It Wasn't, And Still Isn't, Race or Skin Color. It Was, And Still Is, Policy

I don't know how other Conservatives feel, but this Conservative is starting to feel like a "Push Me Pull Me".

On the one hand, I, and my fellow Conservatives, are called racists because we didn't vote for President Obama and we openly criticize his policies. Gee, could it actually be because he is a Liberal and we are Conservatives? You'd think he was the first President to be criticized by the other side. The media seems to forget that this is America, where we are allowed to openly disagree with our politicians if we don't agree with their policies.

On the other hand I, and my fellow Conservatives, who are leaning heavily toward Herman Cain, are called racists because we are actually thinking about supporting a black man as a possible Presidential candidate. Which is it?

I think a little projection might be going on here. What is projection? "A psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings." But I digress.

While I really don't care what the neurotic media or their Liberal buddies think about me or Conservatives, I do want to take a moment or two to explain where I am coming from in case any of my friends or family buy into their characterization and neurosis.

When Illinois State Senator Barrack Obama spoke at the 2004 Democrat Convention, I was so impressed with him. I told people that this might be a Democrat I could actually support if he were to ever run for President.

Fast forward to two years later. US Senator Barrack Obama announces his candidacy for President. I was excited. I thought, it was about time. But, now he was an actual candidate and potential leader of the free world. I had to weigh everything, not just a great speech I had seen two years earlier. So, I started paying attention to his words and his actions. I started listening closely to him and I didn't like what I heard or didn't hear.

I heard words like "Hope" and "Change". And I'd ask, "Hope in what?" and "What kind of change?" These were just empty platitudes, leaving people with their own idea of what they meant.

Then I heard phrases like, "redistribution of wealth" and "fundamental transformation of America". I thought, "Redistribution of wealth? We already have a tax code that does just that. What more do we need?" and "Fundamental transformation to what? America doesn't need to be transformed. It needs to be restored."

I believed candidate Obama when he said, "Under my plan, energy costs will necessarily skyrocket." To me, that didn't sound like a good idea. This would make life even more difficult for the poor and the elderly.

I believed candidate Obama when he said he wanted to bankrupt the coal industry. I really didn't think it would be a good idea to bankrupt an industry that provides over fifty percent of our electricity.

I believed candidate Obama when he said that as President he would cut missile defense systems (the systems that protect our nation from missile attacks), slow the development of future combat systems (so no new military technology) and naively stated he would work toward a nuclear free world. When I watched the video his campaign put together outlining these plans I was actually terrified. It was an ominous video.

The more I listened, the more I disliked him as a potential President. His skin color had absolutely nothing to do with my feelings. It was simply his policies.

Since coming into office he hasn't changed my mind.

From what I have seen of Herman Cain, he is a man I can believe in and possibly support as a Presidential candidate. He has been a favorite of mine since he announced his candidacy.

Herman Cain grew up during the most racially charged time in our nation's history, yet he didn't let the racism hold him back. He rose above his circumstances to become a successful businessman, CEO of Godfather's Pizza, talk show host, syndicated columnist, and chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City.

Herman Cain has a genuine sense of humor and is unflappable in the face of adversity. He is not afraid to put forth his ideas and stand by them. However, he does need to do a better job of explaining them and not referring people to his website to learn more.

While Mr. Cain does not have any political experience, he does have extensive private sector business experience. He knows what it takes to make a business thrive. Maybe the change this country really needs is a businessman at the helm.

I like a lot of what I have seen so far in Herman Cain, but I want to see and hear more before I make my final vote. This election is too important to be hasty.

Restribution of Wealth Montage

Hold on to your hats...or should I say your money. These people are serious. Is this the kind of America you want to live in?

Wake Up America

WAKE UP AMERICA!!! If we do not stand together and fight against the radical left who want to destroy this country, capitalism, religious freedom, and the Constitution, we are all going to regret it....at least those of us who believe in these things.

Don't blow these people off. Don't dismiss them as lunatics. Don't continue to bury your heads in the sand and say it can't happen here. They are using our colleges to train up their army and using our youth as "useful idiots" to spread their message of destruction.

