Lumbering Along

Condescending Elitist

2012-01-29T09:13:00.004-06:00

Mitt Romney's debate performances in Florida were hateful and unbecoming of a man who wants to be President. His attitude reminds me of Barack Obama. I just cannot support the man. I am sick of the elite, patrician, Harvard Law mavens and their putrid air of superiority.

My focus is on defeating Barack Obama, not in mirroring him. Contrast RomneyCare with ObamaCare. I am not for Romney in the GOP primary. I still don't know for whom I will vote in Kentucky's May primary, it won't be Romney, and this year it might just mean something important if the campaign isn't decided by then.

Despite all this, I will still support the GOP nominee in November. Even if I have to hold my nose.

Uncoordinated

2012-01-28T14:49:00.003-06:00

I've been to Florida since I last visited the blog. I didn't get to stay long enough as I returned to rain and cold. Southwest Florida 'suffered' with 80 degree days.

We have our petulant children in Frankfort who are arguing about redistricting. The Democrat House protects its members by moving Republicans around. The Republican Senate does likewise. Well, that's the way it works. It isn't pretty, but that's the way it is. If you don't like it, run. Change it. Until then, all of us live with it and operate within the system.

I have let my weight get a little bit out of hand. From Independence Day through Christmas, I let white sugar pass my lips. The floodgates of overeating opened, and I let food that I hadn't been eating get into my system. I've paid the price, and I've begun getting serious again about weight and health. Twenty pounds should get the old body back to some semblance of normality. Work, and work some more.

I've listened to the blather uttered by the campaigner-in-chief. Tax, tax, tax. He knows nothing else. I've heard that 49% of Americans get a 'gubmint' check. I shed tears for the Republic as we have discovered as individuals that we can vote benefits to ourselves. We don't examine what our rulers do; we are being fooled by what they say, and believe me, they want to fool us into defending them so they can continue to lord over us the bacon they bring home.

Our rulers have no intention to cut spending. They like telling us they are getting free stuff for us. Problem is, nothing is free; someone always has to pay for it.

I am tired of paying, and it is time to reduce the size of government in Washington, Frankfort, and Barren County.

Today's local paper had a story about a taxing district for a local government agency. The director wants the tax money. He is willing to take it from us. He said that's what he wants. Oh well. Another government employee who feels entitled to expanded benefits at our expense.

Enough. It is time to streamline government. It is time to decide what we can do without, and then stick to it. We can do this, and if we don't, the Republic might not survive as the last bastion of Freedom on Earth.

That would be a tragedy.

I Was To Going To...

2012-01-11T07:24:00.003-06:00

I was going to support Newt Gingrich. His performances on the debate stage inspired me to forget the bad things about him. I believe in redemption so I believed in Newt.

His rise in public opinion polls drew the fire of the Romney SuperPAC, and Newt's star went on the wane. The attacks were vicious, and they had enough truth in them to take down the former Speaker. Newt never recovered because he was late with his response. His tardy response may have been the result of his ego; it could have been because his staff failed him. Either way, the ads put up by the Romney SuperPAC did in the Speaker, and he won't recover.

It is sad, really. I don't know if I will have a chance to influence the GOP nominating process since Kentucky's primary election comes long after Super Tuesday when a large number of delegates is chosen.

After his expected win in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney is on a roll, and he might just coast into the nomination. I have concerns about his candidacy, but if he is the nominee, I will vote for him against Obama who must be defeated.

It will be an uphill fight. RomneyCare is the blueprint for ObamaCare so one of our best issues to defeat Barack, Michelle, and the other clowns in the White House may be taken off the table.

The economy is still in the tank so maybe we can make the argument stick that Barack Obama opposes American-style free enterprise. It is a good argument, and I believe it is a winner. Every move the Obama economic team has made has failed. We suffer with high unemployment, low confidence, and inflation is on the horizon along with higher interest rates. All of this is negative to a strong recovery, and without a strong recovery, Obama's chance to win is much, much lower.

Our foundation is being destroyed by this man. He has no desire to help America because he believes America must be punished and humiliated for her 'sins' yet he won't tell you that. He uses his teleprompter to spout his words of class warfare. He throws huge parties intended to show his thinly veiled contempt for those of us who pay his bills. His entire cadre of advisers and enablers hold the same view of America.

We deserve better but only because the vast majority of us believe Liberty is the solution to our collective problem, and Liberty grows when government shrinks.

It is time for us to demand Liberty. We can do it by using the ballot box to defeat Barack Obama in November of 2012. Please join me in casting a vote against Present Occupant. Return him to Chicago. Please.

Laissez Faire and Mitt

2012-01-10T08:29:00.003-06:00

I never thought I'd feel sympathy for Mitt Romney. He is very likely to be the GOP nominee for President. I will vote for him once he is nominated. Yet, I feel sorry for him.

Romney is forced to defend his work in the market. Class warfare has become the order of the day, and it is disgusting to hear it coming from the mouths of alleged conservatives.

Sure, Romney and his Bain Capital associates bought companies. Sure, they made profits from the buys. Sure, some jobs were lost. Sure, Romney got richer, but so what? Every American has the opportunity to get richer. It is the thing that makes our country the greatest nation on Earth. We are the best even with the attacks Obama is making against us and the economy.

I feel sorry for Mitt because of the unwarranted criticism against his business at the hands of Newt Gingrich. Gingrich is probably the smartest man in the room, but he has allowed his pain caused by the negative ads to color his judgement. He is attacking Bain/Romney for 'looting' the companies that Bain bought.

No one put a gun to the heads of the owners of these businesses to force a sale. Voluntary transactions took place. The Bain boys used the rules in place to make a dollar. Do I like the present set of rules? Not entirely, but they are the rules. I want to change some of them to restore that laissez faire attitude to our economy. I work in elections to put into office folks who believe the same, or nearly the same, things that I believe.

Do I have sympathy for those who lost jobs? Certainly, I do. It is disastrous for us to have the unemployment rate we have today. It is unacceptable, but we must recognize that we are unemployed at this level because of government's intrusion into the economy.

Rational men will make rational decisions in their own self-interest. When we do, we must live with the consequences. We cannot beg for bailouts. We must be men, not boys.

The greatest economic success in world history is America. We succeed because of our system of free markets and free choice. We are down now because of the assault by Progressives and their misguided economic theories advocating top down decisions.

Once we stop the spending at the Federal level and restore confidence in the system, once we educate the public to the great energy of the American system, once we turn to laissez faire, then we will re-emerge as the economic powerhouse that is unchallenged on the face of the Earth.

Until then, fellow Republicans, stop attacking the system just so you can have a bit of revenge. All of us have feet of clay. We have to win an election in November to replace the Marxist-in-chief. We can't do it if we have torn each other to ribbons.

By the way, we are going to defeat Obama.

My Focus For 2012

2012-01-06T10:21:00.002-06:00

I have studied about the coming year. I will celebrate my 60th birthday on the anniversary of the dawn of the nuclear age.

I am resolved to work to defeat Barack Obama in November. I am resolved to see that Jill D. Bryant is elected Barren Circuit Clerk. I am resolved to remain engaged in the system so that I might contribute to its improvement.

I want spending cut at the Federal level. I want spending cut at the State level. Basically, I want government spending cut. I can do without some services. I will leave it to the permanent political class to decide where to cut. It is a target-rich environment.

We Americans have the right to opportunity. The disposition of the opportunity is up to each of us. As freemen, we expect to choose our path. I hope I always choose the narrow way. It is a more difficult path, but it leads to the greatest reward.

Once again, it is time to begin the work of sending Barack Obama back to Chicago, and it is time to begin the work of electing Jill to the Circuit Clerk's office. Please help do both.

A Time For Courage

2012-01-05T07:57:00.005-06:00

The Beltway Republicans are really upset about Obama's recess appointments.

Well, when John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and all the other less-than-courageous GOP leaders stand up to Barack Obama and his minions in the press on spending, I will take the complaints about a power grab much more seriously.

America's problem is a spending problem. It is pretty simple. Stop spending now. To do so, however, much Courage must be exhibited.

Until that happens, I have little interest in the political games people play.

Cut Spending. Americans of every stripe will be happier.

A New Hope

2012-01-01T12:39:00.002-06:00

Star Wars initial trilogy is playing on Spike TV this afternoon. The original film in the trilogy is subtitled "A New Hope". It introduces Luke, Leia, Han, and Obiwan Kenobi along with Darth Vader. It is escapism gone wild, but it is interesting to me on this New Year's Day.

The Darth of today is none other than Barack Obama. He is the acolyte of Leftist Statism, and he is an anti-colonialist. Obama looks at America as the last exploiter of the colonized, and he is determined to see us pay back the world for our evil deeds. The Present Occupant cannot see the good in America; he paints our history with a scarlet letter, E. Evil. Obama believes our goodness comes from government, and he believes we must pay for the sins of our fathers. He is a nightmare, not a dreamer.

Who will be our Luke? Who will come forward to do battle against the Empire? Who?

Until our folks get past the insanity that is Iowa's caucuses, we can't see. The Force is clouded. January 4, 2012 will begin to bring some clarity. I can only hope our hero is up to the task.

Occupant has his defenders in the media along with those rich folks who want everyone to pay more tribute to the empire, but they are too cheap to write those checks to the Treasury on their own bank accounts and set the example. They don't believe in voluntarism; they, like Obama, believe in government compulsion. They want the government to take what it wants, never mind the needs. They are evil, at least as far as expanded Liberty is concerned.

My wish for a Happy New Year is the defeat of Barack Obama in November, not because he is a Democrat, but because his political beliefs are wrong for America. Any nominee of the GOP is a better choice although I do prefer one or two of our folks over the rest of the field. Someday soon I will make my final choice, and I will let you know.

I have two remaining New Year's wishes: First, I want to ask everyone of you to vote to elect Jill D. Bryant as the next Barren Circuit Clerk. Jill has the temperament and experience to make a better clerk than the incumbent, Ms. Coe Fields.

Second, I wish continued health for myself as well as each of you. Commit today to eat healthy, exercise, and think positive thoughts about yourself. Positive mental energy can aid you in your daily life.

God Bless You All, and Happy New Year!

Peace

2011-12-25T11:22:00.002-06:00

Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. The Prince of Peace came to save us all. It is our choice to take His Gift. We may likewise leave It. My greatest joys have come along because of my acceptance of His Gift to me, and Joy doesn't just happen on Christmas Day. Followers of Christ have Joy every single day!

May you and your family take time today to reflect upon that day in Bethlehem when the King of Kings came to Earth. Only through Him may man be saved.

Merry Christmas!

Our Petulant Child

2011-12-17T15:37:00.003-06:00

“I have no problem bringing anything to fiscal court. My problem is standing up there being treated like a 6-year-old child,” Mutter said. “I’m not going to tolerate that.”

So sayeth Jailer Matt Mutter as he utters the words of a petulant 6-year old. Oh, what irony!

Fiscal Court is saddled with the responsibility of jail upkeep. It is the law. Fiscal Court is in complete charge of every penny of taxpayer money that is spent in Barren County. Every penny. Several pennies are spent at the jail. Magistrates have a duty to protect the interests of the taxpayers. It is pretty simple.

When an official who is given a public trust is questioned about the operations of his fiefdom, he must be man enough to face his questioners without losing his cool. As a former county judge executive, I know a little something about losing my cool, but I never hid in my office and refused to confront my questioners. Never.

I never met behind closed doors to keep things quiet. Never. Don't mistake me; we had meetings in executive session, but we met only for the legitimate purposes laid out in the law. We, every member of my court and I, upheld the absolute letter and spirit of the law.

The county and its insurance company has already paid a five hundred thousand dollar award ($500,000.00) for sexual harassment. At that time we all heard very much the same thing we are hearing now. "Let the jailer run his operation." HA! Look what we got.

Questioners should be respectful. The judge should preside fairly. A complete airing of the problem should occur after independent and thorough study of the questions. Never, ever trust the meetings behind closed doors.

It is time to choose: Do you want transparent controversy or closed door corruption?

Well?

Sex, Lies, and Videotapes

2011-12-16T10:54:00.003-06:00

Jailer Matt Mutter requested a Fiscal Court jail committee meeting to discuss 'concerns' about his corrections regime. He thinks erroneously that his appearance will satisfy the Court regarding the shenanigans at the jail.

Lots of rumors are floating around about the jail, its jailer, and his minions, not the least of which are exactly the same kinds of things that brought down Mutter's predecessor. Whether there is truth to the allegations or not, the air needs to be cleared by an independent investigation, one free from any taint of influence by either the jailer or the Court.

Mutter says nothing untoward is happening with his charges. If so, an independent investigation will corroborate his story and protect him from any charge that may be levied against him or his staff during the time period in question. It is to his benefit to cooperate fully with the Court by putting aside his animus toward any of the magistrates.

Judge Greer should favor an investigation. She spent much political capital for her jail project, and she is reluctant to see her legacy sullied by another sex scandal. A full, independent investigation will clean up her legacy. She is benefited by putting aside her distaste for the questions of the Court.

If Mutter and Greer fight against an investigation, and if they fail to cooperate fully, it appears that they have something to hide, that they have not been truthful with the Court, and that another sex scandal is brewing on Samson Street. For the best county in rural America in which to live, all that would be a less than sterling bit of material for the public resume'.

If on the other hand there is something amiss at the jail, an independent investigation will expose it for what it is, magistrates will have acted to end it, and the county will not be found negligent. Negligent is one of those words with devastating consequences when it is added to a list of charges against a defendant. After paying out over a half million dollars in damages in the Cox lawsuit, the Court should be sensitive to its responsibilities regarding protecting the public purse.

If videotapes exist of misconduct at the jail, the Court should be permitted to view them in executive session to determine its path for remedies to the problems such tapes would present. Termination of the offending parties is the minimum penalty. The maximum is unthinkable as it could be a blow to the County's finances that would be the governmental equivalent of the death penalty.

Take care of your problems now, Mr. Jailer, and spare us any hint of a coverup. The voters trusted you with your job. Live up to the trust. You can make or break your career right now. Choose wisely.

Mitt, Mika, $10,000.00 Bets, and Income Inequality

2011-12-12T08:37:00.002-06:00

It seems that every member of the chattering political class tries to crown Mittens Romney as the nominee of the GOP without one vote taken or tallied. It is inevitable, we are told. Not so fast.

The chatterers tell us this because they are comfortable with Mitt. He is one of them, an elite multi-millionaire. He vacations in Hawaii, the Hamptons, and Martha's Vineyard. He owns mansions and vacation homes. He can stay in the Presidential suite of any hotel in America. He can afford to offer to bet $10,000.00 without blinking. He is one of them. It doesn't really matter that he is rich; we should all try to become rich since the opportunity to do so is at the heart of what makes America.

Mika Brzezinski, daughter of Zbigniew (Jimmy Carter's national security adviser) and an MSNBC early-morning anchor with Joe Scarborough, talks about income inequality as the dominant theme of the 2012 election cycle. She has a sweet contract with MSNBC, I'm guessing, and she could equal my income and hers with a gift to me of about a million bucks or so. I don't know how much she is paid, but I would bet a dollar, not ten thousand, that she makes 7, 8, or 9 figures in U. S. dollars. She won't give me anything, and she won't write that check to the Treasury to equalize her income with the poverty level income for a family of four, or about four bets by Mitt. I don't expect her to, but she should realize that income equality could start with her if she was sincere about equaling it out for everyone.

