C’mon, open your heart and…

Do you remember when – it was o.k. to just relax and enjoy the day?

I remember when the news was just that – news of the day. It was not necessary for three or four people to give their opinions on every issue. We just watched the news in the evening and then made our own comments.

I remember when my children played all around the neighborhood. They could play in and out of houses for a two block area and no one even considered that they might be in any danger whatsoever. How nice that was for us and for them. They played army for days and days. They pretended to make movies of everyone in the neighborhood. They wrote a newspaper and played cowboys and indians and cops and robbers and no one found fault with their behavior. The girls played dressup and Mother May I. And House.

It was really fun to just sit outside and watch the sun set or maybe sit on the carport and watch the rain. Drink a slow cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. A neighbor might drop by and join in with a cup of coffee, too. Or another time, after we had done our washing and ironing and cleaning and mopping and cooking for the day, we Mothers might visit with each other over a cup of coffee and a cookie. And maybe watch our kids playing in the sandbox or jumping rope or riding their bikes.

I remember when Dad went off to work and earned a good living. And Mom stayed home and cared for everyone and all their needs. It was a satisfying and full life for all concerned. Dad was not expected to care for the children – that was Mom’s job. Mom was not expected to earn the living – that was Dad’s job.

We used to read a magazine or a book in the evening. We used to just sit and talk the evening away. We enjoyed one another. We were a family. Sometimes, we had a card table set up with a jigsaw puzzle on it. Some one would sort the pieces, turning them right side up. We might stop for a minute and help put the border pieces on. Everyone in the family would help put the puzzle together. It might take a week or more, depending upon how much time we had. Or we might be busy playing cards together. That was when I learned how to play ‘Sol’. And Concentration. And Hearts. Lots of fun. Many a night spent together.

If it was a good night for television, we might watch the sitcoms together. But they were clean and pleasant and full of laughs for us all. That was before the sitcoms began to have a message for us all. You know, like Dad is stupid and Mom is dumb. Or Dad always wears a suit at home and never actually goes out to work. And Mom has on her high heels and perfectly coiffed hair. And she never has anything to do at all. But we all knew this was  just pretending anyway. So we could laugh at the jokes and enjoy the evening – together.  That was the point. We were together. We spent our time as a family. And we all enjoyed every minute of it.

That was a nice time. Such a nice time for everyone. I remember when.

Take a look at some of my books. You will enjoy them. They are full of some of those ‘remember when times’ together. Thanks.

Some Strings To Think About

I saw a blip across the tv screen recently telling people to write their congressmen to raise the minimum wage. Do people not understand? If you raise the minimum wage, all prices eventually go up. They have to because manufacturers cannot produce nor sell goods unless they make money to do so. They cannot make enough money to run their businesses unless the wage level is reasonable. So if the wage level goes up, then the cost of goods also goes up from the manufacturers through the retail industry and right out of  your pocketbooks.

If the wage level is raised, people also get to pay more taxes because they are automatically raised to a new level of income. Each level of income pays so much percentage in taxes. So now, not only do they make more money if their minimum wage is raised, but then they also pay more for everything they buy and then they also get to pay more taxes.

In the long run, they actually lose money when the minimum wage is raised. Who wants that? Only those that do not understand anything about the economy and think that someone is going to give them something for free. There are no free lunches in this world. Nothing is ever free. There are always strings attached. Pay attention to those strings!

Write!!!

I sometimes write my congressmen about an issue of importance. But I have never realized before now what an impact that letter can have upon their thinking. Of course I know that all congressmen must follow their party and vote the way they are told to vote. If they don’t, then they don’t get any of that free money that helps them to campaign to get elected again. Only those who have enough of their own campaign money are free to vote the way they choose. But, if they get enough letters and emails and faxes supporting a particular position, they will listen and pay attention and perhaps even vote the way their people at home want them to. Give it a try. Write your congressmen and write them and write them some more.

