Jefferson vs The Obama's

"If the people let government decide
what foods they eat and what medicines they take,
their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state
as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."

Thomas Jefferson

Found: The oldest thing in the universe

Sorry, but I saw this headline on Yahoo homepage and couldn't help myself.

Hip to be square

Obama heads to ‘Daily Show’ days before Stewart’s rally

BT comment: I guess it's one of the signs of the modern culture that the president has to be hip or cool. That he(or someday she) has to be part of the pop culture. When I was younger, I too may have fallen for such a ridiculous premise. Coming of age in the 70's I would've voted the Cheech/Chong ticket without even giving it a second thought. And therin lies the problem. Is anyone thinking?

Bill Clinton was the first president to really sell himself to the youth vote via MTV and the Arsenio Hall Show. Whether it be wailing on his sax or discussing what kind of underwear he wears or if he inhaled or not. It was all supposed to make it seem like he was one of us. And now we have Obama following in those same self seeking footsteps. The irony here is that neither of these guys is like anyone I know(for starters, both are millionaires).If I was an empty headed twenty something, yeah, I would think he was like me. But now that I am a man I have put away childish things. I don't want my president to be like me necessarily. I want him(or her) to be better than me. As virtuous as I strive to be, they should be better. With higher ideals and morals. Someone smarter than me. More humble than myself. Sober-minded. Faithful to his own wife. Not discussing things openly that should be resigned to private or personal conversations. Prudent. Discerning. Not so tied to his own ego. Where personal integrity is of utmost importance.

I didn't see this in Bill Clinton and I fail to see it in Barack Obama. With all of his many failing(as well as his virtues) I never saw an ounce of pretense in George W Bush. Recently it was discovered that someone in the Jerry Brown campaign had called his opponent Meg Whitman a "whore". As far I as can tell, the last two democrat presidents are the two biggest ho's I have ever seen. The have no virtue, no morals, no core beliefs and would do anything to retain power and prestige. But the thing they do most... they lie. Like friggin' rugs, they lie. There is no truth found in them. This is not a partisan rant, but an objective observation. To Mr. Clinton, DNA is a bitch. To Mr. Obama, well, most recently I would have to ask if he knows what the hell "shovel ready" means. I don't have itching ears, so don't go scratching 'em with your platitudinous fibs.

This standard applies not only to the nation's highest office. It should apply to all other elected offices. Heck, it should apply to any and all with whom we have to deal. Be it your business partner, your auto mechanic, your banker, your spouse, etc. Democrats strive to ever lower the bar. Most of the people I know strive to raise or exceed it's height. And though we may all fail at times, it is the embracing of what is good and right and perfect that makes us who we are. May we press on to a higher calling and more lofty ideals and not sink into the cultural morass of mediocrity assuaged by deceit.

Chuck said it best!

My response to Obama as well as to all progressives. Paws off my liberty, my freedom, my rights, my money, my food, my cooking oil, my salt shaker, my light bulbs, my tax dollars, my internet, my speech, my car, my appliances, my faith, my heat, my air conditioning, my gasoline, my job, my health insurance, my Constitution....
Basically, get your stinkin' paws off my country!

Lenin, I mean Lennon's 70th birthday

October 9, 2010 would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. I still remember where I was the night he was shot. I was at a Springsteen concert at the Spectrum where the Boss played one of many soldout nights. He and the E Street Band even did Twist and Shout for an encore. I didn't yet know that Lennon was dead until we all got back to the car and turned on the radio. It was a sad couple of days. Everytime I heard Lennon or Beatles songs on the radio my eyes would well up. But that was then, this is now.

Nothing I write here is meant as a personal attack on John Lennon. He did nothing that warranted being gunned down in cold blood by a lunatic outside of his own home. He was an icon, a husband and a father. But his impact on the culture went far beyond his music. Actally, his music was the vehicle which imparted his radical views to the masses.

Early in the Beatles surge to fame, Lennon stated that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. Quite a radical statement to make for a guy who just wanted to make music. As it turns out, John held a world view that was antithetical to Christianity and traditional American values. Later he would craft a song that would encapsulate succinctly his view of how he hoped things should or would be. The song, "Imagine".

Couched in a maudlin melody, he asked us to imagine what life would be like without God, heaven, eternal consequences, national sovereignty, core beliefs worth dying for, or personal possessions. Now keep in mind, John Lennon was a millionaire. Millions made off albums purchased by god fearing, freedom loving, capitalist Americans. The country that fought along side England to defeat Nazi Germany. The country he chose to make his home(possibly in part due to the high tax rate in England). He asked us to embrace the idea of a "brotherhood of man". Which at this writing I think the feminists would have changed to "people or persons", not "man".

Words mean things. Whether put to a melody or recorded in a periodical or novel. They convey thoughts, feelings and ideas. Now if Lennon just recorded songs to amass his millions, it would fly in the face of his lyrics. Asking us to imagine no possessions all the while accruing a fortune. Like all Socialists, he was an elitist. Telling us how to live, yet he himself living a life of luxury. I don't begrudge him that, just don't preach a life of self denial from a luxury New York high rise to us down below.

So while John Lennon will remain a music icon for the ages, I have grown out of the idealism of the 60's and early 70's. Had Lennon lived longer, maybe he would have changed his ideology. Maybe not. I still like listening to the Beatles but was never a huge John Lennon fan. In fact, I didn't like any of the lads on their own as much as I did collectively. It's remains a sad ending to a talented musician. I however have lived long enough to find what is true. That I cannot live without God(specifically Jesus). That I love the United States of America and respect her borders. I like working hard for the living I eke out in this life so that I can buy the things that I need and sometimes want. I like to think that my core beliefs are of such value, that if called upon to do so, I would give my life for them. Finally, I believe in heaven. It is my destination and my home. And because there is heaven there is hell too. Life has it's consequences. Not so much "Instant Karma", but reaping and sowing. Not come upppins' by an impersonal universe, but a face to face judgement by a righteous God. I sometimes wonder if any of these thoughts raced through John Lennon's mind before his life slipped from this earth.

Anyway... there is no doubt that he was born 70 years ago into a time where he had a chance to change the world. And he did. We are all of us born into the time that God chooses. And just like a boy from Liverpool did, we too can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, maybe just our little piece of it. Happy birthday John.