Uncommon Sense

The 250 pound pulling guard was heading right for me with a sense of purpose.  A purpose I surmised was going to end badly for me.  Undeterred I kept my eyes focused on the half back behind him with my arms outstretched just as my coach instructed in the huddle.

“If they run the ball on the next play just outstretch your hands and run parallel to the line of scrimmage.  Force him to the outside and I’ll come up and pull his flag.”

What he failed to tell me was about the giant mammoth of a man whose sole desire was to pummel me for having the audacity to try and stop the run. As he neared I kept my eyes on the runner and then quick peaks at him to see when the inevitable collision would occur.

True to my direction I stood my ground and waited.  The only thing I remember about the impact was flying backwards and catching a lot of air underneath.  As I landed on the ground with a thud louder than the 12^th man in Seattle, I heard more laughter than laughter than the laugh track on the Bing Bang Theory.

In fact, the half back was laughing so hard that he stopped running.  Everyone stopped running.  Sure enough my coach ran up to the half back and pulled his flag thus ending the play. The behemoth masquerading as a weekend warrior grabbed my had and pulled me up.

“Why didn’t you move?” he asked

“Coach said to stand my ground,” I responded.

The halfback ran up to me and gave me a high fived and asked “Why didn’t you move?”

“Coach said to stand my ground,” I responded.

The referee walked past me and asked “Why didn’t you move?”

“Coach said to stand my ground,” I responded.

Finally, my coach took me aside and in between chuckles asked “Why didn’t you move?”

“Coach.  You said to stand my ground and you would come up and make the play,” I responded.

The coach looked at me and said “Dude, when a guy outweighs you by a hundred pounds and is going to hit you……move.”

Seems obvious.

It is one thing to stay true to a team.  It’s another to stay true to do the smart thing.  We all hear about the partisan bickering on Capitol Hill but you mean to tell me that no one has the guts to break away from their team and do what is right for our country?

I do not want bi-partisanship for the sake of sound bytes or backroom deals.  I want leaders focused on doing what is right for the country.  If that means compromise so be it.  But it better be compromise that does not reward illegal behavior, redistribute wealth from one demographic to another demographic, or any other politically correct stupidity.

Hard decisions need to be made and we need people who are focused on doing what is right for the nation not their party, some ideology, or themselves.  I have no need for any ideologue – conservative or liberal.

Let’s give this new congress a chance but I want to see leaders not losers.  We hold the keys but for some reason do not want to try the door. I think it is time to stop the madness and vote the losers out until we find the leaders.

It is customary to replace the roll of toilet paper if you use the last sheet of the one currently inhabiting the roll. That seems like common sense right? Apparently common sense escapes teenagers.

I once read the teenage brain differs from an adult brain in the prefrontal cortex which is associated with reasoning. I thought someone made that up. Now that I have three teens in various stages of emotional, chemical, or physical imbalance I realize it’s true.

How else would you explain what passes as logic among teenagers?  Pop quiz: A teenager is in a laundry room and there are four full baskets of clothes would they:

1. Ignore them because everyone knows laundry baskets magically transport to their rightful destination
2. Take only the clothes you need for that moment and leave the rest
3. Take the baskets to your bedroom and neatly place the clothes in drawers
4. One and Two

The answer is four. If you answered C you need to seek immediate medical attention to get your head surgically removed from your backend. I have seen weeks pass as teenagers walk down three stories to pick a garment out of the basket only to walk back up those same stories to change. At one point I figure they will realize it’s easier to just carry the whole basket up the stairs so they’d have their clothes readily accessible. Apparently I’m an idiot and prone to embarrass my children in front of their friends with my quaint ideals.

