We are all role models

The inescapable news of the weekend was the melee at the end of the Pistons-Pacers game at Auburn Hills, Michigan on Friday night.  For those of you who were just rescued from a desert island, with under a minute to go in the game, Ron Artest of the Pacers committed a hard foul on Ben Wallace of the Pistons.  Wallace took exception and shoved Artest and both benches decided it was time to vent some frustration.

 

As the referees attempted to calm things down, the fans decided to get in the act and one of them hit Artest with a full cup of some liquid refreshment.  Artest proceeded to unleash his rage in the stands and several players followed suit and the fans proceeded to give as much as they got.  The arena security detail was ill prepared for such happenings and at least one chair was thrown and an elderly person had to receive medical attention.

 

The most enduring image of the night, though, was the sight of two young children clutching each other for dear life with tears in their eyes.  I don’t know if these were children of spectators, children of players or what role the adults with them had played in this scene.  It really doesn’t matter.  I couldn’t get past their faces.

 

It took me back roughly ten years ago when outspoken NBA star, Charles Barkley, made the infamous statement, “I’m not a role model.”  I recall that statement being debated and discussed without a definitive answer given.  I don’t think we can avoid the obvious answer anymore.  We are ALL role models.

 

Someone is watching us as we live day to day.  Someone looks up to us.  Professional and college athletes exist because people watch them.  Sure, somewhere in our history, competition existed for the sake of competition; but now, competition exists for the show and the money such a show generates.  Every kid in the backyard throwing a football envisions himself as Peyton Manning or Bret Favre.  Every kid working on a jump shot or a lay up sees himself as Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.  Unfortunately, when one of these folks screws up in their personal life, these same kids see that as well.

 

We might not be on television, but our kids are watching us as well.  If we berate an official or coach at a Little League game, our kids see it.  If we cut someone off on the Interstate and then give them the finger, our kids see it.  If we treat a spouse with disrespect, our kids see it.

 

Those kids went to Auburn Hills, Friday night, to see their heroes on the court and to spend time with their everyday heroes as well.  What they saw was not heroic.  It was not inspiring.  However,it was instructive.  This is how adults behave.  Is that what we want kids to see?  We are all role models.  We can never allow ourselves to forget that.

Reaching out?

The enlightened members of the national media didn’t even wipe the exit poll egg off their faces before they almost unanimously began asking if President Bush would “reach out” to the opposition, try to govern from “the center” and work toward “bipartisanship”. John Edwards, in his concession speech, if you can call it that, renewed his theme of “two Americas” and practically blamed the division in America on the Republicans. The media also reported that when John Kerry called President Bush to concede, he “lectured” him on healing the divisions in this nation.

Reach out? Heal the divisions? Note to the Democrats and their accomplices in the mainstream media: YOU LOST. Your agenda was rejected. Your campaign of hate was rejected. Your campaign of fear and envy was rejected. You folks are the last people to complain about division in America.

Look at the last forty years. Democrats have won elections by pitting black versus white, rich versus poor, employee versus employer, old versus young, women versus men, irreligious versus religious. To a Democrat, bipartisanship only occurs when a Republican sacrifices his or her principles and goes along with what the Democrats want.

The Democrats won’t see this, but this election is a repudiation of them, and perhaps for the foreseeable future. The Democrats do not have the Presidency. In fact they have only held the Presidency for eight years since 1981. Bill Clinton had to pretend to be a Republican to do that, and even then he never got fifty percent of the vote. The Democrats fall further and further behind in the House of Representatives. The Senate is closing in on being filibuster proof.

The American public isn’t leftist. The Democrats ARE, by and large, leftists. The American public believes in strong hawkish national defense. The American public believes in traditional faith based family values. The American public believes in low taxes. The American public believes in private enterprise. The American public believes in America’s sovereignty. The American public made this clear last night.

The American public does not believe in global tests regarding our security. The American public does not believe in license masquerading as personal freedom. The American public made that abundantly clear last night.

Will the Democrats see it? Can they even comprehendwhat they see? I agree, there needs to be a reaching out in this country. The Democrats need to reach out and rediscover the AMERICAN people. No, not the French people, the AMERICAN people.

 

 

In God's Hands

I truly believe that God calls men for certain times in history.  Yes, I know, that isn’t an enlightened way to think, but as a student of history I can think no other way.  Imagine how different the Revolutionary War and the early years of our Republic might have been without George Washington at the helm.  He was an inspiring figure so beloved that many wanted to declare him King after the defeat of the British.  Yet, he was humble enough and self effacing enough to ensure that this nation would not become a monarchy like Europe.

