What We Have Taught Our Children.

As all of you know by now, there was another mass killing, this time in SC at a historical black church in Charleston. As all of you likely know by now is that the killer, who is not going to be named in this post, is a depraved racist and what you also likely know is that he bought the gun when he was 21 and it was his weapon of choice. Likely you know the caliber of the gun.

These facts have been all over the news.

You have also likely heard various politicians using the rhetoric of blaming race issues and lack of gun control.

While it is true that this was clearly a hate crime,and he used a gun ,the real issues aren't even being discussed.

Has anyone even had the nerve as to ask why he had such hatred? We have accepted the fact that he did, but no one is asking why.

Seems it's easier to blame the gun or the skin color of the person doing the killing rather than addressing the real problem.

That problem is us. We, as a society, have created monsters out of our children.

We have taught them moral relativism. If it's feel right to you do it.

We have taught them that killing is glorious. Look at any of the real popular games and movies. They are laced with violence and for some of them violence is the only purpose of the game.

We have taught them that life really doesn't matter. It's perfectly OK to kill babies before they are born or to terminate an elderly persons life because they aren't deemed productive members of society.

We have allowed fathers to disappear from families and for family units to brake down.

We have taught them that any kind of sex is OK and how to use a condom or get an abortion yet we haven't taught them any kind of morals.

They know the lyrics of many songs glorifying gangs,drugs and killing, yet most of them can't read or write.

We have taught them to hate the police to the point of where they are actively attacking the police.

We have thrown out religious principals, that there is a God ,and there is a standard that we are to live by.

Finally we have taught them division. We have (or should I say the politicians have) divided ourselves up by race, religion, gender, color,rich, poor (there are way to many to list) rather then looking at each other as worthwhile human beings.

As long as we continue to be divided and as long as we continue down this upside down path nothing is ever going to change.

Free Speech Means Free Speech

Free speech.

Last weekend, as I am sure most of you know, there was a contest in Texas to see who could render the best drawing of Mohammad. Two Muslim men, who allegedly had a tie to ISIS, tried to rush in and kill those people only to be killed themselves. The media went nuts, suggesting that this was too provocative, and that we really need to curb this kind of language that might cause hate or violence. I disagree. The Constitution of the United States makes it very clear that we have the freedom of speech/expression. “ Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech..” It does not say that you should be careful of what you say. It doesn't say to not speak of things that will anger or offend and it certainly does not speak against so called blasphemy. Yet the talking heads, both conservative and liberal, those who make a living using words and depictions, were suggesting that we need to curb this because someone might get killed. Really? I am sure when our fore fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence they knew that it was putting a noose around their necks, yet they wrote it any ways and later gave us the same right. More importantly; Why should we allow terrorists to dictate what we say or do in our own country? If they don't like our freedoms ,they are more than welcome to go to the 57 countries that are living under Sharia, no one is stopping them.

What seems to be happening, in my humble opinion,is that Americans are becoming so weak ,and soft ,that the only language, the only type of speech that can be handled by the PC crowd, is that which does not offend or is politically correct, and it's being taught to our students. Colleges across the country are filled with little more than PC nonsense but if you think differently, say your pro Israel or anti gay, then you are bigoted and you will be silenced or banned from speaking at campus events.

If the only type of speech that's ever going to be allowed is politically correct or soft and fuzzy than you do not have free speech. You have little more than regurgitation. You cannot have an exchange of ideas if only one point of view is allowed. No one said you have to like the other persons ideas but they are still allowed to have them and express them.

A few years ago I defended the rights of the Chick Filet owner to speak about his belief in traditional

marriage and the protest that ensued. I never mentioned one way or another as to whether or not I agreed, but because I defended his right to speak I was hammered by many and even some who are near and dear to me.

So if your reading this be prepared; I am about to do it again.

Yesterday I read about a school in Pennsylvania that had a week long celebration of various groups and cultures, culminating in GLTB awareness events on a Friday. It was suggested, though not required, that students come that day in multicolored or rainbow colored shirts to show their support. Most of the students did ,with two noticeable exceptions. Those two chose to wear Chick Filet shirts instead. As you can imagine, those two students were met with much outrage and were reportedly bullied and threatened by other students via Twitter and personal encounters. They were told beyond a shadow of a doubt, by fellow students, that their rights didn't give them the right to be “assholes” and yes that's a quote. So, if I am understanding this correctly, they have no rights because they take a differing view of the GLBT community? Really? Where is that written? It struck me then, as I was reading this, that the trend, PC free speech, is being taught to our school age kids now and that's why they would say something like that. You can't speak or express yourself because it's not politically correct or not what I believe so get in lock step with the rest of us.. This, as a small time writer and user of words, seems very sad to me.

