Debates And Big Brother

Flipping through the channels on Thursday night I couldn’t help but watch the debates, backstabbing, manipulation, empty words, and downright stupidity that some people feel is the right thing to say to get them ahead in the game. It didn’t matter if I was watching Big Brother or the Republican primary debate, the same observation holds true. With that said, the roster of candidates would also make for quite the interesting season of Big Brother. While there are a few good people in each that have the right mindset and perception to make a positive difference, there are also the ones on the media stage that are just there for the few minutes of fame.

I don’t hide the fact that I am an ardent Republican but I can’t help but look at some of the unqualified, inexperienced, and downright liberal politicians on the stage and wonder what they have against this party that makes them want to handicap the process so badly. I had this perspective long before the debates began and I feel proven correct now that this first round has concluded. But what still baffles me is the support that is still on display even after the last question is posed.

Do you really think that Trump would do anything else besides declare bankruptcy as soon as he takes office? Do you really believe Christie is a conservative given his liberal track record? Can you really see a third Bush being anything but a disappointing shell of Republican? Does the brilliance of Carson translate to politics?

It is because of these questions that I can’t support any of those candidates. While not the most effective, the loudest, or even the most eloquent, I still stand with Rand. As I previously wrote, I would like to see a Paul/Rubio ticket and after this past week I feel that is still the right choice. Paul continues to supports the rights of the people, defending against the infringements of the government while Rubio brings the eloquence and personal experience to which many can relate. It is an interesting combination and one that is far more genuine than any of the others on stage.

It will be intriguing to see how this all plays out and how the remaining debates continue to shape the campaigns. I doubt that my opinions will change before the time the election comes around and I am just hoping that the right candidates make it to the final ballot. Of course, anyone is better than what is being offered from the other side of the aisle… even Donald Trump. And since they are already such supports of big brother, it would be interesting to see the liberals locked in that house.

Lodge Or Vote?

Not very Shakespearean but a bit of a dilemma nevertheless. This was the decision that I had to make last night at the end of the work day. As I got in the car I still wasn’t completely sure as to which direction I would travel… fellowship was at 7:30 in Ardmore but the polls closed at 8:00 with my polling place more than 30 minutes away from the lodge. While I was leaning heavily toward heading toward home, you never know when the phone is going to ring and you have to adjust your evening by heading over to the lodge.

 Even though there weren’t any seats of major significance up for grabs in my area, there were still campaigns being run and candidates that shouldn’t be allowed near any public office. This seems to be the pattern every election and yet people never learn and keep voting those individuals into public office. With no urgent calls from the lodge and wanting to get home as soon as possible to spend time with my wife and son, it was not a hard decision to head down the street from the house on a small detour to cast my vote.

While it should be no surprise that I didn’t vote for any of the people to the left of the ballot, there were a number of decisions that had to be made and a variety of issues that differentiated the possible choices from one another. As with many of my political decisions at this point in my life, it really came down to a simple concept… who supports my rights and who believes in individual responsibility? That is the basic foundation to many of my views (also the reason that I previously made known my support for Rand Paul).

And here is where everything comes around and demonstrates the flow of thoughts and ideas from one day to another. As I write this Senator Paul has been on the floor filibustering the renewal of the Patriot Act. One of the few willing to take a stand, stand up for our rights, and defend the constitution. While some will surely say that this is a political stunt to get his name out there to support his campaign I will simply remind those making that assertion that this is something that he has done before.

While there is no doubt that his stance will galvanize his base the more important take away is the fact that there is someone willing to fight for our rights and uphold the Constitution. The Patriot Act is something that I have never been able to fully support especially as it has been leveraged time and again from the day that it was passed to broaden the scope of its reach legitimizing a federal invasion of privacy. It is nice to know that there are still some people willing to fight for our rights which is why I will continue to exercise my right to vote whenever I am given the opportunity.

Questioning Punctuation And Interpretations

It happens all the time. You write an email, letter, or even some sort of business document and think that everything is done but when you look it over again you realize that you missed something. Nothing that impacts the content as all of the information is there but there is a single seemingly insignificant dot or subtle line that has been either added or not included that completely changes how it is read. Sometimes the most brilliant piece of writing can be derailed by punctuation. This is the exact point (no pun intended) that is currently being debated as either a period is missing or has been added to one of this county’s founding documents, The Declaration of Independence. The full research paper can be read here.

