California Wildfires, Hurricane Ida, Smoky Skies, Kabul Afghanistan

This week I have been preoccupied with thoughts about the ongoing wildfires in the Western United States. There seems to be no end in sight. Indeed, those fires may not end until winter weather finally snuffs them out with snow and cold. Our air quality index in Utah is bumping up against the dangerously high levels of toxicity every day, and has for months. We used to be concerned about air quality in the winter with temperature inversions, but now air quality is a year-round issue. The suffering of those on the frontlines of those fires is inestimable, and is the subject of our daily prayers for their safety and deliverance. The first responders who have been battling those wildfires deserve our faith and prayers on behalf of those who suffer most. 

On the very anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that so devastated New Orleans sixteen years ago, Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm pounded into the Gulf Coast last week in another devastating natural disaster that defies description. I am agonized over those who are left behind in the wake of the destruction. It is said the storm's severity may grow worse than it was in Katrina. 

The smoky skies we are living through here in Utah are bad enough, but pale in significance compared to the other natural disasters we are witnessing. Some days the normally bright blue skies are so shrouded in smoke it is impossible to make out the outlines of the mountain tops that surround us. The winter inversions are normally confined to the bowl of the valleys in an around Salt Lake City, but this smoke has permeated even our elevated position in the Uintas. 

The smoke is the perfect metaphor for the conditions in the world when it comes to discerning between truth and error. So pervasive is this smoke that it obscures the vision, burns the eyes, and gets right down into your lungs. The ever-declining moral standards are clearly defined. 

An evidence of the debauchery can been observed in the appointment of a self-avowed atheist as the new head chief chaplain to Harvard University. Observing this obvious decline in what is happening to universities around the country, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland addressed the issue at BYU Education Week, and has been sorely taken to task on the social media platforms for daring to plead with faculty and administration at the institution to remain true to their charge and their unique place in the education world. Imagine a religiously based institution daring to stand up for itself in today's toxic and smoky world. How dare Elder Holland for suggesting it! What is he thinking? Doesn't he know it's time to capitulate to growing secular pressure and cave in? Well, in fact, Elder Holland was courageous and he was right. You can have all the free speech your little heart desires out there in the world, but when it comes to going too far and violating time, manner and place restrictions with your free speech targeted against the Church, be advised that religious minorities have long-held protections against such bullying and attacks and you will be met with appropriate responses with all the loving kindness and patience the Church's leaders can muster.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at BYU

The tragedy that has unfolded in Afghanistan recently is yet another example of wickedness and evil in the world. The evacuation of US troops, Afghan civilians and American citizens has been horrible to observe as the Taliban moved into Kabul unopposed and began slaughtering the innocents at will, forcing our military to leave behind all the equipment they had used seeking to maintain some degree of order in the country. When the Russians invaded Afghanistan years ago, they learned it was a country that could not be governed except by the local Taliban chieftains. Now, presumably, we have learned the same sad lesson. That war in Afghanistan has been protracted into twenty plus years of occupation, and now suddenly the administration of Biden-Harris has declared it was time to leave. It's the longest war in which America has ever been involved. Those who have lost loved ones there may well be asking, "What was it all for?" 

In the midst of chaos we have now pulled out. Americans are weary of war. It is that very chaos in public opinion that produced the violence and the unintended consequences we have witnessed. When asked about it, President Biden took full responsibility for his decisions. We will have to see if the electorate holds him accountable. Politicians from both parties, however, have plenty of innocent blood on their hands. In the meantime we have much for which to be grateful if we are out of harm's way because of those who fight in the frontlines to preserve our freedoms. 

We have much to be grateful for, but we can also pray for those who are doing their best to relieve the suffering of others not so fortunate.