I really shouldn't be surprised. We have been trying to make everything PC for a long time now and we have spent much of that time pandering and coddling to one of the most whiniest generations to ever come around. We have gone from calling our enemies out on a carpet to being afraid that what we say or draw might offend. How pathetic we have become.

In the end Freedom of Speech stands or falls depending on what we do with it. If we give in to the PC crowd it will eventually disappear and we will become a nation of mind numbed robots who only regurgitate that which we are allowed, but if we all buck that trend, and really celebrate the diversity of opinions (notice I didn't say agree with each other) we can put an end to all this PC silliness and fear, and once again truly embrace freedom of speech.

What Is Justice?

What exactly do you consider “justice” to be?

I always understood that justice was the process of fact finding before judgment was passed, you know the concept of innocent until proven guilty, instead of just guilty because of the color of your skin or occupation. Seems though that we have come to a place where if you are a police officer and you are white, you are immediately guilty of murder, or attempted murder, as soon as you attempt to do your job in dangerous circumstances.

Yet the flip side to this is that if you are a black teen age male ,or young adult, that you are innocent of everything, no matter how many crimes you have committed, if you are killed while resisting arrest. Or you are called “children”, rather then thugs, as you riot, loot and pillage, destroying others lives and livelihoods. Strange world when that is considered to be justice.

Please don't waste you time with the idea that I am speaking from some sort of “white privilege position” When I was the age of many of those “children” of whom I like to refer to as “punks or thugs” (though I will refrain lest I offend the more sensitive in the crowd) I was a part of that privileged class known as “white trash” I broke laws, took drugs, and was arrested on numerous occasions. Never convicted of anything of any importance but I was hassled by the police for things I didn't do and yes, just walking down the street was enough to get me stopped by them. Granted, this was in a small town, yet it never even occurred to any of us young punks, no matter how many times we were arrested, or stopped for something, to think of looting and burning down our own homes and neighborhoods, nor did we try and resist arrest, it seemed rather pointless because they knew us and they had the guns and badges.

But now, at least in the cities , it seems that this kind of behavior is considered to be justifiable. Sorry, I don't buy it. If you are violently resisting arrest, you should expect to get hurt or killed, and if you are rioting and looting you should expect to pay the price no matter what the skin color.

One person commented that you couldn't possibly hurt or arrest all those “children” ( the rioters) Why not? Those same “children” committed arson, attempted murder , vandalism, destruction of property etc. They stopped being “children” when they started doing these things. Some have argued that they were under the influence of adults. Fine, arrest them too,but don't excuse bad behavior with the notion of “the devil made me do it”, it is still no excuse. They destroyed lives. They destroyed businesses and homes that may never return and all this over a drug dealer who died in police custody , under unclear circumstances. Don't take me wrong, I am not routing for the police if there is a provable case against them, I am saying all the rioting and looting should have been stopped without all the BS excuses. Two injustices don't make either one right.

The sad part is that no justice is being served. The Green family is not being served justice, the innocent people, including the police officers, are not being served justice and even if it is proved that there is wrong doing it still does not justify destruction and chaos, that is not justice.

I Am A Traitor

I saw one of those “Meme's” that you see everyday on Facebook. Normally I ignore such things because most of them don't really get my attention, as I am more interested in whats going on in my friends lives than I am about unhappy cats and laughing babies. This one though got my attention and it actually concerns me a bit.

The basic idea behind this particular one is that you are a “traitor to this country” if you dislike the president and or his policies. I have a bit of a problem with that because,by this definition, that makes me a traitor to my country, because I fit the aforementioned description. I like very little of what he has tried to accomplish, I am glad that he has failed at most, and I don't like his arrogant manner. For this you would call me a traitor? Funny when President Bush was being hammered and run over by the left it was called “patriotic” and all part of your 1^st amendment rights. I agreed that it was at the time and I spoke loudly against those in the republican party that tried to say other wise or called it unpatriotic. This time though is different; You are suggesting that because I don't care for a sitting president or their policies I am now a “traitor.” Perhaps we need to review just what a traitor is.

Traitor: Noun, One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust,especially one who commits treason.

Not sure which part of this applies to me. I haven't betrayed my country, I have served it in both peacetime and war in the Marine Corp. I received several personal awards and was injured in the line of duty, in a war zone, while serving my country overseas, hmmm I guess that one doesn't apply...