An opinion that I have seen bandied about since the release of this research leaves one with a weighty sense of suspicion as there are rarely moments of coincidence when it comes to politics and that is exactly what we find ourselves looking at in this particular instance. Basically, what this individual surmises, without the period, is that this cornerstone document grants increased power to the government over the people and their rights. In an era when the central figures in Washington are leveraging ever mode and means to secure more and more power, the motivations behind such a ‘revelation’ are suspect at a minimum and at worst liberal propaganda. Many critics of the research are leaning toward the latter as the supposition made by this scholar completely flies in the face of both what we fought against to gain our independence and what the founding fathers have expounded upon in their own writings. Sometimes there is no error in the faded pages of time, occasionally there is an error in the records kept, sometimes a period is nothing more than an un-cleaned spec on a pair of glasses.

However, there is another side to this whole argument which it the one to which I subscribe. Given that there seems to be rather convincing evidence that the period that we have all generally accepted in the transcript is indeed an error, the continuation of the thought outlined in the paragraph is what we must focus on. While some, on both sides of the political spectrum, have concluded that the absence of the period grants additional power to the government. However, I believe this is an overreaching statement made in error. The rights of the people are still the central focus and the role of government is to ensure that the rights of the people are not infringed. Basically, it is a reinforcement of the rights of the people and that the primary role of government is to protect those rights NOT restrict, limit, or strip them away.

There are too many possibilities that could be the culprit to this punctuation error theory that are too quickly glossed over and the intentions of the words and the spirit of the declaration is completely dismissed in the hypothesis. Brave actions and the intentions behind them are what secured our freedom from an oppressive and negligent government and there is no possible reason for the founders of this country to dismiss those sacrifices in order to empower the few over the many in determining rights. While I don’t anticipate that fact to resonate with the current administration, it is a large part of what has proven to be the catalyst in the success of this democratic republic and government should support the rights of the people to ensure that the tree of liberty remains healthy and vibrant.

We are a nation of individuals endowed with inalienable rights along with rights that ensure our freedom and liberty even under the rule of an oppressive government. While many may not exercise those rights or even take the time to fully understand them, they are there for our safety and for us to protect ourselves and protect us from being ruled rather than served. We were not founded on the notion of an expansive government, we were founded on the necessity of a strong people to oppose an overreaching government. The government needs to focus on protecting our rights so that we can protect ourselves. And while we will most likely never return to those ideals, it is our duty to find balance in this country and to protect ourselves from views and interpretations that fly in the face of our individual rights, liberty, and freedom.     

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Embrace The Change Brought About By A Simple Declaration

Sorry to disappoint but this is not what it is all about.

Today we celebrate a moment in our history that impacts all of us. The signing of the Declaration of Independence is one of the most pivotal moments in history that ha rippled throughout the world and across generations. What began as an act of treason is now celebrated as a moment when the people rose up against an oppressive government. Today is the day when we celebrate the power of a nation fed up with an overreaching nobility taking a stand, reclaiming their rights, and declaring their independence.

On this day we also remember those who have fought for the ideas and ideals embraced those many summers ago in Philadelphia. It has taken the blood of too many good men to ensure the thriving vitality of the tree of liberty and yet those lives lost are too often forgotten during this time of celebration. And it is those lives that we disgrace when we slowly strip the people of the rights that we fought so hard for and sacrificed so much to secure. While history does not change the perspective and lens used to view that which shaped the world can sometimes cast a drunken delirium on the current status of the nation.

Too often people forget that we fought for freedom. We fought to ensure that the people maintain their rights. We were given the ability to pursue happiness not the guarantee of all life’s pleasures. We brought about change that shifted the power from the powerful to the people. We all have rights.

We now find ourselves in a situation when entitlement and an overreaching government are once again trying to dominate our daily lives. The freedoms that we once fought for and cherished are now be questioned and deemed radical and dangerous. The independence and individuality that we once enjoyed is now seen as rebellious and racist. The thing that we once had to work hard for and earn are now preached to be that which everyone should have regardless of the effort and deservingness of the individual.

We cannot be given everything nor expect to be given anything. We are one nation of many people with individual rights. We each have to embrace those rights, decide for ourselves whether we are going to exercise certain rights, and respect the decisions of others as to whether or not they will embrace the freedoms that those rights provide. It took tremendous acts of defiance to secure those rights and found this nation and it took courage to defend those rights. Now we must remember those men who stood before us and let their legacy fuel the bravery we need now to exercise our rights.

D-Day + 70

As I am sure you have read many times over already, today we mark the 70^th anniversary of Operation Overlord, more commonly referred to as D-Day. There are countless stories that we have all read and numerous accounts that have been relayed over the years. Some have resonated more deeply than others but one thing remains constant, these were men who accomplished something extraordinary. There are not many people that can say that they changes the course of history or, in many respects, saved the world but these men earned that right without question.