2021 - The Road Ahead

 From the moment he took the office, President Donald J. Trump has been a lightning rod for controversy, confusion, vindictive lashing out, and abhorrent behavior of every kind imaginable. Now, thankfully, his era in American politics has mercifully come to an end. It ended the way it began in total chaos and a climatic storming of the Capitol chambers in a failed attempt to overturn the outcome of the election. Did Trump have a hand in rousing the crowd of protestors ahead of the Electoral College vote tally? Well, you can be the judge of that, but for the first time in our nation's history a POTUS has been impeached a second time by the House of Representatives, and even at this late date, only days before his term expires, Donald J. Trump's legacy has a stain on it that will be impossible to remove.

Refusing counsel from everyone, Trump has resoundingly refused to even attend the inauguration ceremonies for his successor, Joe Biden, the winner of the 2020 presidential election. He finally conceded the election, but only when the Electoral College vote was completed. But he has refused to acknowledge his role in inciting the crowd assembled outside the Capitol on the day of the Electoral College vote count. He apparently tongue-lashed his Vice-President Mike Pence that morning, instructing him to "either be a patriot or a pussy." Pence's role in the Electoral College by Constitutional mandate is simply to preside over the vote count and then declare a winner. He had no authority to do anything else despite Trump's little boy tantrum. Pence was the patriot here, not Trump.

The prognosticators of doom and gloom have already begun their predictable tirade of "end of times" analysis concerning Joseph Biden's election. Some will continue to assert the claims of an illegitimate presidency based upon no evidence from Trump's lawyers in numerous court challenges to the election results. Others will assert the nation will fall apart after the failed "coup attempt" supported by Trump supporters. Biden's policy shifts will no doubt be real in an attempt to reverse Trump's. I've read the Republican Party in America will now cease to exist. All of these bold predictions can find equal and opposite counterparts in the years when George W. Bush won, and Trump upended political punditry by winning. The more things change, the more they remain the same, it would appear to me. The one constant for me is that America has not successfully committed suicide - yet.

The road ahead for us in 2021 will continue to be a battle for the hearts and minds of America. However, most hearts and minds have already been made up, and few will change their deepest-held beliefs. It remains to be seen if there are politicians who can tap into the conventional wisdom of Americans. Joe Biden will at least make a show of attempting to interpret his victory in November as reflecting the will of America. He will have both houses of Congress in his camp, just as Barack Obama did when he began his two-term presidency. Few, however, have been able to master the diversity of America. Most new presidents when they take office, pledge to reach across the aisle, heal the divide and work for harmony and unanimity of feelings. Most transitions from one party to the other are carried off without insurrection, though agitators would have it otherwise.  

2021 will also be a year when scientific breakthroughs in vaccine production will in time eradicate the persistent COVID-19 virus if enough Americans agree to take the vaccine when it is offered. Right now there seems to be a much larger demand for the vaccine than there is adequate supply. That's the right trend if the supply and distribution can keep up. The distribution of the vaccines will be problematic, because the vaccines will be administered by the government. In Utah it is being handled through the county health departments. For people 70+ years of age like me, it means expressing interest in a pre-appointment email registration for the vaccine, and the roll-out will happen over the next two months. We are being told to watch our email inbox for a sign-up opportunity. Already we are hearing government leaders in Utah pleading for patience as they figure out how to match the supply with the demand. Anytime we turn the science over to the government it seems there will be a breakdown - bet on it. So far science gets an A, government gets a C-, but guess who will be at the front of the line taking credit for the eventual success. Betcha I know the answer to that one. The doctors will be elbowed out of line by the politicians clamoring for recognition and credit.

Speaking of diversity in America, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) offered an opinion piece recently in the Deseret News entitled "The Union and the Constitution Forever." He insists there is good news in our diversity:

"The good news is, we already have a proven way to achieve this goal. The United States has always been diverse. Our Constitutional framework was specifically written for a regionally, culturally, economically and religiously diverse nation. The Constitution’s checks and balances and separated powers simultaneously empower political majorities while protecting political minorities and, most of all, individual rights.

"America’s ability to make our diversity a strength is part of what makes us the greatest nation on earth. Our job is to make sure our diversity pulls us together instead of pulling us apart.

