INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT AND QUOTES FROM THOMAS JEFFERSON

THOMAS JEFFERSON

At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America " and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence ..

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia ’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben
Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Ken tucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States ..

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello ..

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence .

John F. Ken nedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe...
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.  Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.  Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

ADDENDUM: Today I voted for Rick Santorum. He is not expected to win, but he is the one who stands closest to my political and life beliefs.

EZRA LEVANT IS A CANADIAN LAWYER-Here he speaks on the denied pipeline

Can you understand his point and his principles laid out in this talk?

h/t Bread Upon the Waters

SUNDAY RESPITE-Just Hold On-The Nightingales

WHERE ARE THEY TODAY, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN, WITH THIS ELOQUENCE?

AND DO YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT ANY MORE?

The Text:

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT PRESIDENT BO (The Child President)

President BO (the child president) has added over SIX TRILLION DOLLARS (to date) to the national debt, thus debasing and destroying the currency.

President BO (the child president)'s DOJ, SEC and CFTC allowed Jon Corzine to steal over a billion dollars and effectively destroy the futures and options markets.

President BO (the child president) has looted the United States Treasury and handed billions of dollars in federally guaranteed "loans" to political cronies to skim off of shell companies that are never intended to produce or be profitable.

President BO (the child president) has thwarted every effort for energy production in the United States while handing that same production capacity to the Chinese.

President BO (the child president) has gutted, demoraled and hamstrung the United States Military.

President BO (the child president)'s regime has eliminated due process and given themselves the power to arrest and imprison American Citizens indefinitely at their sole discretion.

President BO (the child president) has formed an alliance with the Islamic Caliphate.

President BO (the child president) has told Catholics that they have no right to their own consciences vis-a-vis contraception, abortifacients and sterilization.

No wonder we love him so much.

OK...IT'S TIME TO EXPLAIN THE RULES

I am sick and tired of commenters coming here who are too infantile to control their language.

On your blog (if you're intelligent enough to have one) you can say whatever you please...I don't care.

But here there is no freedom of speech.

The First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law..."

Well, I am not congress and I CAN make the law here.

You don't curse, swear or be vile in my house and you don't curse, swear or be vile on my blog.

If you can't read the side bar, I will reproduce it for you here.  If you went to government school, you probably can't read this, but give it a try.

1. Absolutely no foul language. If you are not man or woman enough to control your language, you are not welcome here...go somewhere else.


2. I am not looking for strings of commenters arguing with each other, so confine your comments to the topic at hand and address your comments to me, unless you can be exceptionally gracious and polite.


3. Since this is my blog, I am the sole arbiter of what can be placed on this blog. My decisions are final and without recourse. All anonymous comments, unsigned, will be deleted, as will ad homonym attacks against me or others.


4. Within the scope of those rules, you may feel free to have fun here (I sure will). Sarcasm, wit, half-wit, nit-wit, parody, satire, puns (especially puns), etc. are encouraged.

I will not allow hyphenated, asterisked or other forms of vile language. If you use them, expect to be deleted (your comment, not you, personally...although that might be arranged).

You may disagree with me, with my faith and my opinions, and you may express your disagreement in a dignified, polite way.

You may not disparage those who have faith in God, nor can you disparage those who don't.

If you have nothing to say about the topic at hand, just don't say anything at all.

You see, this is my blog and its purpose is to give you my slightly quirky humble, but correct opinion, and you can give me yours, as long as you're man or woman enough to be civil and control your language.

Any questions?

Oh...and ABO!

I LOVE ORIGINALITY, DON'T YOU?

One thing you CAN say about President BO (the child president): he DOES believe in recycling.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he the one who said that if he hadn't accomplished his "goals" in three years he didn't deserve a second term?

Well, if you corrected me, you're the one who is wrong.

If you're a liberal, you don't care anyway.

I HATE TO AGREE, BUT I HAVE TO

Don't you just LOVE that picture?

