Everyday Patriot

Fair Coverage?

2012-09-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

President Obama spoke last night of "an America where everyone has a fair shot, everyone does his or her fair share, and there are no separate rules for Wall Street or the privileged."

He also bragged a bit about his Military record. Which got me to thinking... fairness? No separate rules for the privileged? Hmmm... When is the last time you heard a report in the news about how many Americans have lost their lives in Iraq or Afghanistan? It was probably 2008 or so, because the media doesn't seem interested in reporting it now that their guy is Commander in Chief.

Remember when George W. Bush was President? The media would tell you every single day how many lives had been lost. They used these numbers to slander G.W. Bush. So why aren't they talking about it now? Are they suddenly in favor of war?

The truth is that they know that reporting the hundreds of American Military casualties under Obama's Presidency would make him look bad and they are in his back pocket.

Am I wrong?

President Obama Will Not Rest Until...

2012-08-13T17:58:00.000-04:00

Since filing to run for his second term (16 months ago) and promising that he will not rest until everyone who wants a job has one, President Obama has:

-Held 200 fundraisers.
-Played 45 rounds of golf.
-Met with his Jobs Council once.

For those last 16 months, unemployment has stayed above 8% the entire time.

I must also point out that he has played a total of 104 golf games (source) since taking the Oath of Office.

Soooo... Is he the solution, or the problem?

(Article)

Congratulations Paul Ryan!

2012-08-12T14:42:00.001-04:00

I am sure you all know by now that Paul Ryan has been selected to run beside Mitt Romney as Vice President. I am personally very excited about the pick, because Representative Ryan will be good for our economy, just as Romney will be. Together, I believe that they will get our economy back on track and even stronger than before this recession started.

The liberal media's harshest criticism of Mr. Ryan, is on his budget plan that he recently proposed to Congress. There is already distortion and misleading untruths being spread about the plan.

Here's a few facts that you probably won't hear discussed:

1. Paul Ryan did his job and actually wrote a bunch. The Democratically-controlled Congress has not produced a budget in over 3 years.

2. The Ryan plan would NOT change benefits for seniors, or anyone who becomes a senior in the next ten years. They are grandfathered in. The plan does outline social security reform that would guarantee that benefits were available for those who are now paying into the system.

3. Rep. Ryan's plan was the only plan that the CBO said would prevent the social security system from going bankrupt.

The next couple of months will be long ones, full of misinformation, unproven "facts" and shameless attacks. Just remember to do your own research.

Desperation...

2012-08-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

Normally, this picture would be accompanied by commentary. This one pretty much speaks for itself. Pure desperation. What do you think?

Original: Click here.

Latest Main Stream Media FAIL! (and six others)

2012-07-29T11:36:00.002-04:00

The main stream media is always trying to point the finger of blame at Conservative, "Right-Wingers", Republicans, and most recently, their favorite target is The Tea Party.

You know how it goes, any tragedy that happens they will try to blame our "Right Wing" ideology. Usually it is a tragedy that has been engineered by a madman. Yes, they even tried to blame the recent Aurora, Colorado Theater Massacre on The Tea Party.

On February 12, 2010 Dr. Amy Bishop, Professor at University of Alabama, opened fire on twelve of her colleagues, killing three of them and wounding three others. Jonathon Curiel of Reuters, speculated that Dr. Bishop belonged to or was a product of The Tea Party. If he had done a little homework, he would have known she was actually an avid Barrack Obama follower. One of her family members actually described her as being obsessed with President Obama. -Fail #1

Remember the Discovery Channel "Eco-terrorist"? Yep, they tried to blame that on The Tea Party too! On September 1, 2010, Jason Lee entered the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Springs, MD with two starter pistols and an explosive device. He took hostages and held them for an hour while he ranted and raved. Fortunately, police were able to neutralize him with nobody hurt. Because he had some kind of eco-manifesto, the media began reporting that he was a crazy right-winger. But it turned out that he was just some tree hugging whack job.

Bill Sparkman "Murder" -On September 12, 2009 Mr. Sparkman was found dead and duct-taped to a tree with his government I.D. Card taped to him and "fed" written on his chest. The mainstream media immediately began speculating that crazy Tea Partier's had killed him due to the public opposition to big government and the Tea Party's support of Representative Ron Paul's "Audit the FED" bill. Andrew Sullivan even went so far as call it "Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk-radio cohorts". Liberal talk show host Stephanie Miller claimed that The Tea Party was responsible for inciting violence. The truth? Bill Sparkman committed suicide and tried to stage it as murder so that his family could collect on his life insurance policy.

