Ten Reasons to be Scared

Just in case your aren't paying attention, I've been nice enough to compile a list of ten things in the news lately that should scare you and why. Here goes:

1) Tom Cruise has recently been hailed the "Christ of Scientology" by the wacko cult's leaders. As a Christian, I was deeply offended by the mental images this conjured up of Jesus crawling around Oprah Winfrey's couch like a deranged moron. Sorry Mav, I think you're gonna crash and burn on this one...

2) Sex Offenders on the loose. Seriously, what is the deal? What further proof do the American people need that the liberal solution of rehabilitation not incarceration is a failed experiment. KEEP THESE SICKOS LOCKED UP!! I cannot believe that my children will one day not be able to ride their bike around the neighborhood without parental escort. They should tag these guys like wild animals with GPS tracking devices after they serve MAXIMUM time in prison.

3) Hillary Clinton running in 2008. Is she seriously a candidate? I find it hard to believe she has anything but her best interest in mind.

4) Immigrants... The Governator Arnold is now giving unemployment to illegal aliens who were effected by destruction of 85% of the citrus in California after a deep freeze out here. What a scam, our tax dollars funding illegal immigrants not being able to pick fruit... If illegals are going to be getting government benefits, scrap the income tax and adopt a consumption tax Arnie, at least then they will be paying into the system they are taking from.

5) Same issue but on a federal level. Most of you are unaware that congress last year voted to allow illegal immigrants access to social security. I know, you don't believe me, but that does not negate the fact that it happened. Social Security, simply more proof that the government is incompetent...

6) Polls... Wow, where to start. Everyday we are subjected to poll numbers about what percentage of Americans believe this or that. That in itself is not scary. But I'm slowly coming to the realization that the average American is an idiot. How can you not? There are only so many episodes of American Idol tryouts you can endure before realizing that maybe Democracy isn't such a good idea... What qualifies the opinions of the majority of Americans? Most people can't even tell you that America is a Republic, not a Democracy. Kinda scary when we have politicians basing their decisions on poll numbers... The best indicator I think you can have on the state of the American public is who our children's role models are. With multi-million dollar sports stars and teen rehab queen Lindsey Lohan being the answer, GOD HELP US!

7) What's the deal with UFO sightings lately. Over the last three weeks there has been a rash of sightings across the United States including: South Carolina, Arkansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. All people reported seeing the same thing, a ball of fire or lights streaming across the sky and in some instances changing direction and assuming formations. Now, I'm not a UFO enthusiast, but when this many people see weird stuff in the sky all over the country, I would like an explanation. So maybe it isn't scary, but it's definitely strange...

8) The deranged apocalyptic President of Iran revealed today that Iranian scientists have found an "herbal" cure for AIDS. Before you guys go buying season six of Sex in the City and moving to San Fran, I'd be a little hesitant of a cure coming from Iran. I'm 90% sure the "herbal" cure will turn out to be Hemlock. Meanwhile, if you still want a cure for AIDS, it's called prevention, and the good news is that the drug companies can't charge you for it!

9) Ehren Watada, an Army Lieutenant who recently refused to serve in Iraq, based his argument on his assertion that the war is illegal and immoral. Now, I'm tired of telling this to people who refuse to educate themselves regarding issues they claim to have a position on. The United Nations resolutions were violated by Saddam Hussein 17 times. Enough said... As for immoral, liberals don't believe in immorality. They are rigid deconstructionists who believe in moral relativism, not morality.

10) Although number ten on my list, this is one of the biggest threats facing America today. We live in a culture of weakness. We teach our children that fighting is wrong and that their self-esteem is paramount. We've gone so overboard with our culture of tolerance that nothing is perceived as wrong these days. We make it illegal to spank your children (California) but encourage medicating them. We force third graders to watch videos on homosexuality (New Jersey) without parental consent. If we teach our children that fighting is never the answer, we will inevitably raise a generation of victims. Sometimes fighting is morally imperative. A clear sign of this weakness is today's public debate around the war in Iraq. Most people are ready to withdraw troops from there and call it quits. Why? Because America has become weak. It is this very weakness that encouraged Bin Laden to attack the United States in the first place. Our withdrawal under Clinton from Somalia led Bin Laden to the conclusion that America is a "paper tiger". I hate to agree with somebody like Bin Laden, but he's right. Let me make this clear though, America is not a paper tiger due to any weakness in it's military, it is a paper tiger because of the will of the American people. Americans need to educate themselves beyond the 6 o'clock news and take a stand for what is truly right, which includes the elimination of murderous dictators around the world. Since when has saving millions of lives become immoral. The War in Iraq may be a mess, but it is our presence there that is preventing it from being an unmitigated disaster. There's more on the line there than the media lets on. When American forces withdrew from Vietnam, over 1 million South Vietnamese payed the price with their lives. Lets not make the same mistake by withdrawing prematurely from Iraq.