My “cause” has been freedom and liberty for all people, as defined in the bill of rights, from an oppressive government, that seems bent on destroying that same bill of rights. I have consistently spoken out against both parties and their policies for violating those rights, so I guess that can't be it either....

“A Trust” I don't trust the folks in DC, as is the case for a large majority of Americans, so if that's it then I am guilty, however they don't trust us either so I guess that evens things out...

So I guess it must be that I am committing “treason.” According to the dictionary Treason is as follows:

“The betrayal of allegiance towards one's own country,especially by committing hostile acts against it or aiding it's enemies in committing such acts”

As I stated before ,I served my country honorably, I kept my oaths and though I haven't cared for the last couple of presidents, I have not acted in any way to aid or abet the enemy nor have I committed any acts of violence against the country or government.

So to whomever put out that MEME you really need to go and look up the word “traitor” before you throw out such a large blanket statement. Many of us who don't like him, or his policies, are just as honorable as those that do, and having a different political view does not make one a “traitor.” It means that I have a differing point of view that's all. If by your definition that makes me a traitor so be it. I wouldn't want to be loyal to anyone who really doesn't understand the meaning of the word.

It Is Cold!!!

Welcome to the new Ice Age! Just in case you have missed winter because you have been in a warmer climate, such as the Arctic circle for instance,those of us here in New England have been getting hammered with one snow storm after another. We are so buried in snow, that trying to get out of the driveway, to go anywhere, takes massive intestinal fortitude,skill and no small amount of craziness, along with a point man to step into the road to see if anyone is coming. Not saying it's deep or anything, but the tops of trees are starting to look like bushes and I have had some offers to rent out my snowbanks by various ski resorts.

The piece of this weather that has seems to have gotten lost in all the snow drifts is the extreme cold. It has been deadly cold across a major portion of the country, so bad in fact that Yale had to cancel, wait for it, their annual global warming protest. This post isn't about that but I have to say perhaps summer might be a better time.....

O yes back to the cold. I mention the extreme cold because, from a personal perspective, I am cold. Scratch that, my whole family is cold. Our apartment is just shy of being a freezer with uninsulated floors and leaky windows. It is so cold that we considered putting water down on the floor to freeze so we could just skate from one room to the next, saving time and allowing us some easy exercise. I am exaggerating a little but not by much.

It is however a fact that in order to stay warm we are having to wear extra clothes and shoes on our feet even while indoors because of the cold and because of the costs to heat. We have to keep it down around 62 or less during the day and turn it just above freezing so that pipes don't burst at night. We are not alone.

I talked with a friend yesterday who told me that she has to keep her temp down around 60 otherwise her heating cost would be as much as her rent and another who can't afford to heat at all so she's piling on the blankets to stay warm. This is insane.

For those of us living on fixed incomes this has been a tough winter. Imagine my joyful delight when I opened up my latest heating bill to find that it had increased by 75%. Not because we are using that much more but because they are charging us 75 percent more! Not only was that such blessed news, but then came the bonus, it is going to continue to go up for the foreseeable future. What joy! Now, not only do I get to be cold, but I get to pay a lot more for the pleasure!

Now I understand that companies need to make a profit, after all whats the point in going into business if you can't make any money at it, but a 75% increase and counting? I also understand the law of supply and demand. Right now there is a lot of demand for fuel, however,as a nation, we are not dealing with a lack of supply.

Most of the time I tend to lean towards the conservative end of the aisle when it comes to politics ( I know that comes as a complete shock) but this is one of those time where I have to reach over to the Liberal/Socialist aisle and even to my conservative brethren and suggest that we have to fix this.

There is no reason that in this country anyone should have to be cold in the winter because of price gouging and greed. Maybe I'm wrong and that's not whats happening, but if we are not lacking in fuel, and nothing else has changed, outside of it being colder, how else am I supposed to see this? Just a simple minded question.

Today Equals 1939

Today I saw the video of the Jordanian pilots brutal execution by ISIS. I thought the beheading of other hostages was bad enough but this brought this evil to a new all time low level. It was so bad that I had to turn off the volume because of the screaming. So why did I watch it you might wonder; I wanted a fresh reminder of the full blown evil that is waiting to destroy all of us because we will do nothing to stop it, by we I mean the western world, more specifically,our government. Mr. Obama makes statements, his people speak many words and still they do nothing. Sure they have been doing some bombing missions, sure we have some troops on the ground trying to train the Iraqi's, again, but we are still virtually doing nothing to stop them. Words don't matter to them, power does, and right now they are in the drivers seat of power. Does anyone really think that they couldn't be stopped by the combined forces of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, among others? Why are we letting them get away?

