I for one want to do things for myself and having done them, feel proud. What financial rewards I reap, I like to keep for myself.

Are Americans smart enough to not let misguided politicians stack us into groups like grain in different silos? They pander separately to each voter group or ethic type or minority such as Blacks, Hispanics, Evangelicals, Hollywood, Union members, university elites, Washington elites, youth, rural Americans, urbanites, independent voters, etc.- you get the picture. They customize their speechifying so that each entity feels in lockstep with them. It is assumed that Americans will never find common ground so they try to tear us apart. Furthermore, they continue to use both the race debate and the illegal immigrant debate as artificial issues, intended to divide us as a nation and encourage dependency. "Let me help you, " sounds so appealing, yet it is saying "don’t try." "We need an immigration reform bill," sounds like something to which we could agree but these words mask an intention to give amnesty to illegals while at the same time failing to facilitate entry into citizenship for applicants who have been patiently waiting to be legalized. Politicians refuse to trust us Americans to arrive at common sense solutions to race or immigrant problems.

Americans ought to be able to evaluate not only the media and political speakers, but also writers who turn out an endless procession of politically information meant to confuse and mislead us. Global warming is caused by human activity. Nuclear energy is unsafe. Jobs are being outsourced overseas. Big business is bad. Evil Evangelicals rule this country. We are fed these so-called facts but only by demanding facts can we ascertain the truths. Furthermore, we Americans intimidated by threats of crises: a recession, brutal gas prices, dangerous levels of lead in toys and dependence on foreign oil," etc. - you get the picture. We are left to feel helpless, fearful and ignorant so that big brother politicians and government can rescue us.

Aren’t we smart enough to say "whoa" rather than "giddy-up," when we are subjected to out-of-control political correctness. I learned recently that the 1969 original episodes of Sesame Street are now unsuitable to children. They have been rated for ‘adults only’ because in the first show, a black man befriended a lonely, little white child and held her hand. Alister Cooke, appearing with the Cookie Monster, puffed on a pipe. A character called Oscar was a Grouch. Most men are nice, people enjoy smoking and some Scrooges do exit, but the politically correct, do-gooders have censored these undesirable elements from an award-winning kids program. They impose their intolerance upon us, re-making our society according to their perverted views of men, smoking and incivility, perverted views which actually result in intolerance and undesirable reactions such as suspicion and paranoia.

I hope we Americans are smart enough to face one truth - that the family, as writer Alan Bloom noted, "has to be a sacred unity believing in the permanence of what it teaches." Its decomposition "is America’s most urgent social problem.." Too many Blacks and too many whites, most nominally Christians, have abandoned this truth. If terrorists scare us, why shouldn’t the loss of the lynchpin of our society be as big a boogeyman? What parents value is determined by who we acknowledge as models for admiration and contempt.

When Alexis de Tocqueville studied America early in the 1800's, he warned us that "the danger of democracy is enslavement to public opinion." The Frenchman is saying that an idea gone wrong can lead to a revolution; a misinformed citizenry is dangerous. Let’s not let politicians and media tell us what to think, what to do or how to complain. Tocqueville realized that a desuetude of critical thinking on the part of citizens will result in the decomposition of a culture.

Aren’t we Americans smart enough to breathe deeply and aspire to present and future greatness? We are free to strive to form our own opinions, to get educated, to vote intelligently, to set a good example to others, to perform the best we can at the job we have, to save for the future, to acknowledge God, etc. - you get the picture.

Black Friday

Alexis de Tocqueville knew the meaning of a "black Friday." He said that the "danger of democracy is enslavement to public opinion." In the early 1800's he perhaps had in mind the recent tragedy of the French Revolution, but his prescient observation can remind Americans to think for themselves this holiday rather than conform to societal opinion that one ‘shop ‘til one drops.’ We should take precaution against over-spending in over-indulgence. We should remind ourselves that children and teens learn from the examples adults set. Puberty, especially, is a time of transition for youth because for adolescents, adult decisions are virtually impossible. "Black Friday, therefore, should be a metaphor for irresponsibility. PPP is called for at gift time this Christmas. Proper, prior parenting or proper, prior planning will insure a proper, pecuniary perspective on personal, passing pleasures.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2007

Lydia Maria Child 1802-1880
"Over the river and through the wood,
To grandfather’s house we’ll go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow."