Pop Quiz #2: You finish brushing your teeth and are preparing to leave the bathroom. Do you:

1. Leave the sink basin oozing with enough spittle to drown a Rhinoceros and mounds of toothpaste that can rival the Rocky Mountains in height?
2. Clean the basin and throw the towel in the hamper
3. Offer a sibling $1 to clean it for you
4. None of the above – what do you mean we have to brush our teeth

The answer is one. Most teenagers have an allergic reaction to cleaning up after themselves and leave their money in their pants pocket currently enjoying the Rinse cycle so they have no money. That eliminates two and three. In the vast wilderness known as the pre-teen years, getting children to bathe or partake in any hygienic activity tool an act of Congress. Since Congress doesn’t act, most children skipped a few hygiene sessions. However, the second they become teenagers the hygiene gene must kick in because they bathe three or four times a day, swim in perfume or cologne and suck more breath mints than a vampire getting his fill in a blood bank. That eliminates answer four.

Pop Quiz #3: Two teenagers are standing in a line waiting for the store doors to open when one has a sudden question to ask the other. To communicate they:

1. Talk to one another
2. They text each other
3. They Skype
4. They call their cell phone

This is a tough one but the answer is two. Partial credit will be given for three and four. If you answered one I need to stop laughing before I can counter with a witty remark.

Teenagers are a different breed and physiologically predisposed to very little logic. At least they have an excuse – unlike our political leaders.  The one saving grace is one day they’ll have teenagers.

By David s. Levine

“Attention People of Earth!” is usually a phrase heard in a science-fiction movie, spoken by the ‘President of Earth’ or an invading alien bent on world domination. Well, this isn’t a sci-fi movie; it is reality.

A cry of world domination is being shouted at us today by those who perpetrate terrorist acts in the name of Islam and declare Islamic caliphates.  The call of Islam is world subjugation to Allah. There is no room for others or coexistence (Koran 9:29). Need proof? Just look at the post-apocalyptic conditions that currently exist under the self-declared Islamic State in northern Iraq; with the stated intent to bring the same to the rest of the world.

In stark terms, approximately 1.7 billion followers of Islam believe that the end game is total domination of the rest of Earth’s people. We call those who are acting in this way “radical” or “fundamentalist” Muslims; yet it is the core belief of the Islamic religion. It doesn’t matter ̶ French, British, Chinese, Christian, Hindu ̶ we all must be subject to the will of Allah. If you are a Muslim of any stripe, these are the teaching of the Koran and its interpretive writings. This is not the ranting of this author. It is the teachings of many eminent experts in the field of Islamic Studies.

This is just a short quote from an article by Dr. Moshe Sharon, a professor of Islamic History at the Hebrew University: “Now let’s move to the essence of Islam. Islam was born with the idea that it should rule the world.  Let’s look, then, at the difference between these three religions. Judaism speaks about national salvation – namely that at the end of the story, when the world becomes a better place, Israel will be in its own land, ruled by its own king and serving God. Christianity speaks about the idea that every single person in the world can be saved from his sins, while Islam speaks about ruling the world. I can quote here in Arabic, but there is no point in quoting Arabic, so let me quote a verse in English. “Allah sent Mohammed with the true religion so that it should rule over all the religions.” The idea, then, is not that the whole world would become a Moslem world at this time, but that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam.”

For more please see The Agenda of Islam – A War Between Civilizations by Professor Moshe Sharon http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/MosheSharon40214%20.htm and Does moderate Islam exist? By Tawfik Hamid  http://www.newsmax.com/TawfikHamid/SISIslamic-State/2014/09/10/id/593737/).]

We live in different parts of world, we are proud members of different cultures, and we are products of different histories. But, for the most part, we all believe in the basic tenet of freedom – freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion.  In a nut shell, this is what is being attacked. This is what the enemy, at their own admission, is trying to take away from all of us.

Attention People of Earth! We don’t have to go back that far in history to see that appeasement (an expectation that those who don’t hold to the same value system as you will respect negotiated agreements) doesn’t work. After all, Hitler spelled out his plan for world domination in Mein Kampf for everyone to read. We didn’t listen then. We tried to negotiate and 60 million people died in World War II. And today, yet again, we still expect everyone to play by the same rules.

