Free Republic

I remember President Carter’s Army. I remember Carter’s gasoline lines. I remember Carter’s interest rates. I remember his turn your thermostat down and wear a sweater energy policy speeches. I remember him really showing the Russians how tough we were by boycotting the Moscow Olympics. I remember his policy of restraint while Americans were held hostage and abused by Iranian terrorists. I remember his cheerleading for the “moderate” religious man to replace the “despotic” Shah of Iran. I remember his amnesty and upgraded discharges for military deserters and draft dodgers, most of whom got a better welcome home than our...

It was an Elvis Presley tune from 1962. Do we not all have a dream? Sitting here in my self-imposed Sunday afternoon exile, a time of solitude some call it, that is the question I contemplate. Doctor Martin Luther King spoke famously about his heartfelt dream. Most of us will never be able to speak so eloquently of ours. He dreamed of Americans of all persuasions coming together in unity. Since he spoke of his hope, we have traveled the road toward our own hyphenated cultural enclaves. Sadly, it is a journey that has taken us farther away from rather...

Do you remember the stories about schools sending letters home to the parents of fat kids? Obviously humiliating children into pursuing svelte culturally acceptable physiques did not work. Now, there are people who believe that fat children should be taken from their homes and their parents and placed into foster care until such time as they become acceptably lean. I believe that our nation’s first lady should be the first foster mother. Her eating habits set such a fine example for our children. As the President reminded us, it is time to for us to eat our peas. Does a...

I live in the United States of America. I live in the country where people once came seeking refuge from oppressive governments, murderous thugs, and dictators, and to just have a chance to taste the freedom of which we boasted. Nothing feels like freedom. Nothing comforts the soul like the security of man protected God given freedom. At least that is what they once came here for. Now they come to bring to America their failed notions of how a society should be. Worse yet, they have found support for their endeavors in the highest offices of our land. Most...

When I was young, I did not have very much. My Father was a coal miner during times when the job was more dangerous than now and paid much less. We never had material wealth that is for certain. Still, I do not recall feeling poor or being told I was poor. I believe the reason for that lies in a time and world view much different from today’s. I was encouraged by the adults I looked up to and especially by my school teachers. The running theme offered by each of them was that this is America and here...

Can you even watch the news without pounding your head against the kitchen countertop? If so, you are a better man than me. It is difficult to maintain the mellowed-out docile personality that I have worked hard to develop 12 years post-Army. I want to yell not so nice words in the direction of the television and kick some furniture. Fortunately, my wife’s frowning on such behavior keeps me in check. Even Fox News, that self-proclaimed bastion of fair and balanced views with an occasional snippet of conservatism added, is revealing itself as the Karl Rove, Chuck Krauthammer, DickMorrisdotcom center...

Whenever special interest driven politicians force social engineering on Americans and their Armed Forces, there are always consequences. The premise is that all homosexuals want to be known primarily by their sexual identity. If this is true why did a college kid commit suicide when his homosexuality, obviously against his desire, was made public? I am asking because the popular meme is that every homosexual is eager to share his or her private sexual identity with the remainder of the world and treat it as his or her primary attribute. That may not be so, but it will be the...

I believe America’s is a bit tattered. Considering the road our nation is traveling, the law commonly mislabeled as “Don’t ask Don’t Tell”, will likely be repealed. The smart guys and gals in Washington believe that is the thing to do. Many of them, calling themselves political conservatives have stated that maybe we should just let these “social” issues go and focus on other more important things. I believe there are no things more important. The moral fabric is what holds everything else together. For many years, the concerted effort has been to unravel our country’s thread by thread. Commencing...

I would lay down my life for America, but I cannot trifle with my honor. – John Paul Jones On August 28, 2010, a man many of us are still trying to figure out who is clearly a media and marketing genius, Glenn Beck sponsored a rally at the Lincoln Memorial. He called it the Restoring Honor rally – a return to Faith, Hope and Charity (or Love). Many Americans attended. We will never be able to settle or agree on an actual number of attendees. So let’s just agree that it was a multitude and each of us can...