The elite political class sees itself as deserving of our unquestioning and absolute support. Romney's offer of a bet with no more sincerity than Obama's every word is the perfect example of how out-of-touch the elites have become as it regards the country's well-being. They don't understand us, and they don't want to understand because they believe they have every answer to save us from ourselves.

I am sick of them. I have no desire for more of their brand of Change. It is time to return to our Founders' vision for America, and that vision does not include funding the nanny state as the final arbiter of all that is fair.

Don't tread on me! Give me my Liberty, get out of my way, and allow me to make choices for myself. Remove Americans from the food stamps roll, and allow them to return to the workplace by removing all business taxes. Make all income tax-free for everyone for a year, in 2012, instead of this piddling 3% one-year temporary gimmick.

Let us keep what we earn. All of us deserve better than we are getting from the elite and permanent political class. They don't get it, and my fear is they never will.

Thoughts After The Fact

2011-11-11T07:40:00.002-06:00

The GOP took a drubbing on November 8, 2011. Two exceptions were the very credible showing of KC Crosbie and the victory of James Comer.

I don't like beatings although a Republican in Kentucky gets them regularly. However, that should never happen. Kentuckians support our party's ideas. Kentuckians want jobs. Kentuckians want good transportation and good schools. Kentuckians want consistency. Kentuckians want leadership.

Most of the time we get politics and not much else.

At a time when Courage is needed, politicians fall back on the same tired old practices that have put us in a bad spot. Our economy is in the tank, and our folks agree by a huge majority that the country is on the wrong track.

We had a very real chance to send a message to Barack Obama that he is going to be a one-term Occupant of the White House. We didn't deliver.

Congratulations to James Comer. He is my friend, and he will do a good job as Commissioner. I wish we had sent him some help.

Next time...

Six Years Is Enough

2011-09-18T13:55:00.002-05:00

I've become a big fan of term limits. We should begin to work immediately to enact them at the state and federal level of government.

Members of Congress, including the Senate (one-half of Congress), should be given the privilege of serving for six years and six years only. Representatives may seek three terms of two years in length. Senators may be elected for only one term of six years.

The President shall be elected for one term of six years.

Federal spending will drop dramatically because these boys and girls can go to the Capitol knowing that they will be living back at home in a few short years. We can stop with the PACs and lobbyists buying access because everyone gets out of the pool in six years.

The Presidency will still be very powerful, but the bully pulpit will be unable to persuade Congress with promises of fund-raising and political cover.

The judiciary may not change, but I suspect the limit upon service for two-thirds of the Federal monster will preclude many of the questionable actions the judges might decide.

As for Frankfort, we made a mistake when we amended the Kentucky Constitution to allow officers to seek that second term. We should amend it again to let governors serve for six years along with the long list of other Constitutional officers.

Limit the members of the General Assembly to six years of time in office, Senate and House.

By the way, along with these limits we should repeal all government pensions for legislative and executive offices.

Well?

Crash!

2011-08-11T07:19:00.003-05:00

Stocks have really plummeted since the deal of the century. The brokers of the deal (McConnell, Boehner, Reid) have given us the middle finger again.

They did it in 2008 with the crap sandwich. They did the same thing in 2011.

The approval rating of Congress (and the Senate too so you liberals will know the Senate is a part of Congress) is 10%. That's about 9% too high.

I am sick and tired of these closed door meetings. I am sick and tired of the patrician attitudes of the political class, and now we have a super committee to meet behind closed doors, hash out more deals, and send them to the floors of the respective houses for votes. I guarantee you that we will feel the pain while the elites pat each other on the back for being such statesmen.

It is time for them to go. I plan to work to primary my incumbent Congressman, Brett Guthrie who is generally asleep at the wheel until awakened by his handlers in the House. In 2014, it will be time to primary McConnell. It is time for them to go.

Downgrade

2011-08-06T11:55:00.002-05:00

It has been almost a week since the great deal that was all we could get was done. Occupant signed it into law in a quiet Oval Office with only still pictures taken. Many of us warned that the compromise would be bad. Now we know. American debt has been downgraded for the first time in generations. All of us will be paying more, and just you wait. The political ruling class will be telling us that we need another deal. My heavens!

I remember the horrible ObamaCare signing ceremony when Occupant foisted his socialized medicine scam on us. There were tens of people around him as he gladly and proudly signed into law the plan that will result in deficits and more debt for decades to come until its repeal.

We were promised repeal in 2010. It has not happened. It could have happened, but the GOP 'leaders' don't believe they can do it. If they have so little confidence in their ability to accomplish leadership goals, they should just retire quietly and write their memoirs of the good old days when they weren't so accountable.

The only plan out there to have staved off the downgrade came from Conservatives in Congress. Our folks should have held out, but the Courage was not there to fight on.

Now, today, the news of the downgrade hits the wire. As sad as the downgrade might be, it pales in comparison to the horrible loss of life in Afghanistan. Early reports indicate that SEAL Team 6 members were the victims. These are the same men who 'got Bin Laden'. If the reports are correct, we have lost some of our very best, and we should mourn. Following that we should unleash the very hounds of hell against the people who supplied weapons and funding to the people who killed our boys. It is time to stop coddling these folks; it is time to win a war and come home.

If we don't approach this the same way we did World War II, we are not going to avenge the loss of life. It is time to be in it to win it. Total commitment to Victory is necessary, or we should just come on home now. Victory is the only acceptable outcome, but it cannot be achieved without total commitment to it. I don't expect these politicians to understand, but we must have Total War against the enemy, and it must come now. Or we should just come home now. Two choices. No more.

My sympathies to the families of the fallen. We can never repay you for the sacrifice, but we can remember. And we can punish the perpetrators, but only if we have the Courage to do so. Our Present Occupant does not have the Courage. He vacations while Americans suffer.

November of 2012 cannot arrive soon enough to vote out this bunch of thugs. It is time for them to go.

Deal or No Deal

2011-07-31T07:40:00.002-05:00

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell say they have a deal.

ABC News has learned that Republicans and the White House have struck a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. It’s not done yet, but here is the framework of the tentative deal they have worked out, according to a source familiar with the negotiations:

Debt ceiling increase of up to $2.8 trillion
Spending cuts of roughly $1 trillion
Vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment
Special committee to recommend cuts of $1.8 trillion (or whatever it takes to add up to the total of the debt ceiling increase)
Committee must make recommendations before Thanksgiving recess
If Congress does not approve those cuts by late December, automatic across-the-board cuts go into effect, including cuts to Defense and Medicare. (emphasis added)

Do you notice anything funny about it? Well, let me tell you.

The spending authority goes UP by about $400 billion. I thought we were arguing about the debt. It appears now that our dear leaders are upping the ante. How in the world can any Conservative vote for this crap. Short answer? Conservatives won't, but I bet you a lot of "blue dog" Democrats vote with Boehner's lemmings to pass this nonsense.

It is time to walk away. Just walk away. Call Brett Guthrie @202-225-3501. Instruct him in the payoff for betrayal on this crap sandwich.

The House Sell-Out, or Guthrie Betrays Us Too

2011-07-30T07:43:00.002-05:00

Speaker John Boehner has blinked, caved, folded, and otherwise thrown in with the Washington, D. C. establishment to betray America.

A bi-partisan vote approved Cut, Cap, and Balance to address the "debt crisis". (Never let a crisis go to waste.--Rahm Emanuel)

Because the Senate tabled the bill, Boehner just peed his pants to get something else over to the Senate as a 'compromise' so the country will know just what an abject coward he has become. After two days of hand-wringing and arm-twisting, Boehner got passed a straight party line bill that was...wait for it, TABLED in the Senate after Majority Leader Reid kept his promise. Just how dumb is Boehner?

I am ready for the Conservatives to stand tall. Twenty-two of them did, God bless them, and I will always try to support these folks. Alas, exactly ZERO of my Kentucky delegation in the House voted for fiscal discipline. I never expected Hal Rogers and Ed Whitfield to stand tall. I thought Geoff Davis might.

Brett Guthrie followed like a good little lemming. After voting for Cash for Clunkers $6 billion boondoggle, I wasn't surprised. Guthrie has become a real disappointment, and I await the announcement of his primary opponent for the 2012 cycle. I will be voting for whomever runs against Guthrie, and I will contribute money to a challenger. It is time for the Second District to have a Representative who will fight for us instead of fighting for the Boehner/Cantor leadership team.

Join me. We can make a real difference.

The Ten-Year Window

2011-07-17T07:45:00.005-05:00

Please inform the country of the man, men, woman, women, child, or adult who can predict with accuracy the status of the economy within a ten-year future window.

The short answer is no one can do it. It is all a guess. Some guesses are better than others, but all projections are still guesses.

If the Congress will cut spending today, the country will be better off tomorrow. The problem is the political class wants to do press conferences to announce the next great compromise, and that brings me to Mitch McConnell.

The senior Senator from Kentucky is conscious of his 'legacy'. He wants a) to supplant Henry Clay as the Great Compromiser whose Compromise of 1850 was also a temporary fix to the problem of the day, or b) to supplant Abraham Lincoln as the great Kentuckian. I refuse to enable him to do either by supporting his misguided, politically driven can kicker.

To give Barack Hussein Obama sole authority to raise the debt ceiling has the same effect as just raising the ceiling by vote of Congress, and if Harry Reid likes the idea, it has to be bad.

The only acceptable solution to our debt problem is to cut spending right now and substantially.

But that will require Courage; few in Congress have Courage.

It Is The Weekend

2011-06-25T06:53:00.003-05:00

I awoke at 2:00 A.M. Of course, I went to sleep around 7 so I can't say I am surprised. I dozed off again around 3:30 so all is not lost, and the day won't be all that long.

We might rob bees today. It is time for some fresh honey, one of life's great marvels and great treats. Honey and butter on a hot biscuit make for one of life's natural pleasures. Bees are amazing insects. They work. They prepare. They save, and they are clean.

If I could pass a Constitutional amendment, it would be to amend the requirements to be elected to the Congress as follows:

No person shall be elected to Congress who shall not first serve at least
five (5) seasons as a beekeeper.

Easy. Let the political class see what it takes for a colony to succeed. Let them experience the protection from harm afforded by the beekeeper's helmet and armor. Let them watch the bees work and clean and provide for the security of the colony against enemies. Let them enjoy the sweet natural fruit provided by the industrious insects. Let them suffer the stings of failure, and I promise the stings are great lesson teachers.

Only then should they serve. No more law school diploma. No more staff resume'. Only hard work qualifies one to serve. Or military service.

I am just kidding, of course, but not enough Congress critters understand what happens in the world outside the Beltway. I thought quite a few did understand, but the number gets smaller every day.

We have our share of cowards in Washington, D. C. They worry more about offending someone than about making our country solvent again. They prefer the accolades of the Post and the Times and the cocktail circuit to small town America's praise.

It is time for Courage. It is in short supply.

I tell you right now. If my Congressman refuses to sign on to the "Cut, Cap, and Balance" pledge, I will work to find him a Republican primary. This is his notice.

Brett, I expect you to do what we sent you there to do. CUT. SPENDING. RIGHT. NOW!

It is that simple, but, it is the weekend. Best wishes.

Operation Fast and Furious

2011-06-17T16:30:00.003-05:00

It is enough to make a man bite a dog.

The operation caused the death of American law enforcement officers. It was uncalled for, and someone's head should roll.

However, given the desire of the Occupant to control guns in America (read that, take them away), there is a more insidious purpose to the operation.

Occupant has said we must stop guns from going south into Mexico. He has been clear. He wants to take away your guns. He will stoop so low that he will sanction undercover sales to drug cartels to prove that American guns are going south of the border.

Watch how this plays out, and you will agree. This regime is dangerous to our liberty. We must vote them all out.

If I Were A Betting Man

2011-05-26T04:58:00.002-05:00

I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd wager I will come under fire once again in the local rag edited by the malignant bald one.

During a recent Face Book session, I chided the malignant one about his lies regarding my position in the 2010 election of Judge Davie Greer. He can't take the Truth so he resorted to his now familiar screed against my brother and me. It is tiresome, but he only knows to attack when cornered. Rats are the same everywhere.

I honestly think there can be reconciliation and cooperation, and I will continue to work toward a successful collaboration. If I fail, it won't be because I haven't tried.

Our local GOP is failing. We suffer for lack of effective leadership through no fault of the troops. Our leadership suffers for unforeseen circumstances, and I am empathetic. I hope no one ever again encounters life-threatening cancer. The disease prompts one immediately to fear for life. It affects every part of one's being. A positive mental attitude is the best defense, and one must concentrate solely on the task of beating the evil malignancy. With the care of loved ones and effective treatment, and that all-important mental attitude of victory, one can recover. Too many have survived for anyone to lose hope. I know. I will soon have three full years without cancer, and I expect to live a lot longer. Positive mental energy and the love of my family and friends have gotten me here.

So you see, all else pales. I just want the best possible future for my sons, my family, and my community of friends. I want that community to grow and to include even those who don't like me very much. I just need to learn a bit of tolerance for those who choose to tear down instead of build up. I want to be a builder, and I am committed to improving the place where I live.

Just please don't tell me I can bring about great improvement by moving away.

Loyalty to the Local GOP

2011-05-22T11:20:00.002-05:00

I began my political journey in 1980. County Chairman Joe Lane Travis placed the required advertisement in the local newspaper with the largest circulation, I called to confirm the time and date of the meeting, and the rest is history. You either love or hate that history, but it is what it is, and I have wandered off the GOP reservation only because of my disdain for its nominee in the person of accused assassin Steve Nunn. I voted for Johnny Bell, and I was right to do so. I wasn't alone among my GOP friends. We'd all had enough of the shenanigans of our former state representative. I don't tell you this with any trace of pride. I am not pleased that I did what I did, but it was correct at the time. History will continue to prove it to be the right decision. We should have found a GOP primary for the accused assassin, but we didn't, and because we didn't we voted for Bell to be rid of the accused assassin.

I will happily debate the "strength" of the Barren Co. GOP at this time. The county committee NEVER meets; it doesn't even have its full complement of officers. Our vice chairman resigned over one year ago, and, to my knowledge, no one has replaced him because there is absolutely ZERO communication from the party hierarchy down to us precinct level folks. ZERO communication.

The party hierarchy has made no effort to raise money for operations. There was no coordinated effort to establish any sort of campaign organization for 2010. The Barren County Patriots set up the only phone bank that I know of to call for Rand Paul because the hierarchy was piqued at him because he had the gall to question the 'fairness' of the Lincoln Day Dinner's agenda in the spring of 2010.

It is time to work to change party rules to make them 'user friendly'. I have been a casual student of the GOP rules for many years, but I will become well-versed in them for the upcoming 2012 organization. You should too. Together we will build a vibrant and strong party. We will influence the selection of nominees who will carry a higher standard of Principles based upon the U. S. Constitution and the Kentucky Constitution. Only by choosing people committed to limited government will we prosper.

The time to be sore about previous primary fights is past. I am not writing about the recent gubernatorial primary. I write specifically about the State Senate primary of 2008. My brother-in-law Bob Bryant competed in that election against David Givens, the eventual winner, and Jeff Jobe. Bob, for one, got over his loss in the primary.

I have moved past that primary, and I am ready to work to elect David Williams and Richie Farmer. I am ready to work to elect someone who will help undo the damage done to our Republic by Barack the Occupant.