Speaking of rules and shared values, the Geneva Convention was (and still is) a great framework to address conventional world and regional conflicts. Key Articles cover uniformed combatants, treatment of prisoners, and protection of civilian populations. However, according to Muslims, Islam is above all other religions. And Shariah is the only law. Therefore, radical Islamists don’t play by our western ideals as expressed in the Geneva Convention.

Attention People of Earth! So what is the plan? How can we defeat this threat of world domination? Conventional government actions (such as surgical bombing of IS, no fly lists, “we’re keeping tabs on suspects”, etc.) have failed to stem their successes of attacks and recruitment. Where are Bruce Willis and the cadre of action heroes, or super heroes for that matter, when you need them?

So, I ask again, does anyone have a plan as to how to combat this blatant attempt at world domination at the expense of everyone’s freedom?

Actually, someone does have a plan. And he’s actually already successfully implemented it. He is Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. What he did was institute a straight-forward two-step plan and added a third “call to action.”

First, and most importantly, President el-Sisi outlawed radical Islamic organizations, like the Muslim Brotherhood. Second, he followed through and crushed them; utterly and completely. Third, he made a speech this past New Year’s Day (that has gotten very little western news coverage) calling for a religious revolution within Islam because, in his words, radical Islam is “antagonizing the entire world.” (Link: http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/egypts-sisi-islamic-thinking-is-antagonizing-the-entire-world/)

Attention People of Earth! It is time to raise your voices. Demand from your regional and world leaders a plan to effectively deal with current declared war for world domination at the expense our freedom. (Psst. One place to look for a model plan is Egypt.)

Attention People of Earth! As we mourn and march with the victims and people of France, can you hear the war cries for world domination?

Attention People of Earth!  Are you listening?

Attention People of Earth! There is no time to waste.

There is no such thing as a bad leader. By the very nature of leading, makes a leader good. There is, however, a big distinction of being a leader and leading an organization, group, or nation.

At present there is a leadership void in our nation’s capital. It is laughable to use the term leader for President Obama. He is the person leading the nation but he is no leader. Equally hysterical are the people currently inhabiting the Senate and Congress. Most of these self-serving miscreants are only there to line their pockets with no care or worry for their constituents.

I think a question all politicians must be forced to answer is what issue are you willing to lose the election over because of your views? That requires principle which is sorely lacking in government.

Jeb Bush is starting to organize for a presidential run. NJ Governor Chris Christie is playing hide-and-seek with his intentions but a blind man can see he will eventually run. Mitt Romney is rumored to be considering another run. The Democrats are rolling out their usual suspects led by Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

You mean to tell me with a population of roughly 316 million in America these people are the best we can do for presidential candidates? That’s like looking for love in a bar. It can happen but chances are you’ll only get what you would typically find in a bar: something that looks promising but ultimately disappoints in the unforgiving glare of daylight.

When we are forced to vote for the lesser of two evils we end up with presidents like Obama. This is no way to choose a leader for the greatest nation on earth. The only saving grace for the next president is he or she can’t possibly be any worse than President Obama.

Somewhere in the vast wilderness of common sense hides the right leader for America. I know he or she does not live in the current group jockeying for position. Chances are the presidential candidates will come from the group of beltway bumpkins masquerading as a senator or congressman.

Cream rises and you-know-what drops. Right now our choices conjure the image of fecal matter dropping down the commode and taking us with them. I am sick of political parties. I want leaders.

I have never heard a recruiter say “We are looking for a person that we can tolerate more than the other applicants.” They say they are seeking the best candidate for the job.

What we need is a rebel to rise above the current sewage and lead. It’s a pipe dream, I know. The only way to become president is to sell your soul. True leaders are unwilling to do that and will not run. Those are the ones with principles. Those are the ones we need.