Blair Holt’s / HR 45

While Obama’s health care plan has everyone up in arms, there are other things going on behind the scenes. One of these is the upcoming gun control plan. It is called the Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. And if you think that is a mouthful, just wait until you hear what it has in the Act. First of all, the reason for the implementation of a system of licensing of firearms and a record of sale system for those firearms is because and I quote  “It is the sense of the Congress that – firearms trafficking is prevalent and widespread in and among the States, and it is usually impossible to distinguish between intrastate trafficking and interstate trafficking; and it is in the national interest and within the role of the Federal Government to ensure that the regulation of firearms is uniform among the States, that law enforcement can quickly and effectively trace firearms used in crime, and that firearms owners know how to use and safely store their firearms.” How about that!

What this all means is that Congress knows better than anyone else exactly how to regulate firearms use for all of us. And they don’t want you to be able to move any firearms across state lines.

They are saying that we don’t have any right to move firearms anywhere anytime and so they want to register every gun in the country so they can keep up with it and its movements,

And then they want to tell you that you cannot have a gun anywhere around children and if you do, they will confiscate your gun and possibly fine you or charge you with a crime.

Blair Holt was the name of a young man who was shot on a city bus in a random shooting. So now, the Congress wants to give all authority to the Attorney General of the United States to insist that you must register all handguns or semiautomatic firearms and you MUST be licensed to have your gun. You must present along with paperwork, a current passport sized photo, a clear thumb print, and a statement that you are not prohibited by Federal law or by the law of the State of residence from obtaining a firearm. Then you will be required a certification verifying that you will keep any firearm safely stored and out of the possession of persons who have not attained 18 years of age. Then you will be required to take a written firearms examination which will test your knowledge and ability regarding the safe storage of firearms, the safe handling of firearms, the use of firearms in the home and risks associated with such use and the legal responsibilities of firearms owners including Federal, State and local laws relating to all this as well as ANY OTHER SUBJECTS AS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DETERMINES TO BE APPROPRIATE.  Failure to follow these rules can cause imprisonment of 5 to 10 years.

And this is only the beginning.

The Attorney General will provide for submission of the application through a licensed dealer or an office or agency of the Federal Government designated by the Attorney General that will require a person to provide all the I.D. as listed above and require that a completed application be forwarded to the Attorney General not later than 48 hours after the application is submitted to the licensed dealer or agency of the Federal Government. Then you will pay a fee for this license the amount of which will be determined by the Attorney General.

Then, it will be unlawful for anyone to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a qualifying firearm to, or for, any person who is not licensed. And then, within 14 days after transfer, this must all be recorded. Within 9 months after this Act becomes law, the Attorney General will establish and maintain a Federal record of sale system that includes all this information.

A licensed manufacturer or a licensed dealer must comply with all this and maintain such records or supply such information as the Attorney General may require so he can track or keep records of all guns and their movements.

And to top this all off, the Attorney General shall issue regulations for all this as he determines to be reasonably necessary to reduce or prevent deaths or injuries resulting from qualifying firearms used in criminal activity. If the Attorney General issues a proposed regulation with respect to a matter, it automatically becomes binding within 120 days. No vote. No public comment required. He can make any new rules he wants to.

The Attorney General may issue an order prohibiting the sale or transfer of any firearm that he finds has been transferred or distributed in violation of this Act, or any amendment to this Act or any regulation he has made regarding this Act. This means complete control! Absolutely! Positively!

Also, the Attorney General shall keep complete records including investigations of any causes and prevention of death and injury associated with firearms; conduct continuing studies of such, and collect and maintain current production and sales figures for each licensed manufacturer. In other words, he will completely control the firearms manufacturing industry.

Furthermore, this Act will not override any state provisions except where the individual state’s laws are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or an amendment made by this Act. Meaning, that if your State does not comply, then it won’t matter anyway. The Federal Government will just override the state law.

The Attorney General may certify a firearm licensing system by a State if State law requires the system to satisfy the applicable requirements of the Federal licensing system. Government control again.

Now remember, this Blair Holt Act is only going to be put in place because the Federal Government needs and wants to know where your guns are and will maintain a constant record of this. They need to know all this supposedly because they are going to stop crime with all this regulation.