We all know about the would-be Times Square bomber. What you may not remember is that during an interview with Katie Couric of CNN, liberal New York City Mayor Bloomburg stated that he was probably "a mentally deranged person or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health-care bill or something". The Nation's Robert Dreyfuss even spouted off saying the perp was "either a lone nut job or a member of some squirrely branch of the Tea Party, anti-government far right. Which actually exists in Connecticut, where, it seems, the car's license plates were stolen". Classy, huh? After police safely neutralized the homemade car bomb without injury, they began an investigation that led them to Faisal Shazah who was an actual terrorist who had been trained in a Pakistani Terrorist Camp. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

On February 18, 2010 a man flew his private aircraft into the IRS Building in Austin, Texas. He died in the crash along with IRS Manager Vernon Hunter. He also injured 13 IRS employees in the intentional crash. Immediately the media began attempting to tie this murderer to the Tea Party. Jonathon Capehart of the Washington Post wrote "There's no information yet on whether he was involved in any anti-government groups or whether he was a lone wold. But after reading his 34-paragraph screed, I am struck by how his alienation is similar to that we're hearing from the extreme elements of the Tea Party movement". Chris Rovzar of New York Magazine wrote: "He was mad at the IRS, and left what CNN reports was a suicidal note on a local website, detailing trials with the agency. In fact, a lot of his rhetoric could have been taken directly from a handwritten sign at a Tea Party rally [emphasis added]". Several other left-leaning media sources took the opportunity to pile on the Tea party as well. But when his manifesto was examined more closely, it was clear that Software Consultant (and now murderer) Andrew Stack included quotes in his rants directly from the communist manifesto, and disparaged Capitalism. Sure sounds to me like the exact opposite of a Tea Party member.

Perhaps the most high profile instance of liberal hate and bias against "Right-Wingers" was the Representative Gabriel Giffords shooting. On January 8, 2011, a madman opened fire at a public event in which Representative Giffords was speaking in Tuscon, Arizona. Six people were murdered and thirteen more injured, including Giffords who was shot in the head and appeared to be the main target of the attack. She miraculously survived the attack. Before the investigation even began and the perpetrator was even identified, the media began to pile on right-wingers and the Tea Party. Some even tried to claim that Tea Party idol Sarah Palin was directly responsible, citing "rhetoric" used by the former Alaska Governor. After much speculation and finger pointing, the truth came our. The murderer, Jared Loughner burned American flags prior to the attack, was described as "disliking" the news, and apparently his favorite books were "The Communist Manifesto" and "Meun Kampf". He didn't even listen to talk radio and he was a registered Independent. A high school friend of his, Zach Osle even said "He didn't take sides. He wasn't on the left. He wasn't on the right.". Hmmm....

There we have it. Six incidents where the main stream media tried to pin horrible tragedies on Conservatives without any shred of evidence and knowing zero facts about the perpetrators of these tragedies. Seems to me they have some sort of agenda, doesn't it?

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/six-moments-where-the-media-has-wrongly-blamed-conservatives-for-violence/

Dirty Poltics

2012-07-17T22:22:00.002-04:00

If you've watched any television at all in the last few weeks, you've probably seen your fair share of campaign ads. These ads usually try to paint a picture of why you should vote for one guy instead of the other. This is normally done by pointing out the good things you've done versus the bad things he's done... you get the idea.

But apparently, since President Obama has no record to run on and no accomplishments to point to, he is focusing millions on trashing Mitt Romney. The only problem is: most of his ads are untruthful, shamelessly misconstrued, or downright lies.

Factcheck.org is a fairly unbiased researcher of facts. Many people use the site to settle disputes and it has a very good reputation for it's research. President Obama's ads have kept them pretty busy lately.

Outsourcing Accusation: False! In recent ads Obama has tried to label Mitt Romney as a person who would have no problem outsourcing American jobs. The only problem is, the facts did not back it up. The article at factcheck disproves two different ads claiming that Romney outsourced jobs to China and Mexico.

Abortion Stance Miss-represented: Guilty! Another Obama ad claimed that Mitt Romney “backed a law that outlaws all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest.” This is not true, Romney never said anything of the sort. Again, the factcheck article was well researched and all of the facts were laid out.

Attempts to Distort Romney's Economic Record: Fail! This 3 or 4 page factcheck article states several accounts of fuzzy math being used, or slanted statistics and half-truths. None of the accusations can be confirmed. Again, the Obama campaign is trying to use a smokescreen to hide his record.

Claiming that Romney is a Felon: Lie! This article is from TheBlaze.com and outlines the rediulous accusation that Romney could be a felon. It's almost as bad as the infamous "When did you stop beating your wife" question.

The worst thing about all of these tasteless attacks and false accusations? In 2008, Obama said:

"If you don't have any fresh ideas, you use stale tactics to scare the voters"

Wow! Was he predicting his own future there? You decide:

Obama in his own words:

Factcheck.org Sources:

Obama's "Outsourcer" Overreach
Twisting Romney's Abortion Stance
Obama Twists Romney's Economic Record

Other Sources:
Obama Campaign "Felony" charge is debunked by Washington Post
Obama Video "If you don't have a record to run on..."