Does anyone here reading this remember what happened to Iran and Libya when Reagan took office? First the Iranians immediately released the hostages because they knew better than to mess with him and later we bombed the snot out of Libya. Both of those nations got very quiet for a long time after that. It was the combination of both the threat and the actual use of force, that stopped them.

Now we have a president with no backbone. He can't even bring himself to identify them as Islamic terrorists, never mind use force to stop them. He says we are doing things in a smarter way. What way is that sir? Please explain to all of us of how your policies of looking the other way are saving lives over there. I suspect that there are a couple of dead Japanese , not to mention, thousands of Muslims, as well as the pilot, that might disagree with you.

We are being told by our own government that it's wrong to offend Islam by drawing pictures of Mohammad or by telling the truth of him being such a pedophile and a mass murderer. It's perfectly OK to attack Christians and Jews but to insult Islam could get you thrown in Jail. It's OK to paint swastikas on Israels flag, or boycott them for defending their own land from Islamic terrorists, it's perfectly OK for someone to put a cross in a jar of urine and call it art but heaven forbid you draw a cartoon of Mohammad. That might earn you jail time or get you killed.

This whole mess reminds me of Neville Chamberlain getting off the plane in Britain in 1939 waving a piece of paper and saying that there wouldn't be a war with Germany because Hitler had signed that piece of paper. No one in Europe wanted to acknowledge the real danger that they faced so they turned a blind eye and 5 years later millions were dead and Europe was all but destroyed. Apparently we haven't learned.

ISIS is growing by leaps and bounds. They have money , they have sophisticated weapons, they have some of the best recruiting tools, using modern equipment, to show their horrific deeds and they have the will to kill all who stand in their way.

We need to stop this now before they start here.

I Am Leaving You My Love

Well this is it my love, I am leaving you. I know that this is a shock and many of our friends will not understand, but I am guessing that you are not really surprised.

We have been together more years than I can remember and to me you have not lost any of your charm or beauty but still I must go. Once I dreamed that we would be married, joined together for the rest of our lives, but alas this is not meant to be.

So what has changed? You have. At one point in time we were both poor and content to be so, we could be together enjoying what life has to offer for little to nothing and we were happy, but all of that has changed.

Even when I was a long ways from you, my heart was always with you. Even when I knew I could be with you for only a short period of time, I would rush home, into your arms, rejoicing, and only be able to look forward to the day when I could stay in your arms forever, but alas forever is not meant to be.

How have you changed you ask?

You have become greedy and selfish. You have taken your beauty and used it against me, you have used your charm to lure in other lovers to you who have given you a promise of greater wealth, so to you, I am but a poor man and though I love you more then my heart can express you are driving me away with a demand for money and wealth that I cannot provide. I cannot compete with the other lovers with their promises of gold.

I know that you won't miss me, others have already come along to take my place, so I must go and watch your beauty from afar, for I no longer posses that which you seem to need the most; money.

The above has nothing to do with me and my wife. This, instead, has everything to do with New England.

We are moving back to North Carolina, and will not likely return, other then to visit, because it is simply to expensive for us to live here anymore. With every tax rate raise and higher prices for damn near everything, this entire region of the country has left us struggling to keep our heads afloat. We have crunched numbers and cut back on everything, to the point of there being no where else to cut.

Some have suggested that my wife should go back to work, well I have a surprise for you, and she has kept this to herself for her own reasons, she has been getting paid to take care of me for the last three years through the VA. This pilot program is likely to end this next year, it won't change the care that I need, but because I am not as bad off as some others, and while congress gives billions of dollars to nations that hate us, rather than taking care of it's own poor , we will likely loose that money. Second whats the point in her going back to work if the only reason for it is to stay in such an expensive area? We can't do much of anything now, so nothing would change.

So we are moving back to North Carolina. We spent 4 years there and still have friends that live in the area and a few others that are heading back that way as well. The cost of living is much less expensive, the weather is more favorable to my bones, and the housing market is much better, and because of my disability rating I will be able to get a huge tax break on housing and I will have access to base facilities. Over all this will be a good move for us.

Some folks who have been notified about this have become angry, Why? Because we are attempting to do what we can to survive? Because we are tired of living on the edge, filled with more stress than is healthy? If you believe that I am being selfish, you are right! I am selfishly in love with my wife and children and I want the best for them and I can't provide it here.

So there it is, we are going and folks can either accept or or not, it's your call, but we are going.