Remembering Tony Snow
Ξ July 13th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Our nation has lost a great patriot and a fine man with the sad passing of Tony Snow. In addition to serving two Presidents, Tony spent much of his adult life behind either a television camera or a radio microphone bringing us news and commentary on all things political.
Although he was a staunch conservative who was always eager to lead the charge in defense of traditional causes and policies, he never spoke down to his guests or made them feel less than equal to himself. This man was truly one of the good guys in the media.
Tony lost his long, difficult battle with colon cancer yesterday, and glowing tributes quickly began pouring in from his colleagues and politicians from both sides of the political aisle. Even most of the folks whose views and opinions were diametrically opposed to his had nothing but praise for him as a man and as an American.
All Americans should mourn the passing of this great man. He was honest, respectful of all, and a crusader for conservative ideals to the very end. He loved God, his country, his family and his work, and now his long struggle with cancer has ended at the young age of 53.
We’ll miss you Tony.
Robert Anthony Snow
June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008
The mixed legacy of President George W. Bush
Ξ July 4th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
George Walker Bush began his two terms as President in 2000 with a rare opportunity to push the conservative agenda to new heights and get positive results in many areas where others had failed. After all, the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, and given his campaign promises to govern as a “compassionate conservative” the stars seemed to finally be in perfect alignment for those who had gone out on a limb by backing him to reap some great rewards for their efforts. But alas, it quickly became apparent that he was going to waste virtually every golden opportunity put before him.
First, let’s consider the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is no question that he did the right thing by sending our troops into Afghanistan to take out the Taliban and shut down the Al-Qaeda training camps after the horrendous attacks they perpetrated on our country on September 11, 2008. Our men and women in uniform did a spectacular job as expected, and they completed their assigned mission in short order.
While the President’s decision to go into Iraq wasn’t nearly as convincing as the one to go into Afghanistan, given the intelligence he had to work with at the time I supported that decision, and I still do. And once again, as expected, our troops kicked butt and took names, and in relatively no time at all they had decimated Saddam Hussein’s military regime and toppled him from power. And that’s where both campaigns should have ended…
But unfortunately, they didn’t. Instead of leaving the Afghans and Iraqis to clean up their own messes, Bush decided to embark on a pair of nation-building experiments that were destined for failure from the start. The mistake he made was simple, yet profound: He believed that the people we had just liberated in those countries would love us and rally around us, and allow us to help them set up a democratic form of government similar to our own. Had he paid attention in his world history class and spent some time watching the evening news he would have realized just how foolish that idea would inevitably turn out to be.
Radical Muslims simply do not see the world (and life in general) as we Americans do, and unfortunately in most Muslim countries the radicals tend to rise to power. Apparently Bush missed the lesson that most of us learned from the events that took place in Iran after the Shah was deposed in 1979.
The President made the ill-fated decision to stay in Iran and Afghanistan long after our work there was done, hoping against all reality to make some new friends and allies in the region. But those folks will never be our friends and they certainly will never be our allies, and Bush should have known that.
We would have been much better off getting out of those countries as quickly as possible, leaving behind only a stern warning: “We took care of business once, and we can and will do it again. Shape up, or we’ll be back and you REALLY won’t like us when the dust settles next time.”
The bottom line is that our military has no equal when it comes to fighting and winning wars, but they are not in the businesses of “keeping the peace” or “nation-building”, nor should they be - especially when the people involved have nothing but utter contempt for our nation and our ideals.
Oh well, enough ranting about the wars…
Domestically, Bush’s legacy has been even more disappointing. He has somehow allowed most of his conservative promises and opportunities to slip right through the cracks. Again, he made a very simple, yet profound mistake: He believed that he could use his power of gentle persuasion to entice enough Democrats to support his proposals to get them through the Congress. Again, he was wrong.
Why? Quite simply, the Democrats absolutely despise him. They believe down in their collective heart that he “stole” the 2000 election from Al Gore (he didn’t of course, but they honestly believe he did). They were bound and determined from January 20, 2000 on to see to it that he failed at everything he tried to do, and for the most part they have succeeded in spectacular fashion.
Unlike President Reagan, Bush was unable and/or unwilling to use the powerful combination of charm and arm-twisting to push his agenda through the Congress. His vetoes have been way too rare and much too ineffective, and he left his conservative allies in Congress hanging in the wind so many times that they all but abandoned him for the last three years of his Presidency.
Worse still, it turns out that he was never a true conservative at all. His stances on illegal immigration, NAFTA, and a host of other crucial issues are about as liberal as they come. And don’t even get me started on the spending spree he has allowed (encouraged?) the Congress to go on during his administration.
