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A Legacy Of Freedom For Our Children

Posted by Vansword on Tuesday, November 03, 2009 11:17:19 AM
This blog will be a departure from my usual commentary/smart-mouthed observations. Something tragic happened a few days ago in the county in Georgia where I live. I know it has happened many times before in other places, but there was that element of it-might-have-been-me that always gets one to thinking about mortality and to waxing philosophical about the meaning of life and how best to live that life.

A Cessna six-seater took off from the local airport, Briscoe Field-about two miles from my house in suburban Atlanta. It was one of those medical aircraft that transports doctors and patients to wherever it is they need to go. This one was bound for Sparta, Tenn. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed into a home on a quiet street. The residents were inside. The husband escaped but his wife could not. She perished in the horrible fire that resulted. One minute you're upstairs working from home with your wife of many years in the downstairs den and the next, she's gone and you're left shocked and alone. Such is life, I suppose.

That horrible occurence has rarely left my mind for a second since last Friday. I think of other possibilities that might have happened. That pilot might have been heading south instead of north and crashed that Cessna into my neighborhood or even my house. I can't help but think about the family I would leave behind were I to go in such circumstances or, worse yet, to see my spouse leave this earth before me, which would be the greater blow. Some might say that such morose speculations are a waste of valuable time. They are right on some level; life goes on and all of that. Yet, given the nature of the events taking place in this country, with the future so uncertain as to the liberties we have always taken for granted, I fear for the ones I would leave behind if the worst occurred.

That is why it is of the utmost importance that every single one of us does everything conceivable to stop this progressive liberal machine that has seized too much power so quickly. Everyone must keep up the calls to their Congressmen, keep voicing their opinions on radio talk shows, attend tea parties and be vocal with your dissent, blog on about the issues you feel most passionate about, and, most important, keep the fires of freedom in your hearts, where they may never die, in spite of the reaches of tyranny that threaten to destroy our republic.

We are not promised tomorrow.  Tragedies happen-like that of the couple in Lawrenceville, Ga. I only hope I live my life so that my children understand the freedom this country was based on. I hope I leave a legacy of fighting for that freedom at all costs that will continue in them and onward through future generations.


On a less serious note......my wonderful stepsister sent me this......a little light-hearted philosophy about life:


Cowboy's Guide To Life 

by Bob Hardison

  • Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
  • Life ain't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.
  • Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
  • Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
  • Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
  • Don't sell your mule to buy a plow.
  • If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.
  • Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.  You cannot unsay a cruel word.
  • Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  • Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
  • Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
  • The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.
  • If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
  • The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with looks at you in the mirror every mornin'.
  • Don't worry about bitin' off more 'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
  • Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
  • Remember: Don't squat with your spurs on.
  • Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
  • If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
  • Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
  • The best sermons are lived, not preached.
  • Keep skunks and politicians and lawyers at a distance.
  • It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
  • If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
  • It's better to be a has-been than a never-was.
  • Meanness don't jest happen overnight.
  • When you wallow with pigs, expect to git dirty.
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The Passion Needs A Plan

Posted by Vansword on Monday, October 19, 2009 2:01:48 PM
Conservative/Republican leaders and tea party protestors have to forge a unified coalition to defeat the liberal agenda. This agenda has overrun the federal government like the kudzu that eats up the roadside here in Georgia.  The two groups lose sight of what should be their principal goal while they squabble over ideological details.
 
Republican leaders need to shed their snobbishness when it comes to considering viable candidates for next fall's elections. What ails the political body infects the Republicans as well. Political parties are always deathly afraid of going out of their comfort zone-leaving the neat little box of well-known faces and slap-you-on-the-back familiarity. How revitalizing it would be if the Republican party were behind a younger conservative with a strong sense of himself and what he believes. The usual party suspects are so accustomed to following the Washington routine that they seem to have lost the ability to scrutinize and react to issues with a fresh individualism.
 