I do not choose to throw rocks, not matter how slyly, at fellow Republicans who do their appointed or elected jobs, but when a job is left undone, it is incumbent upon each of us to speak up.

As for me, do your worst against me if you so choose. I can take it, but you are on notice. I will not suffer your attacks gladly, and I will respond.

I prefer to attack the common enemy instead of a fellow Republican, but I will not turn the other cheek to someone with a vendetta.

Get over the past. Move forward. We have a bright future if we will do the necessary lifting. I don't want credit. I don't want a leadership role. I want strength and courage from my leaders in the party. I don't want someone to just hang on because of some sense of entitlement.

Take this as you will. I am not angry, but there is legitimate frustration with the present regime. It is time to begin to change things.

Oh, by the way, if back-biting and snide comments are your 'bag', keep it to yourself.

As David Williams says, "Lead, follow, or GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

All of This for Only $2.50 Per Day

2011-05-11T03:33:00.002-05:00

The greed and lack of political will among rank-and-file Democrats to cut spending was on full display Monday, May 9, 2011 at the Barren County Government Center.

During budget deliberations Magistrate Carl Dickerson asked the Fiscal Court to amend Judge Executive Davie Greer's budget to reflect a cut in expense allowances for magistrates. The cut was $70 per month, about $2.50 per day.

Dickerson said, "How are we going to ask county departments to cut spending if we are unwilling to cut it ourselves?"

He made a good point. In Washington, D. C. the new GOP majority in the House cut its own budget by millions of dollars. Dickerson's cut amounted to $490 per month, less than $6,000 a year.

Yet, this small sum was too much for Democrats John Benningfield, Tommy Matthews, Gary Gillon, and Billy Houchens to swallow because it came out of their pockets, and by golly, we taxpayers have no right to expect the little gods on their little Olympus to let us keep what is ours especially if they have to give up something. Gillon even said he didn't want to give up his money.

And that's the problem. These boys don't treat it all like it is their money. If it's for memberships in the Chamber of Commerce, we ought to pay their way. If it makes them feel good to approve that check to a private charitable organization, why, we should applaud when the light comes on because they are so benevolent.

It is all very sad.

Entitlements and Liberty

2011-05-07T15:54:00.002-05:00

Paul Ryan touched the 'third rail' of American politics. He wants to reform Medicare and Medicaid. Good for him, and I hope he succeeds.

I am really tired of the failure of my fellow tax-paying citizens to grasp a simple fact: We cannot continue down this road of spending and spending and spending.

All of us want to cut, but none of us wants to see that "special" program get the axe. Well, it is time to chop! I am tired of the fight to defend my own business and life just so some clown can get to Washington, D. C. to tell me I can't have a good, old-fashioned incandescent light bulb. Stop! You have gone too far.

It is not just Washington either. Frankfort is almost as bad.

Before you jump to the conclusion that I blame the General Assembly, don't. I blame the Executive branch and its failure to lead. It is simple. No governor in the last forty years has decided to stop the profligate spending. Now we are in a corner, and it has to stop.

Free men and women will take care of the problems if we are left to our own initiative. It is how we are made. Solutions are bred into the DNA of Americans because we are who we are. It is in us. No one can take it out unless we allow it.

Will you tire of the fight? Will you give up when you are this close to Liberty? Not I!

It is time to stop the giveaways by a government that lied to its trusting citizens so many years ago when it promised security stolen from the purse of others. Paul Ryan's plan simply does not go far enough. We must slash, chop, mince, and otherwise eviscerate the entitlement State if we are to enjoy Liberty into our old days. I prefer Liberty to security, for with Liberty and its blessings, we remain secure.

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~Thomas Paine

Class Warfare in Glasgow?

2011-04-10T10:42:00.002-05:00

According to sources, the rag known as The Progress, says two members of Barren Fiscal Court should forgo salary and benefits. These two members, according to the rag, are so well off financially that they should do the work they were elected to do for free. This is class warfare, plain and simple.

The rag's editor should know just what the voters knew in the elections of 2010, to wit, both men were in roughly the same financial position during their candidacy. The voters of the districts in question know well the two men because both have served prior to the election cycle of 2010. The voters gave each of them huge majorities in their 2010 victories. I trust the voters' judgment. I do not trust the rag.

I suggest the editor of the rag put his name on the ballot. If he wins, he can donate his pay.

Wait, he did run in May, 2008. He lost. Evidently the voters were smarter than he at that time too.

I would ask the editor, is it time for him to have another drink?

A Line In The Sand

2011-03-03T08:20:00.002-06:00

Every member of the Federal political class is afraid of challenging the monsters of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Without a plan to rein in the costs associated with these old lions, the Republic cannot continue to function in today's economic atmosphere.

I offer here the outline of a plan. It is something, and if no one really, really likes it, it is probably be the plan that would work.

First, Social Security. I propose an age-level change. Enact it immediately. Any citizen above the age of 45 will receive the promised benefits regardless of income level unless said citizen opts out of the system, never to return. This is not a decision to be made without considerable thought, but the benefits to the individual are undeniable if one is willing to take responsibility for oneself and if one wishes to stop being kicked around as a political football every two years or so. I would opt out under the following conditions.

One, I would receive a tax credit for every dollar I had paid into the system along with interest accrued at 4% per annum. I haven't figured this out, but I suspect I'd have tax credits sufficient to cover my tax liabilities for years into the future because my tax credit idea includes vouchers for payment state and local taxes including property taxes and license fees for vehicles. The Feds would write a check to the political subdivisions to cover the cost. Simple.

Two, I would require the employer of the individual to contribute 4% of the employees' gross wages to a self-directed IRA for the employee. The present rules would continue to apply to the IRA. The employee would be required to match the 4%. The immediate benefit to the economy is the 7+% in additional payroll tax savings that employer and employee would keep. What a shot in the economy's arm!

Three, I would allow individuals to remain inside the present system. Either decision, once it is made, is irrevocable for eternity which is a very long time.

This is pretty simple. I don't think it's a budget-busting idea, but I don't have the advantage of ordering a Congressional Budget Office analysis for it.

Everyone knows how accurate those CBO numbers are.

As for Medicare, allow folks above the age of 60 the option to stay in the present system or to opt out to receive vouchers to buy their own coverage at market rates. Simple. Under 60, you get the vouchers starting right now. Buy the coverage you want, and you get a tax credit for any money you spend above the value of the voucher.

Medicaid is the animal that should actually die. It is nothing if not a prescription for abuse and eventual bankruptcy of every agency that it infects. Get rid of it. Save the states and Feds the money. The resultant savings would allow states much flexibility in the care for their own citizens, and state legislators are much easier to hold accountable than the barons who run Washington, D.C.

Add you own ideas, or call mine crazy. If we citizens don't talk and act, nothing will happen. Just look at the paralysis in today's legislatures.

I Believe

2011-02-20T06:49:00.003-06:00

A few months ago, my very good friend, Colonel Joe Lane Travis, came to my defense with a local purveyor of ink and cheap paper.

My family and I had been criticized by this yellow journalist from Central Kentucky. Joe Lane told the fellow that we had no underhanded political agenda. "These people believe in something," Joe Lane told him.

I could be paid no higher compliment.

I do believe. I believe that God is the Creator of all things and the only Judge whose decisions really, really count. I believe I have been given talents by God just like every single person in the world, and I believe we are obligated as children of God to use our talents to make this world a better place. I believe Jesus is God's Son come to Earth to save mankind if only we will give up our pride and ask him to save us. When we follow Him, He leads us to fulfill our promise that God breathed into us.

I believe America is God's best plan for mankind to govern himself. Self-government is a direct result of following God's Perfect Plan. The old carnal self is thrown away, and we do the "right" thing as He leads.

I believe there is good in everyone, even as I believe we are all filled with sin. There is more good in some than in others, but it is NOT for me or anyone else to say how much. Actions speak louder than words, and I believe what I see, not what I hear.

I believe ambition causes us to submerge the greater good to our personal good as we see it. Ambition is a wonderful thing if it is controlled by the leading of God. Out-of-control ambition leads the political class to listen to the yammering of the "special" interests who want a big piece of the pie to the detriment of the rest of us. Misplaced compassion toward the slothful who consider themselves "downtrodden" is the primary excuse for the political class to take away from us to give to someone. Thank you, but if I want to give, I am quite capable of deciding to whom or what I wish to contribute. I don't need the pointed gun of Big Government Nannies to tell me what to do.

And that is why I believe in the TEA Party movement. It is the breath of fresh air in political discourse for which I have waited "in the Wilderness" for so long, sometimes believing I was Alone, but always knowing in my heart someone else really cared.

Believe. It will lift your spirits, and it will inspire you to exploit your talents to the fullest. Then contentment and joy will be yours.

You Don't Know Me, Clown

2011-02-12T07:48:00.005-06:00

People who know nothing about me shouldn't comment about me.

I read a nonsensical editorial this morning at the barber shop. The editor/publisher of a local rag, The Progress, made accusations regarding political support from me for the recently failed Barney Jones campaign. How idiotic!

If Jeff Jobe knew anything about recent Barren County political history, he would know that I could never support, and have never supported, Barney Jones for any political office. Jones was the sheriff while I was County Judge/Executive, and he took great delight in my political problems while I served, and I am understating the situation. Jobe's defense of Davie Greer is admirable, but he has seen nothing of vicious Barren County politics. I experienced it first hand, and I remember it well. Nope, never in a million years would I ever support Barney Jones for political office. And just so you know, Barney Jones feels the same way about me.

Personal feelings aside, the State Police report about Jones' illegal disposal of some confiscated gambling machines is very interesting reading. It is my personal opinion that Jones should have been indicted. Aided and abetted by both judges, the county attorney and Commonwealth's Attorney (all Democrats), he avoided indictment, and he hates my political guts for almost getting it done.

So anyone who would make the stupid statement that I supported Barney Jones in any political campaign is just that. Stupid.

Frankly, I don't care if Jeff Jobe buys ink by the barrel; the guy is piqued because he blames me and my family for his loss to David Givens in the 2008 GOP State Senate primary. He just doesn't have the courage to admit the truth to the public, but it eats at him every single day that he watches my brother serve.

He should just have another drink and find a target who won't defend himself.

Toughen Up

2011-02-10T04:40:00.002-06:00

I have wimped around for about two weeks. I have reasons, but it is time for it to stop.

There is much to be joyful about. After all, we have about six inches of beautiful snow on the ground. It will all melt off by the beginning of a new week, and things will get better weather-wise.

MacKay's fiancee Stephanie is a wonderful prospective addition to the family, and I am happy for the youngsters. No date for a wedding has been set, but I expect them to make final plans in the coming days. Congratulations, my son, and best wishes for a long and happy life.

Elliott is happy, too, for his brother. Children should have siblings. It is important for them to have a close family member during life's exciting times. I am pleased with my younger son's maturity and good spirits. He is an example for me to follow, and I welcome his leadership.

Finally, although I don't understand many things, life is moving on. It is time. I have much to do.

By the way, a doctor acquaintance of mine observed that I might even live to be 100! How about that. See you all in 2052!

They Call Them Free Throws For a Reason

2011-02-04T10:55:00.004-06:00

No one defends a free throw. The shot comes from a mere fifteen feet from the basket. No one defends a free throw. No one defends a free throw.

It is free. It should be an automatic point about 80% of the time, but free throw shooting has suffered in college basketball. No one practices free throws. There is no glamor in the shooting of the free throw. No one cheers wildly and chants, "Free!", when one is made. No one gets excited by the athleticism of the free throw unlike the ecstasy enjoyed by the casual fan when the tomahawk, the helicopter, or the free throw line throw-down are executed by a player.

And that's the problem. Nothing excites a fan like the slam or the '3', yet games are often decided by the success or failure at the line.

Last night's Hilltopper game was a loss for my beloved Tops because the team hit a miserable 11-for-22 from the stripe. 50%. It is a grade of 'F' in every single class at WKU. It is 'F' in basketball.

I ached every time a Topper went to the line, and I told my buddy that the best defense South Al had was to send us to the free throw line. Eleven misses for the game that the Toppers lost by 4. Making just half the misses would have won the game for the Toppers. As it was, the men in Red and White lost.

Free. It doesn't come along often, but you'd better be prepared because free matters.

Another Reason To Fight Against Leftist Progressives

2011-02-02T07:52:00.002-06:00

I am a tolerant person. I believe free speech, association, and religion are essential for the survival of the Republic.

Leftist Progressives don't believe in tolerance. If one disagrees with the Leftist Progressive agenda, the shouting starts. Demonstrations and boycotts are organized. Commerce suffers. Good citizens stop taking part in the decision making process. The Republic suffers. The Leftist Progressive agenda is bad.

Please understand. I disagree with the Leftist Progressive agenda in its entirety, but I support the right of the Leftist Progressives to say what they say. I support the right to organize the boycotts and demonstrations, as long as they take place on public property. Once trespass occurs, it is time for the right of protest to be curtailed. Private property is just that, private. It is called trespassing for a reason.

Now the Leftist Progressives are attacking restaurant chain Chik-Fil-A. They are aided and abetted by the Leftist Progressives in the media, in particular The New York Times.

We must stop the nonsense now. Buy a chicken sandwich meal today. Get a char-grilled chicken salad. Tell the Chik-Fil-A staff how much you appreciate the food and service.

Talk with your pocketbook. As a bonus, refuse to buy that copy of the Times. It is time for a reverse boycott.

Cigarettes and Investing

2011-02-01T08:16:00.003-06:00

I am not, I repeat NOT, licensed to dispense investment advice so don't interpret my following remarks as advice of any sort. These remarks are intended to be political commentary and nothing else.

As the Kentucky General Assembly goes back to meddling in our lives, we should look at the opportunities presented to us by their fiddling with our lives.

The state-wide smoking ban is on my mind. I oppose it for two reasons.

First, it is hypocrisy for the legislature to ban smoking. If the goal is to stop people from imbibing in a smoke, just outlaw the darn things. Get to point B without all the stops in between.

The legislature won't do it because it is just as addicted to tobacco as any smoker. There are 135 million or so reasons for the addiction suffered by the legislature. All the reasons have George Washington's face on them.

Cigarettes are a cash cow for government, and no one has the courage to advocate an outright ban. Just nibble, nibble, and nibble some more. Exhaust us with all the hypocrisy, and then wonder aloud why people aren't interested enough in government to go out and vote. No one wants to fool with it. Very few members of the legislature have the courage or intelligence of the citizen who drags himself out of bed every day to contribute to the 'General Welfare' by showing up for work. He pays his 'fair share', but he is so tired of the posturing and preening of the political class that he just falls on the couch when he gets home, and he tunes out the world.

The second reason I oppose the ban proposal is a little more tangential. These sorts of intrusions into the daily lives of citizens are like the heat under a teapot. Before too long, it begins to whistle to let off some steam.

The TEA Party movement of which I am a proud member is the outlet for the pressure built up on citizens by the arrogance of the ruling class. Many of them denigrate TEA Party folks as soreheads, latecomers to the party, know-nothings, and even racists.

Nothing is less true. Most of the folks with whom I associate are caring citizens who want Liberty above all else. Some are a little naive, but all in all, I will stand with them.

Society has traveled so far from the days when Liberty was valued above all else that our attempts to reclaim a small portion of it are met with ridicule from those who set themselves above us because our vision is a bit different than theirs.