So there you have it, ten reasons why I think you should be scared...

The Case for War with Iran

With criticism coming from all fronts concerning the situation in Iraq, U.S. forces in the region are setting the stage for a showdown with Iran over it's nuclear program. With a second carrier strike group making it's way to the Persian Gulf, America will have the air power necessary to conduct air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and keep Iran from shutting down the narrow Straights of Hormuz. With American forces still bogged down in trying to solve the Iraq security problem, is it wise for the U.S. to embark on attacking the region's most powerful and radical country? Not only is it wise, but attacking Iran is vital to stabilizing both Iraq as well as the rest of the region.

Since America's victory over Saddam's Bathist regime in 2003, Iran has continued to fund insurgents in Iraq in an attempt to keep the U.S. focus from their nuclear ambitions. Iranian weapons, insurgents, and money has been free flowing to destabilize the country from all sides. U.S. Central Command estimates about 5,000 Iranian intelligence agents have infiltrated the country to spur the Shi'ite death squads that have plagued security forces in the region over the last two years. This support for Iraq's Shi'ite majority has in turn emboldened countries like Syria to increase material and monetary support for the Sunni minorities who are the victims of these death squads. In no way is Iran's manipulation limited to Iraq. Iranian support for terrorist organizations such as Hizbollah and Hamas has posed a significant threat to Israel and Lebanon. By using these organizations as proxies, Iran has placed all their hopes in staving off an American or Israeli attack on it's nuclear program until it can successfully declare itself a nuclear state. Taking a page from Kim Jong Il's playbook, Iran believes the only way to guarantee themselves protection from retribution for their terrorist activities is by acquiring nuclear weapons. Once they acquire these weapons, the proliferation of nuclear technology to terrorist organizations is a foregone conclusion.

The initial response from the Bush administration following the attacks on 9/11 was that you were either with or against us in the war on terror. The Taliban made it clear that they were against us, and we removed the regime from power. Saddam's bathist regime also supported terrorist organizations and gave monetary compensation to families of suicide bombers, and we toppled his regime. Iran is now the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They have not only shown themselves to be against us, but have publically called for the destruction of Israel as well as the United States. Their President is a deranged follower of an evil religion and honestly believes that his mission is to be the catalyst for Armageddon. Not exactly the type of leader one feels comfortable with having nuclear weapons.

The next 50 years are going to be some of the most dangerous years the human race has ever seen. The American people must understand that we are facing a greater danger in radical Islam than we ever did against Nazi Germany. We must remember that our freedom comes at the price of eternal vigilance. We must maintain the willpower to face these threats on foreign shores if we are to be successful in keeping them from ours. The forceful destruction of Iran's nuclear weapons program will send a clear message to those states who continue to support terrorism and will be a huge step in preventing terrorists from getting their hands on nukes.

When the bombs start to fall on Tehran, whether you agree with the strikes or not, be grateful they aren't falling on New York.

What a Week!

What a week! Republicans lose control of both the House of Representatives as well as the Senate and controversial Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigns shortly after. As the news pundits on every channel race to give their analysis of this weeks events, I find myself unable to resist the temptation to do the same. So here you go folks, here is a US serviceman's post-election analysis:

First off, the election was NOT a referendum on Iraq. The Democrats employed a two prong strategy to win Congress. Their liberal leaders (Dean, Pelosi, Kerry, and Clinton) campaigned against Iraq and used it as a central issue in energizing their liberal base to get out the vote. But the big winners in the tight races were not the extreme left wing Ned Lamonts, it was so called "conservative" democrats (if there is such a thing). The democrats who won control of Congress ran primarily as moderates and conservatives. But here's the catch, now that they have control, it is the liberal wing of the party that will have the coveted leadership positions within the House and Senate.