Obama's War on Women

2012-07-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

I do not usually post video's, especially campaign videos, because many of the claims are often not accompanied by links. That being said, this strikes close to home. My wife has a career in the medical field and she has been unemployed for almost 10 months now. Nobody is hiring! She has been more aggressive than anyone I know. She applies for dozens of jobs, calls the employers to follow up, and is very proactive.

I am looking forward to electing a President that respects the Free Market and protects the principles of Capitalism. When Capitalism is unmolested by government, it works well of everyone. Unfortunately, we have not had a truly Capitalistic style of economics in decades... ever since big brother started tampering with things, trying to make the system "fair for everyone". Remember: The government can not make everyone equally successful and happy, but it make everyone equally poor and miserable.

It is possible to guarantee equal opportunity, it is NOT possible to guarantee equal outcomes or results.

President Obama Takes a Whuppin'

2012-07-11T19:29:00.004-04:00

So Mitt Romney raised $35,000,000 more than President Obama in June. Yes, you read that right, $35 Million dollars!

Score for June:
Team Obama- $71 Million
Team Romney- $106 Million

Now granted, Team Obama is ahead as far as total funds raised ($512M to $389M), but remember than Romney was not declared the Republican Nominee for President until fairly recently. Obama has been campaigning for several months now.

Why the sound thumping in June? I personally feel that it had a lot to do with the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare (otherwise known as The Affordable Care Act) midway through the month. Voters suddenly realized than in order to dump the unpopular health care takeover, they must vote in a new President. There may very well have been some big donors waiting in the wings to see what SCOTUS would decide.

Within 24 hours of the SCOTUS decision on Obamacare, the Romney team received $4 Million dollars from around 33,000 donors. Not a bad haul for one day!

But let's no get to cocky. We still have 118 days to go and a lot can happen in that amount of time. Especially because Team Obama is more than likely to pull out every smear tactic they can. Prepare for smears like you've never seen, negative adds like they're going out of style, and accusations that cannot be substantiated. They have already been caught twice by factcheck.org twice on lies about Mitt Romney, but that's another post for another day.

Sources:
The Washington Post
Reuters
Los Angeles Times

My Favorite Books and Movies

2012-07-09T22:54:00.000-04:00

I get a lot of questions about my favorite books and movies. So I am in the process of putting together a list of all of them right now. Check them out by clicking here.

The Tax Cut Swindle

2012-07-09T17:39:00.000-04:00

The president went on record this week during the fourth year of his campaign for reelection of saying that we cannot afford to spend money on tax cuts right now.

Whoa! Really? Since when is letting people keep more of their own money considered spending? Technically it would be a revenue cut. All money that government spends or gives away is in fact money that they have confiscated from people or from groups of people (corporations) by force. Force you say? That sounds a little harsh... Okay, stop paying your taxes and see what happens.

And while we're on the topic of taxes, I get so sick of politicians using tax cuts on that group and this group for political posturing. It is sick. Pitting Americans against each other.

There is no such thing as a tax cut! Since when is deciding to take less of someone's money a tax cut? They make it sound as if they are doing you a favor by letting you keep more of your money. That would be like the schoolyard bully being classified and a nice guy for allowing you to keep a larger portion of your lunch money! Hello! He's still a bunch of your money by force!

Yes, taxes are a necessary evil if we are to have an organized government. But let's cut through the bologna and see things how they really are. What do you think?

Warm, fuzzy, and sugar-coated...

2012-06-28T21:56:00.000-04:00

Conservatives are often painted as being cold-hearted for there stance on personal responsibility and opposition to government-mandated social programs.

The original intent of the Founding Fathers was to establish a Nation free of Government intrusion into our lives. I once heard Liberty described as "the maximum absence of coercion by a force greater than your own". In other words, Liberty exists when the government is maintained at it most minimal, unobtrusive state.

If you haven't already done this, check out the 18 enumerated powers in the U.S. Constitution.(Article I, Section 8) These 18 powers describe the ONLY things that Congress can do on your behalf. Now see how many government programs and bureaucracies fall under those guidelines. You will be surprised at how many do not.

So what am I getting at? Personal responsibility is no walk in the park. True Liberty as the Founding Fathers intended it is not all warm, fuzzy, and sugar-coated. Without government safety nets, people policed themselves, made better decisions, remained employed, were more responsible, and conducted themselves as adults that knew there were consequences to bad decisions.

So the real question facing today's generation. Do we really want true Liberty?

Or do we want to watered-down, government safety net, border-line tyrannical version that we have today?

Why are Liberals so Angry?

2012-06-08T06:38:00.001-04:00

Really, I thought this was the party of peace and love and tolerance?!

Two days ago I was out with my family, just after I put this sticker on my car. I passed a Volvo that had Obama '08 and Obama 2012 stickers, as well as the other usual liberal stickers. My wife pointed out the stickers, but we just drove by. We have glanced at the middle aged white woman, but we did not make ugly faces or gestures or anything of the sort.