The Primary process brings out the zealots. This forces Republican candidates to move to the right and Democrat candidates to move to the left. In the general election both candidates vie for the middle figuring the zealots will still support them because the other choice is even worse – the lesser of two evils strategy.

Why not make it mandatory to vote? If someone doesn’t vote they must pay a No Vote Tax. The Supreme Court can rule it a fee to placate the populace. The proceeds can go in a lock box for a third party candidate to use at the next election. As an extra added bonus it will eliminate the voter suppression claims and prevent illegal immigrants from voting.

The danger of acquiescing to blackmail is it encouragers the blackmailers to continue the ploy.  Sony decided against releasing the movie “The Interview” after it was hacked and embarrassing e-mails were leaked.

More often than not when challenged with terrorism, most Americans stand up and fight.  We do not concede our freedoms and do so at great risk.  I find it disgusting that Sony is backing down because of leaked e-mails.  The bottom line is the company did not want to lose money and face because some spoiled-brat actors and actresses were upset their image was being damaged and would not work with the people at Sony.

So I guess we now gave our enemies the blueprint to defeat us.  It’s not the threat of force that scares us – it’s the threat of loss revenue.

Did the US hack England in 2006 when it released a mockumentary called “Death of a President” that was a film about the fictional assassination of President George W. Bush?  Nope.  Liberals were giddy about the film and referred to it as “high-minded.”  Can you imagine the fallout if we had a similar movie about the fictional assassination of President Obama?

I bet those same Hollywood Liberals that were defending “Death of a President” are now backing the Sony decision.  It’s funny until it’s about you.  I think “The Interview” is in poor taste and should have never seen the light of day but once it was out the studio should not have backed down.

But what do you expect from a nation going in reverse?  We have a president without a clue about foreign policy and from his first day in office he has undermined our standing in the international community   He has acquiesced to our enemies and created a culture within the country that smacks of self-loathing.

Some of the more naïve people out there who fancy themselves “progressive thinkers” have a Pollyanna view of our enemies.  They think if we are nice to them, they’ll be nice to us.  They are called enemies for a reason.

It seems the international community no longer respects America.  And why should it?  We have a leader who does not defend his own nation, is more concerned about building his legacy than leading, and is so inept at Foreign Policy other nations laugh at us.

Our leader has made it a habit of appeasing other nations so why should a company within our borders do any different?

If white people demonstrated and chanted “Don’t break the law” in Ferguson would the media give them the same coverage it gives the miscreants that loot and continually break the law? I suspect they would be labeled racists and lampooned by the likes of Jon Stewart.

I bet the media, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and every other sycophant eager to promote himself would be up in arms if white athletes wore T-shirts inscribed with “Don’t break the law.” I have some unsolicited advice for athletes: no one cares what you think. We pay top dollar to watch you perform athletic feats we dream about not hear your political views.

The bottom line is a boy unfortunately lost his life because of the actions he chose to take and in doing so forced another human being to live the rest of his life with an asterisk by his name. Officer Darren Wilson did not wake up that day thinking “Gee let me kill a Black person today.”  In my opinion, he killed Michael Brown in self-defense and not because he’s a racist.  If he is a racist, he’ll have to defend his views on his final Judgment Day.

I am tired of the circus created by a few race baiters and a convenient excuse for some to steal and destroy other people’s property. I can understand members of the Brown family overreacting to what they feel is an injustice.  I can’t understand why people who did not know him when he was alive and do not know the family believe destroying property serves any purpose.

Here’s a news flash to the idiots in Ferguson who are looting, rioting and causing havoc: If you do not want to be depicted as a stereotype it’s a good idea not to act in a stereotypical way

In 2012, 123 Blacks were killed by white police with a gun while 326 Whites were killed by Black police with a gun.  Whites did not demonstrate, protest or create any issues and neither did the Blacks for that matter.  Yet, the media portrays this one instance as symptomatic of pervasive racism among police officers.  It’s stupid and irresponsible.

