Uncommon Common Sense

A highly cliched societal theme is that of the parents leaving for the evening or weekend and entrusting their teenagers with the care of their home. Inevitably the teens invite their friends over to party and end up wreaking havoc. But then the parents return home and it becomes time to pay the piper. I was as uncomfortable with that concept as a teenager as a I am now. What's worse is that I feel that's what has been happening with our government over the last few decades. The "party", while the grown-ups are gone, has been steadily decaying into absolute chaos and now we have reached critical stage. It's time for the grown-ups to come home and clean up the mess and administer any and all necessary consequences. The Europeans have been laboring under the burdens of socialism for decades. But the inevitable results of socialism are being felt in full force today. The economies of Greece, Spain, France and Britain (among others) are collapsing. The grown-ups in so...

I have spent my summer doing what matters: spending time with my family, vacationing, enjoying God's beautiful creations. I have also been reading as much as possible and educating myself on our nation's history. I'm sorry I have taken such a long hiatus, but I hope this post is worth your while. As I have written multiple times, and as you are well aware, our nation is in a precarious position. That position makes this election the most important one of our lifetime. I'm not given to hyperbole, but I believe that deeply. Americans had become complacent and comfortable. To our discredit, we allowed the situation in Washington DC to deteriorate to where we now find it: huge deficits, rampant and widespread corruption, burgeoning bureaucracy, arrogant and dismissive "public servants", crippling tax burdens and an entitlement mentality. The good news is that many, many Americans are complacent no more. As if awakening from a deep sleep, many of us realize what h...

School's out and we're busy trying to build a house. So I've been watching the news but haven't had time to comment. I still don't have time, but I've got to comment. Some embarrassing things have happened in and to our nation in the past, but I can't remember a time I was ever ashamed of being an American...until now. As I have watched the news over the past few weeks in reference to Israel, the oil spill, environmental science, Arizona immigration law, etc., I have become increasingly baffled and discouraged by what is happening in our nation right now. More especially, I have been sickened to watch the Obama administration flail and flounder, blame and posture, fail and politicize. Like all Americans, I am deeply saddened by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is horrible to watch. Forgive me however, if I refuse to panic and believe that this is the greatest trial to ever hit planet earth. We as a nation, and to a large degree a planet, are plagued b...

This article has some interesting and frustrating facts about the feds inability to clean up the mess: http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/hostedemail/email.htm?h=bfc93aad63a15f0c4098a8c79b00cde8&CID=6421478641&ch=89303ED49B690CBEC92B68BE87D35539 Check it out!

An interesting article appeared today on the Fox News website titled, "What's the Matter With Utah?" by Chad Pergram. (http://congress.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/05/10/whats-the-matter-with-utah/comment-page-3/?action=late-new&order) His column was written in response to this weekend's ousting of Sen. Bob Bennett at the GOP convention in Utah. The four-term senator didn't even make it to the state primary. Pergram's stance is not against Utah, as the title makes it sound, but it is a gross misunderstanding of what is going on at the local level. When are the pols and pundits going to figure it out? I have nothing personally against Bob Bennett. He's seems like a really good man. But he has been in Washington too long and has gone squishy like too many others. His Democrat friend inadvertently summed up the exact reasons he has been fired by Utah. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said, "The Congress cannot and will not function properly if legislators are no long...

Recently the state of Arizona did the unthinkable. The state legislature passed a law requiring law enforcement officers to enforce existing immigration laws. What?! What is this country coming to? Where is their common decency? Is there no JUSTICE in this cruel, cruel world? Surely Arizona has become the newest acolyte of Nazi principles and governance. OH MY GOSH!!!! If you listen to the mainstream media and all the liberal punditry, you just might believe that malarky. You wouldn't know it, if you live in the United States, but we actually do have laws against illegal immigration. Generally, neither Republicans nor Democrats have been willing to see them enforced. For a while, I wondered why. Particularly during the Bush administration, I was baffled by their refusal to toughen up on illegal immigration. I wonder no longer. The reason has become painfully obvious. As I have pointed out multiple times in this blog, politicians have become wholly self-serving. Their main and highe...