Just a few months ago, S.C. Gov.Mark Sanford was looked upon as one of the Republican frontrunners. He seemed full of potential for the race in 2012. He buried any promise of that with personal and political indiscretions that rocked his state and which are as of now, yet fully dispensed with. For a while, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota seemed to be full speed ahead to capture his party's imagination as a potential frontrunner in upcoming elections. Lately, though, random straw polls have him finishing behind Gov. Huckabee from Arkansas.
 
Unquestionably one of the strongest conservative voices and one of the most intelligent people on the D.C. front, Newt Gingrich poked an irreparable hole into any future election success when he wholeheartedly endorsed very liberal Republican, Dede Scozzafava, for a New York House seat last week. What a disappointing turn of events for some conservatives, optimistic of Gingrich's chances, to learn that the man who constructed the 'Contract with America' is in the end mired in the same political machine that is the root of this country's trouble! If the GOP keeps mishandling the gift of candidate potential that exists, its constituents will start sounding like the mother in "A Christmas Story".........be careful or you'll shoot your eye out!
 
Next year is an election so crucial, citizens and lawmakers who want to halt the big government takeover, must come together on the issues they do agree on. The passion for liberty and small government that is at the heart of Americans filling streets and halls for rallies and town hall meetings is a welcome ingredient in the political process-an ingredient sadly missing in the past forty years from the recipe for a successful nation. Everyone in this country who still loves the Founding Father's vision of our republic and what it stands for should be forever grateful for a more involved and informed citizenry.
 
Tea party protestors, however, do not have the strength, under their own steam, to choose who will and will not run against liberals in 2010. The same quality that made them so successful in making political waves and getting out the message of  'we the people'-a grassroots perspective and everyman mentality- is a deterrent to getting in the door at the country club dance of politics. They lack the clout and the cost of admission. They need to realize that they must first get on board with the idea that we take back Congressional seats, then they can enjoy the leisure of philosophical bickering. The Tea Party Movement needs to jump in on the search for conservative candidates that share some or most of their values, while offering enough clout in the political arena to make a loud splash.
 
While a show of patriot strength and resolve with painted signs on the street corner surely drained fuel from the liberal gas tank,  their forces have merely switched to 'hybrid' vehicles and lurched onward with their Socialist plans. More binds tea partiers and Republican leaders than separates them. There are moderate Republicans who are pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. There are tea party protestors who have staunch religious beliefs that preclude, in their view,advocating for either of those. Are issues such as abortion and gay marriage really the hills we as free Americans want to die on?  Conservatives and tea partiers need to get behind the potential of their own hybrids.
 
It's time for a little housecleaning-a fresh look at the leaders who can promote the conservative cause with a firm belief of their own and the tenacity to take on the political establishment. And, make no mistake, if these two groups don't soon approach some semblance of 'simpatico',  if they can't get the conservative movement under one, more or less waterproof umbrella, the far left in this country will flatten all the other hills that are worth dying on!
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Parents Aren't The Only Caregivers

Posted by Vansword on Friday, September 18, 2009 4:47:29 PM




Great Britain is considering making it mandatory for overweight childeren to attend fat camp. Should it be our government's job to ensure that our kids lose weight?
 
 
In a recent interview, MeMe Roth, from the National Action Against Obesity, says yes. According to Ms. Roth, history has shown that without laws that require them to be responsible, parents won't take their duties seriously. She cited the examples of seat belts, car seats, and bike helmets as examples of government rules that prevent injury and death-circumstances that would have occurred thousands of times more if parents were left to their own decisions and choice.
 
Granted, seat belts and car seats save lives-no one is arguing that an automobile is more deadly than a Schwinn! But, as other Baby Boomers will tell you, we grew up riding our bikes, sans helmets, everywhere imaginable-skinning legs, knees, elbows and foreheads and living to tell the tale! Though it may have the best of intentions, the government cannot shield every child from every goose egg or minor abrasion. Outside of encapsulating all kids aged 1 to 18 in a protective bubble in a rubber room, most parents do the best that they can to raise their children safely to adulthood.
 
