Short Thoughts on Today's Major Topics

Patterson, New Jersey
Donald Trump says plenty of provocative things and much of his appeal is the fact that he does not back down from those things.  The latest is that he saw certain Muslims in the United States celebrated the 9/11 tragedy.  I did some searches and could not find videos of it, but I do remember a television report showing a parking lot in Patterson, New Jersey where people were happy that the 9/11 tragedy occurred and dancing around singing.  For me, I believe Donald Trump.

Database Outcry
Once again, we can look to the MSM (main-stream media) for hypocrisy in reporting.  Donald Trump also talked about having a database of people in the Islamic faith.  And as can be expected, the media exploded on him.  Where were these media folks when President Obama threw out an idea of having a database in the White House of people who opposed Obamacare?  Where was the media when Al Gore spoke about having a database of people who do not support climate change?  In my opinion, databases tracking anyone because of their faith, beliefs or political affiliations is wrong.

Syrian Refugees
I love social media.  You get to find out who people are and what and how they think through their own words and actions.  There have been a number of folks posting that it is wrong for America to turn away Syria refugees.  Well, where were all these people when we let the Syria civil war began and many on the right were arguing that the US needed to get involved?  Civil wars in the 21st century always lead to refugee crises whether in Africa, South America, Asia or the Middle East.

The underlying thought here is that if these people suffer in their own borders, it is not our concern.  It is not our concern when chemical weapons are used to kill masses of them.  It is only our concern when they approach our border and democrats need additional votes.

Paris Attacks
Another hypocrisy uncovered on Facebook.  In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, many people posted Pray for Paris.  I myself did not post but my heart went out to the innocent lives taken there.  However, I do support those that did showing solidarity against terrorism.

Well, some social media folks were not happy. They then started to post about other shootings and violence in other places of the world (interesting that people avoided mentioning Chicago).  Well, it took Paris to occur and then people to talk about Paris before they posted about these other tragedies.  If they believed in expressing support for them, they should have posted them when they occurred before Paris.

It would seem that the 2015 annual theme for liberals is hypocrisy - well, who are we kidding, that has always been the liberal ways.

Compassion > Regulation

It will come as no surprise that I am disgusted by the actions and statements of those advocating for gun control who exploited the death of two of our fellow citizens on television.  However, I find some commonalities in that story and the upcoming 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

I believe that the uncontrollable storm of Hurricane Katrina was exacerbated by New Orleans and coastal Louisiana ignoring their social issues for decades.  Common phrases like this is the bayou, what happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans and redneck way of life masked the drug epidemic, the lack of family institutions and the endangered mentality of community belonging. They ignored their social issues and Hurricane Katrina killed many members of that community.

Fast forward to all of the recent gun shootings.  There were tons of signs - albeit hindsight is 20/20 - and communities ignored the signs or more than likely, were scared of reacting to signs.  If I approach a person with mental issues, I may be accused of being close-minded, racist, sexist or any number of other derogatory terms.  So instead, we do nothing and before we know it, people are killed.

We should open our eyes and set free our hearts to help our fellow citizens.  Let us not rely on government, government programs and selfish politicians to solve and help our communities.  The power is ours, the responsibility is ours.  

Andy Pettitte and Faith (in People)

This weekend, Yankee great Andy Pettitte will have his number retired at Yankee Stadium joining an exclusive group of Yankees that include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio.  Andy Pettitte's career has been well documented through his successes in New York and Houston including multiple World Series championships.

However, I cannot help but think that Andy Pettitte's success and now retired number is a result of his faith in the American people.  Time and time again, history has shown that people are willing to forgive if they are told the truth.  The human capacity to do so is based on the fact that we look into a mirror and see a non-perfect person and we resonate and connect when our athletes, politicians and stars are open about their non-perfection.