Wystan Hugh Auden 1907-1973
"let all your thinks be thanks."

Thansgiving is a day truly American

"And therefore, I , William Bradford ( by the grace of God to-day, and the franchise of this good people), governor of Plymouth, say - through virtue of vested power - ye shall gather with one accord, and hold in the month of November, thanksgiving unto the Lord." 1622

What do we have to be thankful for?

Great men

"Such glamor as can wear sheer triumph out," words said of Civil War General Robert E. Lee by Stephen Vincent Benet, even though the South was vanquished. Lee said, "I’d rather die a thousand deaths," before his surrender to Grant at Appomattox, April 12, 1865, even though almost a half million casualties resulted from the war.

Hope

When an angel gets lonely, a child is called to heaven. A song lyric reminds me that beyond this world, lies a better world, the reward of which we give should thanksgiving everyday we live.

Dear First Lady Laura

Having heard a book lecture by General Wesley Clark and another by three-time past Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, I think it’s obvious America could stand a renewal. I am a candidate for President simply because I come from that nowhere and represent that ‘anyone’ who may aspire to help revive our country’s greatness. Peggy Noonan calls me a beaconist. Your husband calls me a traditional conservative. But I go far beyond that into a revolutionary mode. Yes, the three tenets of true conservatism are free markets, a strong defense and a call for a culture based on the morality of the 10 commandments, but we need a President who represents political religion - doing what’s right. A President who symbolizes a radical eradication of all modes of dependence, irresponsibility and hopelessness. To most politicians what I believe might be unrealistic, but to the American people, I hope, it will be a call for common sense.

There’s no point focusing on the crazies on the left, the deranged Bushies, the liberal loonies, Hellary or Obama ( is it too late for 2008?), the deluded 60's leftovers whose mindsets are upside down, a Wesley or a Ralph. It’s the future, 2012 that I represent. I need money and a campaign manager. Americans should back a extreme conservative and gutsy Republican like me. We need to eliminate or limit taxes, pork, welfare, subsidies, political correctness, frivolous lawsuits, indecency, terrorist denial and politically driven paranoias - about immigrants, health care, the environment, alternative energy, education, jobs, torture, crime and free speech. Come on, it’s not that bad; it’s that we have it too good until we let government legislate our greatness and freedoms away. You name a program and I probably favor its limitation or elimination.

America’s renewal calls for nothing less than a revolt to do what’s right. Doom and gloom can be chased away by joy; joy is found in doing what’s right. (A radical campaign slogan). I enter a 3rd year blogging in the wilderness at tcminc.blogspot.com. I hope most Americans with facts and common sense in their mental arsenal and basic goodness in their hearts can rise above their assumed status as lemmings in our liberal culture. America’s present tragedy is the rejection of reading. As a librarian you know it as well as I. We are both older woman who were beautiful in youth but wiser now in middle age. What’s most important is sharing the love of a good man. What’s 2nd is the preservation of our beloved country.

like shooting fish

smokey is an ever-present blast,
what he does and apparently loves,
lingers past rationality, but stops short of breaking any laws.
what does he do for a living? chain smoke.
no tobacco police have sought him out,
his heart’s not on his sleeve but behind a wheel;
nor does he wear his religion on his overalls,
rather behind or atop a machine.
he can’t be all bad since he dresses for the weather.
he daily tips a styrofoam cup, a tribute to pollution,
a conformity to lazy, pre-packaged convenience.
sometimes he sits on a bucket when time is on his hands.
smokey puffs on a virtually endless cigarette,
each waking moment, i can verily attest,
consciously inserting nicotine after nicotine
after flicked but after flicked butt.
what does smokey love? motorized motivators.
his friends - yellow, green, and orange and white
lawnmowers, a forest green pickup truck recently
ditched for a new friend in shiny red.
his best friend - a self-described, ‘racing machine,’
with my appropriate appellation, the grey beast,
to be exercised as an exercise in self-satisfying,
rumbling, trembling, gas-guzzling flagellation.
an acquaintance - an elongated nomad motor home
a groupie woman - meant to serve him, hatless,
her cap feathered by the allure of another sexy truck
visitors - are many, boys from another generation
wear their hats backwards, kindred men worship
at his barn door entrance to his throne room.
taking potshots at smokey is like shooting fish barrel.
mind-boggling, his countless daily trips to and fro,
whence on the road of significance i’ll never know.
i count his machines - 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are enough to
guarantee perpetual motion. what motivates smokey,
to embrace each day are the internal combustion machine
and carcinogenic smoke. fearless of thoughts
of "faith-based scumbags in Mesopotamia,"
no goal in mind except to place another cigarette
into its proper sanctum... and ride .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Liberals say what’s fair can work; conservatives know that what liberals think is fair is not what works. So much for finding common ground. This Thanksgiving let’s give thanks to the failure of the liberal idea of income re-distribution. Let’s explore the economic concept of negative and positive incentives - whatever they represent. At turkey time or on the day of the "pectorally distorted creature" as described by a pretentious liberal, let’s contrast soft power with hard power in an area other than foreign policy.