"Given America’s wide diversity, political issues decided at the federal level are by their nature going to be the most divisive. People in the East and the West, on the coasts and in the interior, in rural and urban areas — to say nothing of “red” and “blue” states — are always going to see the world differently."

Lee concludes that the way the Founders envisioned handling diversity was not to eradicate it but to embrace it, channel it and balance it so that tyranny never asserts itself within our borders. We hear accusations of tyranny from time to time, and it may be true some would attempt to impose it, but so far America has resisted being told what to do by dictators. Just take as an example the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some are still insisting that this virus is someone in China's idea of controlling the masses, and that the government conspiracy is what is keeping us all in check. They rise up in opposition to mask wearing mandates and business regulation to control the spread of the virus. Resistance for the sake of resistance regardless of reason and common sense seems to be their cry.

"This isn’t about the size of the federal government — the federal government is going to remain huge for a long time to come. Rather, it’s about the need for national consensus to validate federal policy. 51%-49% issues are controversial, by their nature. Some issues — like national security or immigration — by their nature must be decided at the federal level, no matter how controversial they are. But most issues — from education to welfare to health care to housing to infrastructure — really can be decided at lower, less divided, levels of government.

"Blue states can be as blue as they want; red and purple states can go their way too. And all Americans — across the country and across the political spectrum — would be happier not to be in a constant zero-sum battle against the other party on every single issue under the sun. The founders called this approach 'federalism.' Philosophers call it 'subsidiarity.'

"To me, it’s the only realistic way to restore trust in our public institutions, detoxify our national discourse and heal some of the wounds of our current divisions."

It's not too complicated, folks. You let the federal government do what it does best on the big issues like immigration and national security, and you let the states, cities and counties do what they do best on the local issues in the red and blue states. By design, those outcomes at the local level will be better dealt with closer to the people. We've strayed from the principles envisioned in federalism, and it's time to get back to those principles to tamp down the angst at the federal level.

Trump, it turns out, was little more than an agitator, pitting us against one another for four long years. Yes, he did some good things, balancing the SCOTUS for one, but let's see if Biden can do a better job of following the Lee model than Trump ever did.

Fate of America Not Riding on November 3rd 2020 Election

I have been restrained by a self-imposed aversion to politics in more recent years, but I want to associate myself with a recent poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen and published this morning in the Deseret News. He maintains in his polling that culture in America always leads and that politicians lag far behind, yet it seems the politicians always garner the most publicity and in my opinion it is unwarranted.

The title of the article is "The fate of America will not be decided on Nov. 3." We are all bombarded in election cycles by the Red Team and the Blue Team, and no, we're not talking here about the U of U and BYU. The transitory nature of politics is nothing we should be investing in if we are sane citizens. 

There are types and shadows of former inhabitants of this land documented for our review in the Book of Mormon, and as a Church we have recently studied their disastrous fates in the Come Follow Me outlines when those earlier inhabitants were decimated by internal civil wars. We can be smarter than they if we will choose a better path.

Rasmussen has a lot of interesting findings in this latest poll. Among them:

- many voters agree with my key underlying assumptions: 69% agree that politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are

- 57% share my view that the culture leads and the politicians lag behind

- earlier polling showed that 76% recognize that American society isn’t nearly as polarized as American politics

- 71% of white voters agree that politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are

- that view is shared by 67% of Black voters and 64% of Hispanic voters

- 58% of Democrats agree that the culture leads and politicians lag behind

- so do 56% of Republicans and 55% of independents

- a strong majority of every measured demographic group believes American politics is more polarized than American society.

"For me," observes Rasmussen, "those views are consistent with a belief that almost all positive change in America begins far from official Washington and outside of the political process. That’s the story of America. Whether we look at the struggles for independence, women’s suffrage, civil rights or any other great movements, they began and grew in the popular culture. They rumbled beneath the surface and gained strength long before overcoming the resistance of our political system."