Do you want a fundamental transformation of America? Do you want America to become like Europe during the Middle Ages? Do you want to be subjected to Sharia Law? Do you believe the greatest document ever created...the Constitution of the United States of America...should be shredded? Do you believe that America needs to become a Socialist country? If you do, then remain silent. If you don't, then start fighting back....pay attention and get educated as to what is going on around you.

The radical left are so sure of themselves now, that they are not hiding what they really believe anymore. They are telling us right out in the open. PAY ATTENTION.

Roseanne Barr made a distressing statement to Russia Today on October 1st. She said,

"Part of my platform is, of course, the guilty must be punished and that we no longer let our children see their guilty leaders getting away with murder. Because it teaches children, you know, that they don't have to have any morals as long as they have guns and are bullies and I don't think that's a good message.

"I do say that I am in favor of the return of the guillotine and that is for the worst of the worst of the guilty.

"I first would allow the guilty bankers to pay, you know, the ability to pay back anything over $100 million [of] personal wealth because I believe in a maximum wage of $100 million. And if they are unable to live on that amount of that amount then they should, you know, go to the reeducation camps and if that doesn't help, then being beheaded."

Wow...REALLY? Reeducation camps for the rich? Beheading the rich who don't agree to give up their wealth? Who would be next? Christians? Jews? I say again...WOW!!!

Van Jones, President Obama's former Green Jobs Czar, said this about the Occupy Wall Street protest, "You are going to see an American Fall, an American Autumn, just like we saw the Arab Spring. You can see it right now with these young people on Wall Street. Hold onto your hats, we're going to have an October offensive to take back the American dream and to rescue America's middle class."

How? By crushing capitalism and replacing it with what? Socialism? Oh, that will solve all of our problems....right?

The middle class will not be rescued by punishing those who create the jobs they depend upon.

The middle class will not be rescued by feeding them with hate and envy for those who have more then they have.

The middle class will not be rescued by destroying the wealthy.

The middle class will not be rescued by destroying the only system that actually gives them hope of success if they only take the risk.

The middle class will not be rescued by destroying the document that protects them from an unjust government.

The middle class...and all of America...needs to rescue itself by saying enough.

We can only rescue ourselves by being accountable for ourselves and teaching our children to do the same.

We can only rescue ourselves when we stand up and fight against oppression of all peoples, not just those we agree with.

We can only rescue ourselves, by raising the poor up....not tearing the rich down. We must do as Benjamin Franklin stated, "I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."

We can only rescue ourselves by fighting to protect the greatest nation on the earth.

It's not too late to rescue ourselves and our country, but we all need to decide what we are willing to do. Take heart…stay strong…stand up…speak out…fight back!!

There's More Than Enough Blame to Go Around

I posted this comment on my Facebook page this morning:

The White House blames Republicans for all that's wrong with America and says they have reached out to Republicans time and time again, but Republicans won't give. If you remember, Obama told Republicans "to get to the back of the bus" in 2009 and he, Pelosi and Reid rammed through legislation without even talking to Republicans. That's not reaching out...that's diminishing.

A friend of mine responded with this comment:

George W Bush got us buried oh so deep while the upper class continues to get tax breaks and not pay their fair share. Poor people are already tightening their budgets and barely squeezing by. How many republicans would be willing to give up tax loopholes and pay their fair share ???

Well...I couldn't let that remark go unanswered. So, here is my response:

Actually, both parties got us into this financial mess. Our problems can be traced back to decisions made by both parties since the 1930’s.

While I will never defend the amount of spending President Bush did or the fact that he added $4.9 trillion to our national debt during his eight years in office. His spending pales in comparison to that of President Obama, which has added another $3.87 trillion to our national debt in just two and a half years.

However, President Bush:
1. Did not create the Social Security or Medicare systems which are costing the country billions, if not trillions, in unfunded liabilities because administrations on both side of the aisle borrowed from the “trust funds” and replaced the money with I.O.U.’s.
2. Did not create the welfare system, Medicaid system or public employee unions which are financially strapping state and local governments.
3. Did not create the “Community Reinvestment Act”, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, sub-prime mortgages, mortgage backed securities, or repeal the “Glass-Steagall Act”; all of which contributed to the housing collapse of 2007 and the banking crisis of 2008.