Alex Rodriguez is finalizing a 10-year deal with the Yankees which could reach 275 million dollars over its duration. That would represent a high-water mark for any professional sports figure, almost a whole franchise. How can this blatant inequality of income be justified? My one son earns $7.00 at a factory job; my son-in-law pulled down $100 an hour at GM. A more important question is probably, why is this supposed injustice allowed? The answer to both, of course, it’s America, the land of defiant individualism and capitalism.

Let’s give thanks for beaconists like Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh and myself who still see America as an light of inspiration to peoples who hope that they can be the best they can be while at the same time have it all. Or something like it.

Need an example of over-the top? Here are four.

1. Suit hangers from $66.00 to $126. Experts assess them with comments like, "If you are trying to match your closet," this hanger is not for you because it comes in only one color. Or one sample is "too slopey," and thus inferior to another.

2. Donald Trump’s billion dollar high rise projects renting out for six and seven figures to elites.
The problem? After years in the planning, most are not built; clients wait.

3. Politically correct green housing developments for 2nd home purchases. An astute commentator observed that no second home can be environmentally correct or green.

4. Palm Beach water guzzlers who pay with cash and carbon credits for millions of gallons of water useage for acreage in the single digits like my small plot of country land.

Aw shucks, John Edwards, there is no poverty in America. There is an income gap, however, between the rich and poor; you ought to know being in the top echelon of wealth. But I take consolation in the fact, that money does not equal brains.

We need a President:

Into the wilderness for the 3rd year. Happy Birthday to me! Don’t we need a President to represent a revolutionary renewal of America? I think so.

We need a President to ask why more Americans can’t mimic the self-sufficiency in the life story of Tina, whose husband came to the United States in 1980 with nothing but the clothes on his back. From this inauspicious start he educated himself, raised a family and today pays over $50,000 in taxes truly a testament to his success. His efforts paid off - literally - in spite of encouragement from do-gooders that he take handouts, welfare or government assistance.

We need a President who will let drug dealers here and in Central and South America know that they face the death penalty if caught setting up their cartels and peddling their wares.

We need a President who points out the silly stuff taking place this Thanksgiving in Seattle, Washington. A teacher wants her students to celebrate turkey day as a sad, not a happy occasion because of its meaning to Native Americans. Why have fun and a happy tradition been perverted by misguided liberals?

We need a President who says, "That’s my man," to the elderly store owner robbed at gun point who defended his hard earned money by shooting and killing an evildoer in his establishment.

We need a President to point out that the super rich like Warren Buffet are liberal, democrat hypocrites. Buffet says that the rich should pay more but not himself. He donated 30 billion to the Gates Foundation as charity so that he would not pay any estate taxes. As Leona Hemsley another super rich person said, only "little people" need to pay taxes.

We need a President who demands that we call a Christmas parade a Christmas parade and not a Holiday parade. Whose holiday is it anyway? Whoa, Rudolph, to spoil sports and political correctness.

We need a President who reminds us that he and we will not watch TV until it has cleaned up its act. Recently I made the mistake of taking in a few minutes of a sitcom about young men and woman who, in the quasi-pornagraphic scene, dressed, danced and talked like sexy, available hookups. Luckily, I do not need to feel jealous because my age and body mass are alien to the entertainment world’s standards. Who can excuse indecency and immodesty as just signs of the times?