The republicans, on the other hand, were unable to energize their conservative base, who feel betrayed over issues like immigration and uncontrolled spending. The straw that broke the republican's back was the leadership's inability to effectively police their own, leading to various ethical scandals that have further alienated conservatives. In the days leading up to the election, the radio waves were filled with conservative talk show hosts criticizing the republicans. Conservative radio listeners called in expressing anger that the republicans had strayed so far from their conservative principals. Many even talked about punishing the republicans by not voting at all. And punish them they did...

Are you ready for the silver lining? Gridlock! I never quite understand how so many people talk about gridlock like it's a bad thing. The government that governs least governs best folks. The less laws that are passed by Congress (especially a democratic Congress) the better for the American people. The democrats will overplay their hand, try to pass higher taxes and a socialistic domestic agenda, and will ultimately destroy their chances at a 2008 Presidency. When the moderate and conservative democrats who tipped the scales in Congress last week go back home in 2008 they will have to answer to their constituents for the liberal policies that will be pushed through Congress in the next two years. Lets hope Bush's veto pen has plenty of ink in it. Even if it doesn't, the Bush administration will undoubtedly pave the way for a true conservative candidate for the republicans in 2008.

I have one more thought about the elections. Did anyone notice who else claimed victory last week other than the democrats? That's right, Al Qaeda and Iran. The Ayatollah Khamenei called U.S. elections an "overwhelming victory for Iran" and Al Qaeda mocked the "lame duck" President Bush and vowed to blow up the White House. The elections last week were a good indication that the terrorists think they are winning the war. Not the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, but the war against the will of the American people...

The Unvarnished Truth

In case you missed it last week, CNN shocked viewers when they played a terrorist "snuff" film showing the murder of a US serviceman in Iraq. The video, taken by Iraqi insurgents, shows a sniper shooting an American serviceman in the head from a hidden vehicle before driving off to escape. Despite violating several standards of ethics in journalism, CNN producer David Doss defended the decision to air the video saying, "Whether or not you agree with us in this case, our goal, as always, is to present the unvarnished truth as best we can."

What truth is being presented in the video? The fact that there are US servicemen being killed in Iraq? The fact that insurgents are targeting them? The facts have been well established on both of these points. We know that there are snipers in Iraq. We know that they are killing both US servicemen as well as Iraqi citizens. Does David Doss really believe that the best way to present these truths is by showing such a video?

Make no mistake folks, this was nothing more than CNN resorting to journalistic sensationalism, the media's own version of "shock and awe" designed to improve ratings and continuously push the boundaries of ethics in journalism. Providing the "unvarnished truth" is one thing, but airing a terrorist propoganda film to the world is indicative of serious ethical problems at CNN. Over the years, the boundaries between sensationalism and journalism have been blurred by the ushering in of the digital age. Never in history has a person been able to access so much information in so little time. We live in the "too much information" age of everything from blogging to Youtube at our fingertips. The media outlets now find themsleves competing with websites such as the Drudge Report and The Onion for readership. The effect this competition has had on the mainstream media is to reintroduce the practice of "Yellow Journalism", using sensationalism to gain readership over rival media outlets. Yellow journalism attempts to gain viewership by using "death, dishonor, and disaster" as headlines.

Regardless of what David Doss and Anderson Cooper claim as their reasons, the decision to air this terrorist video boils down to nothing but the latest step away from real journalism for sensationalism. Unfortunately for CNN, the first victim of sensationalism in media is usually the unvarnished truth...

When Big Government Goes Bad

The following article was sent to me just after my recent post about the "common good". I thought it was a nice example of how the government's solutions to protect the common good are fueling a lack of common sense and ultimately undermining the very ideal they hope to achieve. A great example of this can be found in Philip K. Howard's book, The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America. For those of you who are on the fence concerning big government's ability to solve America's social issues, it is a must read...