What do you think about this one? Write your congressmen now!!!! t is imperative that you stop all this before it gets started. This Act can just be put into law before you even know it is being presented. Write your congressmen today!

You can get a copy of this Act on the internet by looking up Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 at U.S. Open Congress. It is H.R. 45 in the House.

Sneak Peak of New Book

And now for the preview……

He bent down and carefully placed the almost smashed package of cigarettes under the step. He wanted to make sure no one could see them. Didn’t want Mama to know he smoked. He was all of 18 years old, but he still didn’t want to offend his Mama. She meant the world to him. They had been together, just the two of them for years now. Daddy left when he was 5 years old. When he was 7, he had to quit school and go to work delivering for a drug store so he and Mama could eat. Everyone has to eat you know. She couldn’t work at all now. She had a hard fall and broke her hip and well, you know that old story. Can’t hold down a job now.

He hurried into the house, tired as usual. He had progressed now to a better job than delivering on a bicycle. He was an apprentice and was learning a new trade. He worked long, hard hours and was ready to hit that bed as soon as he got home every evening. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he slipped into his room and hurriedly took off his shoes and socks. Then he checked the soles of his shoes. Always checked to see if they were still holding up o.k. Couldn’t afford new soles just yet. As he slipped off his shirt, he was thinking about that cigarette he was going to have tomorrow morning. Just as soon as he ate breakfast, he would slip out and get one out of the package, light it up and really enjoy it. His friend had only three left when he gave him the worn out package, but that was alright. Better than nothing you know.

As he lay his tired body on the bed, he relished the thought of that cigarette next morning. Would be worth the wait.

He drifted off to sleep in a deep, tired sleep.

And then he heard the rain pattering on the steps out front.

…..This is a small excerpt. Interested? Please visit my site.

Bad Behavior and Personal Responsibility

I am always spouting off about personal responsibility. Obviously, you cannot have personal responsibility if you have never been taught to have this. Parents are responsible for teaching all their children about taking care of themselves and being fully responsible for all their own behavior. This makes for responsible teens who do not get in any real trouble. And it makes for responsible adults who have good lives and nice families.

As I walked into the lobby of the school today, there was a young boy, kindergarten age, wallowing on the floor. His mother and teacher were both watching him as he whined and shed real tears because he did not want to attend school today. The boy even crawled over to the corner and stood up against the wall with his back to the adults. The teacher was obviously pretty exasperated. But the mother was begging, and begging, and begging the young boy to go to class. He looked over at me and grinned that grin that all spoiled kids  do when they know you are aware of their spoiled behavior. In other words, he knew that I knew he was just showing off, putting on, and getting his own way with all the attention he could possibly want.

And poor mother was put in a position of begging her wayward 5 year old to stop acting like a 2 year old. Poor Mother should have pulled him up off the floor and insisted that he go on to class. She should have let him know in no uncertain terms that it is his responsibility to act like a 5 year old and to attend the kindergarten class where he belongs. And then she should have turned her back and walked out the door. And she should have done this when he showed off and acted spoiled when he was 2 years old and 3 years old and 4 years old, too. He finally won this morning and poor mother took his hand, led him out the door, and even carried his back pack for him. Mother is not doing her son any favors by coddling him and making over him and begging him to act his age.

In fact, she is doing him a great disservice by refusing to make her son behave. Is he going to grin that spoiled grin behind her back and get into trouble when he is 15? Or when he is 25? When is she going to finally recognize that it is her role to be the mother and act like the mother and insist that her son act like a son should.

How is her son going to know about personal responsibility if she does not teach him? Is she expecting the teacher to be the one to instill this behavior? Or the principal? It is her job as his parent and first teacher to make sure that when her son walks out the door if it be age 5 or 15 or 25, that he is responsible for his own behavior. If she had been doing a good job, her 5 year old son would not today be wallowing in the school floor, crying fake tears, and whining.

It is up to the parents to teach personal responsibility to their children. And it must be taught every day in every instance. Day after day, year after year for all their growing up years.