We must work to defeat this smoking ban. If not, what will come next?

In the meantime, I am going to invest in Marlboro cigarettes. People will smoke just to show them they cannot be stopped. The teapot is boiling.

Don't Ban Smoking

2011-01-31T07:19:00.003-06:00

The smoking ban proposed by Rep. Susan Westrom (LD-Lexington) is a terrible idea. Westrom couches her desire in the cloak of better health and non-smokers rights. She is terribly wrong.

I smoked. I quit. I started back. I quit. I have survived kidney cancer. Studies told me the incidence of kidney cancer is higher in smokers. Kidney cancer is more likely in the obese. Kidney cancer is more prevalent in those with high stress levels. Kidney cancer is more likely in people with high blood pressure. DNA contributes too. My first cousin died three years ago. Undetected kidney cancer led to her early demise. I found mine. I am blessed. I know I am.

I tell this story to tell you this. Government cannot protect us from everything. Government's obligations are finite although those in authority want ever-expanding authority over every single aspect of our lives. If the apparatchiks would concern themselves about Liberty and how to promote it in our lives, the world and Kentucky would be a better place.

Cigarette smoke stinks. I don't like being around it. No one smokes on our job site now except in clearly designated areas. We made the decision to address the needs of our company. We did so because our fire insurance company advised us to prohibit smoking on the job. It was an economics decision and nothing else. Free people make good decisions that way.

The great debate on a smoking ban will begin soon. Truth be told, if the well-wishers in the General Assembly want to help us combat the evils of smoking, pass an outright ban on the sale and use of cigarettes. The decision to ban the product eliminates any further discussion. The problem that exists with this path is the subsequent loss of tax revenue, and no one in government has the courage to take the step to ban the sale and use of cigarettes because they want to spend the money so they can tell us what great things they do for us. By the way, please take note of the decrease in tax revenue from cigarette sales. Higher taxes results in lower revenues in every single case. A logical mind would decide that higher taxes is a very bad idea, but that is for another time.

Don't get me wrong. I know we need government. My life was saved because we have a great teaching hospital at UK. Government funds many of the functions of the hospital, and I am eternally grateful for it. I would spend more money on the work at UK's hospital, but I am letting my gratitude overrule all other considerations.

The thing I don't like is the hypocrisy of Rep. Westrom. She wants a smoking ban, but she wants the tobacco tax money so she can look good at the next ribbon cutting.

Either ban cigarettes altogether, or shut up.

I advise the latter.

Where Would Cut the Federal Budget?

2011-01-30T07:00:00.003-06:00

I give much thought to the question, "Where would you cut the budget?"

I come up with a list almost like the one the Heritage Foundation gives, but I cut defense spending by bringing home troops from Europe and Asia including South Korea.

We serve as protectors for nations whose economies compete directly with our own. In many cases, the competition is tilted away from American goods.

Free trade is essential. I don't know who said it, but if trade goods don't cross borders, then armies will. And lest you say I am disloyal to American made goods, I am not. I just want the choice. If I choose to 'Buy American', you can bet I investigated the quality and cost of the product before I bought. If the American good is better/best, then it gets bought. If not, it stays on the shelf in exchange of the purchase of a Korean/Japanese/Indian/Colombian, you get the idea, product.

One must answer, "What will I do without?"

Think of all the Feds do. What will you miss when the budget is cut, and are you really ready to do without it?

If you cannot answer, think. If we begin to think, we will gain the power to stop the nonsense in the National Capital. Only when we think are we able to act.

Egypt in Flames

2011-01-29T06:06:00.002-06:00

I don't really have much to say about it, but this is to be expected.

Man's legitimate desire is to be free. It can be no simpler than that. Liberty is the heart's desire of everyone.

When governments become repressive, as Jefferson wrote, it is time for man to assert his fundamental rights. Egyptians are doing so. It is not for us to meddle. This is an internal struggle. America is obligated to assess the coming change and decide to befriend or ostracize the new government. It is simple.

If Egypt chooses freedom, America must support it. If Egypt chooses more repression, America must deplore it. Present Occupant will choose wrongly unless he embraces the free exercise of dissent without further violence.

I am no authority on the Middle East, but I know Liberty, and I choose Liberty.

...And A Socialist Shall Lead Them

2010-12-13T15:21:00.002-06:00

It is a shame.

Why are the Republicans in the Senate going along with this crap sandwich? Pork! They are addicted to it, and only primaries solve the problem.

The boys' club, plus Kay, Murky, Ollie, and Susie, just didn't get it. We told them to cut the spending. We told them to back off the pork. We told them over and over. They believe we will just go away.

Fat chance! I want a primary for the Kentucky GOP Senate nomination in 2014. Period. I hope someone jumps into the race early. It is time to bring more heat. None of them should feel safe in the seats. None of them.

I am so mad I could spit.

Democrats Made The Rule; Let's All Live By It

2010-11-19T05:11:00.004-06:00

Democrats in Congress have written to Congressman-elect Andy Harris the Complainer to make a proposal on "gubmint" health care, or as we all know it, health insurance.

I have written to Congressman Guthrie to ask him to support full repeal of the Congressional Health Insurance Plan. Instead, give each Congress critter a stipend sufficient to buy insurance in their respective States. Get rid of the gilt-edged plan Congress has now. Let our privileged elected class do like we do. It is a good start.

Let the GOP put their words to deeds. Get rid of government health care at every level. Remove the plank from your eye, GOP.

Go for the splinter in mine later. REFORM NOW!

Repeal the Law

2010-11-17T04:59:00.003-06:00

ObamaCare is the law of the land. It is our job to get our Representatives and Senators to repeal the bill. Most of us don't have the juice to get waivers.

This Federal intrusion into our lives will become deadly for some. I don't want to become a statistic for a failed attempt to control my life. I have already written to Congressman Brett Guthrie to express my desires. Will you do the same? We must stop this idiocy NOW!

One election victory does not fulfill our obligation to future generations. We must work even harder from today forward.

Take a Rest from the Political

2010-11-16T09:58:00.003-06:00

Like many youngsters I played army as a lad. I reveled in the exploits of Grant, Lee, Sherman, Sheridan, Patton, and many others. I gained an appreciation for Bedford Forrest as an adult. Stonewall Jackson is to be greatly admired.

I include the following Top Ten list for your consideration. I hope you add a few, replace a few, or come up with a different list altogether.

No matter what you might do, I hope you will agree that the number one American General was George Washington, the indispensable man.

Best wishes.

It's Been A While

2010-11-15T05:06:00.002-06:00

My plate has been full. Lumbering Along is not just about the way I walk; I help run our small business, and that, my friends, has been a real task over the past few weeks.

Along with my real job, I have been at work helping Barren County Patriots, our local TEA Party group organize. We have a very effective and motivated group of citizens of all political stripes who want America to return to First Principles without the intrusion and expense of Big Government. We meet regularly. Join us some time. You will enjoy our discussions. Briefly, we are for Liberty!

Anyway, I will try to write more frequently as we monitor the work of the 'lame duck' Congress and the incoming GOP majority in the House. It is now the duty of all good men (I use that term in its most generic sense) to aid their country.

See you soon, and more often.

Understand It

2010-09-15T05:01:00.002-05:00

Voters across the country DO NOT want Federal incumbents and establishment types to return to Congress.

It is pretty simple.

Don't underestimate the anger against Washington, D. C.

But count me in. I don't want them to return either.

No Mosque

2010-09-11T08:16:00.002-05:00

9/11.

It was worse than I remember. I saw it on TV before the networks stopped broadcasting it. I watched plane two fly into the tower. I realized only after the second attack that this was an act of hate-filled madmen.

Today our leaders compromise with the same killers. They use our tolerance against us by talking about religious liberty all the while the killers grin behind the masks they wear. They don't care about our liberty. They want to kill us all.

Until we realize that, we will be the butt of their jokes and the objects of their ridicule.

9/11. What will you do to honor the dead? What will you do to protect America from these crazies?

First, we change the American Congress. Next we change the occupant of the White House.

Only then will our great Republic be safe.

These people do not like us. They never will. But, by golly, we can make them respect us.

Destroy by De-Funding

2010-09-05T07:30:00.002-05:00

I wrote the following excerpt of a letter to my Congressman this morning, Sunday, September 5, 2010. Our mantra must become, Destroy by De-Funding!

You realize it. Act now. If we don't, we cannot win.

Help is coming. Don't flinch, and don't allow "leadership" to stop the radical changes needed to the Radicals' actions. Put them down, and put them down hard. This is the political equivalent of war.

I am serious about this. We must destroy by de-funding the Leftists' agenda. We cannot "replace" it with a watered-down version and call it reform. The agenda must be destroyed.

You must know help is on the way when Todd Lally polls dead even with John Yarmuth! I don't know the numbers of Andy Barr, but I suspect he is doing well also. It is the same all over the country.

Think about it. Join me!

Back!

2010-08-31T08:28:00.002-05:00

I have been away from the blog for a couple of months as I try to assimilate all the information we get daily.

Here it is: Every single Democrat candidate for every single office sought by them should explain why they support Barack Obama.

Make no mistake about it. If Democrats are on the ballot this fall, they are required to support this radical Leftist. They have no choice.

If they don't support this regime, they should repudiate them. Now.

If they won't repudiate them, they support them. It is that simple.

I suspect we will hear lots of chirping crickets before a single one of them say a single word in public in repudiation of the regime.

Waiting...waiting...waiting...

Country Living

2010-06-20T10:50:00.003-05:00

President Barack Hussein Obama--“Unfortunately, the Republican leadership in the Senate won’t even allow this legislation to come up for a vote,” the president said. “And if this obstruction continues, unemployed Americans will see their benefits stop. Teachers and firefighters will lose their jobs. Families will pay more for their first home.”

I don't know how teachers are going to be laid off in the summer months. Where are the firefighters who are losing their jobs? Give me some evidence, Mr. Present Occupant!

I live in a small town. Well, I live just outside that town. It is idyllic on most Sundays, like today. I love it here. I can think of no better place to live and work. Living in retirement is a different story, but that's another time.

There are always dislocations in employment, but I can't for the life of me figure where all these people live who are the soon-to-be-unemployed that Occupant continues to talk about. Is he lying again?

This Marxist and his minions in Congress (Pelosi, Reid, et al) are pulling out all the stops to make headlines to apply pressure on Republicans in Congress to go along to get along. The Marxist-in-chief will say and do anything to get his way.

I long for November 2. We will know then the fate of the grand Republic. If you aren't working to throw out a Marxist, get to it! If you live in the Third District of Kentucky, go work for Mr. Lally and vote out John Yarmuth. The Sixth District folks must elect Andy Barr and retire "Cap and Tax" Ben Chandler. All of us can do something to elect Rand Paul as Kentucky's next U. S. Senator. Tough SOB Conway is just one more vote for the Marxist-in-chief, and we can't stand that!

If you don't work for these fellows, send a five-spot or a tenner or a twenty to one of the Liberty-loving candidates in another state, like Mike Lee in Utah.

People, if you don't like politics, learn to like it because if you do nothing, the Republic will fall. I don't want to see it happen. In your heart of hearts, neither do you.

Shakedown

2010-06-18T08:48:00.002-05:00

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) was right. Present Occupant and AG Holder took a $20 billion shakedown from British Petroleum. Barton's mistake was his apology and his subsequent apology for his apology. If it were not so sad, this would be funny. Keystone Cops have nothing on Washington, D. C.

Our country is backwards. I hope we turn around government in November. If we don't, I fear for our survival.

I try to remain upbeat, but cowards like Boehner, Cantor, and even Pence make it hard to keep a smile. The Marxists in charge turn every innocuous comment into some headline to prove the Conservatives are heartless boobs controlled by their libidos or by Big Government's whore, Big Business.

Coach Ralph Willard, formerly of my beloved WKU Hilltoppers, keeps statistics on deflections during a basketball game. It is one way to chart how a defense disrupts an opposing offense.

Boehner and Company should call Ralph. He could show them a thing or two. Until then, watch how the Marxists in charge deflect, obfuscate, and outright lie.

Shakedown. It makes a good title for a movie, but it is a crappy way to run a country.

Sadly, we are there now.

Disgrace

2010-06-10T08:25:00.003-05:00

Everyone knows I have almost zero respect for the occupant of the White House. He is a Marxist/Leftist, America Last, Big Government clown. He never looks for solutions that are outside of the academic box. He believes professors can solve every problem with summits, task forces, committees, and czars.

He is wrong.

Just plain Americans are more capable of practical solutions to our problems than these infinite Big Government proposals.

I don't want a President looking for someone's ass to kick.

I want a President who will stop spending like there is no tomorrow. I want a President who will accept the responsibility of the office he ran to get. I want a President with some sense that Big Government is not the end-all to every problem.

America won World War II. Don't argue that. Without the exceptional Americans, the war would have been lost to tyranny.

America won the Cold War. Ronald Reagan, with an assist from Lady Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul, took down the Wall.

America can win the oil spill war, but the coward in the White House won't allow the exceptional Americans an opportunity to win. He is not interested in getting it done without the heavy hand of Big Government on the "solution throttle".

Therein lies the problem.

America is exceptional enough to solve the problems of the world because America values Liberty above all else. The problem is with the present occupant. He cannot see his way clear to unfetter the ingenuity and work ethic of the American entrepreneur.

Occupant wants Government to be the solution, but as Reagan told us, "Government is the problem".

Reagan offers more to us today than the occupant of the White House who could learn much from the great man.

America Won A World War; We Can Clean Up The Oil

2010-06-01T11:04:00.003-05:00

Occupant announced 5 new commission members to investigate the oil spill.

He should have announced a bounty of ten billion dollars, payable by BP, to the individuals or companies who stop the leak in one week. He should have announced an incentive of five billion dollars, payable by BP, to the individuals or companies who clean up the oil in 30 days.

BP is excluded from participation, and BP is allowed no input into the solution except to write the check.

I am convinced Occupant will do neither. He will pursue his pro-government to the nth degree, and we will all suffer for it by higher taxes on energy, higher prices at the pumps, stiffer regulation on every single business. He won't stop with oil.

In his remarks, Occupant said he will push legislation to make sure "this never happens again". Really? How about a law to abolish any hurricane with the destructive force of Katrina? How about a law mandating perfect temperatures? How about a law outlawing disease?

Wake up!

This Big Government Occupant believes government is the granter of all things great and good. He doesn't believe we are endowed by our Creator; he believes we are endowed by government. This very attitude makes him dangerous to Liberty.

The America who won World War 2 can do this, if the government of Occupant will get out of the way and allow it to do it.

Rachel Maddow's Lies

2010-05-25T09:41:00.002-05:00

According to many internet sources, Rachel Maddow lies. I cannot say. I present the links to you for your education.

If she is a serial liar, can one assume she lied about Rand Paul?

I list; you decide.

Here.

And here.

And here.

Paragraph One:

It's one thing to justifiably criticize an author for dubious claims. It's quite another to assert that the same author supported something heinous he adamantly opposes. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow did both over the last two weeks.

Vote Rand Paul.

Thank You!

2010-05-25T09:32:00.002-05:00

You voted for Rand Paul.

You voted for Brandin Bartley.

Both won their respective nominations on May 18. On to November!

Now, about Rand Paul.

Citizen Paul announced his candidacy for Senate on The Rachel Maddow Show. She invited him back.

