God Was There in Sandy Hook Elementary

As I was sitting in church this past Sunday, I was having a difficult time keeping my mind from wandering to the tragedy of last Friday in Newtown, CT.

I've heard so many people ask, “Where was God”? But the answers people gave never rang true for me. As I was sitting there contemplating this question, the answer came to me.

God was there in Dawn Hochsprung, the school principal, and Mary Sherlach, the school psychologist, who gave their lives trying to stop the gunman from entering the school. He was there in Victoria Soto, the 1st grade teacher, who gave her life protecting her students. He was there in a janitor who risked his own life to run up and down the halls banging on doors and sounding a warning cry that a gunman was in the school...who knows how many lives he saved. He was there in Mary Ann Jacob, a school library aide, who, with other library staff, hid themselves and a class of fourth grade students in a supply closet. He was there in music teacher Maryrose Kristopik who hid her students in a classroom closet. He was there in a teacher who hid her students in a bathroom. He was there in a 6-year-old boy who, when the gunman burst into his classroom and shot his teacher, grabbed several of his friends and got them safely out of the classroom.

He was there. He did not abandon those teachers and students in Sandy Hook Elementary School. He depends upon each us to be His hands…to be of assistance to each other. He wants us to love one another...to serve one another. When we do these things, He is there.

No...He did not abandon those innocent children, but He was there to embrace them when they arrived home.

Enough with the Racism Accusations

Absolutely pathetic!!! I am soooooo sick and tired of hearing black politicians and community leaders...as well as some white liberal politicians...say that racism is behind the opposition to President Obama...the latest being Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas. It's as if we should all bow down at his feet and celebrate the fact that we have the first black president in office...no questions asked.

I will not apologize for my opposition to President Obama, which has nothing to do with his skin color and everything to do with my distaste of his political philosophy.

I am a Conservative and as such I believe in, and stand up for, limited government, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility, individual and state rights, family rights, moral values, God, country, free enterprise, a strong military, a strong national defense, energy independence, and upholding the Constitution of the United States of America....period.

I do not believe that the government can solve our problems. Instead, I believe that, in most cases, they cause more problems than they will ever solve.

I do not believe in social justice or the redistribution of wealth. I believe that this train of thought...beginning with the "War on Poverty" legislation by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964...has ended up creating more poverty and generations of people who believe welfare is their right and has become their way of life...thus keeping them enslaved to, and dependent upon, the Federal government.

I do not believe that taxing the rich more, who already pay the majority of Federal Income taxes...while nearly fifty percent of the population pays zero Federal Income taxes...is going to solve our financial problems.

I do not believe business owners owe the government or society anything, except to create jobs for people who want to work.

I do not believe that America will ever achieve energy independence by allowing other countries to drill our oil and then buying it back from them or by not allowing oil exploration on our own soil by our own people.

It's all too easy to cry racism and it should be opposed at every turn. This tactic is actually being used to shut up the opposition. After all, who wants to be labeled a racist? It has also served to broaden the chasm of race relations which has taken a huge step backward over the past three and a half years. All that hard work, by so many, gone because some people can't understand why everyone is not bowing down at the feet of the first black president.

Washington DC...What a Joke

For as long as I can remember, Washington DC has always been like a sandbox full of children fighting over their toys. But lately it has become an even bigger joke.

First you have the Republicans...a bunch of spineless, blundering idiots who are completely incapable of standing up for themselves or articulating a clear message as to what they believe or their vision for this country. While there are a few good ones, I wouldn't pay a plug nickel for the lot of them.

Next you have the Democrats...a bunch of thugs whose idea of compromise is, "Do things our way or we will crucify you in the arena of public opinion." And, since they have a majority of the mainstream media on their side, they are successful at it. This group blames others for the problems they helped cause and takes full credit for things they either had nothing to do with or only played a part in accomplishing.

Then you have the president...the community organizer. Before you get angry with that comment, ask yourself, "Have I been paying attention to what he says and how he says it"? He speaks, and acts, like a community organizer. If you doubt that statement, then you need to know what a community organizer is, as defined by the original organizer.

In an article found at nationalreview.com, Byron York wrote this :

Community organizing is most identified with the left-wing Chicago activist Saul Alinsky (1909-72), who pretty much defined the profession. In his classic book, Rules for Radicals, Alinsky wrote that a successful organizer should be “an abrasive agent to rub raw the resentments of the people of the community; to fan latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expressions.” Once such hostilities were “whipped up to a fighting pitch,” Alinsky continued, the organizer steered his group toward confrontation, in the form of picketing, demonstrating, and general hell-raising.

Does this not sound familiar? There is nothing dignified or presidential about President Obama's class warfare rhetoric that is dividing this country along so many lines...poor against rich, mainstream against wall street, purchaser against lender, minority against white, employee against employer, welfare recipient against tax payer, illegal immigrants against law abiding legal citizens, etc. It is way past time for this president to realize he is the leader of a nation...not a community organizer on the streets of Chicago.

Finally you have the media. This group has all but forgotten that they are supposed to be the watchdogs for the rest of us, not the progressive movement cheerleaders. They are supposed to report the news in an unbiased and objective manner, not tailor the news to fit whatever agenda they are championing. They are supposed to be fair and balanced, not control the message. They are supposed to ferret out the truth, not be a propaganda machine for those they want to see in office or to protect them once they are in office. We are so close to having a state run media it's almost terrifying. If we can't count on the media to report the news fairly, we are all less free.