A half mile down the road I pulled into the left hand turn lane, and looked in my rear view mirror while waiting for the light. Her was this woman shaking her fist, jumping up and down in her seat, and screaming what I can only imagine was a long blue streak. Of course I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I could see the spit flying from her mouth. She was quite agitated, to say the least. I couldn't help it, I gave her my best award-winning smile and gave her a friendly wave. This seemed to get her even more upset. Fortunately, the light turned green and I didn't have to wonder what she was going to do next.

This is just one of many personal stories that I could tell you about encounters with those on the Left. You have all seen them in recent protests and interviews. They seem to get angrier and angrier. Contrast that picture with the average Conservative or "right-winger". Are they angry. You may describe some of them as confrontational, but that is usually only on TV during a debate when they are trying to be sure that their viewpoint is represented. I seriously doubt you have ever seen them cuss someone out that has an Obama sticker on their car, and get up in people's faces at protests. It just doesn't happen.

It is also notable that during interviews, split-screen debates, and protests, it seems that Liberals are always the ones calling names, challenging someone's intelligence rather than presenting facts, and being down-right ugly and hateful. I just don't get it.

So why is the Left so angry?!

Rights vs. Responsibilities

2012-04-29T17:00:00.001-04:00

Rights. People are always talking about them. They have the right to this, they have a right to that. But what they do not like to think about is responsibility.

The truth that you cannot have on without the other. Rights and responsibilities cannot be separated. If they are there is a consequence. Well... in some cases there is a consequence, but there should be in all cases.

Here's an example: I have the right to own a gun, but if I do not act responsibly with that gun, my right to own it will be taken away.

So rights and responsibility go hand in hand, so one should not be allowed to have a right and place the responsibility on another person. I feel that I have to right to engage in behavior with my wife that can result in the birth of a child. But I also have accepted the responsibility of providing for that child.

You cannot say you have to right to bear children and say that someone else (the taxpayers) have the responsibility to care for them. Am I saying that people on government support should not have children. Yes, I am. I think people on government support programs should have to agree to remain on birth control until they have improved their situation enough to provide for those children.

What do you think?

Electric and Hybrid Cars: Another Government Flop?

2012-04-06T08:57:00.001-04:00

Image Source

As we know from ethanol subsidies and other failed government initiatives, Big Brother does not always consider the big picture when choosing winners and losers. The newest example being the Chevy Volt.

Rather than letting the Free Market choose a solution to the concern of the use and rising cost of petroleum, Big Government stepped in and heavily funded the production of the Chevy Volt, a plug in style car, via tax subsidies, tax credits, and grants.

This MSRP on the Chevy Volt comes to about $40,000. After another tax credit to the buyer, the final sticker price comes to about $32,500, report Ed Morrissey from Hotair. So how much does it cost the American taxpayer? Oh, only up to $250,00 per vehicle. You can read all of the details at how he arrived at this number at his article here.

To be fair, I also read an article claiming to debunk his numbers. They claimed that $250,000 was too high of a number and the actual taxpayer cost was closer to $81,000. So if they are right, (read article here) the cost to the taxpayer is still more than double the selling price of the car! Crazy. Oh, and due to the high sticker price, GM has had to halt their production line, because the silly cars are not selling from the dealers lots. I wonder why? I just bought a 2012 Ford Fusion SEL, fully loaded (leather, sun roof, 12 speaker Sony, etc), which get's around 32 mpg on average, for around $28,500.*

While we're on the subject, check out this article on 7 reasons why buying an electrical car is a terrible idea.

So what about Hybrids? Are they a good idea? Well, a recent Truecar.com study reveals that even if as prices rose to $5 per gallon, it would still take over a decade to actually see a return on investment in a hybrid vehicle. (see Blaze article here) Something to think about before buying a hybrid.

Sudbury, Ontario (image source)

Let's say you don't care about cost, you just want Mother Earth to have a brighter future. See the picture on the right? That is not the effects of a natural disaster or those "evil oil barons". That is the destruction caused by the mining and production of nickel, the primary material used in Toyota Prius batteries. Read the shocking environmental impact is the article here.

The article claims that "Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius." It is a sad and ugly fact that big government cheerleaders do not want the public to be aware of. Especially because the Toyota Prius has become the flagship of the elite "environmentally responsible" among us.

So I and all other conservatives hate the environment and don't care what we pass on to our kids, right? No, I stand for economic and environmental responsibility as well, but I do not believe in government mandated programs that try to force the consumer to "make the right choice". I believe in rational, responsible, economically-sound solutions.

*Author note: The reason I bought a Ford, is because they did NOT accept government bailout money like GM and Chrysler did. Even though the President is trying to claim credit for Ford Motor Companies over-whelming success. My dealer told me that about half of his first-time buyers state that reason for choosing Ford. That is how the Free Market is supposed to work.