Perhaps if more folks were willing they were wrong and made mistakes, we would not have so much hatred, partisanship and disappointment in public life.  While I admit that I am not opposed to the rigorous and continuous attacks on Hillary Clinton's private email server, if she came out and said Yes, I used a private email server and I should not have.  I should have shown better discretion about confidential information, this would not even be a story.

Trust people, be great, join Monument Park.

It has been a while...

It has been one week short of a month since I last posted.  For that, I apologize, especially given no shortage of news stories and activities over that time.  This includes the battle over the Confederate battle flag, Hillary Clinton's single interview which could be classified as delusional as best, Governor Bobby Jindal and Governor Chris Christie announcing they are running for President, Donald Trump's announcement and fallout from comments, and the list goes on and on.

There a lot of things happening in the world.  And we should look to the future as the picture that is created only when thousands of puzzle pieces are put together.  Unlike most puzzles, we do not necessarily know what the picture will look like, but we know a picture will be created.

It is no surprise that I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton.  The delusional comment about people trusting her must lead to questions about her mental ability to perceive reality and thus disqualify her to be President of the United States.  Benghazi is a story because she has not been forthcoming with information about what Americans were doing in Benghazi that day, what happened that day and when did the Administration know it was a terrorist attack.  Her email server - released by an affiliate of President Obama - shows no support for common law.  And with Clinton Cash, there are only two possibilities - either she took money to help advance causes as Secretary of State OR she is grossly incompetent to see how people (both the public and donors) would perceive donations to the Global Clinton Initiative as bribes.  If it is the later, another reason how she is unfit for President.

I find ESPN to be one of the most despicable news organizations in America.  (And that is a big statement given the crazies at MSNBC, the New York Times and others.)  They release an unauthorized medical report of a NFL player, they move their golf tournament from a Trump course, they chastised the former of owner of the LA Clippers about comments illegally recorded and not allowable in any court and the list goes on.  BUT they are the organization that openly hires and promotes a former NFL player who could solve an open murder crime, has a reputation for sexual harassment of female reporters.  Their double-standard about them being able to do whatever they want is ridiculous.

More comments to come...

6/17 Top 3 Candidates for the Republican Nomination

Periodically, I will share my opinion on who should get the Republican nomination for President of the United States - the greatest place under God's blue sky.

This week - my first ranking - is as follows:

1. Senator Ted Cruz
Senator Cruz, who hails from my home state of Texas, is a passionate, charismatic leader who says what he thinks and does what he says.  There is never any debate on where the Senator stands on issues and is not afraid to tackle the Republican establishment when they are wrong which happens more often than it should.

He has lost a little momentum due to his early entrance in the race, but as long as he stays relevant and strong and keeps fundraising until the first debate, he will do just fine.  #whendidyoufightforit

2. Dr. Ben Carson
Dr. Carson continues to surprise people in GOP polls and has an ability to connect with people.  Some of his more controversial statements actually do make sense when you listen to his explanation - he is an individual of high intellect and an ability to communicate.  His momentum willy only rise. #getreadymainstream

3. Ms. Carly Fiorina
Ms. Fiorina has shown the capacity to battle the battles worth fighting, not shying away from confrontational conversations.  Many would argue, including those that are not her fans, that HP is still around today because of the very merger with Compaq that ended her leadership at HP and because of her cost saving measures.  (By the way, liberals have no problems when the government forces companies to do the same thing to the benefit of liberal donors - aka unions.)

She has not backed down from attacking RINO and Hillary Clinton.  #letherdebate

On the watch list: Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Rick Perry (mainly because of his passion an convictions) and Governor Bobby Jindal (wouldn't be the worst thing to have someone with an education focus).  I do not count Governor Scott Walker since he has yet to announce.

Something is missing...

Hillary Clinton likes to take populous stands – she did so as First Lady, as a Senator from New York and as Secretary of State.  However, taking popular stands and actually fighting for them, or heck even voting for them are different things.  I wonder if she requests for a bullet-proof limousine equipped with crudites and fancy water to take her from one populous stand to another.