How refreshing is that? A voice of reason at long last, reverberating through the souls of most Americans who know what politicians always seem to ignore. There is a collective wisdom associated with the average American that far transcends the collective wisdom of Washington insiders. 

Just take a look at what they did with Social Security. Remember the "lock box" that was designed to keep the funds invested by those average Americans out of the hands of the spendthrift politicians? Yeah, we all know how that worked out, don't we? Now those trust funds are nothing more than a part of the general fund for spending amounting to trillions in deficits with no end in sight. The runaway spending freight train will not stop, it now appears, until it comes to the end of the tracks overlooking that vast chasm up ahead. Nobody in this election cycle has even mentioned a balanced budget. 

But let's not focus on the negative, something that is so easy to do.

"So," concluded Rasmussen, "I am not counting on the Red Team or the Blue Team to swoop in and save the day. That’s not their job. Yes, elections do matter. But there’s more to life and the nation than politics and elections."

Let me underscore that conclusion by my own observations. The POTUS cannot be held responsible for everything that happens or does not happen during their administrations. George W. Bush was handed his head politically over the government's seemingly inept response to the Katrina hurricane that hit New Orleans several years ago. Lyndon Johnson was blamed for not ending the Vietnam War sooner, and decided not to run for re-election. Jimmy Carter was guilty of surrendering in the war against the American economy triggered by Middle East aggression over oil prices, and went on to lose in a landslide election to Ronald Reagan. More recently, Donald Trump has been pilloried for the government response to handling the COVID-19 pandemic? Who in their right minds could possibly ascribe responsibility for all these happenings to one occupant of the Oval Office? That is the very definition of insanity - to think that a single individual could muster that much power to affect events outside their control.

And yet, we want to believe in some altered parallel universe that it is still possible. That's insane.

We live in a day when we are among a diverse and culturally heterogenous society. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are in the boat with everyone, and we are a tiny little faction in the whole fabric of God's tapestry worldwide. We will be in for a raucous and rough ride from here on in until the Second Coming of the Lord. Things will unquestionably get worse before they get better.

"These are days of great spiritual danger for this people. The world is spiraling downward at an ever-quickening pace. I am sorry to tell you that it will not get better.

"I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds the wickedness and depravity which surrounds us now.

"Satan uses every intrigue to disrupt the family. The sacred relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, through which mortal bodies are conceived and life is passed from one generation to the next generation, is being showered with filth.

"Profanity, vulgarity, blasphemy, and pornography are broadcast into the homes and minds of the innocent. Unspeakable wickedness, perversion, and abuse — not even exempting little children — once hidden in dark places, now seeks protection from courts and judges. . .

"The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were localized. They are now spread across the world, wherever the Church is. The first line of defense — the home — is crumbling. Surely you can see what the adversary is about." (President Boyd K. Packer, "On the Shoulders of Giants," BYU, J. Reuben Clark Law Society devotional, 28 February 2004, 7-8).

President Dallin H. Oaks in April of 2004, spoke at General Conference in a similar vein:

"We are living in the prophesied time 'when peace shall be taken from the earth' (D&C 1:35), when 'all things shall be in commotion' and 'men’s hearts shall fail them' (D&C 88:91). There are many temporal causes of commotion, including wars and natural disasters, but an even greater cause of current 'commotion' is spiritual.

"Viewing our surroundings through the lens of faith and with an eternal perspective, we see all around us a fulfillment of the prophecy that 'the devil shall have power over his own dominion' (D&C 1:35). Our hymn describes 'the foe in countless numbers, / Marshaled in the ranks of sin' (“Hope of Israel,” Hymns, no. 259), and so it is.

"Evil that used to be localized and covered like a boil is now legalized and paraded like a banner. The most fundamental roots and bulwarks of civilization are questioned or attacked. Nations disavow their religious heritage. Marriage and family responsibilities are discarded as impediments to personal indulgence. The movies and magazines and television that shape our attitudes are filled with stories or images that portray the children of God as predatory beasts or, at best, as trivial creations pursuing little more than personal pleasure. And too many of us accept this as entertainment.