We need a President who discourages frivolous lawsuits, especially class action suits designed to enrich lawyers. A mother is suing the manufacturer of a children’s cold remedy over the death of her four year old claiming an overdose of dextromethorphan because she apparently overdosed the child. I am immediately unsympathetic because the dextro thing saved my life many times after I discovered its effectiveness. Of course, I didn’t overdose or overdose my children having read labels, warnings and dosage, and exercised common sense with the product. No doubt the mother made a mistake, but in her greed, she expects someone to pay for what cannot be undone. If lawyers, even greedier than she, can turn her litigation into a class action suit, they will make millions as opposed to the pittances the clients will eventually receive.. Nothing excuses this irresponsibility and wrongdoing.

We need a President who does not advocate skydiving at 83, a feat performed by past President George Bush just with the help of a paratrooper, to prove that seniors need to remain active. I would rather Mr. Bush remind our children and seniors, that living engaged, requires an active mind. If a local high school theatre production requires a month long preparation of practices 7 days a week, where is the time for homework and study? And sports’ mania has already overtaken our schools.

We need a President who actually uses the words "kick butt" when referring to keeping his citizens safe. How much more should we ask from our leader other than to defend our country, our free markets and our right to practice our religion?

Rudy Guiliani endeared himself to me recently when he said that the problem with American government today is over-regulating, over-spending, over-taxing and over-litigating. These four gerunds should be supplemented by a 5th which demeans Americans, over-indulging, something quite popular in today’s culture. But hedonism is not a government problem; it’s a problem of character.

We need a President who reminds us of what’s right and joyful. Doing something for others should cause joy in the hearts of Americans. Also joy should be derived from working on our character by exercising responsibility and common sense.

We need a President that calls for a renewal of America. Who symbolizes a sort of political religion that assures our shining place on a hill, lit like a beacon to the rest of the world.

3RD & 10

I SENT MY THIRD APPEAL TO GLENN AND SEAN; MY TENTH TO RUSH ASKING, "CAN YOU HELP DIRECT ME IN MY CANDIDACY FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012?" MAY I REPEAT THAT I AM AS QUALIFIED AS POLITICAL ELITES TO REPRESENT A RENEWAL OF AMERICA. WE SURELY NEED ONE WHEN THE PENTAGON’S NON-WAR BUDGET IS A DEMOCRAT PRIORITY, WEIGHING IN AT 606 BILLION DOLLARS SPREAD AROUND HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR AND HUMAN SERVICES. WHAT WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONIES! 2008 GOES TO HELLARY, OF COURSE, SO MY CAMPAIGN PERFORCE HAS 4 YEARS TO MUSTER MONEY AND PUBLIC SUPPORT. I NEED NO MOTHER, FATHER OR SPOUSE TO VOUCH FOR ME (THINK JOHN MCCAIN) OR VICE VERSA IF YOU SELECT THE SMART ONE, BECAUSE I (OR HE) CHOOSE TO SINK OR SWIM ON MY OWN IDEAS.
OUR BELOVED COUNTRY'S FUTURE LEADERS MUST SYMBOLIZE THE JOY IN DOING WHAT'S RIGHT, NOT PREACH WHAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO FOR ITS DEPENDENTS. TALK OF TOXIC PARTISANSHIP POISONING THIS COUNTRY IS JUST ANOTHER LIBERAL LIE. A RUSH LIMBAUGH CALLER TODAY PROVIDED ME WITH MY 1ST SELECTION FOR A CABINET POST, TINA, THE WIFE OF A SELF-MADE AMERICAN IMMIGRANT FROM CUBA IN 1980. HER STRONG ADVOCATION OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY ECHOES MY CONVICTIONS THAT POSSIBILITY SYMBOLIZES THE AMERICAN DREAM; HARD WORK, AND RESPONSIBLE, MORAL LIVING MAKE IT A REALITY.

THE THREE TENETS OF THE CONSERVATIVE MIND ARE A FREE MARKET ECONOMY SUPPORTED BY LIMITED GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION AND SPENDING, A STRONG STANCE AGAINST CRIMINALS AND TERRORISTS AND A CULTURE SUPPORTING MORAL LIVING. MY REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS REFLECT COMMON SENSE APPLIED TO FACTS. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES: ELIMINATE SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAMS, SUBSIDIES, EARMARKS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, UNNECESSARY SPENDING ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES, REPEAL SMOKING LAWS THAT DEPRIVE CITIZENS OF THEIR RIGHTS, SPONSOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND RESPONSIBLE USE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, EXPLORE NUCLEAR ENERGY AND OIL AND GAS RESERVES, PUNISH TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS SWIFTLY AND SURELY, PREACH THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND AGAINST INDECENCY, DEPRAVITY AND OBSCENITY IN ENTERTAINMENT, DISCOURAGE FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, ENCOURAGE SAVING AND INVESTING, CREATE A LOW, FLAT TAX ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL CITIZENS. YOU GET IT DON'T YOU? POLITICIANS AND THE CONGRESS WHO LIVE IN THE LAND OF ELITES AND LIBERAL LIES AND SOCIALISM MUST GO, SO THAT AMERICA CAN BECOME THE BEST SHE CAN BE. TAKE IT FROM AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER OUT HERE IN OHIO WHO KNOWS. WE HAVE OHIO STATE - MICHIGAN FEVER. WE HAVE CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR. SO LET'S FIND JOY IN DOING WHAT'S RIGHT AND RENEW AMERICA.