One of my commenters (a guy who comments troll-like on many blogs, whose name I won't mention, but who has webbed feet), delights in pointing out his opinion that the Republican candidates are eating each other alive.

I agree.

I am sick and tired of them attacking each other.

The problem is, one of them is going to win and then, all of a sudden, the others will back him to the hilt!

I would much rather hear them say, "This is where I stand on this issue,  and this is where I stand on that issue," and let us know who they are, instead of who the others aren't.

That would make me a much more informed voter.

Besides, I have to take every attack, whether by RS, MR or NG with a very large grain of salt.

They are wallowing in half-truth and innuendo, never telling the context or background of whatever attack they are positing at the time.

Heads up, guys! We want men we can vote FOR, not choice of who not to vote for.

Maybe once they read this post they will wake up and start standing for whatever they stand for and stop trying to be who they're not.

But probably not.

Anyway, its still ABO.

ABO REVISITED

So, Newt Gingrich beat Mitt Romney.

As you know, of the three left in the race, I prefer Rick Santorum.

But it looks like we're going to have a president named Newt, Mitt or Barack.

Of those three, Newt would be my choice, but as I said, ABO.

I live in Florida, where the two Republican front runners are now neck-in-neck in the polls.

I will vote for Rick if he is still in the running.

What amazes me about all of this is the absolute transparency of the MSM as they pine for the one who is most likely to enact policies most to their likeing, Mitt Romney.

Of course, Mitt denies that, but his voting record would seem to lend support to their conclusions.

Newt, on the other hand, has "baggage" they love to exalt.

Womanizing was absolutely no issue for the Democrat constituency when it was John Kennedy or Bill Clinton doing it. As we all know, character has nothing to do with one's ability to do the job of the presidency.

But when it is Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich, it is suddenly "character matters."

Herman Cain is crucified over alleged affairs, none of which amounted to anything other than accusations which I suspect were well paid for.

Newt's ex-wife, who has no small ax to grind, comes forward with a preposterous story at a preposterous time, and MSM treats her like she had a sconce of credibility.

The problem is, Democrats, as a whole, have no scruples at all and think it is perfectly proper for their candidate(s) to behave like Chicago thugs, while totally disparaging the Republican who have a iota of imperfection in their "character."

Democrats see facts where there are none, draw erroneous conclusions from the facts that are and hold to their illogical ideology at all costs.

So on we go to Florida.

Whoever wins Florida will likely be the nominee for the Republicans.

Like I said, "Anybody But Obama."

SUNDAY RESPITE-Midnight Cry-John Starnes

THE "EVILS" OF CAPITALISM

Let me start out by stating that I am a died-in-the-wool, unapologetic capitalist.

In its purest form, capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

It is a sad thing that in our country capitalism has been corrupted by politicians who have tried to use it to their advantage to get re-elected and business have tried to use it to their advantage to influence politicians to pass laws and/or regulations that favor them.

In a proper capitalistic society, a person (or persons) comes up with an idea that he believes people need or want, finds investors who believe the idea is good, produce the product or service and sell it to as many people as they can...if it will sell at all.

That last part is called "risk," for in a capitalist society a product might not sell at all or it might sell like iPods, it even become an icon like the Slinky.

Productivity is the key in a capitalist society.

When goods and services are produced, they are then sold at a profit. If they are not sold at a profit, the company that makes or provides them goes broke.

What has happened in our country is that capitalism and politics has become very mixed, like eggs in cake batter. The result is a sort of hybrid capitalism that produces the results mentioned above.

What we need is to get government out of capitalism and capitalism out of government.

The first person to come up with a viable way to do that will be the most important person in history.

I watched Charlie Rose (my favorite interviewer to hate) interview George Lucas, a capitalist who hates capitalism, even though he has benefited from it in his every endeavor.

For those who don't know (is there such a one?), Lucas is the one who gave us "Star Wars," and other really stirring movies.