The Culture of Meanness
By John W. Whitehead October 16, 2006

A culture of meanness has come to characterize many aspects of the nation’s governmental and social policies. “Meanness today is a state of mind,” writes Nicholas Mills in his book The Triumph of Meanness, “the product of a culture of spite and cruelty that has had an enormous impact on us.” But until it happens to us, it is easy to close our eyes and go on with our everyday lives. The problem is epitomized by a recent email I received:

We live in a small rural town. Moved here in 1961. I don't remember what year the State Troopers moved a headquarters into our town. Our young people were plagued with tickets for even the smallest offense. Troopers had to get their limits for the month. People make jokes about that but it has been true. Every kid I knew was getting ticketed for something. But now it is so much worse. I raised my kids to respect police. If they did something wrong and got caught they deserved it and should take their punishment. I have no respect for the police. I feel threatened and fearful of them. They are aggressive and intimidating. They lie and are abusive and we do not know how to fight them. I am not a minority here but people are afraid if they speak out they will be targeted. We are just a small town. I am a 60-year-old grandmother and I just don't care anymore if they do target me. I am afraid they are going to kill someone.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. For example, recently in my hometown of Charlottesville, Va., a 69-year-old woman was offered no mercy by local authorities when she briefly left her sleeping grandchild in her car to run into the grocery store. Since she was only going to get a couple of items and it was a moderately cool day, she decided to crack the windows and sunroof and leave her grandchild undisturbed. Moments after leaving the parking lot, the woman was pulled over by several patrol vehicles and then handcuffed. When her grandchild awoke and began screaming for his grandmother, the police refused to let her hold him and took her to jail. The 69-year-old woman was left with bruises and marks on her wrists. Far from hardened criminals, individuals such as this are treated like street thugs, despite not having committed any serious crime.

At one time, the police would merely have lectured these two upstanding citizens. Certainly, no one would have been handcuffed, arrested and jailed. However, their stories represent a symptom of a much broader and growing problem in America. Perhaps out of fear or some other innate human element, America has grown cold and callous and often lacks common sense in its accepted brutal treatment of others who commit small wrongs or merely make mistakes. We see school children placed at the heart of our court system and treated like hardened criminals. Many find negative marks placed on their permanent records due to the harsh treatment of zero tolerance policies. Average Americans who make unwise but nonetheless harmless decisions are treated like drug traffickers or other dangerous criminals. It seems that everyone is now a criminal-in-waiting.

Consider the story of Margaret Kimbrell of Rock Hill, South Carolina. This 75-year-old woman who suffered from arthritis and had six broken ribs was given a 50,000-volt shock from a police taser gun and was forced to spend three hours behind bars. Describing the pain from being tasered, Kimbrell stated, “It was the worst pain. It felt like something going through my body. I thought I was dying. I said, Lord, let it be over.” What led to this horrifying experience was Margaret’s refusal to leave a nursing home before she had the opportunity to visit a friend whose well-being she was concerned about. According to the police, Margaret posed a threat. They claim she was waving her arms and threatening the staff. Her response was, “As weak as I am, how could I do that?” In Portland, Oregon, authorities seemed to have abandoned their common sense and good judgment when they pepper-sprayed and tasered Eunice Crowder, a blind 71-year-old woman. What began as an attempt by a city employee to remove unsightly shrubs and trash from the handicapped woman’s yard ended in a show of what many believe to be excessive force. After the city employees began to remove her belongings from her yard, Crowder became concerned that a 90-year-old wagon, which was a family heirloom, had been placed in the truck to be hauled away with her other belongings. She told the city employees that she was concerned about the wagon, explained why it was so important to her and asked if she could enter their truck to search for it. When the elderly woman entered the truck in search of her treasure, after being told not to, the city employees called the police. When the police showed up, the situation worsened. Crowder had one foot on the curb and the other on the bumper of the trailer when one of the officers stepped on her foot. Crowder, being blind, asked who it was. Moments later, one of the officers struck her on the head—which dislodged her prosthetic eye, kicked her in the back and pepper-sprayed her in the face.