 

Abraham Lincoln was the perfect President to face the horrors of the Civil War.  Lincoln’s unique skills had not manifested themselves during his earlier life, and it is doubtful that he would have been a successful peacetime President.  Yet his resolve saved the and ended the scourge of slavery.  It is highly unlikely that any of his contemporaries could have accomplished those feats.

 

Franklin Roosevelt was the right man for the job of President during World War II, just as Churchill was the right man for the job of British Prime Minister during that dreadful war.  Ronald Reagan was the only man who could face down the Soviets and make them blink.

 

The point that I’m making is that throughout history, the cause of freedom has advanced.  The right people have been in place to lead that advance.  You may choose to believe that this is an accident, a mere random chance; but I don’t.  It is evidence of the Divine Hand of Providence watching over our nation.

 

With all my heart, I believe that George W. Bush is another one of those leaders who is chosen for a particular challenge.  That challenge, that enemy of freedom, is Islamofascism.  George W. Bush is a man guided by faith.  He isn’t a man who believes that being President is merely a goal in and of itself.  President Bush recognizes the moment in history we face.  He recognizes that the choices we make today will reach out into the future.

 

President Bush sees the enemy clearly.  Just as Lincoln saw that the Union MUST be preserved, even if places like Gettysburg, Shiloh and Antietam had to become blood soaked cemeteries, just as Ronald Reagan saw that the Soviet Union was the “Evil Empire” that must be confronted even as the world was calling for appeasement and disarmament; George W. Bush sees that this moment in time brings us to a clash of civilizations and ideologies that must be won.  George W. Bush has the faith and the fortitude to face this moment, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.

 

I have already voted.  This week, I will drive my wife and my mother to the polls.  Then, we will have done all we cando to stand by this courageous man as he stands for our country and our way of life.  After we vote, the battle is in God’s hands.

 

This is a nation that has been blessed by God in unimaginable ways for the past two hundred and thirty years. In recent years, it hasn’t been cool to acknowledge that.  We have become dismissive of God’s blessings.  I sincerely hope that, as a nation, we haven’t rejected HIM to the point that HE allows us to fall.  For whether we like it or not, our nation’s future is in God’s hands.

 

 

I have seen the error of my ways

After years of fighting leftism and defending conservatism, I have suddenly been hit with a beam of light like Paul on the road to Damascus.  I was wrong.  Conservatism is not the path of knowledge and enlightenment.  The Progressives are the way to go.

First, in the area of defense, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have tried to explain it to us for the past two years, but we haven't understood.  If we disarm, then all the nations of the world will follow our example.  Don't worry about dictatorships that might appear to be unfriendly to us, they just are afraid of us and it makes them defensive.  So what if some nations decide to keep their weapons, we will have done the noble thing and set the proper tone for dialogue around the world.  After all, the survival of the United States is less important than the cause of peace and harmony throughout the world.

I have embraced the belief that "Bush lied".  I don't let the fact that every intelligence agency in the world believed the same things about Saddam Hussein bother me.  I don't let the fact that the Clinton Administration and every Democrat in Congress said the same things about Saddam bother me.  Once I accepted this everything else made sense.

At home, we should return to the pre-Reagan tax rates, where the top marginal rate was 70%.  Those rich people just stole their money anyway, or made it on the backs of slave labor.  They can get by with much less.  If we cannot move people out of poverty into the middle class, at least we can reduce the number of wealthy people and make a larger middle class that way.  So what if it creates less of an environment for investment.  This country should not create wealth if it cannot be distributed equally.

Now, the government should retool the budget to pay for all the social programs that the masses want.  We must reduce the risk in people's lives.  Many people are incapable of making the tough choices necessary to survive on limited resources, so the government should, in a benevolent manner, make things easier for them.  So what if that eliminates the incentives for achievement and thwarts ambition.  Achievement and ambition are just methods that white males use to rob from and enslave the masses.

Government should actively encourage alternative lifestyle choices.  Traditional morality is simply too confining and inspires guilt which can harm an individual's psyche.  So what if traditional morality forms the underpinnings of an orderly and cohesive society.  No one should have to feel guilty, unless they have more material possessions than their neighbor.