In the interview, he was exercising his capitalism by promoting his newest film, "Red Tails."

I'm quite certain that he hopes the movie makes a profit.

To Rose's credit, he did note at the beginning of the interview that Lucas benefited from capitalism while philosophically being opposed to it, with which Lucas agreed.

Is that hypocrisy?

I don't think so, but you might disagree with me. That's OK. This is America and you have the right to be wrong.

The cry that capitalism is based on greed is a false one, even though there certainly are greedy capitalists, and in abundance, too.

But that is not capitalism's fault. That is the fault of a character flaw that is common to mankind.

There MUST be laws governing capitalism. More correctly there should be ONE law governing capitalism: Don't cause any physical or other harm to others.

How one defines "harm" might be open to discussion, but it does not need to take the form of endless government intrusion.

No business should be too big to fail, and no business should be restricted from succeeding.

We would be much better off as a country if government had kept its big nose out of business...period.

Then the legal system, or natural business forces, could deal with those who abuse the capitalistic system.

(The efficacy of the legal system is a topic for another day.)

Folks like those in OWS have made it clear that they don't understand business, capitalism, profits, payrolls, expenses or anything else about almost anything.

But in-and-of itself, capitalism has provided the most good for the most people of any system ever devised.

More "poor" people have been helped by capitalism than by any other system. More charities have been helped by capitalists than by any other world system. More Americans have been helped by capitalism than by any other system.

The only "evils" of real capitalism are those imagined by Utopians who think a benevolent government of dictators or despots can solve peoples' problems.

Note: For a really good discussion of capitalism click HERE.

ABO IS THE RIGHT TICKET

You may know (or maybe you don't know...I don't know) that I'm not a fan of Mitt Romney.

Watch the video in my last post, and you'll know why.

Make no mistake. I'd take Mitt Romney ove President BO (the hcild president) any day of the week and twice on November 6th.

Today, Rick Perry bowed out of the presidential race and threw his support behind Newt Gingrich.

You may know, (of maybe you don't know...I don't know) that I'm only marginally more of a fan of Newt Gingrich than I am of Mitt Romney.

But I'd take Newt Gingrich over President BO (the child president) any day of the week and three times on November 6th.

So the primary in NC is of no little interest to me.

I live in Florida, and we're a very important state, hanging chads, lawsuits and other Democrat falderall not withstanding.

So I will be very interested in the NC vote, but much more interested in the FL vote, in which I will participate.

Of the people left, I would prefer Rick Santorum, but he (IMHBCO) has little chance...sadly.

One of my commenters made a list of President BO (the child president)'s "accomplishments."

o Steadily created jobs (Actually he has created exactly 0 jobs and has caused several places to close or lay off thousands).

o Steadily reduced unemployment (Actually, unemployment's real figures have remained the same: about 17%).

o Pulled us out of a steep nose dive into a new Great Depression (Actually, some parts of the economy have rebounded by natural causes, but overall, the economy is as bad as it was when he took office).

o Lead us on a steady upward recovery from an inherited recession (All recessions and all recoveries are "inherited." See above for his actual results in this one.

o Killed Osama bin Laden (I believe that was Navy Seals).

o Deposed Hosni Mubarak (Give me an ever-lovin'-blue-eyed break! He didn't depose anybody!)
o Deposed AND killed Muammar Gaddafi (See above 2 responses)

o Oversaw and facilitated the Arab Spring that did more to bring democracy to the Middle East than all of the bombs and bullets that Bush exploded in the region. (There is no democracy as a result of Arab Spring," there is oligarchy and eventual Muslim Brotherhood rule...which is already happening).

Truth is, liberals live in their own little world of pseudo-facts. And they will argue with you until they are blue in the face that they don't. But they do.

So, give me Rick, Newt or Romney (in that order of preference).

ABO!

I DOUBLE-DOG-DARE YOU TO TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH THIS

DID'JA LEARN ANYTHING?