"The men and women who made epic sacrifices to combat evil regimes in the past were shaped by values that are disappearing from our public teaching. The good, the true, and the beautiful are being replaced by the no-good, the 'whatever,' and the valueless fodder of personal whim. Not surprisingly, many of our youth and adults are caught up in pornography, pagan piercing of body parts, self-serving pleasure pursuits, dishonest behavior, revealing attire, foul language, and degrading sexual indulgence.

"An increasing number of opinion leaders and followers deny the existence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and revere only the gods of secularism. Many in positions of power and influence deny the right and wrong defined by divine decree. Even among those who profess to believe in right and wrong, there are 'them that call evil good, and good evil' (Isa. 5:20; 2 Ne. 15:20). Many also deny individual responsibility and practice dependence on others, seeking, like the foolish virgins, to live on borrowed substance and borrowed light.

"All of this is grievous in the sight of our Heavenly Father, who loves all of His children and forbids every practice that keeps any from returning to His presence."

Those are but two examples from a host of prophetic warnings about the specific conditions in which we live. In my experience the living prophets among us have been warriors of truth, not counting the "political coin of the realm" before speaking out. It has ever been thus, and it will ever be so in the days ahead.

Here is President Russell M. Nelson giving counsel to us on the day he was sustained in a Solemn Assembly as the Prophet, Seer and Revelator:

"I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that 'if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things — that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.' (D&C 42:61).

"Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, 'To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!' (Neal A. Maxwell, “Meek and Lowly” [Brigham Young University devotional, Oct. 21, 1986], 9, speeches.byu.edu).

"Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, (2 Nephi 32:3) and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

"To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you — even miracles — will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

"I am optimistic about the future. It will be filled with opportunities for each of us to progress, contribute, and take the gospel to every corner of the earth. But I am also not naïve about the days ahead. We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation.

"Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

"My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation." (President Russell M. Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives," Ensign May 2018).

And so, I end where I began this post - there is no need to get caught up in the rhetoric of the political free-for-all that pummels us each election cycle in America. Take for your guide instead the admonition of a living prophet and seek to increase your personal revelation through the Holy Ghost. I am a witness that miracles do and will happen as we petition the Lord in faith, even though it may take much longer than we anticipate. But the answers will and do come. 

President Nelson reminds us we must "patiently honor the Lord's timetable." Remember that America, for all her faults and weaknesses is made up of average folks like you and me who do their level best to make individual and wise decisions about their lives in the best way they know how. Let's respect one another despite whatever differences may exist among us.

Let us learn to disagree better, maybe not less.

Hillary Clinton: “liar,” “dishonest” and “untrustworthy.”

I don't know when the summer leading up to a presidential election has ever been more interesting (read "strange") than this one. I think someday America will probably have a female president. There, I've said it. But this woman, who has been running for president most of her adult life, now faces the end of the trail.

Hillary Clinton

The smart money on the Democrat side got behind Hillary Clinton early. Then a radical socialist named Bernie Sanders started making headway and he began to nibble away at the Clinton lead. Strange that someone even more polarizing and radical than either Obama or Clinton could make that kind of headway.

Now comes news that her fund raisers are reporting less than enthusiastic support from traditionally reliable sources. Some are aching for Vice-President Joe Biden to get into the race, and even President Obama has reportedly "given his blessing" for another Biden run at the presidency. So much for forgotten pledges to Bill Clinton, who campaigned for Obama in exchange for a Hillary endorsement someday. The political calculus these days for me has become increasingly mystifying, and well, just strange. But some have suggested the Biden pick as VP was a cool political strategy on Obama's part because it insulated him from impeachment - no one would want Joe Biden as the replacement POTUS. Yes, strange.