The environment should become our predominant concern.  We must first stop abusing animals.  We cannot eat meat, since that involves killing an animal who was not allowed to choose.  Of course that also means that we cannot use leather for belts, shoes and other items.  There is always plastic.  Oh wait, I cannot use plastic either.  Plastic is petroleum based and thus requires using nonrenewable fossil fuels and causes air pollution.  I am giving up my truck for a bicycle, even though I will have to leave two hours early to make the thirteen miles from the house to the office, and no public transportation is available.  I may give up my house too.  I do not know if it was made from old growth lumber or not.  You see, when it was built, I was less enlightened than I am now.  What about the electricity that heats my home?  Does it come from environmentally hazardous nuclear plants or from fossil fuel burning power plants?  Does it come from hydroelectric dams that have been built and destroyed the pristine habitat of fish and wildlife?  This is so hard.  I may have to give up electricity altogether. 

Oh well, anyway, except for environmental confusion, I FEEL so much better now that I have joined the path of enlightenment.  Now if I could just remember how to speak French life would be perfect.

Still The Same

You always won, everytime you placed a bet
You’re still damn good, no one’s gotten to you yet
Everytime they were sure they had you caught
You were quicker than they thought
You’d just turn your back and walk
You always said, the cards would never do you wrong
The trick you said was never piay the game too long
A gambler’s share, the only risk that you would take
The only loss you could forsake
The only bluff you couldn’t fake

And you’re still the same
I caught up with you yesterday
Moving game to game
No one standing in your way
Turning on the charm
Long enough to get you by
You’re still the same
You still aim high

Bob Seger described John Kerry perfectly over two decades ago. For you see, John Kerry the waffler extraordinaire, the flip-flopper in chief, has played the game of politics like an amoral gambler. He has made a career of changing positions to ensure that he appeals to all sides of every issue. There is one issue that has always caused Kerry to reveal his true colors, though. The only bluff John Kerry has never been able to fake is in the area of national defense. He can pretend to be a hawk all he wants, but the record is clear. John Kerry believes that appeasement of our enemies is the only way to go.

As chief Vietnam War protester, John Kerry made the statement, “We can’t fight communism all over the world.” As Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, Kerry urged Michael Dukakis to use civil defense funds to influence American foreign policy to take a less confrontational approach to the Soviet Union. As a new Senator, he favored a nuclear freeze rather than Reagan’s defense build up. He supported the Sandinistas even though it was clear they were Soviet puppets. After the first World Trade Center bombing he proposed gutting the intelligence budget.

That is all in the past. But in the past two weeks, John Kerry proved that he’s “Still The Same” when it comes to defense issues. First, in the second Presidential debate, John Kerry proposed a plan to give Iran nuclear material, in exchange for their PROMISE to use it peacefully. Nope, I’m not making this up. John Kerry wants to give one of the biggest sponsors of terrorism in the world, one of the nations that despises the United States, nuclear material. If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s essentially the same plan that Jimmy Carter came up with for North Korea during the Clinton Administration. The plan that North Korea is now violating. If that doesn’t disqualify John Kerry for President, then how about this.

In the first debate, John Kerry implied that it was hypocritical for the United States to be critical of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions when we are testing a bunker buster nuclear weapon. The King of the nuclear freeze lives. John Kerry equates us with Iran and North Korea. John Kerry attacks a program that is developing a weapon to be used against state sponsors of terror, with the implication that if we would stop developing weapons, then other nations would stop feeling threatened and we have fewer enemies. John Kerry the antiwar protester is still the same.

I’m not finished, though. In the New York Times Magazine, John Kerry made the following statement: “We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives but they're a nuisance. As a former law enforcement person I know we're never going to end prostitution; we're never going to end illegal gambling, but we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise, it isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.”

Apparently, John Kerry thinks that before 9/11, terrorism was merely a nuisance. The first World Trade Center bombing was a nuisance. Somalia was a nuisance. Khobar Towers was a nuisance. The USS Cole was a nuisance. Those events were apparently the equivalent of “prostitution” and “illegal gambling”. The Massachusetts liberal who came to fame as an appeaser in 1971 is “Still The Same”.

The amoral gambler has one core belief that he cannot hide. When it comes to national defense, John Kerry is “Still The Same” as he has always been. Dangerous and clueless.

 

Beware of the Sheeple

Something happened, last week, to depress me about this election.  No, I’m not talking about W’s refusal to punch Kerry’s repeatedly unguarded chin.  I must say, the President’s lack of attack made me want to throw things at the television, but that was not nearly the worst news of the week.