These people are all jokes, but we are not laughing. Isn't it about time for the American people to wake up and take back control of this country? These people work for us, we don't work for them.

For the most part, we have already done that with the media. Only about forty-four percent of people trust the main stream media, while fifty-five percent have little to no trust in it. The mainstream media is slowly losing ground to alternative news media outlets and the Internet.

But how about our government? Isn't it about time we tell career politicians, on both sides of the aisle, who are more concerned with staying in power then about doing what is right and good for the American people, to go home..."YOUR FIRED!!!"? We need a fresh start with new, enthusiastic and energetic "citizen politicians". And while we're at it, we must demand term limits for Congress. We can no longer afford to have career politicians who seem to be all to willing to sell their souls to stay in power. America deserves better. Her people deserve better.

Compassion is Heartbreaking...Sometimes

Little did I know, this morning when I asked the Lord to use me for good today, that it would mean I would be asked to help put a suffering creature out of its misery?

On my way to work in Vernonia, I saw a small deer lying on the side of the highway. Part of its tiny body was lying in the road forcing me, and the two log trucks behind me, to swerve to avoid running over of it. About a half mile down the road I was impressed to go back; to not leave the poor thing lying in the road.

So, promising not to ignore promptings, I turned my car around and went back. I pulled into the driveway of a house not to far from where the tiny creature lay, grabbed the two plastic bags I had in my coat pocket to use as gloves, walked across the highway and approached the animal.

As I got closer I could see that the poor thing was still alive. I approached slowly, as to not scare it anymore than it already was. I was sad that I was now going to have to pull the tiny broken body off the road and cause it more pain. I apologized for what I was about to do, grabbed its two front legs and gently pulled it off the highway. Then I comforted it for a few moments. What could I do? I had no gun in my car with which to end its short life. I was impressed to go to the house across the street.

I left the poor tiny creature alone, walked to the house and knocked on the door. An elderly man came to the door. I explained that someone had hit a young deer and it was suffering. I asked if he had a gun and would be willing put it out of its misery. He said he did and quickly went to get a small revolver. I thanked him, got in my car and drove away; not wanting to watch, but knowing it was the right thing to do. I could see the man approach the tiny creature as I drove around a corner.

I found a safe place to turn my car around so I could head into town. As I approached the man’s house, he was just crossing the highway, after completing the necessary deed. I slowed down to thank him again. I’m sure it wasn’t any easier for him, but it had to be done.

As I drove away I started to cry thinking about that tiny suffering creature and wondering how long it had laid there, scared and unable to move, waiting for compassion; as loud vehicles rushed by, no one willing to stop.

Thank you Lord; for making me an instrument in your hands.

Taxing the Rich More is Common Sense?

On Monday, President Obama stood in front of a crowd of college students at a community college in Virginia to lay out his latest budget proposal…which looks eerily like his previous budget that the Senate rejected 97-0. He told his captive audience that making the wealthy pay more…to pay their fair share…was not class warfare or envy of the rich, it was just common sense.

Mr. President, it has nothing to do with common sense.

Common sense says that when you have nearly fifty percent of this country paying no Federal Income Tax…that’s zero…zip…nada…and the upper five percent paying over 58% of all Federal Income taxes collected, it is not the wealthy that are not paying their fair share.

Common sense says that maybe it is time to throw out our ridiculously complicated and unfair tax code and create a new one…a simpler one with a flat tax rate of ten to fifteen percent…a tax code with no exemptions, no deductions, no special tax credits, etc…just one tax rate for everyone. Wealthy business owners, wealthy individuals living off of capital gains, middle income wage earners, lower income wage earners, and individuals living off of public assistance would all pay the same tax rate, no excuses and no exemptions...everyone would have skin in the game for a change. Plus, this would be the most reasonable and fair way to make sure that everyone is participating in your shared sacrifice scenario.

Common sense says quit spending this country into oblivion to keep the ne'er-do-wells dependently happy. It is time make serious and necessary cuts and changes to our bloated and underfunded entitlement programs.

• Have incentives for people to get off of public assistance and make it less comfortable for them to stay on it. No one should be making more money on public assistance, than someone who is working.
• End the “tax cut” gimmick which is actually a reduction in future benefits for social security beneficiaries. We have a social security system that is under funded by trillions of dollars. It makes no sense to continue this farce.
• Restructure social security and take it out of the general fund…put it back in its own trust fund where it was supposed to be. Protect it for present, and future, retirees who paid into it. Stop using it for discretionary spending.
• Restore fiscal responsibility to the government. Don’t spend what you don’t have.

Common sense says that when the President of the United States continually uses the office of the Presidency as a bully pulpit to demonize the producers in this country, it creates envy and hatred toward those individuals. Yes, Mr. President, it is class warfare and it most definitely is class envy. And to make matters worse, the flames of discontent are being fueled by you. Your divisive rhetoric…pitting the poor against the rich, main street against wall street, lendees against lenders, unions against non-unions…is not becoming of someone holding the highest office in the land and it needs to stop before this country implodes. You’re not a community organizer any more; you’re the President of the United States…the entire United States.