Students are also facing these issues in schools across America through strict zero tolerance policies. When a high school junior in Kentucky wrote a story about zombies taking over his high school, he was sent to the principal’s office. School officials then contacted the police, which led to a search of the student’s home and his arrest. Despite the student’s plea that the story was merely fiction, he was charged with second-degree felony terrorist threatening. What began as a creative story, the kind thousands of kids have written, ended in a permanent criminal charge that will haunt this young man for the rest of his life. As one commentator noted, “Kids have been kicked out of school for possession of Midol, Tylenol, Alka Seltzer, cough drops and Scope mouthwash—contraband that violates zero tolerance anti-drug policies. Students have been expelled for Halloween costumes that included paper swords and fake spiked knuckles, as well as for possessing rubber bands, slingshots and toy guns—all violations of anti-weapons policies.”

While many of these shocking stories go unnoticed, experts see an alarming trend in many small pockets of America. In fact, a report issued by Human Rights Watch suggests that abuse by public officials against average citizens for minor, often innocent, acts “remains one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States.” These are the questions we need to ask ourselves in our local community: Are we really any safer? Does the punishment really fit the crime? Have we lost our common sense in order to secure a false sense of safety?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m going to sleep any better tonight just because these local “criminals” were taken off the streets or suspended from school.

Well said Mr. Whitehead!

The Crisis

As the war in Iraq drags on, I'm beginning to come to the opinion that America may be incapable of winning a protracted war. Don't get me wrong, I think militarily we are up to the challenge. We have the forces, we have the knowhow, and we have the experience. We are killing more of the enemy than they are of us. Our soldiers are winning the battles with insurgents. So what is it that could possibly prevent us from attaining victory in Iraq? The answer is ourselves...

In the digital age, Americans are more connected to the World and to each other than at any period in the history of civilization. With network news sponsored affiliates, satellite uplinks, and global cell capability, the media outlets can bring you breaking news "at the speed of live" from anywhere in the world. So everyday when Americans turn on their TVs and hear about the latest roadside bomb or the latest insurgent attack, it is only a matter of time before it starts to weigh on our national conscience. With every profile of a dead soldier we see on the news, every interview with a grieving family, our sense of urgency for an end in sight begins to stir.

After three years of fighting, with the death toll in Iraq approaching 3,000 US soldiers, our national sense of urgency for an end to the war has gone from a stir to a scream. Politicians are stepping all over each other for the chance to Monday morning quarterback the war. Politicians who voted for the war now oppose it and claim to have been duped into supporting it in the first place. We find ourselves in a tough battle with a determined enemy and a rising death toll among our soldiers. America is bitterly divided as to what we do next. The following words were written during another time in American history where the outcome of another war weighed heavily on the hearts and minds of the American people:

December 23, 1776
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

Although 240 years later, this message resonates today as it did back then. The message is perseverence. That it is better to have our shoulder against the wheel than our backs against the wall. Freedom does not come easily, nor does it come cheaply as Thomas Paine pointed out. While every American is eager for an end to this war, we must always remember that the quickest way to end a war is to lose it. And losing is not an option in the War on Terror.

To leave the job unfinished in Iraq is to doom our children to fight the same war for the same ground 10 years from now. If we had finished the job during the first Gulf War and ended Saddam's rule then, we would not be in Iraq today. Instead, Americans got their quick war. As our troops came back and we celebrated our overwhelming victory, Saddam was busy killing thousands of Iraqis that answered George Bush's call to overthrow the dictator, thinking that American forces were on their way. We've learned from our mistakes this time around. Although the death toll of US soldiers approaches 3,000 over the last three years, keep in mind that it was over 3,000 people killed in just one day on September 11th. Leaving Iraq now would be putting our backs against the wall. The War on Terror is still being waged, and it's being waged in Iraq...

Beware the "Common Good"

Democrats have a new theme they will be hyping in an attempt to frame their political agenda for the upcoming elections as well as the Presidential race in 2008. The new theme is the "common good". This theme is meant to attack what the democrats call the "radical individualism" that the Republican party has been pushing over the last six years. So what exactly does this "common good" theme entail? Well, the details are a little fuzzy folks. John Halpin, senior fellow at the center for American progress and one of the framers of this new theme says it's a "core value that we think organizes the entire political agenda for progressives." Halpin goes on to explain that "With the rise of materialism, greed, and corruption in American society, people want a return to a better sense of community_sort of a shared sacrifice, a return to the ethic of service and duty." Like I said, the details are fuzzy, but so far what I'm hearing sounds an awful lot like a thinly veiled attempt to sell America once again on big government.