If you expect your children to be responsible adults, you must teach them now – at home – to be responsible children. Personal Responsibility is an absolute must. And Responsible Parents always teach this to their children.

Huckabee

I see in the latest reports that Mike Huckabee scored as head of the pack in a Values Voter straw poll. Out of 597 total votes, Huckabee got 28% of the votes or 170. Next was Gov. Mitt Romney with 137. Others listed in the poll were Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Alaska’s former Governor Sarah Palin, and Indiana’s Rep. Mike Pence The poll was organized by the Family Research Council, a conservative Washington advocacy group. I know this straw poll doesn’t mean a whole lot since the next presidential election is a long ways off. But you might seriously consider Mr. Huckabee as a real candidate and one worthy of your vote. He doesn’t have a lot of financing, but will probably attract more as the presidential election nears. By the way, don’t ever confuse him as being anything like the other Governor of Arkansas who was later President of the United States. Two complete opposites!

Mike Huckabee is Mr. Nice Guy, but he is also definitely honest, forthright, kind yet strong in what he says. He means what he says and says what he means. He is a great family man and he and wife have been happily married for many years. He was Governor of Arkansas for the allowed terms before running for president the last time around. Most people did not know who he was then so he didn’t garner enough votes to get the Republican nomination. But this time around, he has a lot more name recognition. You might want to watch his show on Fox Network and see what kind of guy he is. He was quoted recently in a speech to a conservative organization, ‘Our power has never been in our pocketbooks, but in our Creator.’

He is a former Baptist minister, but not pushy about his beliefs. He is definitely one of the right wing conservatives of this nation. He believes and states strongly that he is against abortion. He believes in the one man one woman marriage. He speaks up for family rights. And he is quick to state his beliefs to anyone who asks. He does not waiver in his beliefs. He does not mince words and he does not have any gray areas to discuss. As far as I know, he has no skeletons in his closet and no affairs to discuss. He was quoted recently as saying ‘It is never right to do wrong and never wrong to do right.’

Just my kind of guy.

Keep him in mind for the next presidential election. He might just be your guy, too.

The Survey – part 2

Part two of the 2009 Priority Issues Survey from the Democratic Party

Well, it was enough just to try and digest the first part of this Survey, but I will continue anyway.

And I quote – despite a volatile stock market and public opposition, Republicans remain determined to privatize Social Security. Do you support this? The point is, they interject into the question the fact that the stock market is down – Democrats did this with THEIR recession. As to the public opposition to the privatization, I personally don’t know enough about it to have an opinion on this and I don’t think most people do. But it is written to sound like it is all the fault of the Republicans which just ain’t so.

And then should the medicare prescription drug benefit plan be reformed to make it less confusing to seniors. How stupid do they think people are. Another chance to interfere in people’s lives.

And then, which political party do you trust to protect your retirement security and to responsibly reform Medicare. Oh my, that is a really loaded question. If you will remember, Democrats are always wanting to reform something or someone. That is part of their major plan for us all. They know better than we do how to do everything in our lives! I would not say they were protecting anyone’s retirement security what with more government interference and more taxes. And there they go again, going to reform Medicare to help us all. Their ‘help’ is what is ruining this country right now.

Now we come to education. How does America rank against other countries. How would most people know. It is a stupid question to ask. How much does the average person know about education in a foreign land.

Next question, do you think federal government should provide more assistance to Americans who want to continue after high school. In plain words, are you for assisting people to go to college? Personally, I do not think it is necessary that everyone should have to go to college. We all need those contractors, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and others who do not need nor want a college education. Most people in sales do not need a college education. What happened to those who just planted their feet, worked hard, and made a good living? Now, everyone HAS to have a higher education just to get a job interview. I think this is dead wrong. But in the 1960’s when those who had hair from their head to their toes were busy marching and causing troubles of all kinds, they made it sound like you just couldn’t ever get ahead in this world unless you had that college degree. And so here we are today. If you want a job at all, you must have some sort of degree and I think that is a shame. There are lots of talented people out there who do not want to go to college and they should have an equal chance at a decent job. Meanwhile, if you want to go to college, pay for it!  just like every other perk in life, it is necessary to pay your part.