 

The worst news was the news media trumpeting the hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters this election cycle.  It seems that several groups have been out and about using streamlined voter registration laws to get otherwise uninformed and misinformed people to register to vote.  “Isn’t that a good thing?”  “Shouldn’t we have more citizens participating in the process?”  Not really.

 

Voting is the most important DUTY that any citizen has.  The choices made affect all of us.  Therefore, the last things we need are more clueless people voting.  Think about it.  These groups are setting up tables at shopping malls and college campuses urging people who have no real interest in the political process to register to vote.  Many of these people would go through their entire lives without ever casting a vote if these interest groups didn’t shove the form in front of their faces.

 

These people tend to be the ones that don’t study issues, watch news programs or listen to entire political speeches in context.  They are the people who tend to be influenced by soundbytes, celebrities and who are prone to believe stupid statements like “ah feel your pain,” and “Bush lied people died.”  These people are really sheeple.

 

We have enough sheeple voting in this country.  The Democrats have survived as a national party, thanks to sheeple.  Democrat politicians, for over thirty years, have said that Republicans want to restore Jim Crow laws and burn down black churches.  The sheeple believe it.  Democrat politicians, for over thirty years, have said that Republicans are going to take away Granny’s Social Security check and make her eat cat food.  The sheeple believe it.  Democrat politicians, for over twenty years, have claimed that Republicans WANT poisoned water and air.  The sheeple believe it.

 

These sheeple are even taken to the polls by activists from the AFL-CIO and the NAACP.  They typically don’t show up in polls.  Therefore, it’s safe to add, at least, two percentage points to any percentage the Democrat candidate has.  In a close race, these newly registered sheeple are going to make the difference.

 

I truly fear that this is a constituency that can carry John Kerry over the top.  If the Democrats get enough sheeple to the polls, it’s going to be very difficult for the President to win.

 

 

So you want to speak Klingon?

Trying to discuss foreign policy with a Kerry supporter is like learning how to speak Klingon.  It's frustrating, time consuming and, in the end, serves no useful purpose.  I don't know why I keep trying.  I suppose it's my Missionary Baptist roots coming out, seeing a poor leftist in need of conversion.  I'd have better luck trying to convert a meth head atheist with one Buddhist parent and one Hindu parent to Christianity.

Leftists don't even see the same problems we see.  When I talk about a clash of civilizations you know I'm discussing the war against Islamofascism.  The only clash of civilizations that leftists see is the "widening gap between rich and poor throughout the world".  Islamofascism isn't a unified movement, they claim.  The Palestinian terrorists and Chechnyan terrorists are internal problems of Israel and Russia respectively, and we need to limit our activities to going after specific Al Qaeda operatives.  I'm serious.  That is what your typical leftist thinks about the "War on Terror".

Saddam Hussein's Iraq had only peripheral ties to terrorists, they insist.  The terror training base at Salman Pak had nothing to do with us they claim.  Saddam was content to build his palaces and let his people starve.  As at least ten Kerry supporters have told me, "He was contained."  His payments to Hamas and Hezbollah were not our problems.  His refusal to account for known stocks of chemical and biological weapons were no big deal.  We should have allowed "inspections to work," whatever that means.  Oh, and don't bother giving leftists and other Kerry supporters quotes from Kerry, Clinton et al from 1998 forward that were even more hawkish than anything Bush might have said.  "Bush lied to get us into war" will be the only response you get.

France and Germany only oppose us because they find Bush offensive, the leftists claim.  Never mind France's huge Muslim population.  Ignore the evidence of bribery in the Oil for Food program.  In fact, leftists and Kerry supporters claim that the Oil for Food scandal hasn't been proven yet.  Leftists deny that France and Germany have self interests that would cause them to oppose us no matter who might be President.  France and Germany should be given the benefit of a doubt, but the Bush administration is guilty until proven innocent.

Dissent is the most patriotic thing one can do, according to these people.  I dare you to point out to them that the insurgents in Iraq are emboldened by protests against US presence in Iraq.  Tell them that the insurgents are counting on doing something shocking enough to cause the protesters to turn public opinion against American involvement and cause a withdrawal.  Go ahead tell a leftist that.  They will simply say they love America and they are trying to save lives that are being taken because of OUR misguided leaders.

If you think you can change a leftist's mind on foreign policy, I have only one thing to say to you.  toH tlhIngan Hol DajatlhlaH 'e' DaneH'a'?[tlh]