I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours

2012-04-02T11:06:00.000-04:00

President Obama's re-election campaign is publicly requesting copies of Candidate Mitt Romney's tax returns. This is a joke, considering that after seven years of being in the Political arena, this is how little we know about President Barrack Obama:

1. Occidental College records and transcripts -- Not released
2. Columbia University records and transcripts -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- 'not available'
4. Harvard University records and transcripts -- Not released
5. Medical records -- Not released
6. Illinois State Senate schedule -- 'not available'
7. Illinois State Senate records -- 'not available'
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of Original Birth certificate -- Not released
10. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
11. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
12. Record of Baptism -- Not released or 'not available'

Remember how quickly the media dug up candidate Rick Perry's college records? It was within 48 hours of the announcement of his candidacy!

The Romney camp did make his 2010 and 2011 records public. I think that was a missed opportunity. They should have held back and done the old "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours" deal.

Source

How to Reform Social Security (in 3 easy steps)

2012-03-26T20:40:00.002-04:00

Look, we can argue about it all day, but Social Security was never meant to be permanent. Maybe if it had been run the way that it was originally intended it would have been okay. But since that SS# no longer represents an account containing all of the funds that you paid into it, it is pretty much belly up.

We all know that the system is ripe with fraud and corruption, and it is unsustainable. Period. So what do we do? Here is how we can reform the social security system and phase it out without hurting anyone financially:

Step 1: Everyone who is currently on the system, stays on the system. They paid into it, they counted on it, they deserve it.

Step 2: Everyone who is still paying into the system (in the workforce between the ages of 18-67), get tax credits back for the amount that they paid in. These tax credits can be used to invest into their own private 401K or other private retirement fund.

Step 3: Everyone who has not yet paid into the system (under 18), stays off the system and starts their own private retirement plan.

Okay, I know, what would happen to irresponsible people who chose not to save for retirement? Simple. they would continue to work, or rely on a family member for support... just like people did before we had a government safety net.

Why is a private plan better than the government plan? There are many reasons, but here are just a couple:

1.) Inheritance. You pay into the system for 40 years and then you die of a heart attack at 65 years old. Where does all that money go? You pay into a private plan, and you die before you use all of the funds, your children inherit that hard-earned money and hopefully invest it into their own plan.

2.) More money. Conservative estimates say that if you invested the same money in a private investment account that you dumped into SS, you would get back 8 to 9 times the amount that you would receive from SS.

3.) Permission: You pay in for years and years and years. Then when you hit a magical age that some bureaucrat determines, you have to then beg for every penny that you get. With a private plan, you decide when you want to retire, and how much you want to spend. You basically pay yourself out of your plan. And you need some extra money to put down on that beach house? You just withdraw it! Try that with social security!

So if a private retirement is so much better, why do we still have this ridiculous government system? Simple: political power. Control people's money and you control them. Listen to all of the rhetoric and scare tactics next election that revolve around seniors. Thanks to the baby boomers, we now have about twice as many people in retirement as we have working. So scare seniors, tell them they will lose their retirement money or have it reduced if they vote for the other guy, and you've got your votes. Easy.

What do you think?

One of The Bravest Men I have Ever Met

2012-03-24T08:57:00.001-04:00

An unknown Soldier, not the man mentioned in this article.

I wanted to tell a story about one of the bravest men I have ever met. I say one of the bravest only because the bravest men that I have met was easily my Father-in-law, who was a combat veteran in the Vietnam War, and recently succumbed to a service related medical condition, and made the ultimate sacrifice. I may tell you all more about him at another time.

This man that I wanted to tell you about today, I met shortly after I was injured in the service. My injury was nothing compared to this Soldier’s injury, so I will not go into detail about mine. But it did require me to attend five months of occupational therapy. During those therapy sessions three times a week, I met the some of the bravest, most honorable men that I have ever known. It was an honor for me to even be in the same room as them.

This was back in 2006, and there were many Soldiers and Marines coming home from Iraq because of injuries. One day, the nurse seated me at a table with another man. The table was “U” shaped and capable of seating four patients, with the therapist sitting in the middle of the “U” shape. It was not uncommon to have at least two people at each table.

As I sat, I noticed the man’s scars. They were the kind that made you recoil inside when you imagined the pain he must be in. Fresh, angry, red scars across his left hand and up his sleeve. He was a Soldier and was a little bit older than most Soldiers. I would say he was around 35 years old, but I may be wrong, because the Military has a way of aging people beyond their years.

The Soldier had his jaw clenched and nodded his head to acknowledge me and then continued on with his therapy with intense focus and determination. Everything the therapist told him to do, he went much farther than he was required to. You could tell he was really pushing himself.

A few minutes later, his session ended and he quietly left in a cold sweat, saying that he would continue his therapy at home. She told him to slow down and take it easy, knowing full well that he would not.

After he left, she saw the concern and questions in my eyes. Then she told me that although she was not supposed to discuss patients with anyone, this man’s story was too honorable to not be told. So she began to tell me what she had learned about him over the last month of intense therapy that he had pushed himself through.

The Soldier was on his fourth combat tour in Iraq when he was ambushed. He was shot several times. Once through the thigh, once through the shoulder, once through his left hand, once across his left forearm, and several times to the ballistic vest that saved his life. Fortunately, none of the bullets hit bone, except the one that hit his left hand. The hand skimmed across the back of his knuckles, taking fragments of bone with it.