jOY IN THE FOURTH

Four years for Joy
In his indoor world
Foundling in November
My natal month
And me, a verbal Scorpio.

Stained like fall
He fell into a routine of play
Silent ‘til today
When he stung my heart
With a feint purr.

The renewal of America

My candidacy represents a revolution for the renewal of America. Implied in this is a knowledge of what constituted her former glory, when government defended our borders, protected us from criminals and could be counted on to foster the 10 commandments. Musing on America’s condition this Veteran’s day, I fell into a blue funk. I’m not fit or famous but furious about the pathetic condition of our politics and the moral fabric of our society. I am alienated from elites from Rush to Glenn to Gore and back again to Dr Laura to Hellary to Guiliani - the liberals taking my alienation into negative territory. I can relate to the Americans who go to work, got to church and go into the military that comedian Jeff Foxworthy praises. They also represent that core of traditional America that is rendered a terrible disservice if a leader does not feel honor bound to lead a revolution for a renewal of America. Joy is in doing what’s right - going to church, going to work, going into the military, getting government as far out of daily life as possible by revolting against over-taxing, over-spending, over-regulating and over-litigating.

Horrible?

1. An America of multiculturalism where no longer, "individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men," as de Crevecoeur said of us in 1782?

2. An American incapable of crying for fallen soldiers in remembrance on Veteran’s day?

3. Past President George Bush skydiving on his 83th birthday because he wants to set an example that older folks should not just sit around and do nothing as if reading and thinking don’t count?

4. A world of music in which a cassette tape of Puccini arias did not exist or find itself into my library at the cost of a $1.00 at a used bargain store?

5. A foolish vegan who will never be able to appreciate the gifts of nectar and ambrosia sent to us by the God of all natural things?

6. A Broadway play’s closing because of the writer’s strike, according to one New Yorker?

All of the above are frightful, abhorrent, except No. 6 which is only horrible in its hedonistic, shallow, self-centeredness.

Half slave or half free

Abraham Lincoln believed that this nation cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. But our nation has and does so endure. Many Americans are still enslaved to ignorance when they call Barak Obama, a Democrat candidate for President in 2008, the "great white hope." Actually he is a great white lie, emotional in its appeal to victim hood, racism and governmental paternalism. His sermonizinger about his dream of a color-blind society is just a dream because America is more color-blind today than ever in its history and more filled with possibility for the individual. The fact that potential is often not turned into act by blacks or whites is not the fault of our Constitutional system.

Mitt Romney, a Republican candidate for President, thinks that "someone from outside Washington" will win in 2008. I am that candidate. Democrat candidate, Mr. Obama, represents Washington deludes his fans into believing otherwise. Mr. Obama harkens back to the transforming revolution of the 1960's, which neglects to point out is the source of the devastation of our present culture. Fortunately I was unaware of the 60's emancipation because I was enjoying my submission to marriage. Mr. Romney also contends that he must win Michigan, Florida and perhaps Ohio to become President. I make my home far from Washington in rural Ohio. Mr. Romney contends his programs are tough, aimed at making America better. As a contrast he notes that the other leading contender in the 2008 election, Hellary Clinton, maintains a toughness that simply fuels her desire for power. My idea of a tough leader is Margaret Thatcher, past Prime Minister of Great Britain, who woman or no stood behind her agendas.