Unfortunately, there is no sure protection from parental errors. Parenting is a learning process, whereby, we raise kids concurrently with our studies.  There is no way other than seizing children and placing them in institutions that the government can mandate what our kids eat at home. That is the inherent right of the parent. Would they visit our frig three times a week! 
 
Fat camps may sound like a brilliant idea but we all know how that will turn out. Kids may eat right for a week and lose a few pounds but they must eventually return home to their parents who may or may not do the same.Are we going to mandate what the parents eat too? That's really the only way to guarantee the success of forcing parents to raise kids according to government standards. Such government intrusion is a ridiculous idea in a country where personal liberty is highly-valued.
 
Children learn about the food pyramid(the five groups we were taught are now stacked differently) in classroom health segments. Too bad that what they are taught and what they are served in school cafeterias aren't compatible. In one Morgan County, Georgia elementary school they serve doughnuts and funnel cakes in the free breakfast program. Parents arent to blame for that one!  And though experts agree that kids don't get enough exercise, few elementary schools today allow for that time-honored period we used to call recess. We used to play outside for an hour each day-now kids get about 15 min. a few times a week! It appears that the government has already had the opportunity to contribute to the health of the youth of this country and they've missed the mark!

Doesn't it make sense that those other caregivers who have who have custody of our children eight hours a day five days a week 9 or 10 months out of the year bear a large part of the burden of ensuring their health? Not to make too many excuses for parents, but the time after school usually amounts to only three or four hours until bedtime. And many moms and dads are still at work for part of that time as well. Afterschool programs and daycare establishments bear as much of the burden as regular schools.
 
Don't get me wrong. I understand that obesity is a growing concern for the youth of this country. Ad campaigns appealing to parents to get their kids off the couch and out the back door as often as they can would be a good idea, as are the current ads espousing the benefits of sitting down to the table together for a meal rather than driving up to a window to eat junk food. Informed parents will practice the art of throwing kids outside to play and buying healthier food for the frig. Those parents not so inclined will face the prospect of dealing with the health concerns of an overweight child-a child who will probably have to reach adulthood and take control of his own life in order to change his situation. Such is the way it has been for thousands of years. Some of us are blessed with wonderful parents-some of us are not so fortunate. But the familial unit has as much inherent right to personal freedom as the individual.
 
 
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not swallowing any of the latest attempts to stifle my freedom- or my child's freedom. Our lives are our own, to do the best we can with until we can do better. Government mandated obesity camps for children would be yet another intrusion into our liberties that wouldn't have any more of a chance than the rest of making it past this American's soft palate!
 
 
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Constitution Week

Posted by Vansword on Thursday, September 17, 2009 1:38:16 PM
 
If I hadn't received an email from Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Karen Handel, this morning, I might never have known that we have a week designated by Congress as Constitution Week.(September 17-23). A joint resolution of Congress on August 2, 1956 requested that the President proclaim that week as such.  In 2002, then President George W. Bush reaffirmed this observance of the signing of that document which outlined the unique republic that is America. I guess we can assume from the wording of the Congressional resolution that each new President can proclaim Constitution Week.
 
Do you think Barack Obama will reaffirm its observance? How can we expect that when just today he announced that the U.S. would not be building the missile defense shield in Europe? Our President is not thinking about Americans general welfare and our mutual defense but is instead putting our safety in danger by caving to the demands of Russia!
 
Shouldn't such a Constitution week be more known to its citizens? The answer is a resounding, yes! But a mention of events and philosophies of two hundred years ago receives shrugs and hand-waving dismissals in the face of modern-day political thinking and the bureaucracy of egos that exist in Washington.
 
To you out-of-touch liberals who thought last year's election was an infinite mandate to take the helm of this country and run like drug-crazed hippie dreamers through the halls of Congress, wiping away all the vestiges of 'the man' and the 'establishment' and 'racism', clear the scent of incense from your nostrils and take off your John-Lennon-rose-colored eyeglasses!
 