I have known many men during my life that played a part in that seminal event. I have had the privilege to talk at great length about their experiences and each time it was not about what they did or their actions, it was about all of them pushing forward as one unified force working together to achieve what some thought was impossible. These selfless men, some making the ultimate sacrifice, served honorably not just for their country but for humanity.

Seventy years later and few are still with us that lived through the courageous actions of that day. However, there are men still with us who lived though that campaign and are taking this day to remember those who fell beside them and recall the small victories of that day that culminated in the winning of a war and victory for all people. One veteran D-Day paratrooper, Jim 'Pee Wee' Martin, is even marking this occasion by reenacting his D-Day jump.

This day, and every day for that matter, we should be thankful for the freedom that these men fought for and the way of life many gave their lives to defend. We remain a free people thanks to those men who served to protect and defend us. This, the greatest generation, is a part of all of us as no one can say that their family wasn’t impacted by the war. These ordinary men demonstrated the good that humanity is capable of when we band together for a common cause. The showed us that extraordinary results are the product of men who ardently serve a righteous goal.

The men who fought on this day, the men and women who supported the war effort, those who served before and since with the same duty and honor should forever be praised for their sacrifices and service. D-Day while seen as a single campaign was the result of the work at home and abroad for month before the war to ensure victory. Remember those and thank those who made victory possible who ensured that freedom and liberty survived the darkest time in modern history.

A Little Bit Of Passover Reading

Passover is a time when we reflect on the Exodus from Egypt and the struggle for freedom that has colored our character and influenced our faith and world view. However, when thinking about this, I can’t help but feel that the struggle has been forgotten and is only considered a part of our tradition, a story that does not go beyond the pages of the Torah. When reading Exodus, I came across the following sentence that made me stop and really put some long thought in the meaning behind the words:

“If, while breaking in, the thief is discovered, and he is struck and dies, [it is as if] he has no blood.” – Exodus 22:1

I read this as meaning that G-d will defend the actions of man when that man is just in his actions. Not satisfied with my own view, I went digging a little further I looked into the interpretation found in the Talmud. Rashi, considered the greatest commentator on the Tanach (for those of you unfamiliar with the term is the original, Jewish name for the 24 books of the Bible) considered the millennia of interpretation and produced the following commentary:

"He has no blood. [This signifies that] this is not [considered] murder. It is as though he [the thief] is [considered] dead from the start. Here the Torah teaches you: If someone comes to kill you, kill him first. And this one [the thief] has come to kill you, because he knows that a person will not hold himself back and remain silent when he sees people taking his money. Therefore, he [the thief] has come with the acknowledgement that if the owner of the property were to stand up against him, he [thief] would kill him [the owner]. - Talmud Sanhedrin. 72a"

The reason for expounding upon this sentence is quite simple. The Pharaoh, while not in the literal sense as the aforementioned thief, was depriving the Israelites of life. By keeping them enslaved and reliant upon him to provide them with their basic needs, he was stripping them of their freedom and leaving them, for the most part, powerless. It was not until they found the strength in G-d and from G-d to fight this tyrant that they were able to break their chains and become, once again, a free people.

While G-d clearly lent a hand in this endeavor, we must not forget that we are to be a reliant people granted with the innate ability to defend and protect ourselves as well as our fellow man. For when men strip us of our ability to stand up and fight for ourselves, do we once again find ourselves as helpless as a slave in Egypt. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to G-d to never again allow that to happen and so we must embrace our inalienable right to keep and bear arms.

We cannot become overly reliant on a government promising to provide us with our basic needs. We must be self-reliant and ready to work for what we want, fight for what we need, and defend the freedom that we have. In the end, while G-d undoubtedly lent a hand, the exodus required the actions of man. Moses was the one who led his people out of Egypt. Passover is a time to embrace the fact that we can still hold fast to our faith while at the same time fighting for our rights, our freedom, and our life.

 

 

Some Speakers Are Better Than Others

With a full schedule, I awoke early this morning looking forward to joining the Commonwealth Club for breakfast at The Radnor Hotel. While I did run a little late, I was there in plenty of time as I was able to get myself a modest breakfast and easily find a seat about five minutes before the meeting began and the speaker was introduced. I even had enough time to introduce myself to the distinguished guest and hand him a bag from his niece that I was asked to give to him. It is interesting how you seems to have, if you look hard enough, an existing connection to everyone you meet (I even figured out the loose connection to Kevin Bacon).