The therapist said that given his age and condition, he was offered a medical retirement but refused it. He was one of her most determined patients. The man pushed himself harder and faster than any of her other patients, even though his pain levels were dangerously higher than most people could handle. He refused to take narcotic strength pain pills, saying that they messed with his head.

One day she asked him why he was pushing himself the way that he was. He gave her a look that suggested that the answer was simple and stated that while he was “sitting there on his butt” his brothers were still in Iraq getting shot at every day. His only goal was to get better quick enough to get back to Iraq and rejoin his squad.

I am telling this story because I am sure it is quite typical. I have heard many more like it, and over the years met some incredible war heroes while at appointments at various V.A. Hospitals. I am careful not to group myself with these men. Yes, my injury was service related, yes I am not a disabled Veteran, and yes, I have been in war zones on more than one occasion, but I have never been fired upon. I was in the Navy, and we did fire missiles into Baghdad, so we were classified as being in combat, but I do not consider myself a combat Veteran.

I have the utmost level of respect for these men and women that risk their lives every single day for months on end. They don’t do it for the fame, because they are barely recognized in our society. They don’t do it for the money, because what we pay them in laughable compared to what they go through. They do it out of a level of Honor, Courage, and Commitment that most civilians cannot even begin to imagine.

In the last few years, the Military has been cast in a bad light by many agenda-driven politicians and reporters. Recently, a Soldier allegedly killed sixteen civilians in Afghanistan, including women and children. I say allegedly, because he has not yet been convicted. The loss of innocent lives saddens me, but I personally do not think the Soldier was 100% to blame for the incident.

He was on his fourth combat tour. He had recently been inured by an IED (improvised explosive device) and suffered from a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Some of his comrades believe that he had been prematurely declared fit for full duty following his injuries.

The fact is that we do not know what this Soldier was going through or what he saw. He could have been suffering from PTSD, he could have been having flashbacks at the time, and he could have very well thought that he was engaging the enemy. We simply do not know.

I have seen first-hand what combat stress can do to a man. Three decades after serving in Vietnam, my Father-in-law would still suffer from nightmares and flashbacks. I remember one time that I woke him from a nap and he grabbed me by the throat, thinking that I was the enemy.

These men and woman deserve far more credit and respect that what they receive. Please remember this the next time you see a Combat Veteran. No matter what they look like, or how they are dressed, they deserve the highest level of respect in our society.

God bless our Troops.

Guest Writer: Thoughts on Socialized Medicine

2012-03-24T00:42:00.000-04:00

Milo Martin

Milo M.T. Martin, my youngest brother, writes below about his recent experience with his local Congressional Representative:

A politically powerful and respectable woman, those are my thoughts about Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter. I got a chance to sit next to her on a flight home from Naval Weapons Station, Charleston (I flew through Washington). Since she is my representative, I received this email from her office.

Representative Louise Slaughter, D.

""Dear Milo M,

This week, House Republicans released a budget that once again would slash investment in Medicare, while creating new irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. I oppose this reckless and irresponsible approach, and I believe that we must shape a sensible budget and craft legislation that truly shares sacrifice, not a budget that ends Medicare while handing more tax giveaways to those who need it the least.

Because I value your input and so that I can better serve you, please take a minute to fill out the following survey:

What do you think is the best way to reduce the budget deficit?

Turn Medicare into a voucher program

Increase taxes on millionaires and billionaires

End foreign wars

Cut red tape and government bureaucracy

All of the above

Other ** ""

WOW, I wish I could get another airplane ride sitting next to Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter. NOW I have something to talk about.

I want to draw your attention to a couple words, in particular "...we must shape a sensible budget and craft legislation that truly shares sacrifice...".

This makes we think of a couple of words of my own:

Socialism- a system of society or group living in which there is no private property

Anti-patriotism- the ideology that opposes patriotism; it usually refers to those with cosmopolitan* views and is usually of an anti-nationalist nature as well.

*Cosmopolitanism- the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality.

If such an influential member of out United States Congress has views that lean toward socialistic.. How many more are there among them?

Supply and Demand vs. Government Bailouts and Subsidies

2012-03-22T17:01:00.000-04:00

Here are just a few recent examples of Government ignoring the will of the taxpayers and the laws of supply and demand and foolishly investing in solar companies without proper oversight. The results were not pretty.

Evergreen Solar company received $5.3 million dollars of stimulus money to solar panels and stimulate the U.S. economy. The declared bankruptcy in February of 2012 and are planning on moving the bulk of their manufacturing processes to China.

SpectraWatt, based in Hopewell Junction, NY, received a $500,000 grant from National Energy Renewal Laboratory in June 2009. They also declared bankruptcy last month.