People have made jokes about not being able to name one accomplishment which should not come as a surprise because there are none.  Some people said she was restricted because she knew she would run for President and did not want to have a ‘gotcha’ moment.   In other words, a person who desires to run the greatest and freest country in the world is afraid someone may second guess a vote she made.  Hardly seems to be a person of conviction.

Let me tackle of few other ‘excuses’ – she is an extremely private person and people do not know her.  She has been in the public light for two dozen years, written books and made a ton of speeches (many of which she was compensated at 25,000 times the people who actually worked at the place) – people do know her, and there is just nothing there.

Others say that she was only the junior Senator from New York and had a world that resented America to deal with as Secretary of State.  There are plenty of junior Senators who have done enough that people recognize who they are.  Heck, there are three of them running on the Republican ticket – Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Rand Paul and Senator Ted Cruz.  All three have done things that have made them well known, beyond their last name.

As for the world, if everybody did indeed hate America, which the lack of countries leaving military alliances in 2008 or ending economic/trade with the US in 2008 would say that other countries truly did not hate America, Hillary Clinton would have had an easy time improving those relationships.  Were there any peace summits that students will read about in their text books?  No.  Any international dispute that she successfully mediated or negotiated?  No.  Wait, there was that one thing that happened – the death of four Americans in an embassy in a city that all other countries had vacated at least a week ahead of time and that US soldiers could not get to ‘in-time’, despite not knowing when or if the attacks would occur.

Those that support Hillary Clinton want there to be something of grasp to show more than an idea of hope or a populist message.  The problem is that they just don’t exist, and if they did, they are on a hidden and illegal email server at her multi-million dollar Westchester mansion.

If You...You Are... (Part I)

Today, many folks struggle with the idea of being a proud American while realizing that we still have work to do.  This is caused by the media and talking heads that say if you support police, you support racism.  If you support free trade, you are against the American worker.  If you are against unions, you are for corporations.  All of this 'if you...you are...' is the kind of mindset and attitude that prevents us from moving forward in society.

I would be the majority of Americans in their heart, if not on social media, believe in the following:

1. We should help those in need, but help them to get on their feet, not survive on their knees.

2. We are a pro-life country where those that are born and unborn are showed compassion and valued.  Whether we want to turn that into legislation or keep it as a social cause is the difference.

3. Families are the center point of society.

4. We must restructure our education system but that does not mean we are indicting teachers.  We believe that we must expect more out of this institution so they expect more out of themselves and our students.

5. Education leads to economic freedom.  However, education just does not mean an Ivy League or northeastern/west coast education.  We have enough people from those places trying to run society.  Instead we need to educate people to have hard skills and think freely.  That may occur in a community college in a rural area, a trade school, a night class, high school or many other methods.  However we need education.

I am sure the list could continue for a while, and it will continue in future posts.  We should acknowledge and yes, exploit, our similarities and focus on resolving our true differences.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day.  I have many thoughts but let's begin with what is most important - thanking those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, safety and way of life.  I doubt that any contribution I make in life will come even close to what the average American warrior sacrifices and is willing to sacrifice everyday.

I also want to honor the families of the American fallen - you all live with the pride and knowledge of knowing that a loved one made the ultimate sacrifice, but you also live every day, every minute, every second and witness all of life's great adventures without a loved one.  Your sacrifice is also significant and deserving to be honored today.

I have had the great pleasure of meeting many American soldiers and veterans, and I tip my hat to them everyday.  They are honored on Veteran's Day and should be honored everyday.  However, today is about those who died for America, for the cause of freedom and the cause of liberty.

I am humbled and inspired by the ultimate sacrifice.  Enjoy the BBQ in heaven, you are the guest of honor.

Welcome

Welcome to my post.  The hope is to use this forum to share ideas, thoughts, conversations and tips in civil, professional and fun manner.

The only rule is to value everyday for it is great to be an American.