Ps AND Qs

I love this response to a question posed to Ann Barnhardt

Q: Ann,
What do you think of the Marines who peed on the dead Taliban?

 A: I have little sympathy for men who live their lives wiping their anuses with their bare hands after bowel movements, and who view as the pinnacle of human pleasure inserting their genitals and depositing their semen into the feces-laden rectums of boys and other men, who suddenly get squeamish about dead bodies being sprinkled with a bit of urine - which is sterile by the way. Those dead Taliban were probably the cleanest they had ever been in their adult lives after being showered with the righteous tinkles of those Marines. Ooh-rah. That is all. Carry on.

In my opinion, the dead Taliban bodies didn't even notice.

MY HERO!

I have a few heroes.

George Washington is one.

So is Abraham Lincoln.

And there's Ronald Reagan, Arthur Fielder, Dr. Adrian Rogers, Leonard Bernstein, Wynton Marsalis and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you missed Wynton Marsalis' tribute to Dr. King on "CBS This Morning," you missed a great one.

I have tried unsuccessfully to find it on YouTube or on CBS's website.

But if you can find it, I highly recommend it for a great perspective. (And send me the link in my comments, please.)

As some of you know, I marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. Augustine, Florida in 1964.

It was an honor and a bit scary...a white guy being menaced by KKKers and the like, while surrounded by people I was trying to help.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the epitome of the movement from rank prejudice through tolerance and to acceptance of people of a different color and background.

In spite of what the Revvveraand Jaaxonn and other black imitation leaders tell you, racism is not as rampant or as evident as it used to be in our country, largely because of the commitment to peaceful civil disobedience led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is there a ways to go?

Yes.

But progress is better than regression in race relations.

One of the things I love about the United States of America is that we can accomplish what we collectively and individually want to accomplish if we put our minds and our actions to it.

Dr. King did just that.

He is my hero.

SUNDAY RESPITE-What Salvation's Done for Me-Booth Brothers

THE WORST INTERVIEW EVER

I'm no fan of Gayle King to begin with.

To now see her on CBS's new morning show with Charlie Rose (another imitation interviewer, whose persona in the new format is dismal at best) and the very dumb Erica Hill (who once asked a blind lady's daughter what her mother said the first time she looked into a mirror after her face transplant), just accentuates my opinion of the political leftism of the CBS "newsteam."

Curiosity compelled me to watch her interview with Michelle Obama.

I hoped we would get some valid insights into the rumors flying around about the First Lady's temperment and her excessive spending at taxpayers' expense.

But it turned out to be the sorriest pile of fluff ever perpetrated on the American people.

You can read the interview HERE.

If they ever lose or cancel CSI, NCIS or The Mentalist, CBS is doomed.

OH, OH...HERE HE IS AGAIN

Andrew Klavan, (born 1954) is an American author and screenwriter of "tough-guy" mysteries and psychological thrillers. Two of Klavan's books have been adapted into motion pictures: True Crime (1999) and Don’t Say A Word (2001). He has been nominated for the Edgar Award four times and has won twice.

BHOJC

I know Jesus, Christ. Jesus, Christ, is my friend.

Believe me...Barack Obama is no Jesus, Christ.

SUNDAY RESPITE-I Will Be Here-Steven Curtis Chapman

THE BIGGEST LOSER...US, AS WE LOSE OUR COUNTRY

In 2008, President BO (the child president) criticized George Bush for making a recess appointment.

Now he has done the very thing he criticized Bush for.

He has bypassed Congress and invoked presidential recess appointment authority to appoint Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In doing so he violated about 20 provisions of the Omnibus Spending bill.

He has also violated the Separations of Powers requirements of the Constitution, and has declared the senate to be in recess when it was not (the Senate was in "pro forma session" and technically not in recess).

He declared in a speech in Shaker Heights, Ohio, "When Congress refuses to act and as a result hurts our economy and puts people at risk, I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them, I have an obligation to act on behalf of the American people."