The Eric Garner case appears to be different but based on what I know of the facts I do not believe Officer Dan Pantaleo choked him because he is a racist. I think he would have used the same force against any person in such a skirmish.  I have yet to find anyone in the heat of a battle decide on a different course of action because of the color of one’s skin.  It’s a fight and people use whatever means necessary when fighting.

The demonstrators threaten continued violence if they do not have their demands met. How are those tactics any different than the ones used by terrorists?  President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton routinely say Americans should emphasize with and respect our enemies.

So why isn’t President Obama suggesting the same approach to the demonstrators?

What is more disturbing: the idiots rioting and looting in Ferguson, Mo or the prevalent belief the looters are justified in their actions?

When was the last time you saw police officers rioting after a not guilty verdict? Or, if the grand jury handed down an indictment would police officers have rioted?  If they did would the media cover it with sympathetic eyes?

The idiots looting in Ferguson need to study Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and ignore the Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton’s of the world. The media idiots who are covering the story from the looters’ point of view need to study Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow.

Both cases are a examples of the differences between night and day. The cowards have even taken to wearing masks to avoid being recognized.  I guess not even they are proud of their behavior.  I suggest the reports start wearing brown bags on their heads to have any hopes of salvaging their credibility.

I doubt either group cares. They are simply doing what they do because they have lost all sense of reality.  It’s simple.  The grand jury weighed evidence that no one but them and witnesses know.  From that information came the conclusion the officer was not guilty of anything but defending himself.

Jackson and Sharpton are sycophants feeding off current events for their own benefit. The looters are acting like animals and justifying their actions through a rationale no one but them and other malcontents can understand.  The politicians are vying for the position that can garner them the most votes.  The so-called journalists are following their own agenda hoping to segue their “coverage” into something better.

Meanwhile, office Darren Wilson must live with the fact he took a life and the Browns must live with the fact their son is dead. That is the real tragedy.

Would you come out of hiding for the sake of coming out of hiding? If you are not currently paying taxes, would you reveal yourself so you can pay taxes?

Forget the rhetoric, grandstanding and one-upmanship. Forget partisanship.  Let’s look at reality.

President Obama’s executive order to grant temporary amnesty to about five million illegal immigrants is hogwash. It’s like having a bake sale to stop world hunger: it’s a quaint idea but one that hardly dents the situation.

His grand plan is to grant three years of protection from deportation to those parents of United States citizens or legal permanent residents who have been in the country for five years, and young people who were brought into the country illegally as of 2010.

He told the nation if these two groups of illegal immigrants come forward, pay fines and taxes they can apply for citizenship. He promised the groups will not go before those who are legally trying to enter the country.

President Obama said he is taking the action because Congress failed to send him a bill “he would sign.” Bull.  Congress did not fail – it simply did not act like it does on countless other bills that die a slow legislative death. The Republicans are vowing to fight against the measure.  Bull.  If Republicans had a plan they would have put one forth long ago.

Will anything happen. No.  Do you really think an illegal immigrant “living in the shadows” will enter the sunlight based on promises from a man who has proven to be untrustworthy?  Will they trust a Republican Party they view as hating them?

In addition, our political leaders have not deported many illegal immigrants so it’s not like these criminals are living in fear of that knock on the door. Those who are caught committing a crime sometime get deported but not always thanks to some bleeding heart lawyer pleading with juries about keeping families together.

President Obama made it sound like these five million illegal immigrants are not on welfare, food stamps or collecting from some government entity. If they are currently collecting taxpayer money why would they give that up to have their taxes support other illegal immigrants who don’t come forward?

So I ask again, why would an illegal immigrant currently living in anonymity and providing for their families risk exposure? As usual, the theater of the absurd distracts everyone from getting our country back on track.

Would you be upset with a friend if you loaned him $10,000 to help him through troubled times only to find out he used the money to buy a big screen TV among other luxury items?