The meeting began like all the others that I have written about in the past with a few words from the Party Chairman and the introduction of the presenter for the morning. However, only a few minutes into the former Governor, Senator, and Attorney General’s talk (yes, he held all of those positions in his career) you could tell that this candid conversation was much different from those for which we had previously been present. Maybe it was the fact that he is no longer active in politics (at least he no longer holds an official office) but it seemed to be much more than that.

With all that continues to swirl around Washington and the divide that seems to widen by the day among the voting public, having someone speak to the unity that is needed, unity in the pursuit of liberty and opportunity and the diversity of this country as a blessing rang a unique tone. Not because it is a goal and a message absent from the party but because it is coming from a man who has been the target of so many attacks from the opposition but remains true to the hope of a country which embraces freedom rather than the overburdened policies and legislation designed to limit opportunity and growth within each free individual.

Hearing those sentiments from John Ashcroft really made me wonder about how this party, my party, is viewed from the opposition and how wrong that pervasive opinion really is. I have seen the people and the actions of this party with my own eyes and know the inclusiveness that is woven into the ideals ad opportunities that we promote. However, I have seen the actions of individuals who do not embody these ideals, tarnish our work and our party. But we do not let that stop us, we continue to support individual liberty and responsibility as a means to unify all of us and open the doors of opportunity to improve the lives of everyone as well as our country as a whole because, in the end, this country does not belong to one party or another, it belongs to us all.

Instead of looking for answers, look for opportunity. Don’t rely solely on the words of others, seek the truth of the matter through your own efforts. And, like Attorney General Ashcroft, focus on what is right (or the letter of the law as the case may be) rather than what is popular. After all, the truths are self-evident if we just open our eyes and embrace the rights of freedom and liberty. The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should not be negotiated or compromised or regulated by government. We, as a people, must be united in this continued devotion to ourselves, one another, and our country. And finally, remember that the opportunity to embrace our rights should not be ignored or else we begin chipping away at liberty.  

Why Do We Have A Day Off For Presidents Day?

While many were home today for Presidents Day, I was at the office trying to get things done. With so many storms and other delays lately, it has been a chore trying to stay in front of a lot of items on my to-do list. And, when I think about it, what better way to honor Presidents Day than to work? After all, the men for whom the holiday was created, Washington and Lincoln, worked and worked hard to achieve what they did in their lifetimes.

So, for the sake of education, here is a little bit of information from Wikipedia about Presidents Day, the day when we honor a Mason and a Republican (ah, I can sense the liberals cringing):

Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

It is also a state holiday in most states where it is known by a variety of names including Presidents Day and Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday and officially celebrates, depending upon the state, Washington alone, Washington and Lincoln, or some other combination of U.S. presidents. Some states celebrate Washington and the third president Thomas Jefferson but not Lincoln.

Colloquially, the holiday is widely known as "Presidents Day" and is often an occasion to celebrate, or at least remember, all presidents and not just George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays are in February. In historical rankings of Presidents of the United States both Lincoln and Washington are frequently, but not always, the top two presidents.

In Washington's adopted hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, celebrations are held throughout the month of February.

…

The federal holiday honoring George Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American President, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. On January 1, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name "Washington's Birthday" in some sense a misnomer, since it never occurs on Washington's actual birthday, either February 11 (Old Style), or February 22 (New Style).

The first attempt to create a Presidents Day occurred in 1951 when the "President's Day National Committee" was formed by Harold Stone Bridge Fischer of Compton, California, who became its National Executive Director for the next two decades. The purpose was not to honor any particular President but to honor the office of the Presidency. It was first thought that March 4, the original inauguration day, should be deemed Presidents Day. However, the bill recognizing the March 4 date was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee (which had authority over federal holidays). That committee felt that, because of its proximity to Lincoln's and Washington's Birthdays, three holidays so close together would be unduly burdensome. During this time, however, the Governors of a majority of the individual states issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be Presidents' Day in their respective jurisdictions.

An early draft of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act would have renamed the holiday to "Presidents' Day" to honor the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln, which would explain why the chosen date falls between the two, but this proposal failed in committee, and the bill as voted on and signed into law on June 28, 1968, kept the name Washington's Birthday.

By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term "Presidents' Day" began its public appearance.

Now that you have a little bit of background on the origins of the holiday what seemed like a good idea to remember some of the greatest men in this country’s history really doesn’t seem like a proper means of honoring those same men. Two men who fought for, who relentlessly worked for freedom in this country are memorialized by taking the day off? No thank you. I am going to honor them, and honor what they stood for, by continuing to work hard. Honor their memories through your actions not by taking the day off and going to some big retail sale.