I guess by now it’s quite clear that I’m deeply disappointed by the way President George W. Bush has led our nation over the last 7+ years, but there is one shining star in his legacy that pretty much evens out the scales. Whether by design or sheer luck, he managed to appoint and get confirmed two of the finest Supreme Court Justices to ever sit on the bench in Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.
While not quite as conservative as their colleagues Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, they understand very clearly that their role as Supreme Court Justices is to interpret the Constitution literally while abstaining from the natural desire to color their decisions with their own personal beliefs and prejudices. During their short tenure on the court they have proven that they take their jobs very seriously and plan to enforce the law of the land (the U.S. Constitution) instead of trying to make laws of their own choosing. And in my opinion that is much more important than their ideological bents.
So there you have it. As President Bush and his family prepare to head off into the sunset, I wish them well. After all, just being elected to the Office of President of the United States is worthy of deep respect and honor. That being said, it’s too early to tell just how historians will treat the 43rd President, but my guess is their opinions will be somewhat similar to mine: Lot’s of failures, and one overwhelmingly important success.
Godaddy.com’s tribute to Independence Day
Ξ July 3rd, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Bob Parsons, the founder and CEO of Internet giant Godaddy.com isn’t at all shy when it comes to discussing his patriotism and his support for our troops. Click this link to watch Godaddy’s wonderful video tribute to Independence Day and all the fine men and women who work so hard to keep us all safe and free.
Watermelons: Icons of summertime
Ξ July 3rd, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Things I like |
As we head into July and the heart of summer, I’m reminded of one of the most beloved icons of the season: the watermelon. Summertime is watermelon season, and as always happens around the 4th of July holiday the stores have just lowered the prices on those sweet, juicy melons from what had been about the price of a small house to those of, well…watermelons.
As a kid I used to love sitting on the front porch on a hot summer day eating an ice cold slice of watermelon, spitting out the seeds between each delectable bite. Inevitably, a few of those seeds would come up and grow into mature watermelon vines, but for some reason they never seemed to produce any edible melons. But the stores always had plenty….
With eight kids to feed on a wafer-thin budget, mom and dad usually only bought watermelons on special occasions such as the 4th of July, family reunions and such, but every once in a while they would bring one home along with the regular groceries. Those unexpected treats were always appreciated, and it never took very long for the last slice to be finished off. Mom and dad both loved watermelons just as much as us kids, but they always made sure we got our fill before they got theirs.
Well, Cheria and I went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon, and one of the first things we encountered inside the store was a huge pile of watermelons, all marked down to the low price of just $3.98! I carefully checked them over, giving several of them a hard knock or two with my fist to see which one “sounded the ripest”. I made my choice, and confident with my decision I placed the “winner” into the buggy.
When we got home I lifted that green piece of heaven into the fridge to cool overnight, and cool it did. About an hour ago I pulled it out and sliced it open, only to discover that my melon of choice wasn’t all that ripe after all. But you know what? Cheria and I both ate our slices of that not-so-ripe watermelon with great enjoyment indeed. After all, watermelons are a lot like banana pudding - the worst I ever had was pretty doggone good!
Olivia and Houdini
Ξ July 2nd, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
When Houdini became a member of our family he added several things to our lives. First of all, there is the love. This beautiful 150 lb. Great Pyrenees has the most gentle disposition I have ever seen in a dog, and he just loves getting and giving affection.
But along with the love and affection, he also added a considerable amount of frustration to our household. To put it kindly, Houdini isn’t exactly the most intelligent canine on the planet. He does some of the most unbelievably stupid things that we often find ourselves wondering just what we have gotten ourselves into by adopting him. But then here he comes with all that love and affection again and we soon forget all about his latest “dumb move”.
Houdini likes everyone, but he is especially partial to kids. He has loved Olivia from day one, and he absolutely adores little Madison (and the feeling is certainly mutual). For proof, check out this post. The other day Cheria was going through her photo archives when she found the above picture of Olivia hugging Houdini soon after we adopted him. Don’t they look really cute together?
Sally & Tensel Sandker
Ξ June 29th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Bluegrass Music |
One of the most endearing aspects of Bluegrass Music is how the passion for it and the talent for performing it just seem to get passed down from generation to generation. Take the family of superstar Rhonda Vincent for example…
Everyone who holds even a passing interest in Bluegrass is very familiar with Rhonda and her amazing vocal and instrumental talents as well as her numerous accomplishments in the business. Well, now her daughters Sally & Tensel Sandker are ready to make their own marks on the world of music.
(L-R) Sally Sandker - Dan Salyer - Tensel Sandker
For the first time in months, Cheria and I had an opportunity to attend last Thursday’s Pickin’ Porch Show where we enjoyed an absolutely fantastic show featuring these two extremely talented young ladies and their band The Next Best Thing. For over an hour we sat watching and listening as they picked and sang one great Bluegrass and Classic Country song after another as well as several of their own original tunes. And every one of them was performed to perfection!