When he announced, he was the darling of the Leftist media because he was challenging the established Republican hierarchy. Nothing was more important to the Leftists than challenges to the group standing in the lurch against the overreach of the Obama regime.

Now he is the nominee, and he has become fair game for lies and innuendo. The same Maddow who fawned over Paul last summer played a game of 'gotcha'. I expected no less from a radical Leftist lesbian. Rand Paul has a much more fair sensibility towards the Leftist lesbian than I. By the way, the linked article calls Leftist Rachel a liar. Hmmm? Is Rachel's lying a pattern? I think so. The truth is not in her.

Rand Paul is the only choice for Kentucky that makes any sense. Tough Jack, the S.O.B. (by his own admission), is just one more vote for Obama's radical Leftist/Marxist agenda. Tough Jack must be defeated.

Vote for Rand Paul.

We Have A Huge Task

2010-05-21T19:14:00.002-05:00

Not only do we have to campaign for Rand Paul to make sure he is elected, but we have to educate citizens about the Constitution.

For too long we have quietly approached our lives, and we have allowed the Leftist/Marxist minions of America's destruction to frame every single one of the debates that take place today.

We are so far behind that we have to start at step number one. We must educate before we can go much farther.

I am amazed at the lack of knowledge of Liberty. People leave school without the basic knowledge that ours is a Republic, not a democracy yet we allow Schumer, Reid, Durbin, et al, tell us that our 'democracy' must be saved from the promoters of Liberty like Rand Paul.

They utter lies about the things he says and believes.

WE are the mainstream. WE are the hard-working Americans who have been silent for far too long.

No more! Now is our time, now is our time, and nothing will deter us.

Vote for Rand Paul in November, and strike a blow for Liberty.

Why Do We Piddle In Washington?

2010-05-11T14:08:00.002-05:00

I've never understood 'why'.

Why does Congress concern itself with French fries?

Why isn't gold backing the dollar any more?

Why can't they stop spending so much?

Why do they give us the middle finger all the time?

I am ready for them to go. All of them. Baby and bath water.

I know we lose some good ones, but the clowns leaving pays a greater dividend.

All of them.

Barren County Republicans, District 5

2010-05-09T07:53:00.002-05:00

Brandin Bartley deserves your vote in the Republican primary for magistrate in Barren County's district 5.

Bartley is a young man who understands that government must live within its means. He will perform his financial oversight duties on Fiscal Court with an eye toward eliminating waste. He will provide a much-needed fresh voice from District 5.

Brandin is a family man with a young son. He knows we cannot continue to spend like our credit card will never max out. The bill will come due, and we need a man with some backbone to join the Conservative wing of the Court to stop the spending.

Brandin Bartley is that man. Please, my fellows Republicans, nominate him by your vote on May 18, 2010.

Please Join Me and Vote for Rand Paul on May 18

2010-05-09T07:23:00.003-05:00

Dear friends and readers,

I take a long first step this morning by making a formal endorsement in a Republican primary upcoming on May 18, 2010.

I ask each of you to vote for Rand Paul.

I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Dr. Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon, on many occasions in formal and informal venues. His message has never varied. His message is always individual Liberty. For that reason alone, he deserves your vote.

There is more. Rand Paul promotes lower taxation of your income. Rand Paul is 100% pro-life. Rand Paul favors a strong national defense and strong border enforcement. Rand Paul favors freedom of health care choices and competition among providers. Rand Paul opposes bailouts. Rand Paul favors a strong dollar.

Rand Paul is a truthful man. He has been a gentleman during this long campaign.

One cannot say the same for his opponent who has taken money from the 'bailout boys' in the beltway of Washington, D. C. Trey Grayson is a professional politician of the sort who got us into the problems we face today. Grayson will be a toady for Mitch McConnell who is a bailout boy himself. We don't need that.

Kentucky deserves to have a free thinker to be our junior Senator. Rand Paul is the man for the job.

Please join me in voting for Rand Paul for the Republican nomination for U. S. Senator on May 18.

I Was Moved To Tears

2010-05-07T18:52:00.002-05:00

I watched a video of the flood devastation of Nashville, Tennessee. I cannot describe the angst. Nashville's folks are stern stuff to be ready to bounce back from this, and bounce back they will.

There is an exceptional spirit at work in Middle Tennessee. People are helping neighbors and friends get lives back in order. As they say, they will come back because they are Nashville.

Watch.

These are the people of Andrew Jackson who knew a little about backbone. These are the people of Alvin York who knew a little about heroism. These are the people of the Grand Ole Opry who know a little about the joy of the creative arts and the way to use that art to ease the pain.

These are the people we should all emulate. They haven't cried out for "gubmint" aid. They are coming out from under, and they deserve our help and our prayers.

Today, we should all be people of Nashville.

Only In America

2010-05-04T10:29:00.005-05:00

I really like fresh salmon. Flash frozen wild salmon from the waters of Sarah Palin's home state is a nutritious treat.

I ordered some salmon yesterday from an Alaskan fishery.

It arrived today. It took less than 18 hours to travel across the continent to my home. Where else but in America could such a wonder occur?

We are the people whose talent for innovation allowed FedEx to flourish. We are the people whose exceptional nature made our economy the greatest engine for individual success the world has ever seen.

If we could only get the clowns in Washington, D. C. to butt out, we would see wonders and wonders and more wonders.

For now, enjoy life. I will toast FedEx when I dine on my fresh salmon.

Oil

2010-04-29T14:51:00.002-05:00

It is the top story of the day.

Charlie Crist flip-flopped again on offshore drilling. Of course, with Charlie, that's like saying a politician has lied again.

Here is the deal.

In World War II unnumbered oil transports were sunk by enemy combatants. Warships with oil-fired boilers were sunk. Oil burned on the surface of the seas for hours if not days.

The seas recovered without the hand wringing we see today.

Burn it. Let's get back to business. Set a fire.

The earth and her seas will recover. Just do it. I ask forbearance from Nike.

Scorched Earth

2010-04-15T11:01:00.003-05:00

Trey Grayson is scorching the earth in a desperate attempt to redeem the investment by AIG lobbyists and Big Government types in his campaign.

The damage he is doing to Rand Paul is negligible. He is scraping the bottom of the political barrel to salvage what little is left of his brief career in politics.

There is no perfect candidate. I know it, and so does everyone else. Rand Paul is not perfect. I happen to agree with him on 90% of issues. That is good enough.

Grayson lost me when he had his Bailout Ball in Washington, D. C. He took money from the people who generally buy politicians, and Trey Grayson was willing to sell his political soul for the big bucks.

TARP opposition is my benchmark. I will generally support Conservatives who opposed TARP. I will generally oppose everyone who voted for TARP.

TARP opened the door for the Obama deficit spending when it opened the door for Obama to be elected. When Maverick voted in lockstep with Obama, he sealed his electoral fate.

Trey Baby has taken tainted contributions, and I cannot vote for him. Scorched Earth stinks too, and its smell will remain in my nostrils past May 18, and it's a shame for the GOP.

This Jail Or Any Jail

2010-04-10T09:47:00.002-05:00

I listened to Judge Davie Greer try to explain the need for a 178-bed jail. She cannot explain the need for a jail of this size, and it was painful to watch her try.

Greer began talking about 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 8. For a while I thought she was going to try to talk until 6:15 p.m. on Friday, April 9. She went through a litany of excuses for building this monster, but she never explained how she was going to pay for it. One could hear the pride in her voice as she talked about her legacy project. She is very proud of it.

Her pride is pathetic.

Greer has been a cheerleader for the community her entire life following her years as a cheerleader for the Glasgow Scotties athletics teams of the mid-1950s. She has always had pride in the community, and for this, she should be praised.

Now she is throwing away all of her good will by cramming this project down the throats of the taxpayers of the county. She is risking her legacy on a project that the vast majority of the people do not want. It is wrong.

She is making the same mistake made by the Fiscal Court in 1998. That court did a renovation of the jail. That court also did a renovation of the courthouse for the Kentucky AOC. Millions of dollars were spent and wasted to benefit and cater to the unproductive. I opposed the previous jail renovation, but to my everlasting discredit, I supported the courthouse project. I have lived in political wilderness since, but it is now time to speak up.

I agree with Greer that a county needs a jail. There are lots of reasons, but none of them include the judge's assertion that the inmates need a comfortable to stay. Those aren't her exact words, but she did say if her grandchild or nephew or something like that were in the jail, she wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable. She bragged about how the jail had eliminated the cable channels for the TVs, notice the plural here. Why, oh why, dear reader, do criminals deserve TV at all? Well, you are going to pay for the TVs, and you are going to pay the cable bill. Enjoy.

She talked about criminals sitting around all day..."trying to figure out how to (deface or destroy)" jail equipment or property. I am sure there is a remedy for this at the old jail, and I am unable to see how this sitting around will be eliminated at a brand new, shiny jail for 178 people to sit around all day while trying to come up with new and improved ways to tear up the shine.

Someone has sold Greer and her minions on the concept of bigger is better when building jails. There is no way of thinking that is more wrong-headed. Greer has had ample opportunity to do something in the interest of the taxpayers, but she insists on pursuing this legacy.

If all she wants is a bronze plaque with her name on it, we can find a cheaper way to get it for her.

She is going to spend more than nine million dollars of borrowed money. I cannot find a way to justify it because there is no way she can pay for it without huge tax increases or huge spending cuts, and politicians like most of the magistrates are scared to death to raise taxes. They are also scared to death to cut spending because someone might complain.

I am glad she is in this spot. She deserves what she is going to get.

At one time I really wanted to support her re-election, but she has destroyed my hopes for her candidacy.

I doubt if Davie Greer will get to wear her blue Ambassador jacket to cut the ribbon on this jail.

Duke Again

2010-04-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

Yawn.

Go Butler!

Business As Usual, Or A New Beginning

2010-04-04T08:11:00.002-05:00

Watch this.

Trey, Lobbyist Business As Usual, Grayson wants us to believe he is different. Ha! It would be funny if this weren't so dreadfully serious. Grayson will fall right in there with the crowd who voted for TARP and the bailouts. He is one of THEM, not one of us. Defeat him by electing Rand Paul as the Republican nominee on May 18.

Morning Has Come

2010-04-04T07:50:00.001-05:00

And the stone is rolled away!

He is risen! Happy Easter! May the Republic receive the blessings of Almighty God, and may the people of the Republic know that He is God.

BULLDOGS!

2010-04-03T19:33:00.003-05:00

Butler just slayed another giant, and these Bulldogs can win the whole thing!

Mr. Nored, formerly a WKU Hilltopper, iced it with two free throws at the 6.1 seconds mark.

I am so proud of this team. It is time for the little guys to win one, and this bunch just might do it. I pray they do.

Good Luck, Butler! I adopt you as my favorite team.

Of course, WKU will re-assume the top spot after Monday night.

April Fool

2010-04-01T07:24:00.001-05:00

Oh yes he is.

SPRING

2010-03-30T18:09:00.003-05:00

It is finally looking like spring has arrived. The sun is out, and the birds are singing. Yippee! I might even be hopeful if it weren't for ObamaCare and the Barren County Jail project.

Both of them were cramdowns. Congressmen were bought and sold for votes. Congresswomen too. Senators sold their souls to help out the youthful, deceitful President who will be voted out in November of 2012 after his party of Statist Marxist/Leninists loses hugely in November of 2010.

Judge Greer didn't have the huge billfold to buy magistrates, but she was just as effective in getting her votes. Esquire Houchens is in her pocket because his wife works for the Judge, and the mere fact is enough. Who would vote to make his wife's life a living hell if he could avoid it? Houchens may be smarter than I think.

I can't figure out Charles Allen. I guess his vote stems from his desire to keep growing government. After all, he is a retiree who never, ever signed the front of a paycheck, at least I don't think he has.

Howard Bowman, Jr. voted to take care of his church buddy, Tommy Gumm. They attend service together, and I suspect church loyalty outweighed the people's interest.

Carlie Coe, Jr. is the real bad guy. This puppy was DEAD until Coe, Jr. changed his vote to make this piece of crap a nightmare. He was against it before he was for it. How about that! Coe, Jr. deserves every bit of the contempt I feel for him right now.

There is a solution. Each of these men has a primary in May of this very year. We can get rid of them, and we can do it soon.

Vote against the big spending boys, and send a message to the Judge to rein in her spending.

It is all we have left.

Tobacco Road

2010-03-29T09:55:00.002-05:00

The state of North Carolina continues to produce Final Four teams.

The Dookies won a berth to Indianapolis by beating Baylor.

If the Glasgow Common Council had prohibited smoking about 50 years ago, we wouldn't have these tobacco schools in basketball. You see, tobacco built Duke.

Our Glasgow politburo would do well to study their history.

Rocky Top

2010-03-28T17:20:00.003-05:00

I wanted the Volunteers to win.

Make no mistake, I don't like Bruce Pearl's style, but he produces. Tennessee could have won today, but it wasn't to be.

There are many reasons for my partiality for Tennessee today, but I wanted them to make the Final Four because they'd never been there before.

I don't like Michigan State basketball as a general rule. Depends who they play. Today I didn't like it.

Oh well, one to go. Baylor leads by one with 15:34 to play. Go Bears!

I never like the Dookies.

De-Clawed

2010-03-28T07:28:00.002-05:00

I hate it when I lose.

I hate it when WKU loses.

I hated it last night when the Cats lost to West Virginia, but the Mountaineers pulled the claws of the youngsters from Kentucky.

Much has been written and said about the fabulous freshmen, and all the praise is deserved. They are really, scary good.

They are not ready for the National Basketball Association. They don't shoot free throws well. They are inconsistent from the 3-point line. They don't take care of the basketball. As athletic as they are, they didn't compensate for their carelessness on the court. West Virginia whipped them, and that is that.

I hope the youngsters were stung enough to stay in school. I doubt if they follow the example of Patrick Patterson who deserves the admiration and adulation directed his way. Patrick Patterson completed his degree requirements in three years while playing ball at the "Valhalla" of college hoops. I admire him for it, and I wish him well.

CBS announcer Bilas or Enberg, I don't remember which, said superstar John Wall was a great student and a fine young man. Calipari brags on Wall as a stellar human being. I hope Wall will complete his degree before moving on.

I hope they all stay. It would be fun to watch them in the years to come. I hope the lure of big money in the NBA isn't enough for them to leave.

Of course, I hope they lose to WKU if we ever get to play them!

Butler Does It!

2010-03-27T17:43:00.002-05:00

I love March Madness!

The Butler Bulldogs just defeated #2 seed Kansas State only two days after defeating #1 seed Syracuse. Way to go!

Butler is the team my old friend Tom Holmes always followed. I don't know why, but Tom really loved Butler. He always put a little bet down on the Bulldogs, and he won a lot of the time. He probably won today. I am glad.

It is a victory for the unappreciated and disrespected. Butler is 'everyman' today. It reminds me that individuals who make an effective team can prevail against huge odds. It reminds me that great things can be accomplished by hard work. Butler gets to go home to Indianapolis to play in its first ever Final Four.

Congratulations, Butler. You serve to inspire. Every American should look toward you today and be proud.

Send It Back

2010-03-25T07:10:00.003-05:00

The GOP Senate found an error, and the House has to vote again. Don't get your hopes up. The sheep will vote with the Speaker, and the monster will live.