We are all familiar with Solyndra, who received $500 million dollars to make solar panels. They recently went bankrupt and layed off 1,100 workers. Much of the left over supplies, tools, and equipment were destroyed or disposed of rather than being sold to recoup some of the cost. We still do not have accuarate reports on how the 500 million was used, and there are unsubstantiated rumors that the company donated some of the money to Obama's 2012 campaign fund.

So what is the proper way to invest in alternative energy? We all know that without risk, there is little reward. When the government gambles with your money, essentially picking winners and losers by giving taxpayer's money to this company or that, there is no risk, and no process in place to oversee the money and make sure that it is spent wisely.

It's just a bunch of bureaucrats trying to get votes by bragging about how they've helped the economy and the green movement.

If private investors and entrepreneurs were developing a new product in response to a market demand, they would be responsible with their money, because it would be their money at risk. Market demand creates the best product at the lowest price.

What do you think?

The Road We've Traveled.

2012-03-20T14:44:00.000-04:00

During President Obama's time in office:

The National Deficit has risen $10.7 — $15.3 Trillion
Gas prices have risen $1.84 on average
7.7 Million foreclosures
A record 46.2 Million at poverty level
46.1 Million on food stamps

This video is a response to BarrackObama.com's 17 minute video that attempts to paint his Administration in a much different light. (you can view it here)

-It say's that the President did not deal in blame! Are you kidding me?! He's done nothing BUT blame our current problems on the previous administration.

-References to the bailouts are referred to as the "Recovery Act" or as investments. What recovery? Where are the returns on investment?

-Obamacare is painted as the savior of health care. Yes, we do spend more on health care than any other Nation in the World. Why? Because it is the best! Would you rather have the Hyundai plan, or the Lincoln Plan?

Yes, I watched the entire video. It has a lot of claims and chest-thumping in it, but the resounding questions are:

Where is the HOPE? Where is the CHANGE?

Hollywood vs. Wall Street

2012-03-20T14:08:00.000-04:00

Why is Wall Street hated and Hollywood loved? Why do the occupiers hate CEO's and their millions and adore the stars from hollywood, the music industry, and the fashion industry? Together, films, music, and fashion accounts for Billions in revenue. Why are these not ill-gotten gains?

What is the difference between the two industry leaders? Let's take the CEO vs. the Film Star for a minute.

The CEO often starts at the bottom of the ladder, invests hundreds of thousand into an education, pours his or her life into their work, spending countless hours in their workplaces. They are the best and hardest working workers in their field. Not only are they paid millions as compensation for their talent, but also as a retainer to persuade the said CEO to stay with a particular company.

The Hollywood actor may or may not attend a couple of years of acting school. The sell their their looks or talents to the highest bidder. They live luxurious lives than even some CEO's would never dream of. They are treated as heroes for simply endorsing and lending their name to this charity or that, but rarely get directly involved in them.

The bottom line is, whether you love them or hate them, both CEO's and Hollywood elites have similar incomes, but arrived at their status in society by completely different routes. So why the vast difference in the way they are talked about?

Aren't all millionaires and billionaires equally evil and greedy? Hmmm...

After Birth Abortion?

2012-03-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that any human being would want to kill a newborn baby? We are not talking about traditional in-the-womb abortion or partial-birth abortion, both methods being sick and twisted. We are talking about ending the life of a newborn breathing baby.

In a recent Journal of Medical Ethics article, two Australian academics, Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, wrote: "We claim that killing a newborn could be ethically permissible in all the circumstances where abortion would be. Such circumstances include cases where the newborn has the potential to have an (at least) acceptable life, but the well-being of the family is at risk," the Washington Post reports. The article continues: "We propose to call this practice 'after-birth abortion', rather than 'infanticide', the emphasize that the moral status of the individual killed is comparable to that of a fetus (on which 'abortions' in the traditional sense are performed) rather than to that of a child."

The article in the Journal of Medical Ethics has since been removed and replaced with a "content not found" notice.

Personally, it disturbs and pains me that we throw the term "abortion" around these days like it is nothing. I believe that life begins at conception and any un-natural "termination" thereafter is premeditated murder.

So how long will it be before the term "after-birth abortion" is bantered about? Have we grown this cold-hearted as a society that we can openly discuss taking an innocent human life? I hope you all find this equally as shocking and disturbing. I feel sick to my stomach just blogging about this.

Let me close with this thought: The very people that often support abortion or "choice", are the same people who oppose the death penalty. So let's get this straight: Save the criminals and kill the innocent.

Giving Credit where Credit is Long Overdue

2012-03-13T17:01:00.001-04:00

I have been active in politics for coming up on six years now. After I was injured in the U.S. Navy and could not re-enlist, I was looking for a new way to contribute to this Great Nation of ours.

One of my co-workers got me started in political debate in an online chat forum. It was a lot of fun. I then began to listen to talk radio, since my job required me to be on the road for several hours per day. I mainly listened to Rush Limbaugh, since it brought back so many memories of my childhood, listening to Rush with my Dad. But the commercials killed me! It seemed as though every 5 minutes was another commercial break.