Each and every conservative hopeful in the upcoming election echoes all of my talking points to lead this great country into the 21st century. Other hopefuls and I differ in that I have lived my conservativism far from Washington in anonymity. As candidate for President, I readily concur with conservatives that criminals and government are the main enemies of the people. I add ignorance. Policies and innovations that Obama or Hellary represent are lies. Nothing short of a revolution in thought and action based on reality and common sense can save us now. The opening (not closing ) of American minds to truths will lead us out of our present darkness that obscures for young and old alike, the possibilities of glorious lives enlightened by individual freedom and responsibility.

Go Rudy!

Rudy Guiliani echoes the sentiment expressed by Thomas Jefferson when he says that the two enemies of a people are criminals and government. Reducing numbers of the former enemy in New York City, Republican candidate for President, Mr. Guiliani gained respect. For what he said yesterday, he gained mine. Using gerunds, verbs ending in ing acting as nouns, Rudy characterized the four over-riding political problems in America today: over-spending, over-taxing, over-regulating and over-litigating. Amen. Government need be into our lives for the sake of our security and minimally for everything thereafter. If Mr. Guiliani tackles just these four over-riding issues as President, we will be on our way to preserving our country’s greatness. His characterization of himself in his book LEADERSHIP, shows that he is capable. If trends toward the opposite outcomes continue - toward more spending, taxing, regulating and litigating - America will lose her shine and topple off her hill for sure.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

I am a candidate for President. Why not? Any nobody in America can aspire to become somebody who preaches common sense and sanity to fellow citizens. I have been there and done that American stuff as well as anybody with a functioning brain.

How much more are you willing to pay in taxes for free health care? This popular question is often put before Americans by the liberals (socialists in clever disguise). It actually assumes and encourages ignorance. It maintains a deception, rather than the truth, that taxes take money away from people who pay taxes; no health care is free. P.S. most Americans don’t pay their fair share of taxes in our present system anyway.

Who wouldn’t take grant money especially when ½ is paid for already? This is another political inquiry which lies to the public. Grant money is simply money stolen from taxpayers elsewhere which must be matched by money from local taxpayers.

My quest is for truth, for a rekindling of the souls of Americans, for the preservation of the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. Nothing less amounts to governmental interference which today unfortunately appeals to ignorance and false humanitarianism. Paying more taxes always gets you less. Paying more means getting less of freedom to live as you choose. My candidacy represents a defiance and revolution against the present trend to re-define the character of America. Doing what’s right is joyful; in politics it mimics a religion. My political religion says, do the good thing - and most Americans have traditionally tried to do the good thing.

Bring 'em on.....

The bloodiest day of the Civil War was the battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg), September 17, 1862. Oh that that day were here again! That combat was "one of the most sanguinary and desperate in the whole war." "Every horse and ½ of the men fell." Yet commanders who were able to forget the events of the day "supped heartily and slept profoundly." One regiment entered the arena with 325 men and 203 (63%) were lost - killed or wounded. "What a pity" an observer wrote, "to spoil with bullets such a scene of martial beauty." Casualties suffered by the North and South totaled about 22,000.

Didn’t we know then how to fight and love it? Would that that were true about the war in Iraq. Our young warriors are still game but they are hamstrung by wimpy politicians, politically correctness and unrealistic, undesirable and detrimental conditions for battle against terrorists - or as we say today, engagement with the enemy.

There will always be war. An 18th century English essayist and poet Joseph Addison wrote about the famous 1704 battle of Blenheim: "Unbounded courage and compassion joined, Tempering each other in the victor’s mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete." Victory over the enemy is all that should become us as Americans.

Can't drink to that

A new Ohio law just took away my right to purchase my favorite sherry via the phone. Thanks to our new Governor Strickland, who is courting the liquor lobbyists and distributors to cement Democrat votes, I can no longer place order with a winery that in turn will simply ship my sherry to me. One price-controlled liter at a time, I may now only purchase from a retail establishment but since my delicacy is not available locally, I’m left high and dry.

For the sake of political power and patronage, we mere taxpayers are left high and dry, silent in our majority opinions. Persons of good sense agree with me. Good sense and good health are two of life’s greatest blessings. Over-paid, prominent CEO’s caught in scandals of illegal or questionable behavior don’t possess common sense. My new Governor surely lost his somewhere along the way to the statehouse. I guess I will need to put mine through some serious psychological counseling. And I won’t even be able to drink to that.

Is it time?