Evidently Pell Grants are off limits in the ObamaCare bill. Good. It is just too bad that many other things weren't found. We will live with this "crap sandwich" until the GOP de-funds it in 2011. I can't wait. I am almost giddy!

Anyway, I will go about my business, and I will try to contribute to the dialog on things as I see them. If you disagree, don't be disagreeable. If you agree, say so right here on the site. I am happy to hear from you.

By the way, Democrats believe sex offenders should have the right to have their Viagra bought under ObamaCare. It is in the bill although specific language may not be there. It is sufficient to say that erectile dysfunction drugs are allowable under Medicare/Medicaid rules that allow sex offenders to buy them or have them subsidized by the taxpaying public.

With members like John Edwards, Gary Hart, Barney Frank, and Max Baucus calling the shots, none of us should be surprised.

It Has Come To This, Part 2

2010-03-24T07:15:00.004-05:00

The City Fathers and Mothers have done it. They have decided to protect us all from ourselves and from each other. They passed a smoking ban. They damaged Liberty in the process.

No one argues there are more healthful endeavors than smoking. I don't argue it, and I will argue with almost anyone about anything.

However, I also argue that free adults armed with knowledge of an endeavor know themselves whether or not they wish to take a risk. Liberty allows us to make choices for ourselves.

Now, for the sake of all those who surround us, the City Fathers and Mothers order us to put out the butts and live more healthily. Ugh! I feel the gun at my back now. They enforce the diktat with fines at the point of the guns of the Glasgow Police Department. I fear for Liberty in my hometown.

Did the City Fathers and Mothers have the authority to do this? Yep, unfortunately, they did. Does "SanFran Nan Walton-Shirley Pelosi" have the right to lobby for a healthier restaurant to enjoy her trans-fat laden meal? Sure, she does. It is America. Or Amerika? Just look at the good doctor. Have you seen familiar hand gestures lately? Remember Pelosi's speech to the Congress? The good doctor even talked about it.

“We’ve enacted our own personal health-care reform for this community,” said Dr. Melissa Walton-Shirley, a key proponent of the smoking ban and local cardiologist.

Her comments remind me exactly of Speaker Pelosi's and her attitude appears to be similar to the Speaker's regarding the ability of Americans to make decisions on their own. The good doctor is a big government Statist who believes government exists to tell us how to live our lives.

I am saddened by the decisions of certain City Fathers and Mothers. I call some of them "friend", and I will call them "friend" today and into the future, but in this case, they all cast a vote for government intrusion into the private lives of citizens. They were wrong. They will try to defend the action, but they cannot defend it in the cause of Liberty. They don't know what is good for us, and they have no business trying to tell us otherwise.

Pick one of the Fathers and Mothers who voted for this monstrosity, and vote them out. If you are a patient of the "good doctor" or her partners, move to another physician. If you buy insurance from Jim Marion, move your business. If you buy prescriptions from Freddie Norris, buy them somewhere else.

If they pay no price, they will continue down this road to violate your Liberty.

Make 'em pay!

It Has Come To This

2010-03-23T08:08:00.003-05:00

The Republic is going the way of Rome.

Debasement of the dollar will continue, and King Dollar will be destroyed finally and totally. Government continues to spend and spend. Government cannot stop; it is in its DNA.

Having said that, I send congratulations to the Kentucky State Senate for its courage in cutting spending. The vote was 35-2. The defeat of the House's big spending and highly partisan budget will not pass. I am proud of the Senate and its leadership on both sides of the aisle.

Barren County is going to pass a budget in the next few weeks. The jail continues to be the drag, but citizens need to look at every single line of the budget.

We spend money in advance of receipt of revenue. The budget contains an automatic pass for the Barren/Metcalfe Ambulance Service. No one ever looks at that budget item for fear of the retribution to come from the crybabies down there, especially Director Swift who trembles with fear at the thought of oversight by taxpayers. Swift attacks any attempt at balancing the Service budget as an effort to get rid of it. It is absurd, and so is he for crying wolf.

Truth be told, the Service is a burden on the budgets of the communities that subsidize it. It doesn't have to be that way, and here is how to balance the budget.

First, take away the subsidy for nursing homes. Presently, the Service bills the nursing homes only what Medicare/Medicaid reimburses. That is wrong. These for-profit entities should pay whatever the normal charges that anyone without insurance pays. Change it now.

Second, take no more Medicare or Medicaid. The fee collected is below the cost of the Service, and the taxpayers of the ambulance service area subsidize the Federal and State governments. That is wrong. Change it now.

Third, make sure all services are billed. In the past, the Service had a huge backlog of unbilled charges. This may have changed, but someone must make sure the bills are mailed. It is elementary. If they are not going out in a timely fashion, that is wrong. Change it now.

Fourth, look to sell the service. Get this elephant off the budget. It is a valuable asset, and someone will pay big bucks for a health care provider that is a revenue generator. Lots of businessmen/women could take this agency and make a profit. It turns a drag into a tax-paying entity.

Radical times call for radical actions.

This is a first step.

Comrade Obama

2010-03-14T14:40:00.002-05:00

It is all I can say about a man who wants the transformation of America that this man wants.

He is a Marxist. He is a Stalinist. He is a Leninist. He is a Statist. He hates America and everything America means to the world.

He has willing accomplices in the deceitful and hateful Speaker of the House and the snide and sniveling Majority Leader of the Senate and the media of America.

This crowd is so radical that it is difficult for me to comprehend.

You see, I love my country. I know we are not perfect, but I know we have been blessed with a form of government that gives every person the chance to be wildly successful.

Now we have leadership that wants to destroy it all. What will they do when the people who work lay down their tools and say, "I've had it." Will they make us pick them up, go back to work, and continue to steal the product of our labor?

It is the direction they are driving us. It is time to stop, and I confess that I shudder to think of the method that will be required. I fear for my country. This isn't going away until every last one of them is defeated at the polls, and I pray that's how it ends, with electoral defeat for them all.

Other alternatives are unthinkable. We finally have more to fear than fear itself.

We should fear Comrade Obama.

Spring Forward

2010-03-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

And I missed it. I am up late. I decided to write since I have missed the normal Sunday routine.

I sliced a mango from Peru. It was perfectly ripe, sweet, and good. It was from Peru.

I am drinking coffee made in a Tassimo coffee maker. One cup of goodness.

I type on a laptop made by Hewlett Packard. It has an AMD Turion X2 chip for a brain, and the operating system is Vista by Microsoft. It is WiFi equipped, and I am using the wireless feature right now.

Yet I worry about things that should be, but are not.

America faces the crisis of my lifetime. Congress are on a path to the destruction of the Republic and its Constitution. Socialized medicine is the goal, and the Democrat party will stop at nothing. Speaker Pelosi and President Barack Hussein Obama are betting the farm on passage of the monster that will kill America. That is their hope.

They are not sincere in their expressions of concern for Americans. They are elite Statists who believe the government exists to service them and them alone. They only want us to work, pay taxes, and shut up.

No longer. America is on the trail of these thieves and robbers who would devastate the economic wonder that produces the wonders at the beginning of these thoughts of mine.

I have no control over the Fiscal Court either. If I did, I promise you the jail wouldn't be built. I have heard there are roadblocks that have arisen in the past few days. I hope so.

Judge Greer is wrong. The people of Barren County are telling her she is wrong, but just like, Pelosi and Obama, she bores ahead on her suicide mission. It is a shame.

Like her, four magistrates are headed for the same cliff. Coe, Bowman, Allen, and Houchens all support the jail project, and none of the four have the first idea how it will be paid for. They are borrowing money. Borrowing at a time when credit for business is tight. Borrowing so another generation can pay the bill. Borrowing just like the Federal government that each of them so criticizes for doing the same thing.

Defeat them all.

Barren County Jail, New Edition, Is A Loser

2010-03-07T18:31:00.002-06:00

Well, they did it.

Greer, Coe, Bowman, Allen, and Houchens voted to sell bonds to finance the jail. They also voted for automatic tax increases against Barren County citizens to pay for the darn thing.

It is a classic case of "cram down", and the people who voted for this mess deserve to be defeated at the earliest opportunity. Vote against them in the primary, or vote against them in the fall. Either way, throw them out of office as soon as you can.

We pay enough taxes, and now this gang of five has decided to make us pay more if their precious jail doesn't balance its books with sufficient additional revenue to pay off eight million dollars worth of debt.

That's right. They have borrowed 100% of the price. All of it. Todo.

It is the only issue worth considering this election season. The only one.

The Truth Versus What I've Been Told Jeff Jobe Said

2010-03-07T14:07:00.005-06:00

I don't read local papers. For the most part, both the local papers are fit only to line the bird cage. Neither asks the tough questions. In the case of the Jobe Publishing empire, the publisher prefers to practice this for his editorials than to report the truth.

At the recent "tea party" meeting, I presented the case for contacting the two potential votes that might have derailed the jail train to nowhere. I had told the leadership I would be ready to present in the event the Senate candidates didn't show up. Two showed up, but the third, Grayson, didn't show because the "tea party" member who was supposed to contact him, in her words, "dropped the ball". The allotted time for Rand Paul and Bill Johnson passed, and I had the chance to fill the balance of the agenda.

Following the presentation, I was physically "fingered" by an angry woman "tea partier" who proceeded to tell me that, "I am disappointed in you. You know this isn't why this was formed." It was the same woman who admitted earlier to "dropping the ball" on Grayson. I don't take well to being "fingered" around on so I told the woman to keep her hands off me, and I turned away to avoid any further confrontation with her. The interim chairman asked for others to opine on the issue. The "ball dropper" could have, but to my knowledge, she declined.

Jeff Jobe of Jobe Publishing approached me aggressively to ask me about my presentation. He accused me of speaking for my brother. Of course I wasn't. I speak for myself, and only one with no knowledge of my political life, credentials, and principles would believe otherwise. Well, a liar might say otherwise too, but I don't call anyone that without irrefutable evidence. With malice toward none, I forgive both instances.

I told Jobe specifically that he should call my brother if he wanted to know what my brother thought about the issue. I told Jobe that my brother could speak for himself. Instead of doing a little more work, Jobe went nuts on his editorial page in his bird cage liner of a newspaper, and he accused me of speaking for my "big brother". Once again, one who knows anything about me, my brother, or our blood kin would also know that I am the big, or older, brother. I can understand the ignorance of someone who knows nothing about me, and I forgive such ignorance. However, a real journalist would check facts before writing such drivel.

Jobe accused me, my brother, and all our blood kin of practicing politics of threats and intimidation. He is wrong. And it is that simple.

Jobe accused me and my brother of a vendetta against him for his refusal to grant an endorsement for an office neither sought nor desired. Jobe accused us of anger with him for his alleged refusal to endorse Carl for county judge. I ask Jobe, during which county election cycle did Carl ever seek the office of county judge, 2002, 2006, or 2010? He made accusations which are false and for which he should be ashamed. In this case, I ask for the proof of Carl's intentions to seek the office that Jobe alleges Carl sought. Proof. Simple proof. Is it forthcoming?

Jobe accused me and my brother of threatening him during the primary for State Senator in 2008. In Jobe's deluded world, he believes he would have won the primary without the entry of Bob Bryant into the race. Jobe is deluded. Barren County voters know Jobe well enough to refuse to elect him then, now, or forever, but if he believes himself to be such a great vote-getter, I challenge him today to put himself back out there! Try it again, big boy! Let's see just how tough you are at the ballot box. Wait, would a deluded mind consider that to be a threat? It's not meant to be. I issue a challenge, and nothing more. Please, Jobie, don't accuse me of threatening you again.

In any event, I didn't read the Jobe Publishing rag last week so I cannot tell you exactly what was written by the deluded pen of its publisher. The information was relayed to me via telephone. You can decide for yourself.

Either way, I'd still like to see the greatest vote-getting loser in Barren County history put his name back on a ballot. How about it, Jobe? You up for it again?

I'd be willing to bet the results won't change much.

Sanctimony

2010-02-24T14:06:00.001-06:00

I am watching Congressmen and Congresswomen who can't run a lemonade stand give a lecture to a billionaire from Japan.

This is humiliation, and the Japanese will not soon forget it.

We have some very stupid people in Congress.

Taxes and Bonds in Barren County

2010-02-23T21:27:00.003-06:00

I just got home from the Barren County Patriots Meeting.

We had Rand Paul and Bill Johnson as our guests. Both gave very nice speeches, and we can be pleased with the openness of our group. Trey Grayson was invited, but he did not attend. I don't know why he wouldn't come, but I suspect it had something to do with the upcoming Lincoln dinner at Barren River Lodge where he is the sole keynote speaker. Paul and Johnson have been offered two minutes each according to Conne' Baker of the GOP women. Ha!

I need to get to the point.

The Patriots is a group that has been formed to provide information to folks so they might decide what decisions they should make to improve their lives.

As such, it is incumbent upon us to talk about national, state, and local issues.

I did just that tonight. I fully disclosed that I opposed the jail project promoted by Judge Executive Davie Greer. I fully disclose my topic at tonight's meeting. I told folks how to defeat the bond issue and therefore, defeat the jail. Most folks were willing to listen although my passion on the issue was obvious.

Following my presentation, Conne' Baker told me she was "disappointed" in me because the Patriots group was not the place to discuss local issues.

If not there, then where?

It is my opinion that the local GOP women will do anything to keep the jail on the "back burner" and to deflect criticism of Judge Greer as the criticism relates to the jail.

Well, the jail is a loser. A big LOSER. It costs too much, and it provides too little. It is just that simple. Did I say it is a loser? Well, it is a loser.

I am sick of tip-toeing around issues because we don't want to hurt someone's feelings. Folks want information. Folks want facts. It is our job to give them facts when we have the facts. Anything less is dishonest!

I am against the jail and the bonds to pay for it. Help defeat it. Call Jr. Coe at 651-1100, and tell him to vote NO. Call Jr. Bowman at 678-4978 and tell him to vote NO. We can win. We can.

Why Elect?

2010-02-07T16:31:00.004-06:00

We have elections in the United States. Candidates of every political stripe "run" for office. We vote for those people with whom we agree. Isn't that the point?

Years ago I ran for office. I lost my first election. It was a primary, and more Republican voters wanted what Steve Nunn stood for than what I stood for.

A few years later I ran again, and I won. People in Barren County wanted what I'd said I would do, and they didn't want Tim Gillenwater.

Freddie Travis offered what the people wanted in 1998, and I lost my last election.

My personal history makes my point. We have elections so people will have a choice, and after the vote people get what they deserve because they made the choice.

I was recruited to run in 1990. People wanted a Republican alternative to the Democrat office holder. They did not like the things the Democrat stood for, and they wanted a different future for the House of Representatives' 23rd District. People didn't agree with the incumbent so they wanted someone else.

People were opposed to my work as county judge executive so Mr. Travis was recruited to run against me. Sadly, more people wanted him than me. I have an opinion on the present well-being of the county, and I believe truly that Barren County would be better off today if I had been re-elected. Just my opinion, and I have it because I like me. (Forgive me!)

When I read stories about people who want to change government, I always wonder exactly what they are doing to change it. Will they run? Yes, some will. Will they sit back and go off on vendettas against those who oppose them? Some will. Is the country better off when we exercise our rights to recruit those with whom we agree to represent our views, or do we just sit back and do nothing when we are distressed with the actions of elected officials?