Yesterday Hillary boasted that she already had 25% of the "super delegates" on the Democrat side already locked up, and she was certain the nomination would be hers. Well, time will tell on that one. Strange she could be so self-assured when her favorability ratings and her polling numbers keep dropping like a rock. She thinks the "fix" is in, but she may just sink her own ship that is beyond fixing.

On the Republican side all the air in the room is being sucked up by Donald Trump. He has been dissed, dismissed, and disassembled a thousand times piece by piece this summer by all the pundits who claim he has "no chance" of winning the nomination, much less the presidency in November 2016, and yet his ascendancy cannot be denied. Strange that someone so bombastic, arrogant and off-putting could somehow tantalize the electorate the way this man has.

Jeb Bush was the presumptive nominee a few weeks ago until Trump got into the race, and since that first debate Bush has been dropping. Three of his fund raisers have already abandoned the ship. That's very strange, given the inevitability of another Bush/Clinton match-up predicted by the political punditry earlier in the summer.

Someone I read yesterday on Twitter suggested to the DC establishment that if they want to stop Trump they should just endorse him. Strange that you've never heard that strategy enunciated in politics before this year. But these are not normal times. The disfavor into which the Republican establishment has dropped keeps finding new bottoms.

The Republican field is deep this year and filled with what one would presume is a talented field. One would think the GOP hierarchy would be licking its chops in glee. Experienced governors and ex-governors with tremendous accomplishments in the field this year would be a campaign organizer's dream come true. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! But this year things are different. Things are very strange this year.

Donald Trump

Topping the early primary polling, of course, is Mr. Trump, followed now by retired brain surgeon Ben Carson, and retired HP CEO Carly Fiorina. It depends of course on who's doing the polling, but the strange thing about the ascendancy of Trump, Carson and Fiorina is that they are political outsiders. It seems Republicans have forsaken their party champions and taken leave of their collective conservative and time-tested reasoning ability and their rational and measured sense of propriety. That's strange indeed to think Trump could be the standard bearer for conservatives.

But maybe, just maybe, what's happening is a collective disenchantment with leadership in the GOP. They made bold promises about standing up against Obama. Republicans swept control of both houses of Congress in 2014, with high hopes the promises made would be promises kept. But their perception seems to be that they got nothing of what they bargained for from either Boehner in the House or McConnell in the Senate. One senses the makings of an uprising in the base.

Maybe in part that's what might explain Trump's ascendancy. His scorched earth policies and rhetoric - maybe the best word is "hyperbole" - have swept across the land like a raging wildfire of pent up anger, especially over illegal immigration. Many are warning of what happened in pre-World War II Europe as millions promoted and embraced Adolph Hitler in the name of German nationalism. That idea, however, seems a little strange to me, since Obama would resemble more of a dictator than Trump. But I said this was a strange summer.

Nevertheless, there are those who see all the familiar earmarks of what's now happening in America in our desperate search for a savior who can deliver America. "Making America Great Again" has struck a responsive chord and Trump has found legs with his slogan this summer. Granted he's a little light on the specifics of HOW he's going to do that, but it seems a refreshing alternative to what Obama has given us in his "transformational change" of nearly everything in America.

People are saying they've had enough of politicians and their promises, period. Somehow, almost mystically it seems, Trump has managed to differentiate himself from lifelong politicians and their promises. He says outrageous things that would doom any other politician and he gets away with it as his poll numbers continue to soar! And that's very strange.

Here's the essence of all this: There was a poll last week that caught my attention. It was done by Quinnipiac, and summarized by Breitbart. The participants in the poll were asked to give the first word that came to their minds when Clinton, Trump and Bush were mentioned.

The top three words used to describe Hillary Clinton were "liar," "dishonest" and "untrustworthy."

And that might be the first thing I've read this summer that was not strange.

Barack Obama - The Illegitimate Incompetent President

There is a video advertisement that is making its rounds on the Internet this week. It caught my eye this morning, and I think this one man, an immigrant entrepreneur, sums up the differences in the two paths we have before us as a country. He states the case brilliantly:



I've done a lot of research, reading and observing since that November day in Grant Park in Chicago, when Barack Hussein Obama II ascended to the presidency. Like most Americans, I was caught up in the emotion of the moment - America's first black president. What a great day for freedom-loving people. It said a lot that we could set aside our differences and come together after a national election and peacefully agree to take a new path toward Hope and Change.