Then the next question- which democratic initiatives will help American families afford the rising cost of college. And that is one loaded question. And it lists all the democratic options such as increasing pell grants, cutting student loan interest rates, and increasing college tuition tax deductions. Better latch onto that last one. Democrats never, ever offer a tax deduction for anything!

And next is the energy and environment. Hot dog! We were all waiting for that one. Like the global warming, you know. Coldest winter we ever had was just a few years ago. And coolest summer in years this year. I’m beginning to wonder where all those people live that insist we are having global warming. Even the experts on television say we have nothing like that going on. This is simply cycling in the weather and has been going on since time began. In fact, one of the major experts just this week was saying that in the 1920’s and 1940’s we had the same type storms that we have had lately. Big deal! But it is something to raise funds about and rally round. So you can depend on the Democrats to beat the drum and make an issue of it all. Without constant news coverage, we would never have even heard about global warming or the green issues. Why change the world to suit a few liberals?

Next, they want to know how we are to achieve energy independence. Wonder if they ever considered drilling for oil on this continent. Nope. They only offer an answer of increasing offshore drilling and oil exploration in wilderness areas. Of course those would all have to be acceptable to those who are saving our continent for the future. On their terms for whose future. Other answers include developing renewable energy, conservation, investing in technology, or raising gas mileage standards. To whose standards.

And the final questions are regarding our government. How important is it for Congress to reassert its constitutionally mandated role as a co-equal branch of government and fulfill its oversight abilities. Maybe they all should have a class in reading the Constitution and answer their own questions. Next, how satisfied are you by the tone and productivity of the relationship between Congress and White house since they are all Democrats. Well, if you like bullies, here they are.

And finally, how aggressively should Democrats investigate possibly illegal and unconstitutional actions by Bush Administration officials. Well, now, I think they should investigate Mr. Clinton first and then after that, if they find nothing wrong, they might look at the Bush Administration.

People have very short memories. If you will think back to the administration of George Bush Sr., he begged for Congress to pass some of his legislation. Made no difference if it was good legislation or not, the Democrats would not pass anything for him and made that point very clear at the time. Remember the term, ‘shut down the government’  or ‘Beltway Blockade’ and how proud the Democrats were that they could shut down the legislative processes that had kept this country free for many years. But Bush was faced with that  Democratic Congress and that is why he was not able to accomplish much in the final years he was in office.  He even appeared on television asking the American people to write their congressmen to put a stop to this shutdown. Media helped defeat him when he ran against Clinton. And I’m sure you remember what we got when Clinton was elected. Shame of the world.

Then when George W. Bush came along, the Democrats did exactly the same thing once again. Bush could not pass any of his legislation, no matter how good it was nor how important it was for our country. The Democratic Congress held to another stalemate and Bush accomplished very little. And then with the help of the media, he was pummeled constantly.

Everything that has happened in this country to hurt us all, ranging  from higher taxes to less freedom has been the fault of the Democrats whether it is in Congress or in the administration. And this has been true since the 1930’s.

So when you vote next time, remember to vote Republican. The Democrats do not have your best interests in mind. They only have their interests in mind. They want to take from those who have worked hard for what they have and give to those who have never worked and do not intend to ever work. Then they use the term ‘working men and women of this country’ over and over again as though they are really interested in what those working people do. When in fact, they are only interested in their own agenda, the complete and absolute takeover of this country and all it stands for. Amid higher, much higher taxes.

Pay attention! Vote Republican next time!

The Survey – part 1

Received in my mail today a ‘2009 Priority Issues Survey’ put out by the Democratic Party. Well, I certainly wanted to hurry and read that just to see what sort of mindset those people have today.