Who knows what the future holds for these wonderful young entertainers, but it’s quite clear that their famous mom passed on more than enough of her talent to enable them to go just as far as they choose to go in the music business.
Elected officials who share a blatant disregard for the Constitution
Ξ June 27th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
In their amazing wisdom, the founding fathers of our great nation understood the dangers of allowing too much power to be gained by a single entity. They had seen first-hand what life was like under a dictator (a long line of British kings and queens), and they were determined to avoid even the possibility of their new country ever slipping beneath the iron fist of one. To that end, they developed a form of government where the power is shared equally among three entities: The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.
The Congress (the Legislative branch) writes laws which govern how we live our lives, and the role of the Supreme Court (the Judicial branch) is to make sure those laws don’t violate any of the provisions of the Constitution. If they do, they strike them down. It’s then up to Congress to either rewrite the law to conform to the Constitution or propose a Constitutional Amendment which, if passed via the process set up to do so, would change the Constitution itself to make the proposed law “legal”.
The President (Executive branch) has a role in enacting or striking down laws as well. He can either sign a Congressional bill into law if he thinks it’s a good idea, or he can veto it if he doesn’t. But a veto isn’t the end of the road for a bill. Congress can (and often does) vote to override a President’s veto, making a bill become the law of the land even if the President doesn’t like it.
This system of government guarantees a “balance of power” under which no branch can take it upon itself to run the country as it sees fit by ignoring the will of the people and/or the other two branches. There are hard to achieve, but realistic provisions in place to override the decisions made by all three branches of government. The same “balance of power” structure exists at the state level as well, and laws enacted by the state legislatures can be struck down or affirmed by the state’s judiciary, and/or ultimately by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that the 2nd Amendment does in fact guarantee the rights of individuals (and not just militias) to bear arms has the liberals among us so upset that they are actually expressing an open desire for the Supreme Court to overstep it bounds and “make law” when they have no Constitutional authority to do so (that authority belongs exclusively to the Legislative branch).
Check out these statements made by a couple of ill-informed, yet very prominent Mayors:
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley: “It’s a very frightening decision. We believe every mayor will be outraged by this.”
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom: “This ruling just flies in the face of reality. You just wish the Supreme Court could spend a week in public housing and then come out with this decision. It’s very easy and comfortable to stand there with security guards and metal detectors and make these decisions.”
No, Your Honor. This ruling is exactly what was called for under the Constitution which you have taken an oath to honor and uphold. So you don’t like the 2nd Amendment? That’s fine, because you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. You and your like-minded counterparts are perfectly free to do whatever you can to seek a Constitutional Amendment which would negate the second one.
You are NOT free however to expect the Supreme Court to circumvent that process by legislating from the bench and rendering our most precious government document meaningless. There is a well-defined process available for changing any perceived wrongs in the U.S. Constitution, and it has already been used successfully 27 times. Within certain limitations, individual citizens clearly have a Constitutionally guaranteed right to own and use a firearm in their own defense, and unless and until that hallowed document is amended to change that you’ll just have to deal with it.
When it comes to our Constitution and the validity thereof, there is absolutely no perceived wrong egregious enough to warrant circumventing the process that has been set in place to amend it when required. Otherwise, we’ll quickly find ourselves headed down that slippery slope towards a dictatorship.
Supreme Court upholds the right to bear arms
Ξ June 26th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
Today the United States Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited ruling in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller (Case # 07-290), and it was clearly the right decision.
It all began when 66 year old armed security guard Dick Anthony Heller filed suit against the District after officials there refused to grant him a license to own a handgun to keep in his D.C. home for the purpose of self-defense. In 1976 the municipality had passed a law making the ownership of handguns by private citizens illegal, but today’s Supreme Court ruling declared that law incompatible with the right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment.
For years, gun control advocates have tried to argue that the wording of the 2nd Amendment only confers the right to bear arms to state militias, not individual citizens. I disagree. The Amendment reads as follows: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It is quite clear to me that the references to “a well regulated militia” and “the people” refer to separate entities. In other words, the right to bear arms belongs to both organized militias AND individuals.
Now that the High Court has finally upheld the right of law-abiding citizens to own guns, look for gun control laws all across the nation to be challenged and either modified or struck down altogether. Look also for more of our fellow citizens to be able to sleep better at night because they can finally legally defend themselves against intruders intent on taking their property and/or their lives.
Here’s a big thumbs-up to the Supreme Court for choosing to interpret the Constitution for a change instead of simply ignoring it and “making law” at their whim.
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