Then why are we not upset with a government that spends more than $15 billion in the past two years in direct cash to foreign nations rather than using that money for its own citizens? Better still, rather than collecting tax dollars spent for citizens of other nations let our citizens keep their own money. Our government is quick and eager to send money to nations like Libya, Egypt, Mexico, Russia, Haiti, Jordan, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Congo, Ethiopia, Pakistan, South Africa, Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Iraq, and Tanzania. It even sends money to groups like Hamas. But it does not have that same zest to help veterans.

The government readily helps other nations. The news of starving children, orphans that need a family and the homeless is dominated by those in other countries. What about our own citizens facing the same plight. I’m sure senior citizens on fixed incomes are happy to know their tax dollars are helping foreign nations that hate us versus their own neighbors.

I have an idea. Each senior citizen should shoot their elected government official.  That means they’ll go to jail where they will receive three meals a day, a roof over their head, central heating and air conditioning, cable TV, library, and all the Health Care they need. As an added bonus, their children can visit about as often as they do now. What nursing home can top that? Plus, as an inmate they will not have to pay taxes.

It seems the US Government should be the World Government because it helps other nations instead of itself. State governments spend $11 to $22 billion each year on welfare programs for illegal aliens. In addition, more than $22 billion is spent each year on Food Stamps and free school lunches for illegal aliens. We spend $2.5 billion on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

Then there is the $12 Billion dollars a year we spend on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally. We spend $3 million a day to incarcerate illegal aliens. Did you know that 30% of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens? If senior citizens like my idea about shooting politicians, we could use the room which is another reason we need to secure our borders!

All this money spent on non-citizens. I’m sure our economy would be plenty stimulated if we kept our money rather than giving it to foreigners. It’s time we tell the world the American Piggy Bank is broken.

Then we can focus on our citizens. Can you imagine if our government supported its citizens as well as it supports citizens from foreign countries?

I guess you get ridiculed for an observation about your chances with 47 percent of the population but earn a free pass if you insult 100 percent of the American voters. Such is life with a media so biased it can’t see reality through blinders.

Jonathan Gruber is an economist and regarded as one of the architect of Obamacare. In fact, Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House when Obamacare became law, cited Gruber several times when she crammed the bill down America’s throat.  Several tapes recently surfaced where he boasts about taking advantage of the stupidity of the American voter to get Obamacare passed.

The aftermath is no surprise. The Conservatives seize the moment as proof to the Obama administration intentionally deceived the American public on the details and costs of the programs.  The Liberals backpedal from Gruber – none faster than Pelosi.  I wonder if she dropped her oversized mallet in her getaway.  And, of course, the Liberal media is not covering or downplaying the story.

Pelosi claims she doesn’t know Gruber and that is understandable. I’m sure most politicians cite sources without knowing who they are and what they believe.  But it’s still a story and where is the media?

Mitt Romney was vilified when he was caught in an unguarded moment suggesting 47% of the voting population would never vote for him because they are too reliant on government services. The airwaves and print were flooded with stories that this audio proved that Romney and the Republican Party looked down on us paeans.

Are we treated to the same coverage about the Democratic Party’s views on the American populace? Nope.  Just crickets.   Of course this is not the first time the Liberal media has skewed stories to fit their narrative nor will it be the last.

The media loves depicting Republicans as racists, sexists, gun-loving, Bible thumping Neanderthals. What is better, showing someone how to feed themselves for a lifetime or feeding them for a day?  Conservative policies feed for a lifetime while Liberal policies feed for the day.  Yet, Conservative policies are depicted as harsh and mean-spirited while Liberal policies are deemed compassionate and caring.

What is better for the individual?

The hypocrisy of the media is maddening and exemplified through this episode. It claims the Right is condescending to the American public – especially minorities – yet overlooks a clear case of it from their political brethren

My rants will not solve anything or change the media from biased coverage.  I’m just hoping to inform people and open some eyes.