Our country is being led by a comic book character. He never existed until he was written into the story line to deliver a well-practiced speech at a national political convention. Oh, it had all the right words in it and sounded just swell, but for some reason it lacked the feel. It lacked heart. At least there is little proof of his existence before that speech as his handlers have spent millions to keep a lid on anything that might crack that window and reflect a little sunshine onto his past. He is a creation. He is the work...

I am curious as his image is circulating around the Internet atop an article that I wrote four years ago. It is, no doubt, the creation of an Internet nitwit. I am not sure if the photo was added before or after another, or maybe even the same, Internet nitwit decided that it would sound better if I was identified as a Marine Corps Sergeant Major. For the benefit of a great orator we all know about and in deference to my Marine Corps Brethren I emphasize that the correct pronunciation is core not corpse. I do wish that whoever...

In Flanders FieldsLieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 1872-1918In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies blow In Flanders fields.

More than 1.3 million Americans have lost their lives fighting our nation’s wars. On Memorial Day this year, before the barbeque grill heats up, take some time to remember them. Following the counsel of General George S. Patton Jr. take a knee and a silent moment and thank God that such people lived. It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. - General George S. Patton Jr. Do you ever feel bone tired? Not physically tired like you feel after working many days straight with little rest, food,...

Is it unreasonable to expect the Dean of Harvard Law School to know that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) is not a discriminatory “military policy”, but is instead a federal law passed by Congress and signed into law by the President for whom the then future dean worked. Isn’t it also reasonable to presume that a law school dean would understand that the military (and everyone else) must follow the law despite their personal feelings about it? Apparently, Supreme Court Justice Nominee Elena Kagan was not aware that DADT is a federal law. Or, if she was aware, she believed...

Once again this year, I was not asked to give a commencement address, but then again I have never been asked. I have some thoughts for the class of 2010 anyway. Congratulations on your achievement, albeit a tiny fleck in the great expanse of human history. But this is not about you. It never was about you. It is about things much larger than you or me and much larger than any politician or celebrity.

The wife and I made a stealth excursion into northern Virginia this past weekend. Purposely, we did not make into the District. Someday we will go back and take the walk through Arlington National Cemetery, across Memorial Bridge, tip our hats to Mister Lincoln, walk along the reflecting pool, past the World War II Monument, up over the knoll by the Washington Monument and stroll on down the mall to the Capitol. We used to make an entire day out of that walk, sometimes stopping off at one of the museums. Despite the political nitwits one might find inside, the...

Where were you in the 60’s? I lived in Chicago from the mid-sixties until 1971. In September 1971, I enlisted into the United States Army. For the benefit of those who might not have lived through that period of our nation’s history, besides getting a haircut, volunteering to serve in the Armed Forces was about the worst decision a young man could make. Or so the popular culture dictated. The heroes of that era made public displays of burning flags, their draft cards and running off to Canada rather than fulfilling their obligations to serve in the military. President Carter...

In my life, I have been fortunate to know and learn from exceptional leaders. With the exceptionally good leaders, unfortunately, were also the exceptionally bad. There is an attribute of character, which the good had in abundance, but the bad always lacked. Humility. Inevitably, the bad leaders replaced humility with arrogance.

When Congress flips the switch in those paneled and marbled offices in Washington, the lights come on just as they do in their stylish Georgetown homes. That clean flow of electricity doesn’t come from windmills, solar panels or from anywhere else. It comes from coal and will continue to come from coal for many years to come. There is no source available nor is there one just around the corner that can or will replace coal, oil and natural gas.

Have you ever felt like you were zapped into another dimension? Maybe propelled into a parallel universe or fell through one of those worm holes you can hear about during your bouts of insomnia while listening to George Noory’s Coast to Coast AM program? In there, you encounter a member of the United States Congress who expresses his fear that the Island of Guam is about to capsize? Boomer, I hope you are aware of this dilemma and are taking action to correct the ballast on the lighter side of your island. If you listen closely, you can hear the...