This is a very interesting article. Please check the link: http://healthcare.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2U5YjAzMjkxODY1YTViYmNjN2JjNGZjYWY4ZjliNDc=

Freedom. What a wonderful, patriotic and American-sounding word "freedom" is. Sadly, freedom is under attack in ways many of us never thought possible. As we assess this attack, however, we realize that this has been a long time coming. We as a nation have been surrendering our freedom for generations, perhaps without realizing it. The quickening pace of our downfall started with the permissiveness of the 60's--the free love and drug culture. It has evolved, changed and enlarged with each step of permissiveness: the fight to accept homosexual practices, divorce, substance abuse, women's lib, corruption in government, dishonest and unethical business practices. Each of these supposed "freedoms" have been exercised with increasing impunity and disastrous results. You see, freedom isn't free. Freedom without accountability is simply permissiveness and tears at the very fabric of our society. As our society has become more and more tolerant of those things t...

I'm not going to pull any punches today. I have tried to be as diplomatic as possible in regards to many issues, but today, frankly I am livid. I am sick, I am terrified and I am devastated. Yesterday, the House of Lords...er Representatives, boldly ignored the will of the people of this nation and "courageously" passed health care "reform". They proudly lit a slow-burning fuse that will be the end of this country as you know it. The repercussions of this legislation will destroy our medical system, our economy and our freedom. It will not be immediate but it will happen. Do you think I'm over-reacting? Wait and see. It is inevitable. There is still a slim chance that the courts will overturn this abomination. There is a chance that the legislation could be repealed, but I have very little hope or confidence in the ability of politicians to do what must be done. If this is such a great bill for the citizens of the United States, then why did the Democrats ha...

Here are some great columns by Thomas Sowell about health care: Alice in Health Care: Part II http://townhall.com/content/788902c8-be78-44a2-af1e-d45c9f1cc2f6 Alice in Health Care: Part III http://townhall.com/content/d7fa9c18-e31d-4c67-9164-c4cb51e08dce Alice in Medical Care: Part IV http://townhall.com/content/71a60a54-d69b-4536-a6b2-080c0f04ed65

I am reading a terrifying book, "Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe" by Mark Mazower . It is neither fun nor lighthearted reading; it is enlightening. Recently, while reading I came across the concept that the Nazis and Communists hated each other. Perhaps that is a no- brainer to people who are better educated than I, but it surprised me. To my mind, the Nazis and Communists aren't all that different from each other. Some of their ideologies are different, but their methodology is surprisingly alike. On the continuum of political ideology they are supposedly at the far, opposite ends of the spectrum; Communists being the extreme left and Nazis (or fascism) being the extreme right. They may start out with different aims, but that forked road converges at the same horrible destination further down the road. Whatever their stated purposes and ideologies are/were, historically they end up using the same methods to enforce their rule: mass murder, terrorizing th...

I am witness to a real live miracle this week--a common sense solution to a community problem! The story goes like this...We've only lived in Spokane, WA for a year, but my understanding is that historically they have not charged children anything to use the community swimming pools. With the recent economic downturn the local park department was having a hard time making ends meet. They determined that the pools could no longer be free and started charging $1 per child. But when you're accustomed to free, it's hard to give that up. There was a huge outcry from the community and fears that the new policy would keep the poor from being able to swim. It was a big local hubbub. The parks department was between a rock and a hard place. They either had to find more money or shut down the pools. Raising taxes was not an option and ending the fees wouldn't work either. Amazingly enough, someone came up with a brilliant idea. They have decided to keep the $1 fee for those who c...

The State of the Union address this week, was interesting to say the least. The illustrious President Obama successfully alienated the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, bankers, Wall Street, big corporations, "rich" people, and anyone who doesn't agree with him completely and do as they are told; that was just for starters. Unfortunately, there simply are not enough hours in my day to translate and correct all the lies, half-truths, misdirection and rhetoric launched at the enemies of the state by the Chastiser-in-Chief. Therefore, I will only do so to my favorites. It's Not My Fault! (The Whiner-in-Chief) I for one, am a little more than tired of the blame-Bush-for-everything. These are just a few examples of the whining: "At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the ne xt decade. M ...

The tremor you felt last night at around 10:36 Eastern time wasn't an aftershock from any number of recent earthquakes. It was me, jumping up and down in my family room for joy. But more importantly, it was politicians everywhere falling out of their chairs. The world of the political incumbent, from any political party, was rocked last night as the unthinkable came to pass. If you have been watching the political landscape recently, you know that Scott Brown won the special election for the vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts. He ran with an "R" behind his name, but seems to hold no deep allegiance to the Republican Party. A huge part of his campaign was his up-front and vocal opposition to the Health Care reform before the legislature. He also professes to be largely independent and ready to serve the citizens rather than his own purposes. I will wait for him to fulfill those promises and watch carefully, reserving judgment until the deeds match the words. But the win w...