There is enough blame to go around. Let’s not place it all at the feet of one president…George W. Bush.

As for taxes, did you know that the Top 5% of this country (the “wealthy”) already pay 57% of all Federal income taxes collected, while nearly 50% pay absolutely no Federal income taxes? The other 45% of us pay the remaining 43%. I would say that the “wealthy” already pay more than their fair share. I refuse to blame the rich for this country’s problems. It’s simple class warfare/envy and will not solve any of our problems. We could tax the rich at 100% of all their wealth and it wouldn’t make a dent in the real problem.

What is a “loophole”? A “loophole” is a legal tax deduction written into the US Tax Code. If you’re a homeowner, the home loan interest you deduct is a “loophole”. If you’re a charitable person, the charitable contributions you deduct are a “loophole”. If you're able to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit, and get more money back in refunds than you paid, that is a “loophole”. If you have medical bills, the medical expenses you deduct are a “loophole”. And the list goes on and on and on.

The government only refers to legal tax deductions as “loopholes” when they want to demonize the people who take advantage of them. They want us to believe that something nefarious is going on, when actually it is part of the US Tax Code, written into law by the government. Did you know that the “corporate jet loophole” that Obama and the Democrats keep harping on was actually written into President Obama’s “Stimulus Bill” of 2009 to help stimulate sales in the slumping luxury jet industry? So, to have the same people, who added that tax deduction to the US Tax Code crying about it now is quite disingenuous.

We need long term common sense solutions to our country’s problems. Not the class warfare blame game that we are getting.

A Conversation with a Liberal

Liberal: This economic mess is all President Bush’s fault.

Conservative: How is it President Bush’s fault? He’s been out of office for over two and a half years?

Liberal: Well…President Obama inherited an economic mess from President Bush and we’re still trying to recover from his disastrous policies.

Conservative: What exactly did President Bush do that caused the economic mess?

Liberal: He gave tax breaks to the rich.

Conservative: True. So, President Obama raised taxes on the rich?

Liberal: Uh….no.

Conservative: True. In 2010, when President Obama and the Democrats had complete control of both the Executive and Legislative branches of the government, they could have raised taxes on the rich. Instead, they chose to extend the Bush tax cuts.

Liberal: Well…President Bush got us into two wars, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Conservative: True. So, President Obama got us out of those two wars?

Liberal: Uh…no.

Conservative: True. In fact, President Obama doubled down in Afghanistan (which I supported whole hardheartedly). But in addition, he also got us into two more wars in Libya and Yemen, without Congressional approval I might add.

Liberal: Well…President Bush spent too much money and he increased our national debt.

Conservative: That is so true. He never should have spent as much money as he did. Under President Bush, the national debt increased from $5.73 trillion on January 20, 2001 (the day he was sworn into office) to $10.63 trillion on January 20, 2009 (the day he left office). That’s an increase of $4.9 trillion over his eight years in office.

Liberal (with a smug I told you so grin on his face): Ha…see I told you he created this mess.

Conservative: Not so fast. So, President Obama decreased spending and our national debt?

Liberal: Uh…no.

Conservative: True again. On August 2, 2011; the national debt was $14.5 trillion (that’s an increase of $3.87 trillion in just two and a half years) and by the end of 2012, it is projected to be $17 trillion, thanks to the additional spending given to President Obama in the debt increase deal. That means in just the first four years of President Obama’s administration he will add another $6.37 trillion to the national debt. That’s almost one and a half times the amount of money President Bush added over his eight years in office.

Liberal: Well…he and the rest of the Republicans want old people to die, children to go hungry and they hate black people.

Conservative (shaking head in disgust): Yeah…that’s got to be it.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

Last night, when I heard the news that American Special Forces, namely a CIA led Navy Seals team, had stormed a compound in Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden, my first reaction was, “Why did it have to happen on Obama’s watch? Now he can use this as a feather in his cap for his re-election campaign.”