I am available to run for President (I or the smart one). I watched Laura Ingraham speak at St Catherine’s College in Minnesota and concluded she understands the concept of ‘power of the people’ who must take back our country. I have e-mailed Rush, Hannity, Glenn Beck and Laura so far. Any ideas, connections or influence out there? I am unanimous in my opinion ( from "Are you being served? "), that the last two conservatives living its message in America are me and the smart one. We are retired. We are informed. We are aware of the fact that America needs a philosophical revolution. It may be too late to stop the Hellary train in 2008, but there is always 2012. We represent, like you, an ideological revolution against the status quo. Our hope is to revive the political religion of common sense and doing what’s right in America. Yes, only the people have the power to change and choose. To abandon America to liberal socialism and an amoral, politically correct dictatorship would be tragic. We prefer to see the cup as ½ full rather than ½ empty because a ½ empty perspective always sees crisis, complaint, regulation or repression looming around every corner.

Conservatism is a philosophy rooted in doing what’s right - for the individual, for the society, for the country. Though my pockets are empty, a movement for my Presidency (or the smart one’s) would begin with contributions from the public and endorsements from influential conservative Republicans. Where are you? Unless we explode on the scene, our revolution will take time. Without connections or debts to any political lobbies, I am as free as any nobody in the phone book and I am available for President as a symbol of what America needs to do and how she can maintain her status on the ‘shining hill.’

The forces of ruin are at work everywhere as you know. My campaign slogan -Joy is in doing what’s right - invokes hope. The public is presently being misinformed and misled by eradicate media, politicians, judges and kook activists who are rewriting our Constitutional history, undoing our sense of morality and refraining from facing the terrorist threat to our way of life.

I have already listed my pro and con stances, each issue counter-cultural and revolutionary in its thinking and vision. For example, I would eradicate the welfare system - every itty bitty payment of it as well as privatize the entire public educational system. What destroy self-sufficiency and learning must go. Free markets should be truly free without subsidies. Unnecessary earmarks and political perks must be jettisoned. Decency, two parent families and love of learning should be sponsored because they are sources of joy. A President, I believe should adhere to reality and data. She (he) should also preach that the definition of sin be rediscovered in our culture. Enemies who want to kill us should be killed. All citizens should pay taxes and be free to achieve wealth. We two (the smart one and I) have lived not only conservatively, but cheaply, and have studied history, politics, human behavior and the golden mean. The future of America must hinge upon a joy in doing what’s right, most of which is based on common sense, self-reliance, individual responsibility, patriotism. I have blogged here for two years in the wilderness.

Theirs to lose, ours to keep

From Shakespeare through World War I England’s literary and military traditions reflected a greatness unexceled in the Western World. Today, a liberal, politically correct nanny state is all that’s left of the kingdom on which the sun never set. The following examples make my point about what’s has been lost.

An unforgettable poem published on 12/06/1915 by John McCrae called "In Flanders Fields, was to become the most popular poem of World War I and a worldwide favorite after it was anonymously printed in Punch magazine.

The following poem was penned by William Noel Hodgson two days before he was killed in the Somme attack during the Great War, 1914-1918.

By all the glories of the day
and the cool evening’s benison,
by that last sunset touch that lay
upon the hills when day was done,
by beauty lavishly outpoured
and blessings carelessly received,
by all the days that I have lived
make me a soldier, lord.

I, that on my familiar hill
saw with uncomprehending eyes
a hundred of thy sunsets spill
their fresh and sanguine sacrifice,
ere the sun swings his noonday sword
must say goodbye to all of this:
by all delights that I shall miss,
help me to die, o lord.

This prose analysis by American historian Barbara Tucuman about the British habit of "raising the idiom of warfare" makes the case for Britain’s traditional, nationalistic pride.

No nation has ever produced a military history of such verbal nobility as the British. Retreat or advance, win or lose, blunder or bravery, murderous folly or unyielding resolution, all emerge alike clothed in dignity and touched with glory... Everyone is splendid: soldiers are staunch, commanders cool, the fighting magnificent. Whatever the fiasco, aplomb is unbroken. Mistakes, failures, stupidities, or other causes of disaster mysteriously vanish. Disasters are recorded with care and pride and become transmuted into things of beauty... Other nations attempt but never quite achieve the same self-esteem.

Let’s hope that whatever’s grandiose in the spirit and soul of America will never be lost.