Then my loving wife gifted me with a Sirius satellite radio. The first station I tuned in to was Sirius Patriot 144. I loved their lineup, but when I heard Andrew Wilkow for the first time, I was hooked! He is on from Noon to 3pm and only has 3 short commercial breaks per hour. His show is called The Wilkow Majority. I have no idea how many listeners he has, because I don't think he is allowed to discuss numbers on the air. (to prevent jealousy from the rest of the SiriusXM lineup) Andrew calls himself "the next generation of great talk radio" and I agree! Rush Limbaugh is a good man, but I would rather listen to Wilkow anytime. The man calls things like they are, gives incredible "perfectly executed political analysis", and I agree with 100% of the things that he says.

I do not agree with what he says because he is saying it, it is because he is saying the things that I already believe in. It is refreshing to hear such an honest, straight-forward, unapologetic Conservative. Andrew also has his priorities in order. He says that he is "Patriot first, Conservative second, and Republican third". Although he is not openly religious, he has never bashed religion. The man has a talent for making the most complex arguments clear and concise. It's been said that a truly wise man does not make the simple complicated, but makes the complicated simple. By this measure, Wilkow is a very wise man indeed.

I have been blogging for almost two years now. Andrew Wilkow has contributed greatly to ideas for my blog. If he was to read through it, he may smile when he recognizes me blogging on topics that he discussed that day.

As long as I am giving credit, I might as well thank The Blaze.com. I always link my sources in my articles, so you will see that most of my stories come from The Blaze. It is a great source for news. They do a great job of filtering the silly stories and reporting on things that interest politically active people.

Thank you for sharing my passion in politics and America. Together, we will stay informed, inform others, and restore this Great Country to it's former glory.

Oh, and as Andrew would say: "We're right, they're wrong, and that's the end of the story!"

Impeach President Obama?

2012-03-12T18:16:00.000-04:00

Today a resolution was introduced in Congress to impeach Obama.

...if he proceeds to an act of war without Congressional approval.

Here is a section from the original story:

“ ‘This week it was Secretary of Defense Panetta’s declaration before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he and President Obama look not to the Congress for authorization to bomb Syria, but to NATO and the United Nation,” Tandcredo writes. “This led to Rep Walter Jones, R- N.C., introducing an official resolution calling for impeachment should Obama take offensive action based on Pannetta’s policy statement, because it would violate the Constitution.’

In response to question from Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., over who determines the proper and legal use of the U.S. military, Panetta said, “Our goal would be to seek international permission and we would… come to the Congress and inform you and determine how best to approach this, whether or not we would want to get permission from the Congress- I think those are issues we would have to discuss as we decide what to do here.’ ”

Key words in that first paragraph: "...look not to the Congress for authorization to bomb Syria but to NATO and the United Nations."

Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy, but I do believe that the Democrats were constantly accusing President Bush of starting an illegal war, even after he followed the Constitutional mandate and obtained Congressional Approval.

So this should be interesting, because if the President does indeed pull this trigger without proper authorization, it is the Speaker of the House's duty to immediately start impeachment proceedings.

Green Energy not so Environmentally Friendly

2012-03-11T09:07:00.003-04:00

Wind turbines: the ultimate in green energy right? Tell that to the 70 Golden Eagles that are killed each year at Altamont Pass in California.

Nevermind the fact that these turbines could never survive without government subsidies and handouts, what I want to point out is the blatant bias displayed by the media when it comes to reporting these things... oh wait, they just don't report on it at all.

Can you imagine if a "big oil" company were responsible for the death of 70 eagles?! It would be all over the news!

The video below may be a bit disturbing, but it illustrates how dangerous these wind turbines are to birds. These 70 deaths are just at this one location. Imagine how many bird deaths are caused around the country by these things!

Remember the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Eagle Protection Acts? If you were to kill an eagle, accidentally or otherwise, you would be subject to up to 2 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Oh that doesn't apply to wind turbines? You try erecting some large experimental device in your backyard, and all it takes is one phone call saying you are endangering animals or the environment, and they are on your front porch with cuffs out.

It gets better: "A 2008 study funded by the Alameda County Community Development Agency estimated that about 2,400 raptors, including burrowing owls, American kestrels, and red-tailed hawks—as well as about 7,500 other birds, nearly all of which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act—are being killed every year by the turbines at Altamont.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission estimates that wind turbines killed more than 10,000 bats in the state in 2010.

ExxonMobil pleaded guilty in federal court…to the deaths of 85 birds [not eagles] at its operations in several states, according to the Department of Justice. The birds were protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Exxon agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and fees.

In July, the PacifiCorp utility of Oregon had to pay $10.5 million in fines, restitution and improvements to their equipment after 232 eagles were killed by running into power lines in Wyoming, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That is far fewer than the estimated 10,000 birds (nearly all protected by the migratory bird law) that are being killed every year at Altamont…" (original article)

So what's be said or done about these bird-killing machines? Nothing.