Then my mature self took over (after a good nights sleep and much self reflection). I told myself not to act like liberals who, because of their “Bush Derangement Syndrome”, criticized President Bush relentlessly, no matter what he did, good and bad. I will not give into the knee jerk reaction to subscribe to an “Obama Derangement Syndrome”. I can rise above that and give encouragement and gratitude to President Obama when it is earned…no matter what my other disagreements are with him and his destructive policies and his divisive rhetoric.

Thank you, President Obama, for giving the military the go ahead to attack the Pakistan compound to take out Osama Bin Laden. Your courage in stepping up to the plate and standing behind the US intelligence agencies and military was exemplary. If President Clinton had had that same courage when Pakistan offered Osama Bin Laden to him, not once, but twice, September 11^th may have never happened. So, again, I say, thank you Mr. President.

Thank you to all the men and women in our intelligence agencies who, over the past four years, have carried out counter intelligent operations based on information gathered from Guantanamo Bay detainees and analyzed the information to ascertain that yes, indeed, Bin Laden was in Pakistan (as many of us have believed for a very long time) and his exact location. Without your perseverance and dedication to your job, the military effort would not have been possible.

A huge THANK YOU to the brave men of the elite Navy Seals team who carried out the successful raid. You brought justice to the families of every soul who has ever been lost at the hands of Bin Laden’s minions all over the world. Your extreme courage and willingness to put your lives on the line in the face of unknown danger and serve your country with honor will never be forgotten…job well done.

While I do agree that this event will serve as a blow to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, I do not subscribe to the notion that Al Qaeda will now collapse. The tentacles of that organization extend to too many countries and to too many Muslim groups. Another leader will emerge from the ashes. He may already have. I’m sure Bin Laden has been grooming a predecessor to take over in the event he was killed or died naturally. Time will only tell. But for now, the world, which has suffered at the hands of this man and his minions, can breathe a sigh of relief, even if it is only for a short time.

Westboro Baptist Church

The US Supreme Court ruled that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have the Constitutional right to protest at funerals…and they do…but does that make it right?

While protesting at private, non-political funerals, members of the Westboro Baptist Church carry hate filled signs that proclaim such vile rhetoric as “God Hates Fags”, “Thank God for Sept. 11”, "Pray for More Dead Soldiers", and “Death Penalty for Fags”; proving that they have a misguided interpretation of who God is and what the Bible says.

First, God does not hate any of his children. He loves us all unconditionally…whether we are gay or straight, rich or poor, black or white, Christian or Muslim, etc. He may dislike the things we do to ourselves and to one another…as well as the rest of his creations…but he does not hate any of us. God is a God of love. And both He and his son Jesus Christ have commanded us to love one another as well.

When asked which was the great commandment in the law? Christ replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and the great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:37-39).”

Second, while homosexuality is a sin, as the Bible clearly states; so is lying, stealing, premarital sex, adultery, masturbation, murder, hate, envy, slothfulness, greed…need I go on? The Bible lists a litany of sins…maybe the members of the Westboro Baptist Church should upgrade their signs…or maybe they should simply follow the admonition of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

One day while Christ was in the temple at the Mount of Olives a group of scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman unto him. They wanted him to sanction her stoning, because the Law of Moses required it. Instead, Christ knelt down and proceeded to write in the dirt, ignoring their request.

When they persisted, the Savior stood up and said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Then he knelt back down and proceeded to write in the dirt.

A few minutes later he looked up to find only the accused woman standing before him. He asked the woman where her accusers were. She replied, “…No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more (see John 8:1-11)”.

If the Savior were here today, he may extend this same simple challenge to the members of the Westboro Baptist Church…and the rest of us.

Third, members of the Westboro Baptist Church are ignoring another tenet in the Bible, judge not.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Christ said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again (Matthew 7:1-2).”

So, while the US Constitution may give the members of the Westboro Baptist Church the legal right to protest at private, non-political funerals with vile signs that project hate, is it the Christian thing to do? Is it what God and our Savior Jesus Christ would want them…or any of us…to do?

Choices

We keep hearing the incessant drone coming out of Washington DC that the rich are greedy….the rich are selfish…the rich are the cause of all of our society’s ills. If the rich would just give more…"share the wealth"…everyone would be better off. This form of class warfare is just one more wedge Washington is using to separate…or to divide and conquer…us…to mold us into their blind little sheeple.