America was tired of war. The economy had tanked. Fear was everywhere. Would the $700 Billion TARP legislation just passed by both houses of Congress be enough to save the world from financial oblivion? We looked to our new national leadership. We believed, we wanted to believe, we needed to believe.

However, the last four years have proven to be a sham, a fraud, and an illegitimate seizure of Constitutional protections that have been the bulwark of the Republic since our founding.

With control of both houses of Congress in an epic election with political reversals of fortunes, the pendulum swung in favor of Democrats. The Republicans had proven in the end to be reckless big-government spenders just like their counterparts. They put up a weak ticket in McCain and Palin. Sarah Palin has parlayed her fifteen minutes of fame into a celebrity career that continues to insult our intelligence. She was interesting for the full fifteen minutes we were first introduced to her, but her interests were never to get into the arena where she was ill-suited as a national candidate. Any thinking person would not have intentionally picked her to be one heartbeat away from the presidency, especially as the Number Two to an aging Senator. So, the 2008 election was doomed from the outset and opened the way for Obama.

BHO managed to crush the Clintonistas in the long, drawn-out primary (no small feat, I might add, and we forget how long that took to declare the winner for the Democrat nomination). The Internet is alive with conspiracy theories about how Obama got there in the first place. Here's another summation. Some have even said Barack Obama is gay and murders happened to cover it up. Just do a Google search for "first unconstitutional president" and see what you find. I'll reserve comment on all of that.

What interests me most is the aftermath of the election of 2010. It also was historic. It was a complete and utter "shellacking" as President Obama characterized it. His policies were resoundingly rejected by the American electorate. With two years to do anything he chose to do, to tackle any of the more urgent agenda items - the debt, the deficit spending, the need for entitlement reform, repairing the economy - instead he shoved the biggest costliest entitlement program in the history of the world, Obamacare, through both houses of Congress, adding one lie upon another to his narrative about its benefits for the American people.

The culmination of the lies was in the Affordable Healthcare Law being UPHELD by the SCOTUS. They found in the majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that Obamacare did in fact impose taxes upon the American public. Hardest hit, according to the CBO, would be the "middle class." Their estimate as they continue to count the costs, now approaches $2.2 Trillion when fully implemented. And we continue to hear, "I did not raise taxes on the middle class." Remember when President Obama in his SOTU address promised, "I will not sign the healthcare bill if it adds one dime to the deficit?"

The American people can often be fooled, it seems, but they will not forever remain stupid. They know a phony when they see one. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was de-throned as the Speaker of the House, but Harry Reid remained as the majority leader in the Senate by a slimmer margin than before. I documented the results and drew some conclusions at the time.

Since that epic turnaround, things have ground to a halt. The legislative branch of government has been rendered completely ineffective. The balance of power has left them emasculated and historically unpopular with Americans nationwide. The House has proposed a boat load of legislation to reverse the effects of the first two years of the Obama presidency. Each measure has died in the Reid-controlled Senate. Stalemate. Round One. Mission accomplished to stop the reckless spending. However, the job is still incomplete. In order to repeal Obamacare it will take enough votes in the Senate.

What is needed next is another gamble, another leap of faith. This time around, the nation imperiled as never before by the reality of our fiscal crisis, stagnant economic growth, the resurgence of al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East, and mounting debt and deficits, can we as a people reverse course again and have any hope to turn things over to the Republicans? Will they banish their tax and spend tendencies once and for all? Will they have the will power to exercise power wisely? Can they be trusted?