Middle America is what it has always been-hard working men and women, working on farms, or in factories, trying to raise their children to be decent, law-abiding citizens, trying to stay out of debt and save a pittance for retirement. They relish living in a country where our rights and liberties are supposed to be guaranteed, taken care of in such a way that we don't have to worry about them every day. Instead, we can focus on our own lives! It is the voice of Middle America that you have been hearing over the summer in townhall meetings. It is
their outrage that you have to interrupt their lives with constant worry about the loss of their individual freedom and the republic they love!
 
Your illusion that most of America do or should share your view of the world as one big commune(where we share the wealth and keep our personal opinions of religion and such matters to ourselves for fear of upsetting our fellow dwellers) was, is and will always be just that-an illusion, one inspired and urged onward by a select group of ideological extremist thinkers from the past, who were out of touch with the realities of everyday life.
 
Most of are far too busy worrying about the education of our children and how to pay next month's bills to worry about some left wing activists' cries to put animals and the earth first. My children and grandchildren are first in my line. Raccoons and recycling dont even make it to my top ten!
 
That same Constitution that gives me the freedom to say these things to you also gives you the right to say what you do. The difference between us-the conservative/libertarians/independents and you the progressive liberal is that we recognize that it is against that same Constitution for us to insist that you live according to our precepts. You want to try to use the government power to mandate that I live according to yours.
 
Our liberty is open.  Everyone is free. Free to be a financial success. Or free to be a complete failure. Free to go live on a commune in California. Or free to be a member of a fundamental Christian group. Free to make life decisions based on what you believe, not what the government tells you to believe. 
 
Your idea of liberty is closed -for the expansion and realization of a social and political agenda. You want to tell us that freedom is relative, that we are 'free enough' with the limited liberties you would like to give us You want to tell us that the bigger picture of environmentalism and animals rights are more important than my one and only life! That perspective of liberty exists nowhere in its definition.
 
Let us celebrate our Constitution this week.  It lays out the provisions of our liberty with a marvel of concise language and flexibility. It is our protection. It is our beacon. It is the one truth about America. We love our freedom. We've fought world wars to ensure that freedom. We've aided other countries in their own fight-yes, sometimes, to our detriment and with a failing result, but always with the principles of our ideals forging our way. That is the kind of country we are.
 
Our ideals of freedom will always be at the center of any argument, political or social. There is no partisan strategy or philosophical movement that can erase that. We've had those ideals since the beginning-they were our beginning. They are also our forever. We like them. We believe in them. We're keeping them......and our Constitution. Somebody could tear every known copy of that document into a million shreds...we would gather in our homes and collectively we would write it all over again! We might not get every phrase the same but we know the jist....the spirit and words of the United States Constitution are within us all!
 
 
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Bring It On

Posted by Vansword on Sunday, August 02, 2009 3:52:46 PM
Rarely do three little words from any politician seize the imagination and spur one to action. Unless, of course, those three little words happen to be, "I am resigning". (Laugh laugh). I found myself blinded, though, by the bright new future possible in three little words uttered by one of Georgia's Republican contenders for the gubernatorial race in November 2010.
 
I hadn't heard of the latest stir going on in the Georgia Board of Elections and Voting until I happened upon a blog on the subject while searching another issue. It seems that Obama's Justice Department under the auspices of Attorney General Eric Holder notified the state of Georgia that they would no longer be allowed to verify voter registration-they would be required to sign up voters without asking for identification and other pertinent information.
 
Karen Handel, the current Georgia Secretary of State, Republican candidate for governor in 2010 and the official in charge of elections, was not at all happy with this request from the Justice Department and replied this way: BRING IT ON!
 
I don't know Karen Handel from Adam, as they say down South. I knew she was our Secretary of State and that's about all. I only recently learned of the depth of her professional resume. She was once Chairman of the Fulton County(Atlanta) Board of Commissioners and has held executive level positions at several high-powered, high-profile companies. Her fiscal experience is broad and successful. But I needed only to hear those three little words, BRING IT ON. I greatly admire her political courage and her out and out gall at turning sharply on her heel and showing the U.S. government the back of her head.
 
