Who Left Who?

To quote Ronald Reagan and Zel Miller, "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. They left me."

This is becoming more and more the case with BOTH parties. The Democrats are moving farther and farther left, which in turn moves the center farther and farther left. How do the Republicans react?

"Oh look, we're too far to the right. We need to get closer to the center."

Um...I beg to differ. If you were to judge by where the center was 50 years ago, you would find the Republicans far to the left, and the Democrats falling off the edge of the world. That is why I say to the Republican party, "Be still. Quit being drug to the left by a moving center"

I recently read an inaugural address and decided to share some excerpts from it.

"...the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe: the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God"

"...the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world."

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends."

"Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary...We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

"And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."

These quotes are from President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address made on January 20, 1961. While I do not agree with many of the things he did, there is no denying that the Democrats of today have moved far, far left of the Democrats of yesteday. President Kennedy even cut taxes across the board. And now the Republicans are being led in the same direction like sheep following a shepherd.

The Democrats pride themselves on being the party of JFK, yet they say we need to quit trying to be like Ronald Reagan, that his time and policies are a thing of the past.

I wish they would actually start being the party of JFK again.

A,B,C,D,E...

"F" That is the grade that I give President Obama for his first 100 days in office. This is not due to partisanship or party bias, but strictly on how I was graded in high school. Let's take it subject by subject.

Math: The economy is not improving. In fact, it is getting worse. The government is raising taxes, debt, and the unemployment rate.

Social Science: Embracing our enemies while insulting our allies. Apologizing for the greatest country on earth for being the greatest.

English: Not being able to speak without a teleprompter.

Science: Worshiping at the altar of Al Gore and the climate change crowd. By the way, what do you call Michael Moore with a fever? Global warming.

History: They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The Somali pirate strike was a step in the right direction, but there have been far more steps in the wrong direction. Hugo Chavez and his little gift are equal to about 50 in the wrong direction.

Newsmax has a really good piece about the first 100 days. Check it out here, or better yet, sign up for their free newsletter if you haven't already.

We have a really good local radio show in the morning, here in Western Kentucky. If you want to know what we descendants of Daniel Boone think, check out the podcasts here. If they expire before you get to them, I'm trying to figure out how to put downloads on my posts. If anyone can help me, I would appreciate it.

When you wish upon a star

There are reports surfacing about people who are losing their homes and are not worried about it. Why?

"Because President Obama is busy and has not yet gotten around to our part of the country. But when he does, he will take care of it all."

That is what I mean about wishing on a star. The Obama Superstar. We are going through the worst financial crisis since the Carter administration. A big difference, however, is that back then, people were wondering what they were going to do. Now they are wondering what is going to be done for them. I think some people almost expect to see Obama riding up on a motorcycle with shades and black leather. THE ECONIMATER

Today on Rush Limbaugh, he had two callers who talked about their own personal experiences with Obama's fix for the mortgage crisis. Both callers filled out the online forms on the new government website to assist them with avoiding foreclosure. Both were then hounded by calls from lawyers from across the country. The lawyers then proceeded to tell them that for a fee (one price was quoted at $2,700.00) they would work with their mortgage lenders to ease their financial burden. One guy passed up on the offer. The other was not so fortunate. He paid the fee, and was informed a week later that there was nothing that could be done to help him. Oh, and no refund. So let's review the series of events. Man fills out form for government assistance. Government gives man's information to a bunch of lawyers. Lawyers call man and quote him a price for putting pressure on mortgage lender. Lawyer folds under pressure from mortgage lender. Lawyer keeps fee. Lawyer spends money, thus stimulating economy, which is probably how the media will spin this in the president's favor.

Before you go thinking that I don't have a care in the world and that's why I can write about other people's monetary woes, let's take a look at my situation. I make less than 30k a year. I have a wonderful wife, and we have just been blessed with a little baby boy that (according to one doctor) we were never going to have. My wife had a part time job that she enjoyed, and even though it didn't pay that much, it helped. She has since quit her job, because we want our little boy to be raised by his parents, not a day care where he is liable to pick up any number of ideas or habits that go against what we believe. I'm not knocking the people who choose to do that, but we knew it wasn't what we wanted.