Here are a few facts about the rich that the government doesn’t want you to think about:

1. The top 5%...or the wealthiest Americans…pay nearly 50% of all income taxes collected, while the top 50%...middle class Americans and up…pays 94% of all income taxes collected. The bottom 47% pays no income taxes. That’s right, nearly half of this country pays zero income taxes, but a large share of these people are first in line to get their thousands in unearned tax refunds when tax time rolls around, thanks to the Earned Income Tax Credit.
2. The rich create jobs. I have never worked for a poor person. My jobs have always come from rich or upper middle class people who took a risk on an idea and created a place for me to work. What about you?
3. The rich contribute funds to build hospital wings, college libraries, museums, and many other public facilities.
4. The rich create scholarship funds and charitable foundations. Where would cancer patients be without the generosity of Jon Hunstman, Sr. and his Hunstman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah? Where would seriously ill children be without the generosity of Danny Thomas and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which treats children regardless of their ability to pay? These are just two examples of the excessive generosity of the rich.

Yeah, the rich are just greedy, selfish individuals who think of nobody but themselves.

In reality, society’s ills have less to do with the rich and more to do with the choices many of us have made to be like or better than everyone else. When I was young it was referred to as, “keeping up with the Jones’”. This is how it went: one neighbor bought a new car, and then soon his next door neighbor bought a new car. One neighbor bought a boat, and then soon his next door neighbor bought a motor home, etc. It used to be funny to watch, not anymore.

Today, our kids have to wear the latest fashions so they don’t feel left out. We have to have the latest and greatest technology from Xbox and Wii console games to big screen televisions. We have to have the latest gadgets from the iPhone to the iPad or their similar counterparts. We buy toys we never use...but we just had to have them anyway. We have more cars than we can drive at one time and we buy homes we can’t afford. Let’s face it, we are an, “I want it now society”. The only difference is that the rich can pay for their toys, while the poor what everyone else to pay for theirs and the rest of us, if we can’t pay cash for what we want, we go into debt for them.

When it comes to wanting things now and not wanting to wait, I have been just as guilty as anyone else. At nineteen I left home…bound for college and my new life as an independent adult. I immediately put myself behind the eight ball when I applied for, and received, my first credit card from Meier & Frank…I just had to have new clothes to start my new life. Ever since then I have been a slave to one credit card or another, sometimes several at a time.

The only one who took advantage of me was me…no one else. No “evil credit card company” forced me to use their credit cards. No “greedy credit card company” drove me to the store or guided me to the online store to shop…just me…and only me…and I did it of my own free will…I gave them control over my life. Finally, at almost fifty, I have learned my lesson. If I can’t pay cash for it, I don’t buy it. But I often wonder how much better off I’d be today if I had used that philosophy thirty years ago…choices.

I bought a house almost ten years ago. I made sure I bought a house I could afford and not pay more for a mortgage than I was paying to rent. I felt pretty good about my little two bedroom bungalow and my wise astute purchase. Then a few years later I decided I needed to replace the siding. My house value had increased significantly, so I applied for, and received, a second mortgage to pay for the siding. Then, in 2008, the housing bubble popped and my house value dropped over twenty-thousand dollars. Now I owe more than my house is worth…not a lot more…but more just the same…but not because any “evil banker” forced me to take out a second mortgage. Once again, it was all me. I went to them…they didn’t come to me…choices.

We’ve all made choices that have either put us ahead or behind in life. Think about where your choices have put you. If you’re choices have put you behind, then admit to yourself who really put you there and stop blaming everyone else. Stop being envious of the rich and realize that if you had made better choices or taken some risks, maybe…just maybe… you could have been rich too or at least been better off than you are. Don’t expect someone else to bail you out either. Take responsibility for your own actions and make the choices that will make your life better in the future. And, if you’re of the mindset that if the rich would just "share the wealth" my life would be better, stop thinking that way. Taking something from others that you didn’t earn will not make your life better; it will just make you dependent and less free.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

—Abraham Lincoln

Were the Days of Walter Cronkite and the Fairness Doctrine Civil? Really?