Their present insistence that Georgia not conduct voter verficications amounts to its allowing 'dead people' and 'illegals' to vote. Handel knows as well as everyone that this will lead to the Democrats increasing their ranks, broadening their districts and keeping their political power. She said that it is the state of Georgia's right to verify their elections and not the business of the federal government.  She said that if elected governor she would have Georgia stand up for its rights and not cave in to pressure from the government.  Right on Karen! And Bring It On Obama and Company!
 
 
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Hey,Garafaolo! Listen Up!

Posted by Vansword on Sunday, April 26, 2009 12:08:17 PM
I'd like to introduce myself to Janeane Garafaolo. I am a proud, Libertarian/Conservative Southern white woman, born and bred in the great state of South Carolina, college -educated and leading a cosmopolitan lifestyle near Atlanta.  Garafaolo, you need to listen up! You have no business unilaterally labelling all tea party protestors as ignorant, racist rednecks.  I am  neither ignorant nor a racist but I proudly marched around the town square and congregated on the courthouse steps of an historic middle Georgia town on April 15th to protest my indignation at federal government actions and to lend my support to the fight to save the principles of our Founding Fathers.
 
FYI, tea party protestors came from across the board. They ranged from financiers and college professors to blue collar workers(who also have brains), stay at home moms and small entrepreneurs. These were people who have watched our government and come to their own intelligent conclusions. I guess it's just easier for liberals like you to assume that any opinion other than yours must be fueled by stupidity or bias, since, if they were fueled by other well-thought out reasons, then liberals might be....aghast....wrong! You use words like 'teabagging' to keep from actually using rational thought to consider what's happening among Conservatives.
 
As for the racism accusation, you don't need to look far in this country to find many black Conservative voices. In Madison,Georgia I stood alongside fellow Americans who were black and as fed up with the government as I am. My husband who attended a tea party in Sugarland, TX., said that several speakers on those city hall steps were black. Intelligent people come in all colors. 
 
I do not dislike our new President because he is black. Some years ago, I had a great respect for our military commander-in-chief, Gen. Colin Powell who I believed then would have made a good president. Last month, I joined the Intelligent Thinker's Movement, an organization founded by local Atlanta Conservative radio talk show host, Herman Cain, an uber-successful, black businessman whose daily wisdom and insight never fails to amaze and inspire me. I would vote for him for President in a heartbeat! No, I do not dislike our new President because he is a black man. He is just the 'wrong' black man.
 
You said that tax day protestors didn't know what the Boston Tea Party was about. Well, we know-the question is, Do You? It was about more than taxes-it was about ordinary citizens sick up and fed with a huge out-of-control government that threatens our freedoms. Sound familiar?
 
It seems to me that you are the one woefully uneducated. The Tea Party Movement wasn't started by incendiary diatribes from Conservative radio talk show hosts or wholly organized by rightist media or politicians. It is truly a grassroots movement that started with the shared opinions of many Americans that swept through the web and onto the streets. Last Wednesday was not a one-time evening of chest-pounding(as one liberal reporter described it). Websites abound with the same cause-the resurgence of Conservatism in America. More rallies are scheduled for later this year. You want to talk about 'straight up' facts? Well, here's one for you. The tea party protests that occurred on this last April 15th were plain tea, straight up. Now, it's time to add a little flavoring with the continuing fight against a liberal government that seeks to destroy our freedoms and rights.There will be more protests in the coming months to spice up that plain old tea!
 
Your comments seem to suggest another kind of bigotry- partisan bigotry. You think that only liberals know how to save this country. I'm sure I speak for my other tax day tea party protestor brethren when I say, We Don't Want the Kind of Country That You Want to Save!! If I seem to be getting irate this is why: you've heard the expression, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Well, an angry, strong, Southern woman, white or black, is much worse. Along with many of our Conservative-minded fellow citizens, we are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
 
 
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