I said all that to say this: we are not looking to the government to get us a better house or vehicle or bail us out of hard times. To do so would put us under their control, just like these banks that have been bailed out. "Give up your rights and we'll fix your wrongs" I don't think so. I instead choose to put my trust in the One who "owns the cattle on a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10) He has never let me down. Sure, there have been times that I have been discouraged, but God is faithful, and as long as I keep trusting in Him, He will always provide for me and my family. Psalm 37:25 says "yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." I don't claim to be righteous, but God is, and He won't break His Word. And so far, He has taken better care of me than the media's messiah has.

If you're wondering if God will be brought up frequently in this blog, the answer is "yes." Being a Christian means more to me than being a conservative. I do believe that being strong in one helps me to be strong in the other. It is possible to be a conservative and not be a Christian. Likewise, I don't see how one can be a Christian and not be a conservative. To be "Christian" means to try and emulate Christ. Jesus wouldn't vote for or support someone who advocates abortion (a.k.a. murder), homosexual marriage, or other things that are clearly spoken against in the Bible. After all, He wrote it.

Not one and the same

While listening to one of my favorite radio shows, I heard the host talking about the need to get away from being either Republican or Democrat and be patriots and Americans. I agree with that. He made the same statement later, but this time he used conservative and liberal in place of Republican and Democrat. I disagree, with all due respect. Republican and Democrat are political parties. Conservative and Liberal are political models. They are not one and the same. There are many liberal Republicans and Conservative democrats. I have always been a conservative, but for a while, I was a registered Democrat. I was told that I had to in order to vote in all the elections our county had. As soon as I found out that was false, I changed my registration. I didn't change my ideals or convictions. The media likes to use party registration to say that America is more liberal. That doesn't seem to be the case. A lot of people, when asked very specific and easy to understand questions (which most polls do not have) give conservative answers. However, due to media spin and bias, they continue to vote Democrat. What is the solution? Many people won't listen to talk radio because of preconceived notions. Therefore, it is up to us. Don't try to get into discussions on party lines. Instead, focus on the issues. Talk about fiscal responsibility and job growth, then remind them what Reagan did. The same ideals he had as a Democrat, he put forth to the country as a Republican. He was a conservative, regardless of his party affiliation. So the next time someone tells you that you are in the minority because you are a conservative, don't believe it. Trust me, a former coworker tried to tell me that, but by the time the conversation was over, he was agreeing with me on almost every issue that I brought up. He might have been a Democrat on paper, but he was in his "right" mind.

To be, or not to be...

What does it mean "to be" a conservative? I believe that there are three main legs of the conservative model; fiscal conservatism, national conservatism, and moral conservatism. I am a big fan of all three.

Fiscal conservatism: The belief that government should be small. It needs to be there but not to the point that it becomes oppressive. Since it is a government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” it doesn’t need to lord over its people, but assist them in governing themselves. Taxes are to be low, and spending reasonable. A conservative government believes that success of the individual is the responsibility of the individual, and that initiative and achievement are to be rewarded and applauded, not penalized to encourage laziness and dependency. Failure is a part of life and it’s not the government’s job to bail out those who fail. Rather, it is up to those who fail to pull themselves together and try again. If a successful person wants to lend them a hand up or give them a hand out, fine. The government shouldn’t force them to do so through penalties and tax hikes. *Side note: Did you know that most of the Founding Fathers didn’t want an income tax? They felt that if you earned it, you should keep it, and that it would be better to be taxed on what you consume rather than what you make. The proponents of income tax wanted it to be flat tax whose rate would never go in access of 4%.* History has proven that the lower the taxes, the higher the charitable donations, higher government income, and lower unemployment.

National conservatism: The belief that the United States of America is a sovereign country that is to be governed by its people, not by the world opinion or the United Nations. Our borders are to be secure, and if you wish to become a part of this country, there are certain procedures you need to go through. We will be glad to have you, but please don’t cut line. Also, we speak English here. If you want to live here, you conform to us, not us to you. When and if you become a citizen of this great land, you are an AMERICAN, not a hyphenated American. This goes double for those who are born here. I’m not knocking taking pride in your heritage; it’s good to do that. While you’re at it, try taking some pride in your nationality.