I was born on June 8, 1961. Back in a time when Americans were kind and civil to one another…or were they? Back in a time when Americans lived in peace and harmony with one another…or did they?

I’ve heard it reported by some in today’s mainstream media that in the days of civil discourse, when Walter Cronkite was anchor of CBS Evening News and the Fairness Doctrine was enforced, we did not have occurrences like the one that occurred in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, January 8, 2011. Hmmm…really?

Walter Cronkite was anchor of CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981 and the Fairness Doctrine was the law of the land from 1949 until 1987. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and remember how peaceful and harmonious our society really was.

At 12:30pm on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Governor John Connally and James Tague were injured in the attack.

On November 24, 1963, while in police custody, accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby.

Shortly after midnight on June 21, 1964 in Meridian, Mississippi three young civil rights activists; James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

At 6:00am on February 21, 1965 in Harlem, New York; former Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X was assassinated by three Black Muslims. His followers retaliated by setting fire to five Black Muslim mosques in Harlem and San Francisco, California.

On August 1, 1966 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin; student, and former Marine, Charles Joseph Whitman went on a shooting rampage, killing sixteen and wounding thirty-two. Three of his victims were killed in the university’s observation tower. The rest were shot sniper style from the twenty-ninth floor observation deck. Before going on his shooting rampage at the campus, Whitman had shot and killed his wife and mother at their homes.

On April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee; civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray.

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, California; after winning the California primary, presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan and critically wounded. On June 6, 1968 he died as a result of his injuries.

At 12:24pm on May 4, 1970 on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio; thirteen unarmed college students were shot by members of the Ohio National Guard, killing four and permanently wounding nine. Some of the students were protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, while others were just bystanders.

At 12:30am May 15, 1970 on the campus of Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi; unarmed, but violent student protesters, who started fires and overturned vehicles, were confronted by city and state police. After unsuccessful attempts to disperse the crowd, police opened fire killing two and injuring twelve.

On May 15, 1972; while campaigning in Laurel, Maryland, presidential hopeful George Wallace was shot five times by Arthur Bremer. Though he survived the assassination attempt, his campaign for president did not.

On February 22, 1974; Samuel Byck hijacked a commercial airliner in hopes of assassinating President Richard Nixon by crashing the plane into the White House. With the wheel blocks still in place and the plane unable to leave the ground, he shot the pilot and co-pilot before being shot by a police officer. He eventually killed himself.

On September 5, 1975; Lynette Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford when he reached out to shake her hand. Fortunately the chamber of her Colt M1911 .45 caliber pistol’s firing chamber was empty and she was eventually detained and arrested by a Secret Service agent.

On September 22, 1975 in San Francisco, California another attempt was made on the life of President Gerald Ford when Sarah Jane Moore fired a revolver at him from 40 feet away. A bystander grabbed her arm and her shot missed the president.

At 10:50pm on December 8, 1980 in New York, New York John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman.

On March 30, 1981 in Washington D.C.; John Hinckley, Jr. shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty. All survived, but Mr. Brady was permanently disabled. What was John Hinckley’s reason for the attack? He was hoping to impress teen actress Jodi Foster.

Yes, those were such peaceful and harmonious days.

If only Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and FOX News had been on the scene…imagine the blame game then.

Let’s face it people, human beings can be the cruelest creatures God ever created, yet they can also be the most compassionate. Crazy lunatics, who will stop at nothing to achieve their personal agenda have, and will always exist. We cannot excuse the person of his or her personal responsibility and lay the blame at the feet of someone else who dares to express their opinions.

During the “glory years” of Walter Cronkite’s tenure as CBS Evening News anchor, we probably saw one of the most violent times in our history. Yet, during that time the perpetrator was held accountable not someone else. The media did not search for a scapegoat to apportion blame where there was none. Those are the days we need to bring back. Let’s hold people accountable for their own actions and let’s not silence one side or the other because we don’t like what they have to say.

*Thank you to Paula Priesse and her ex-hippie father for refreshing our memories on some of these events and for giving me the idea to write this blog.