First line I read said ‘it’s a disturbing demonstration that the more things change, the more they stay the same, at least when it comes to Republican rhetoric and campaign tactics! First question I would ask is, What Change? Nothing but trouble  since we now have a Democratic administration. They don’t seem to understand that ‘change’ does not mean ‘trouble’. Not the same thing at all. And speaking of campaign tactics, Mr. Obama has never yet figured out that he won. He just keeps right on campaigning.

Also, they are saying that the Republicans are stating publicly that they will ‘break’ President Obama by defeating his health care reform plan. Words straight out of my mouth! Here’s hoping!

The actual Survey begins with a plea for funds of course. Always a plea for funds. But this time, the funds are to Help Democrats deliver the positive changes America needs. How about that one! Haven’t seen any of those positive changes yet.

Now for the Survey:  First question is, what is most important and then it goes on to list a whole bunch of choices. First one is to lift the economy out of the Bush recession. I didn’t even know this was a Bush recession. Seems to me that it got started pretty good when Obama took office. I had hardly noticed any recession until then. How about you?

And then we are supposed to choose in the Survey which area is most important and the list includes Automobile, Energy, Aerospace, Banking, Housing and Service. Well, I thought the Democrats had already taken over the Banking, Automobile, Energy, Housing and Aerospace with our tax dollars. At least that is what I have been reading lately. It is over isn’t it? According to the  media’s latest slanted reports, the recession has ended and things are back to normal and all because we are now trillions of dollars in debt. Now, that’s what I call real progress.

Next question, do you believe the Bush Administration’s stated goal of a free, democratic and stable Iraq has been achieved? And then it goes on to mention Afghanistan and the leadership skills and policies of Obama and Sec of State Clinton. #1 – I didn’t know they had any leadership skills.  #2 – I think we should be ready to leave Iraq and get completely out of Afghanistan as fast as our airplanes will carry our servicemen.

Next do you want to close Guantanamo Bay as quickly and responsibly as possible? Because you believe waterbording is torture? And because we have a moral responsibility to not engage in or condone any form of torture? Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I think those who have engaged in terroristic acts against the U.S. should be questioned and answers should be expected. Period. Since when are we to coddle those who have acted so horrendously. And no, I do not see any reason to close Guantanamo.

And of course, the question, do you think everyone is entitled to affordable, quality health care? Well of course I do. I also think everyone can buy their own health care just like I have done all my life. I do not feel any responsibility to pay for health care for someone else’s family. When I had a growing family, we paid for our own health care so if we got really sick, it would get us into the hospital. We fully expected to pay for our own doctor bills each and every time we went to the doctor. And we paid for our hospital bills if and when we were hospitalized. Simple. Pay your own way!

And that is only half the survey. More tomorrow.

When and if you get a chance to vote again, make sure it is for a Republican so we can take our country back from those Democrats who are trying to run all aspects of our lives.

The Big Squeeze

What’s with the whiz kids in Washington these days? First of all, we heard back in election time how the middle class would never see a tax raise if they just voted for the Democrats. Now we are hearing that well, maybe, just possibly, we might just have to raise those taxes just a teeny, tiny bit. Just watch that one! And of course, they are still blaming the previous Republican administration for all their problems. Looks like they would get over that  pretty soon. They have now been in office almost  a year and haven’t made a dent in anything yet. Everything is much worse than it was when they took office and only they can take full responsibility for their screwups.

Now they are making appearances on all the Sunday talk shows and talking of broad based tax increases because of the higher government spending programs which THEY say we MUST have.

Personally, I don’t think we need any more higher government spending programs for anything, anywhere, anytime. I am from the old school that says ‘give us back our tax money’  ‘Lower our taxes’  Let us spend our money as we see fit. Quit giving all the money to those who will not work and have no intention of ever working.

It is time to cut out the government spending spree and get down to business. Cut and cut some more. Quit spending OUR money.

After World War II, we faced an overwhelming amount of debt because of the expenses of the War. The government slashed all expenditures and within two years, Washington was spending less than it took in. Inflation also helped by reducing the real value of the debt. But the point is that we got out of debt. We did it! We can do it again with the right leadership.

Be sure and vote Republican next time!