We have elections, we recruit candidates, and we influence policy with our efforts. We are obligated to do it because we are graced with the greatest system of government in the history of the world.

We do poorly as citizens if we sit back and do nothing when we disagree.

A healthy Republic stays healthy when there is open, honest, and sometimes contentious debate. Anyone who sits on his haunches in front of his word processor and prints spiteful newspaper editorials with no offer for open debate is no citizen. He wants to be a tyrant, and with these words, I call him such.

My friends, discover what you believe. Act on your beliefs, and if you are called upon to run, run. Say what you believe, and be proud of your beliefs. If you don't like something, work to change it. Recruit someone you can be FOR.

No matter what, don't sit there and do nothing, and don't sit there and complain. Do something!

Hating On Giving

2010-02-01T17:28:00.003-06:00

America is a giving nation. America has always been a giving nation. Our people respond when there is a need. Left to our own charity, America is powerful enough to meet every true need. Government will not leave us to fund our charity, so needs are not met, and government says it must become involved when government is at fault in the first place.

The present occupant of the White House has just proposed a new budget. It is floating on a sea of red ink. Included in it is another swipe at high earners in the form of a limit on charitable deductions.

I seldom use his name, but it is time. Barack Obama wants to tear asunder the fabric of America's greatness. He wants to destroy private charity. He will say government must step into the void left by his taxation against private donors. It is Obama's vicious circle.

Obama is a Leftist Marxist-Leninist. I refuse to believe otherwise. His every plan is drawn straight from radical Communist, Leftist thought. He is dangerous, and he is a sociopath.

America is exceptional. She will provide when there is a genuine need, and she will provide generously.

It is a sorry state of affairs that allows Obama to rend our nation with his radical, government-only-can-provide solutions. November of 2012 can't get here soon enough.

It is time for him to retire to Chicago. Or to Marion.

Isn't that where the Feds own a maximum security facility?

Insanity

2010-01-31T12:25:00.004-06:00

I have heard recently that a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Building a new jail in Barren County, Kentucky is insanity.

During the mid-1990s, I was Barren County's Judge Executive. Late in my only term in office, Jailer Ronnie Scott came to Fiscal Court with a proposal to renovate the jail to accommodate more prisoners. These prisoners were classified as Class 'D' felons. These felons are supposed to be the least dangerous felons. I don't subscribe to the opinion that felons are less dangerous because of an alphabet designation. Felons are felons, and they have been convicted of crimes against humanity. It is simple to any who will look objectively at the situation.

In addition, the Court was promised the jail would be in compliance with regulations for decades into the future. HA!

Jailer Scott sold the Fiscal Court on his grand scheme to spend about seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000.00) to rebuild the jail. Jailer Scott promised the Court that the jail would begin to turn a profit on the prisoners due to the fees paid by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to Barren County for lodging these felons.

The Court, all seven magistrates, voted to rebuild the jail. The cost estimates from the chosen construction manager would allow the county to make some money. They were wrong then, and the present Court and Judge Greer are wrong now. That jail project cost over one million dollars, the County still pays on that debt today to the best of my knowledge.

A jail cannot be operated 'in the black'. It is always going to be subsidized by the taxpaying public. The loss of public money can be limited however. A jail of sufficient size to house county misdemeanor offenders can be operated with minimal cost compared to a proposed prison inside the city limits of Barren County seat Glasgow.

The Fiscal Court has voted to build a new jail to the tune of approximately ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00) of borrowed money. Does this method of government operation sound familiar? It should. It is the same method adopted by President Obama and the Congress. Borrow it. Spend it. Someone else will pay the bill later.

What is it about jails and Fiscal Courts? The present day Court is buying the same bill of goods that the previous Court bought. The State's payments of below market fees for housing felons will never pay for a jail. The present Court is doing the same thing as my Court. They expect a different result. Get it? It is insane.

Judge Greer is wrong. Years ago a Fiscal Court was sold a bad idea. It lost money taxpayer money; the promise of profits from state prisoners and "free labor" never became reality. The past Court deluded itself. The present Court is doing the same thing.

Judge Greer is leading the Court in the same direction followed by that old Court over twelve years ago. She expects to spend money, take in state prisoners, balance the jail budget with the extra money for renting jail cells to the state at sub-market, below cost rates, and pay the debt she is loading onto the backs of all Barren County taxpayers. It is the same direction the old Court took. It never did pay off then, and it won't pay off now.

Judge Greer is doing exactly the same thing by making exactly the same argument that was made several years ago. She is also expecting a different result. Is it insanity?

Yes, resoundingly yes, and if it is not stopped now, Judge Greer will have loaded a debt burden onto our children and grandchildren that won't be paid for more than a generation.

Now What?

2010-01-20T14:11:00.007-06:00

Occupant, the Present One, has "ordered" Reid, Pelosi, and others to back off on the socialized medicine takeover. Good riddance.

Occupant, the Present One, wants to work with Republicans on other things. He might be sincere, but I doubt it. He, the Present Occupant, is not trustworthy. Don't listen to what he says; watch what he does.

He, the Present Occupant, is still an ideologue of the Left. There is no change, and there is no hope for change with this guy. He, the Present Occupant, is a sociopath. Do a 'google' dictionary for 'sociopath'. You will find a description of Occupant. It scared me when I looked it up. I am warning you now so if you proceed with the definition search, be prepared.

Patriots, Tea Party activists, and just plain vanilla Americans have a very real opportunity right now. We cannot allow ourselves to be compromised by the 'business-as-usual' GOP as it is exemplified in the 'good old boys club' aka the United States Senate.

Occupant will reach out to the remaining Republicans by offering them the bribes, or the bribes.

In other words, be ready. The Present Occupant will try to buy off the GOP for his agenda. You don't think so? I refer you to TARP in 2008. The usual suspects are ripe for picking. They want the money. They will do anything to be invited to the White House for parties. They can be bought.

Trust, but verify. If your GOP Senator tells you something, hold him/her to her word. Don't let them slide one little bit.

Now, for the real goodies.

We should demand an immediate tax cut, across the board, for everyone. A 10% cut should do it. We should demand an immediate spending cuts of at least 20%. We should demand a return of their sovereignty to the states. We should dismantle the Department of Education. Education is purely a function of state government.

Dismantle the Department of Energy; move its functions to Interior. Dismantle the Department of Commerce; move its functions, including the census, to the Treasury. I don't know how much money I just saved, but it ain't chicken feed.

Actually it is pretty easy to govern. We have the master plan in the form of the United States Constitution. Read it; study it. The Constitution deserves your study. It is the supreme law of the land.

Haitian Devastation

2010-01-13T12:49:00.002-06:00

The disaster in Haiti is one of the most horrible events a people could ever suffer.

I cannot express the horror I feel because of the pictures I see.

America is responding, but very soon, America's private pocketbooks will open widely and overwhelm any response from the Occupant and his administration. That is as it should be, and I am proud of my country for our charity to our fellow man.

The very sad part of this will be the return to the same old, same old after Haiti is on the way to recovery, such as the recovery might be. It is horrible, and recovery is just a word to describe the re-construction of buildings and infrastructure. Human suffering cannot be made to recover.

America responds. America sends treasure. America sends the best America has, yet in the final tally, America will be criticized by the likes of Chavez, Castro, Kim Jong Il, and Ahmadinejad, and the world will shake its head and tell us we use too many resources and make too much carbon.

America is exceptional. America has always been exceptional, and tin horn dictators pronouncements to the contrary, be proud of America.

And we will help.

It is precisely who we are.

Free Markets Versus Big Business

2010-01-13T10:10:00.002-06:00

Conservatives like me believe in free markets. We see them work. My family's business depends solely on markets for the price we receive for our product. It's that simple. If demand for flooring, furniture, cabinets, or pallets goes up because of building, remodeling, or industrial expansion, our prices go up, and we benefit. If the economy contracts, and no good things happen, prices go down. Simple.

Big Business does not work this way. Big Business' biggest customer is Big Government. Big Business spends money at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to make sure its products get preferred tariff treatment. BB spends money in D. C. to make sure its tax loopholes stay open. BB in its many incarnations (Big Pharma, Big Insurance, Big Banks, and others) works hand in glove with Big Labor, witness the Auto Bailout, to make sure D. C. protects it from innovative competitors who might have a better idea. BB makes sure it gets preferred treatment to buy out these folks. It's a shell game, and average Americans suffer for it.

Congress should exclude lobbyists from its halls. Congress should do it now.

No one except the Congressmen would mark the absence, and the Congressmen would only notice the hole in the campaign accounts.

And there is the problem. Congressmen are bought and paid for by Big...Things; name your own favorite villain. If we are serious about reform, we must demand that no corporate entity or its representative can give or donate one thin dime unless the entity or its representative agrees to stay off Capitol Hill.

Or we can just do away with income taxes. The tax code prohibits average people from keeping the money they earn. The tax code has these loopholes exploited by the Bigs. The tax code is a sham. It punishes the Middle Class and rewards the Bigs who can hire the talent to go around the intentions of the Congress to tax them.

Quite a leap? Yep, but by golly, we have to make some leaps of faith. Repeal the income tax today by repealing the 16th Amendment. It is time to free the Middle Class from the handcuffs of Big Government and its Worshipers at the altar of Congress.

By the way, the Big Bankers are testifying on Capitol Hill today. The carbon footprint for hot air has spiked!

There Is Just SO Much

2010-01-12T12:43:00.003-06:00

Where does one begin?

Harry Reid's insensitive remarks are an obvious target for opportunity fire. He was stupid, and it was not insulting to Present Occupant. Reid insulted me, you, and every other thinking voter in America. Reid lumps the voting public into a pool of intolerance because he thinks we are too dumb to be trusted to decide things without his help. I don't like it, and I hope he loses. He deserves a speedy return to the desert, never to be heard from or seen again.

What is next?

Well, Occupant blew the response to the Christmas "Pantie Bomber". I used to love golf, and I understand why standing over that putt in a skins game is so very important. Wait, did I say skins? I didn't mean anything bad. I just used the word to specify a golfing wager. I am not insensitive. It's a game. Darn it, Harry Reid, this nonsense was off the front pages, and then you had to open that overlarge mouth of yours with your sanctimonious sagacity. I hope you lose, Harry. Oh, by the way, guess who else spouted off?

Say it ain't so, Joe?

Tucker Carlson has opened The Daily Caller. Check it out. It's really good. I'll be referring to it along and along.

I think the biggest news is the full court press Scott Brown is putting on Massachusetts voters. Readers, we can kill health care by helping elect Scott. Donate or volunteer to call a list. Either way, it helps drive a stake into the heart of Occupant Care, and it will save us from the unholy alliance forming between Big Government and Big Pharma/Big Hospitals/Big Insurance. Scott's opponent is benefiting from this devil's deal.

What To Do, And Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T10:01:00.004-06:00

I have no control over anything related to the Federal government. It's a shame I don't.

If I were in the Congress, I would immediately propose to establish a fund to pay a bounty to neutralize members and leaders of terrorist organizations around the globe. I suppose $100 million per head is sufficient. Proof of capture or kill is deliverable to any United States embassy around the world. Of course, bomb-sniffing dogs must first inspect the remains or individual. After that, x-rays, CT scans, and TSA searches must be made. We have to make sure they aren't going to have a "man-made disaster" or something.

Risk and reward is something individuals of all stripes understand.

Even the Somali pirates might like a piece of the action.

Filibuster

2009-12-26T20:33:00.002-06:00

I agree with the tactic used by Senators Nelson and Lieberman, and don't make the mistake of assuming the GOP caused the delays in voting on Occupant's health care, socialized medicine takeover.

The present Democrat caucus has 60 votes. 58 Democrats and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats. 60 just happens to be the magic number to invoke cloture and end debate on any issue, including the Occupant takeover of health care to substitute socialized medicine for America.

All the whining and crying about Republican obstruction is a smoke screen by the Marxists to cover their radical agenda. The Marxists opine in favor of bipartisanship, but they want no such thing. The Marxists want only submission from the minority. The Marxists would like to have 5 or 6 GOP votes too, but until they are willing to give time for debate on issues of true reform, they will have no votes from the minority caucus.

I should explain Marxist, and I shall by naming a few. Harry Reid. Chuck Schumer. Dick Durbin. Bryan Dorgan. Jon Tester. Evan Bayh. Ben Nelson. All of the Democrat caucus. They sell their votes for financial considerations designed to assist their re-election efforts. They are no better than criminals.

One other name belongs on the list, but I don't utter it. Present Occupant will have to suffice. I need to remember his tenure is only temporary. January 20, 2013 would be a good day to have a new President of the United States who loves Liberty more than the sound of his own voice.

Merry Christmas To All Except Congress

2009-12-24T17:45:00.003-06:00

I wanted to be kind and gentle for the Christmas holiday, but the trash in the United States Senate wouldn't allow it.

They are trash because nothing is sacred to them except for graft in the form of 'special' deals designed to give them cover for voting in favor of the worst piece of legislation in American history. They wanted to make history, and they have. It sucks.

The Republican leadership didn't do its job until the very few last minutes. They opted to send 'messages' to the Democrats who in turn laughed in their faces and voted in lockstep to socialize medicine in America. It is nothing less.

The minority is protected by our Constitution. The minority in the Senate is protected by the rules of the Senate which, to their credit, our leaders followed partially. They allowed the Democrats to exercise their unanimous consent requests without objection until it was too late to really matter. They allowed Senator Reid to buy off his recalcitrant members by 'messaging' America while Reid was messaging Lieberman, Nelson, Sanders and others that the purse of America's taxpayers was open for plunder, and plunder they did.

Senator Jim DeMint was a very bright spot in all this for the GOP. Dr. and Senator Tom Coburn fought hard too. Maybe Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was a fighter too, but one would not know it because the 'master' of Senate rules was outmaneuvered at every turn by Reid. I know, I know; Reid had 60 votes. So? The rules of the world's greatest deliberative are structured so the minority can deliver debate and careful consideration of legislation.

We Republicans failed to win this one. We still have hope, though, because DeMint made some serious objections, along with McConnell, on the appointment of conferees to the committee to reconcile the Senate bill with the House bill. THAT will be fun to watch. I wonder which bunch of Democrats will swallow the hardest to get this piece of .... bill to go down? I will withhold the exact word until after the holiday.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to All. Except for Congress. There are always a few good guys, but collectively, the whole bunch stinks.

Merry Christmas!

Social Security and Me

2009-12-21T07:07:00.005-06:00

I am a baby boomer who was born in 1952. I have contributed to the Social Security system since I was 18. I have never calculated how many dollars I have put into the hands of bureaucrats who have plundered the system and bankrupted it.

Politicians of every stripe refuse to discuss reform of the system. It is called a third rail of politics meaning death if you touch it. It is time to stop being afraid of true reform of the system.

How do we do this?

Number one, we pledge to pay accrued benefits to each and every person who receives payments today. We pledge to pay cost-of-living increases annually. We will pay this money out of the general fund of the U. S. Treasury, and we will bring the trust fund concept to an end.

Number two, we pledge to pay back to every other person who has contributed to the system his/her entire contribution with NO interest. The payments shall be required to be made into a tax-exempt retirement account that is owned by the recipient. The income and gains from this account shall be exempt from taxes in perpetuity, and the owner may pass down by bequest to the heirs to his/her estate, again without tax liability.

Number three, we pledge to pay the present Medicare bills of eligible retirees out of the general fund of the U. S. Treasury. The Medicare trust fund shall be discontinued since it is also bankrupt.