If you are in this country illegally, don’t expect favors, special treatment, or privileges. And while you’re here, please keep your foreign fingers off of our voting machines. If you want to vote, go home. Also, please refrain from dealing drugs, forming gangs, kidnapping, and random acts of terrorism.

Oh, I’m sorry. Man made disasters.

Pardon me while I wipe the puke off my keyboard.

If you aspire to do these things, there is a part of our country that I would like you to take part in: our deportation program.

In case you are successful in pulling a so called man made disaster (hereto after referred to as terrorist attack, or at least in this blog) please rest assured that we will eventually seek retribution against you and possibly your country. It might take another presidential term or two, but we will find you.

For those of you in this country who take offense at this, remember who your enemies are. Not conservatives (or right wing extremists as Obama’s DHS likes to refer to us) or veterans, or Ron Paul supporters (which I am not, but I don’t think they deserve to be considered domestic terrorists anymore than Obama’s supporters).

Moral conservatism: The belief that there is a certain standard of right and wrong.

“Don’t you try to impose your beliefs on me.”

Okay, if you’ll pardon me while I take a baseball bat to your new Toyota Prius.

“No.”

Why not?

“Because I worked hard to be able to afford this beautiful piece of eco friendly machinery. Why would you want to beat it with a bat?”

Once again, why not?

“It’s mine. Go beat up your own earth-killing SUV?”

But I want to beat up your car.

“No”

Are you telling me that you don’t want me to?

“Yes.”

Are you saying that it would be wrong?

“Yes.”

So you’re not against morals, just those that go against your beliefs?

Okay, maybe a little far fetched, but I wanted to point out that everybody has a moral standard, even those who claim there isn’t one. People who say there are no absolutes will tell you that they are “absolutely” sure about that. The solution; our moral standard must originate from someone or something other than ourselves. Yes, I’m referring to God, the original law giver as acknowledged by our Founding Fathers. This is a broad subject, and I will address it frequently as I progress along. For now, let’s briefly examine just one issue. The issue of murder. I come into your house and kill your family. I am wrong. A doctor goes into a woman’s womb at her request and kills her unborn child. They are just as wrong. Once again, there is a variety of man-made standards on this subject, so we must turn to one higher than us for guidance. The Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” It even tells of babies responding to good news while in their mother’s womb. God told the Prophet Jeremiah, “before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee.” The moment a baby is conceived, everything about it (hair color, eye color fingerprints gender personality) are already determined. Unborn and unliving are not synonymous.

Now that we have examined what it is to be a conservative, let’s take a look at how the media in general looks at us.

“HATEMONGER! RACIST! NEO-NAZI!”

Yikes! I think I might have touched a nerve.

I don’t hate anybody. I strongly disagree with policies and agendas that are detrimental to my country or my faith.

I am not a racist. I have several friends that are not of my race. I do not have a problem with our president as a black man, only as a liberal socialist. If you require more proof, let someone like Alan Keyes or Clarence Thomas run. I’d vote for either of them.

As far as being a neo-nazi, everybody I have ever heard use that term couldn’t even begin to define it.

Well, it’s about time to call it quits for now. If you agree with what I have said, please spread the word about me. If you don’t, please do the same. I welcome all comments from both sides.

A Brief Introduction

Now, before you go and dismiss this blog because I used the "c" word in my title, let me tell you a little about myself. I am in my mid-twenties, live in a rural county in western Kentucky (yee-haw), made a 29 on my ACT, and have my associates degree. I have a full-time job delivering pipe, valves, and fittings, and working in a warehouse. I believe in God, and although I was raised in a Christian home, I myself did not become a Christian until I was 17. I do not believe in following the eb and flow of the crowd, but rather choose to search and study to come to my own conclusions. I say this because I know that some people think that conservatives are zombie-like followers of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and George W. Bush. Nothing is farther from the truth. True, because I am a conservative, I do agree with many of these men's views, but not because it's their views, but because I myself have studied and pondered them. I also disagree with them on occasion, because as a conservative, I believe in individualism. I think for myself, rather than letting someone do all my thinking for me. I do not apologize, nor do I make excuses for my beliefs, whether religious or political. They do go hand in hand, as I will explain in later posts.
Well, that's a start anyway. I hope you will at least check in to see what I have to say every now and then, and not just dismiss me based on your presumptions. You might be surprised.