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

Enter Mitt Romney. He survived a brutal primary season, vanquished all the pretenders, and now is poised to capture the presidency in less than thirty days. The momentum shift has been discernible, even by the liberal pundits who have begrudgingly admitted their man's defeat to Romney in the first debate. Most who are honest brokers have even admitted their disappointment at Joe Biden's debate performance last week against Paul Ryan. It seems, as it always does in close elections, that Americans are willing to take the risk. The preponderance of polling in the last few days suggests a sea change is coming to complete the take-back of the reins that began in 2010.

What remains ahead is first securing the victory on November 6th. It's really the only "poll" that counts. I predict a landslide for Romney. Why? It has little to do with Barack Obama's ethnicity, his country of origin, or his birth certificate. No, instead, it has everything to do with his illegitimacy as a leader of the free world. Further, the one thing a poll can never measure is the collective common sense of the American voter. Obama has had four years to make his case, and all he does is run from his record. Anyone with a legitimate case to make for his achievements would make it, wouldn't he? Instead, his incompetency, most recently illustrated by the terrorist attack against our embassy in Benghazi and the assassination of our ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, can be framed most accurately by observing that his trip to Vegas to raise funds for his re-election campaign was more important.

The deliberate attempt by this administration to cover up the facts of that attack and mislead the American public, even the families of those who were slain, is shameful and deceitful. If they continue to assert they didn't know the facts at the time, they only add to the narrative of their complete ineptitude and reckless disregard for the truth. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have now engaged in finger-pointing. Determined not to destroy her chances for another possible run in 2016 with the taint of failure at Benghazi being laid at her doorstep, the Clintonistas are unsheathing the knives against the president. Once again, they have put on a full display of shameful and deceitful incompetence.

So the only logical conclusion a rational citizen of America could draw from all this seems to be the one that is now inescapable: Rather than vote for another four years of failed policies, this time around let's all gather together and vote for competency. Isn't it interesting how everyone seems to have set aside their religious differences, and are now united in defeating Barack Obama? The Republicans have a Mormon and a Catholic at the top of their ticket. Would you have predicted that a year ago? I certainly did not.

Mitt Romney may be rightly criticized for being a lame politician, as he has been many times in the last several years, but you may not have the luxury of criticizing him for his lack of willingness to offer himself and Paul Ryan as the only competent solution to all the big tasks ahead. They seem to be the only adults in the room. You can hammer them all you want politically, but they are the big boys here.

They're poised to take on the mother of all turnarounds. They need all our faith and prayers after they collect our votes.

Joe Biden - The Laughing "Jackass"

I am grieved this morning at all the characterizations of Joe Biden, the Vice-President of the United States of America, as a "jackass." His debate performance last night was disgraceful to the high office he holds. At a time when America, filled with ADULT voters and perhaps ready now more than ever before for an ADULT conversation about the serious issues of the day, we get this instead:




If you want four more years of THAT, and you're still undecided about who to vote for, I appeal to the adult within each of you.

Here's the abysmal truth about the Obama administration:

23 million either un- or under-employed, 49 million on food stamps, 15% living at poverty level, $6 Trillion in additional debt, complete denial of the national security threats we face as a nation, no attention to detail on threat assessments from the intelligence community, no urgency to stand beside Israel in the face of their existential threat from Iran, the grandest and most costly lie in American history in Obamacare, nearly 1,000 executive orders to bypass Congress, no history of working across the aisles in Congress. . .

the list is much longer than this. . . did I mention this administration has failed to submit a budget to Congress in four years that was competent enough to garner even ONE vote in both houses? FOUR YEARS, NO BUDGET. There's a connection here that shouldn't be hard to make.

and all of this draws guffaws and demagoguery through political debate tricks from our Vice-President? REALLY? We can do better than this.

On November 6th this shall all be overthrown in a silent, bloodless coup d'etat in the quiet sanctuary of the voting booth one vote at a time.

Political Quote of the Day

I was confused until Vice-President Joe Biden cleared it all up for me in this priceless quote.

Nobody understands what's actually in these "gigantic packages," and that's okay.  It's regulatory reform.

Now I get it.