Number four, employees shall immediately be exempt from any future payroll tax deductions for FICA (Social Security) and Medicare. Employers shall likewise be exempted from payments of matching funds. Employees may spend the additional funds in any way they choose except they must contribute at least 50% of the exempted payroll taxes into a retirement account that shall be tax exempt in perpetuity.

We made promises to retirees. We must keep those promises, but it is time to begin to plan for our own retirement, and we must take responsibility for ourselves.

No more government intervention shall be tolerated. The nanny state will destroy all individual initiative unless we start reform now.

Do not be deterred. Have courage. Courage conquers all.

It is a start. Feel free to "third rail me". I can take it.

Okay, It Was An F, Not a B+

2009-12-21T06:11:00.003-06:00

Present Occupant gave himself a solid B+ when Oprah asked him another one of those really, really rough and tough questions that gives Occupant pause about the objective fairness of media.

As all of you know, I come at issues from a Constitutional perspective. It is an originalist perspective. The Founders meant very specific things about the lack of power they intended the Federal government to have. Jefferson, Franklin, and even Washington, the father of our country, would say it is time for them to go. We have fallen so far that I wonder sometimes if we can climb back up.

Occupant deserves failure because he lied. He lied about Bill Ayres. He lied about Jeremiah Wright. He lied about Rashid Khalidi. He lies every day, and we all know it, but we don't want to say he is a liar because it's, well, too difficult to say because we don't want to offend anyone. Crap!

They didn't care when they destroyed the career of Robert Bork. They didn't care when another liar tried to destroy the reputation of Clarence Thomas. They didn't care when emails debunked the climate change myth. They didn't care when ACORN offered to 'prostitute' the organization to help a pimp and prostitute. They didn't care when Black Panthers blocked the entrance to a Philadelphia voting booth. They didn't care last night to vote to pass a monster of socialized medicine in the dead of night while America slept although a huge majority of Americans oppose the bill.

I am not under delusion about the nature of the beast in the White House. He is purely a creation of Rahm and Dave from the Windy City. He is nothing but a Chicago thug, and we are going to pay for our lack of effort against moderation in the interest of being collegial. I am sick to death of niceties that destroy fibers of the Republic.

It is time to name names. It is time to stop this nonsense. If we must wait until November of 2010, then so be it, but do not let that opportunity pass.

Support conservatives. Work for them, and then demand they follow up on their promises from the campaign. If you have no conservative candidate, give money to other conservatives like Marco Rubio in Florida, Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, or Chuck DeVore in California. There are many others. Find them here or here, and help them. Do it now.

We can win, but we must start right now. Tomorrow is too late.

Nelson's A Dufus, But This Is More Important

2009-12-20T12:23:00.004-06:00

Ben Nelson sold out. He sold all of us down the river for free (sponsored by MY tax money) Medicaid payments for Nebraska for all time. Harry Reid made the deal so Nebraska no longer has to match Medicaid payments from the state treasury; the Feds will pay 100% of Nebraska's new patients' expenses. It so violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection guarantees that it cannot stand a court challenge. Reid knows this, and so does Nelson, but they both figure they will be historic footnotes before it matters. They are right.

It is time for Conservatives to take over the Republican Party. We have to do it in the 2012 cycle, and we cannot take prisoners. We cannot be deflected by attempts to intimidate us. We cannot give in to the threats that Liberals will quit the Party. We have to take over, and we have to do so without remorse. We have allowed the Liberals to dictate long enough. We have allowed them to control the apparatus for enough time. They have destroyed the brand can restore limited government, lower taxes, and increased levels of Liberty for all Americans.

Notice what I just wrote. Limited government. Lower taxes. Increased Liberty. These are very broad terms, but each has in it the capacity to deliver large numbers of Americans to the voting booths across the land to recapture the legacy of Freedom given to us by the Founders.

Study each. Study the individual meaning to you. Study how to invoke the blessings of each. Study and be willing to speak up and speak out about what each is to you.

In 2012, I will be running for precinct captain in Barren County, Kentucky in Precinct #3. I am announcing now. I hope I have an opponent who wants to have the debate about conservatism versus moderation. May the better person win.

Join me in the battle. We can still win the hearts and minds of our friends, neighbors, and countrymen if we are willing to take strong stands in favor of reduced government at every level.

Americans desire Freedom. Conservative Republicans can deliver. We just have to have courage.

That's all it takes.

Simple Lessons

2009-12-13T09:14:00.005-06:00

A few years back I had a hive of bees. I loved watching them work while I had morning coffee. It was a nice diversion from the day-to-day drudge, and the benefit of wonderful, sweet, and gooey honey for a hot and buttered biscuit is not to be denied. Alas, a terrible storm came one day and blew away my hive, and I lost my bees. I haven't had the gumption to get another hive, but my brother, sister, and parents all have hives. I guess I inspired them to get them so maybe they will share some honey with me. Inspiration is not to be denied as an important aspect of invention.

This morning, as I drink my coffee, I am looking out my kitchen window and watching squirrels in the yard. They have frolicked all morning, but now one of them has returned to the job of collecting walnuts and hickory nuts from the ground. I am happy to have an abundance of "nut" trees for them. They are taking advantage of the last few mild days to lay in food for the coming bad days of winter.

They work, they save, they prepare.

How different is mankind from the animals of the planet? We have come to a point where we expect someone else to work, save, and prepare for us. We have become too sophisticated to do the drudge work. We refuse to learn the simple lessons of Nature.

There will be a reckoning. Society cannot demand more and more from its producers without wearing them out under the load of excessive taxation and regulation. We owe, but we don't owe it all to the Leviathan government.

Simple lesson: Lay in for your winter days. It will serve you well. Squirrels aren't all that dumb.

We Must Act In Our Own Interest

2009-11-22T10:37:00.003-06:00

The statists are celebrating today. They struck a blow against Liberty last night in the U. S. Senate chamber. If we don't recognize them for what they are, at every level, we will fail. It is that simple. We will fail if we are unwilling to stand up to them at every level of government.

Some statists don't even know what they are. Make no mistake: They are still statists; they don't realize it yet because they are too caught up in their very own political careers to realize it. It is the problem with most local officeholders. It is the same with most members of state legislatures. They aren't stupid people; they just don't know what they are.

The statist believes government can make it better. The statist believes he can take your tax money and do a better job of allocation of scarce resources than you can do. The statist will never admit that education, historic preservation, highway construction and maintenance, and emergency services can be done better by the private sector. The statist argues these "services" are just too big for the locality to handle them properly. Well, the statist is wrong.

He is not alone. We are equally ignorant of the power of Liberty to address these needs because we have stopped thinking of Liberty first. WE look to the state. WE allow the state to tell us we cannot do for ourselves. WE allow them to take our money and spend it on layer upon layer of bureaucracy, inefficient bureaucracy, that is unelected and unaccountable.

We have to wake up. The activities of the Congress should have sounded the alarm. We have to act now, or we are doomed to a life of slavery to the state.

Fight now while we can. Soon it may be too late. Learn what you can do for yourself along with your local friends and acquaintances. I trust my neighbors. I don't trust the Courthouse, Frankfort, and Washington, D. C.

You shouldn't trust them either.

Now What?

2009-11-21T13:49:00.002-06:00

Leader Reid has his 60 votes to bring the monster to the Senate floor. Socialized medicine is going to be debated.

I won't watch. I am sick to death of liars, and I am sick of watching them. There is no integrity in Washington, D. C. None, zero, zip, nada.

It is time to batten down the hatches and prepare for the worst. We will become subject to tyrants who want us dead. They want to keep up their preferred constituencies at the expense of the rest of us.

I promise you this. As soon as I can do it, I will lay down my job, and I will move on. I will stay under this tyranny no longer. Let someone else pay for it. I refuse. It is time to go. They will suck my blood no longer.

The really sad part is the lack of courage in America. Everyone wants to "get along" while the government takes everything we have.

It is time to call them out. Democrats, you are the bane of America. A pox on you, and I wish salt on your lands. You deserve the scourge. May the plagues of Egypt fall upon you. You are not the party of Jackson. You are the party of DEATH!

NO Need To Proceed

2009-11-20T18:45:00.003-06:00

We have reached the tipping point. Our backs are to the wall. It is time to fish or cut bait. Make your choice.

The statist enemy is within two votes of bringing to the Senate floor the worst bill in the history of America. By lying to us, Majority Leader Reid has brought his socialized medicine scheme to within two votes of consideration.

Make no mistake; any Senator who votes YES on the motion to proceed is casting a vote in favor of government-run health care with its death panels and rationing. Didn't you read about the new recommendations about mammograms? What about the new guidelines on pap smears? Have you looked at the recs, ladies?

You'd better look. They pretend to care. They don't. They want power.

Call your Senators if you haven't. Call Evan Bayh. Call Mary Landrieu. Call Ben Nelson. Call Blanche Lincoln. Tell them you will work to defeat them at the earliest opportunity. Tell them you will send money against them if they vote to proceed. Let them know that these votes will have very definite consequences.

We can compromise NO more. It ends now. Call. Write. Email. Tell them to stop.

Be Honest

2009-11-19T10:59:00.002-06:00

Liberty is not some vague and imaginary thing. Liberty is the very real result of respect for individuals who are willing to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Free to succeed yet free to fail. We should cherish Liberty.

It is unfortunate that we don't. We are all to willing to sell off just a little Liberty to pay for the latest safety net. Once the politicians learned they could vote goodies to the people in exchange for votes, there was no stopping it in the very long run. We are coming to the end of the cycle right now.

The Great Depression was brought on by government interference in the marketplace. It is really that simple. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the statist icon, decided on the path to take at the urging of his brain trust made up of Communist sympathizers and outright Communists. They set in motion a series of events that causes our suffering today.

We can reclaim Liberty and the blessing of Liberty once we realize that government is very limited in function. The Constitution constrains the Federal government if we have elected officials who believe the Constitution. The sad thing is we don't appear to have these folks in Washington, D. C. in sufficient numbers to help us.

The Constitution is beautifully written prose which is very easy to understand, and that is the beauty of the document.

In the interest of getting our share, though, we have allowed the political class to cause mutations of our revered founding document. They have no concern for the rule of law although they say they do. They have no concern for our "general welfare" although they say they do. They have no concern for the country although they say they do.

What is our share? What do we deserve if we have to have the power of the government's gun to get it for us? What are you willing to do to get your share, and from whom do you want to get it? Would you do theft? Would you do murder? Where will you stop?

Answer the questions for yourself, and be honest. Being true and honest to one's self is the first step to enjoying Liberty.

Be honest.

Liberty, Always Liberty

2009-11-18T06:54:00.002-06:00

Liberty is my passion. It should be yours.

When I listen to my member of the Kentucky Senate tell me it is a victory that he voted to only raise taxes by $50 million, I get mad. I don't care if he voted to cut $500 million. I care that he voted to raise taxes another $50 million instead of raising the cuts to $550 million. None of the "cuts" stopped Kentucky's Governor from passing out those golf tournament checks in the late special election in Northern Kentucky. Those cuts won't stop the same Governor from passing out checks in the special election in Senate 14. The cuts weren't cuts. It is all a game to them.

I am tired of the game. I want people to hold office who realize that expanded government, even by tiny amounts, takes away a bit of Liberty. I want people who will hold the line on spending, no matter which special group is asking for help. I want people who will keep an eye on the demagogues who tell us that Liberty is old-fashioned; we need to keep up so we must have more revenue.

Our nation is troubled because we have forgotten Liberty. It is precious. Ponder just how precious. Think about what you are willing to give up so government can "provide" something for you.

Always remember: Government produces nothing. Government consumes. There are specific functions for government, but these are very limited. Think for yourself. You are smarter than the people the masses have elected.

Think. Liberty needs thinkers.

I Wish I'd Seen It

2009-11-10T10:13:00.002-06:00

On November 9, 2009 Fox Business interviewed a baker from St. Louis, Missouri. The guy wasn't the CEO of a multinational corporation. He employed 80 people. He runs and owns a small business. He is like me.

The guy bemoaned the attitude of Congress. He wondered how members of Congress expect him and others to continue to ante up to higher and higher government tax rates. He wonders correctly.

The guy had a profit margin in a good year of one and one-half percent. In a good year. That's $1.50 out of each $100. He ain't getting rich unless he is selling $10,000,000 worth of donuts every year, and even if he is, he is making a profit of $150,000. That's mighty good, but it won't qualify his company for entry into the Fortune 500.

Congressional emperors believe middle American small businesses are making exorbitant profits. These emperors believe small businesses can just pass along any tax increases to their customers. It's stupidity!

What happens when the customer loses his job? What happens when the now-unemployed customer goes to the day-old shop for his donuts, or what happens if the customer just quits eating donuts to save a buck? The money runs out, but Congressional emperors are ignorant of this simple fact. There is a limit, and family budgets are stretched there right now. We have had enough.

The spending isn't just the fault of Congress. State legislatures and local governments share the guilt and shame. It is time for us to tell them all to cease and desist.

Find out what you are willing to give up. Tell your local government. Let them know. Tell them you will work against them if they don't stop this spending.

It must start at home. All politics, and all spending, is local.

The Republic Is In More Danger Today

2009-11-08T06:55:00.005-06:00

I am a little foggy just yet. My first cup of coffee is only half-finished, but I had some thoughts that can't wait.

The House of Representatives,complicit with Present Occupant, passed socialized medicine in the dead of night on November 7-8, 2009. The first knell has sounded.

Democrats argued the socialized medicine bill would improve the country. They argued the cost containment measures of the bill would reduce the budget deficit. They argued and argued and argued.

Republicans argued the opposite. The counter-argument went as one might expect. In the end Democrats prevailed because they had more votes. It was that simple. They had more votes.

The GOP in the House is devoid of any semblance of leadership. They have no strategic thinkers. They are poor debaters. They have no imagination. They should be replaced as soon as possible because they have failed in their responsibility to America. They did have the chance to address some big problems, and they failed.

Now, in their defense, they never had the huge majorities the Democrats enjoy today. They never had a filibuster-proof Senate majority. They didn't have a solid majority of conservative thinkers. They have no allies in the media to push the agenda like this crew of Congressional Democrats enjoys. They were weaker than this crew of Congressional Democrats.

An objective observer would have seen much to be sad about. Charles Rangel (D-NY) led the Ways and Means Committee in the consideration and debate of socialized medicine. He is a tax cheat. It was sad.

I am sorry. I don't want to write more now. I have more thoughts, but they are coming faster than my fingers can type them.

It is enough to say the Republic was damaged last night. It is not fatal, but our efforts must redouble, or the Senate will kill off this most noble experiment in the affairs of men. Please help by calling your Senators. Tell them to vote no on cloture. Tell them to oppose socialized medicine. The fate of your children depends on stopping this bill.

Mad Yet?

2009-11-03T08:03:00.009-06:00

If this doesn't do it, there is no hope for you.

How many small businesses have need for the credit this $2 million could provide? I can name at least ten, and I haven't thought about it.

Who helped grease the skids for this crap sandwich? It is important to notice the geography, and it is important to notice who won't comment.

Why, oh, why are we spending money like this? It isn't compassion, is it? Is it a law and order thing? Why? I want an answer, but I'll have to provide my own.

It is spending addiction.

We'd be better off funding a patch to wean politicians off the public's teat.