This highlights one of the principal differences between democrats and republicans, individualism vs. collectivism. Halpin is right in that republicans stress individualism over the "common good". Republicans see society as a collection of individuals whose freedoms, as outlined in the Bill of Rights, are to be preserved even over the wishes of the majority. Republicans have the optimistic view that through the exercise of such freedom, every man and woman is entitled to make something of themselves. It is the struggle and triumphs of the individuals in American society that make America the nation it is. As Ayn Rand once wrote, "America's abundance was not created by public sacrifices to "the common good", but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes."

The freedom of the individual to pursue his own course in life is not without its consequences. This individualism is seen as the root cause for the "materialism, greed, and corruption in American society" that Halpin highlights. The concept of the "common good" has always been at the heart of democratic ideology. When they talk about a "return to a sense of community, a shared sacrifice, and the ethics of service and duty" within the framework of the "common good", they mean at the expense of the individual. So who decides what the "common good" is?

The answer is the government. Democrats believe that the government can give people this sense of community. Through taxation and redistribution of wealth in this country, they will give us a sense of "shared sacrifice". They will instill by force the ethics of duty and service by replacing your sense of personal responsibility with a responsibility for the community. This assault on the individual has been waging for years. The lawyers in America have all but absolved us of personal responsibility, teaching us that no matter what we do, there is always someone else to blame. The democrats have led the crusade to save us from ourselves by attempting to ban things that are detrimental to the "common good" such as cigarettes a decade ago and trans fats today. They think that a large centralized government can create justice, sacrifice, and civic virtue by destroying the value of the individual.

I too believe in the ideals of sacrifice, service, and duty that Mr.. Halpin talked about. But all three of these ideals are at their core, personal. The very nature of sacrifice is that one must make the conscious decision to forgo something of value to achieve something greater. Without the willingness of the offer, there can be no sacrifice. The same applies to duty and service. The government cannot force these upon a person, it is up to us as individuals to come to terms with them on our own time. I do not ask for my government to solve all of my problems, nor would I like it to. It is through the fires of adversity that our character is forged, not the mandates of our government. Without the freedom to grow as individuals, the society forcibly dedicated to the "common good" would be hollow.

When the talk about the "common good" makes its way into the upcoming elections, make sure the "common good" being sold to you isn't at the expense of your personal freedom.

Random Thoughts from the Weekend

Grieving mother turned outspoken anti-war and anti-Bush advocate, Cindy Sheehan, announced this week that she is a finalist for the Nobel Peace Prize. I had to chuckle because the day before I watched a video clip where she was talking about an episode of The Twilight Zone in which someone went back in time and killed Adolf Hitler as a baby. This episode had her thinking about what it would be like to go back and kill George Bush when he was a baby. Although only 1 in 191 finalists, would you really be suprised if she won? After all, Yasser Arafat got one back in 1994 and last year's winner was Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency for, get this, "...their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes". Don't hold your breath this year Mohamed!

As I was driving yesterday I noticed a funny looking car pull out behind me. It was a Delorean!! No lie, my wife is my witness. Anyways, I got to thinking about why you don't see more Deloreans out there on the road. Maybe everytime they hit 88 mph they inexplicably disappear? Somebody make sure Cindy Sheehan doesn't get her hands on the car keys!

As a member of the military, I am bound to a strict code of ethics. In fact, I know of a guy who used to do the same job as me but was recently stripped of his rank, stripped of his wings (which means he can no longer fly), docked half a month's pay for two months, restricted to base for 30 days, and must now change jobs. What did he do? He slept with a married woman. The military doesn't want those types of people leading others. The leaders in the military are REQUIRED to set the example. How nice would it be to demand the same moral leadership from our country's leaders?

For those of you who do not know, I am a quote junkie!! I collect quotes from everything and everyone. I thought I'd close this entry with a quote that is indicative of the political thinking in Washington that is destroying the foundations of our way of life:

"Sometimes in order to make progress and move ahead, you have to stand up and do the wrong thing" - Representative Gary Ackerman (D, N.Y.)

How noble of you Gary...