I'm the lone conservative

I'm here. I'm here, we're here, in no woman's, no-man's land. The lone conservatives Rush Limbaugh longs to behold. Fearless. Revolutionary, beyond the pale of irrational nonsense, political correctness and profligate spending of today's politicians. I live and believe in an unqualified conservative thrust. America's future deserves a rescue from the brink of a fall into an unacceptable future. I am an optimist, radical in my belief that we are and can do right if we see the cup as 1/2 full of possibility. I have no ties or money to fund a campaign unless it is generated by influencial individuals, the public and then attached to a band wagon. This is my 9th missive to Rush - time to triple dare him to test my qualifications. This is 2nd e-mail to you Sean and Glenn. Why does Rush constantly echo my messages and qualifications over EIB radio and give me no credit? Why keep asking where, when I keep saying I'm here? My campaign slogan - There's joy in being right. And joy is the only choice. It is not beneath my dignity to call the devil, Lucifer unlike Nancy Pelosi who calls a child of God (Bush) the Devil. I or the smart one (both of us) are here and foolish enough - American enough - to believe that anyone can become President. The concept of common woman (and man) still lives! Check my previous e-mails for my pro's and con's and feel free to ask questions. You will be shocked by the answers.
Carolyn McLaughlin90 Heath LaneNew Holland Ohio 4

Adjectives

Adjectives are indispensable words used to describe or limit nouns:

Nasty, cynical, efficient and temporary - French trenches WWI

Amateur, vague, ad hoc, and temporary - English WWI trenches

Efficient, clean, pedantic and permanent - German WWI trenches

Hungry, vigorous, intelligent and courageous - Rats in trenches of WWI

Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short - Man in a state of nature in wartime or peacetime on Skid Row in Los Angeles, California.

Cheap - Nutrition from 6 Heads of broccoli for $2.10 converted into 16 vegetable servings, 6 cups of soup, 8 cups of cooked florets and 2 cups of raw florets amounting to $.13 a serving.

Candidate for President

I am available to run for President ( I or the smart one). You must choose. It may be too late to stop the Hellary train in 2008, but there is always 2012. I represent an ideological revolution against the status quo. Rush Limbaugh and other Republicans say they are looking for the last conservative in America. Here are two - a dynamic duo. Two fiscal cheapsters, throwbacks, embodiments of truths that need to be acknowledged. I represent that common sense and basic humanity that saved America’s re-education program of Nazi Pow’s in World War II from failure due to incompetence. I and the smart one have educated ourselves in business, financial responsibility, American history and political science ( as well as in the liberal arts). I advocate America’s revival - possibly salvation - through a political religion. To abandon America to liberal socialism and politically correct, amoral dictatorship would be sad. It’s as sad as not living life so as to be a saint. But seeing reality like a cup ½ empty is self-defeating. The cup must be perceived as ½ full. Joy in life is right living. What is right living? The joy is in the conservative details. Conservativism is a philosophy to do what’s right. My campaign is about political religion. An example of joy is rescuing dating, chivalry, romance, self-reliance, individual responsibility or common sense.

Even a retired nobody like me, can legally run for President. I have no money to sponsor a campaign. Neither do I have debts or political entanglements. Thus, my financial backing must first come from contributions at large, from fellow, concerned citizens. Elites may apply but only if they wish to join the revolution. I am not opposed to the income gap; only the gap between what’s deserved and what’s not. My pro’s and con’s under pin America in its greatness on a shining hill if rightly and properly understood.

Pro - the Constitution, God, patriotism, the military, business, immigration, savings, free markets, national autonomy, rational spending, proper prior parenting, low taxes evenly levied, free choice for individuals followed by logical consequences, self-reliance, swift and sure punishment for crimes, good food, reading...

Anti - overindulgence, government interference, government pork and perks, overspending, political correctness, victim hood, over-regulation, subsidies, the biased popular media, panic mongering, terrorism, cultural depravity, incivility, Hollywood, greedy lawyers and CEO’s, public schools, welfare, sports fanaticism, unions, environmental activism, do-gooders from the thought police, joggers...

I am available for President because America needs me to symbolize the reasonable, joyful golden mean. This is currently a revolutionary position and platform. The status quo represents comfort, self indulgence and voter apathy except from the committed voters on the right and left. In America, anybody should be able to succeed. If I and the smart one can eat and drink for under $7.00 a day, abandon T.V. and films and find joy in being cheap, we must be doing something right. MY CAMPAIGN SLOGAN : JOY IS IN DOING WHAT’S RIGHT.