With high sounding words and that big Joker like smile on his face, President BO (the child president) has made himself dictator.

I was ridiculed for saying he has a despotic personality. I was right, and that personality is beginning to reveal itself with more and more assurance as he becomes bolder and bolder in his quest for absolute power.

Here is the look of a despot:

Mitch McConnell declared, "What the president did today sets a terrible precedent that could allow any future president to completely cut the Senate out of the confirmation process, appointing his nominees immediately after sending their names up to Congress, this was surely not what the framers had in mind when they required the president to seek the advice and consent of the Senate."

If he is allowed to get away with this, all of the accusations and warnings issued by the so-called “nut-job right” will have proven to be true.

And we will have lost our freedom and our right to speak out against what the government does or does not do.

We will have lost our country.

JUSTIFYING MYSELF...OR NOT

A guy calling himself Craig (I have no idea whether or not that's his real name. I, myself, use my real name so that anybody who wants a piece of me can come and try to get it. I'm certain I will be at the top of President BO (the child president)'s list of detainees, which he asserts he will never do, even though he signed an order giving himself the right to detain Americans without due process if he wants to.), asked about my last post (see below) if I was drunk.

He called my post "odd."

For the record, I have had only two sips of alcoholic beverage in my 70 years of life, and one of those made me throw up. Cough syrup tastes better.

My post was about the names of our prospective presidents and referred back to a post I wrote some months before the last presidential election.

Being a liberal, Craig (if that's his real name) was unable to see the humorous, quirky nonsense with which the post was written and actually tried to make sense of it.

Bad liberal! Bad liberal!

You shouldn't have received your education at a government school.

See, presidents should have real American names. Names like George, John, Thomas, James, Andrew, Martin, William, (OK, Zachery and Millard weren't so cool), Franklin, Abraham, (Uh...I guess Useless...I mean Ulysses and Rutherford weren't that good either), Chester, Grover (not the guy from Sesame Street, although I must admit I don't know what street Cleveland was from), Benjamin, Ted (Theodore), (Woodrow? Who the heck names his kid Woodrow?), Warren, Calvin, Herbert, Frank, Harry, (OK...I'll give you that Dwight and Lyndon weren't so good), Gerald, Jimmy, and RONALD.

Don't you see that most of those were good old-fashioned, common American names?

Who in the world would name an American child Mitt, Newt or Barack?

And then expect them to run for president?

Then along comes Fredd, and takes my joy away by calling the Iowa caucuses "King Makers."

(He also tries to put soccer ahead of baseball on the boring list, but that's another story...I think).

I prefer to think of Iowa as Chance Killers (not that they kill by accident, but that they kill the chances of some very good people, namely: Michelle and Rick (both solid American names).

I would include Newt in that list, but you already know how I feel about that name.

So Craig, try to keep up, no matter how much of a headache it gives you.

Would somebody please pass the Jack Daniels?

AND THE WINNER(S) IS/ARE

s

So Iowans have spoken.

Not very clearly, but they have spoken.

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have virtually tied in the Iowa caucus.

One report I read said there were only 8 points more for Romney than for Santorum.

Several years ago, before the last election, I wrote a post in which I predicted the winner of the presidency by carefully examining the names of the candidates.

It was absolutely clear that we could not have a president named "Mitt," because that sounded too much like a piece of baseball paraphernalia.

I also said we couldn't have a president named "Newt," because that sounded too much like a lizard. And "Gingrich" sounds like somebody who stole Christmas.

But I was most assuredly certain that we could not have a president with a name like "Barack" or "Obama," because...well, you know what that sounds like.

I thought we needed a president with a good old fashioned American name, like "John" or "Howard."

The blogosphere was amazed at how wrong I was.

We ended up (possibly literally) with the guy with the most un-American name.

And just as I feared, he became exactly what his name sounds like.  And like his fellow world citizens with similar names, he set out to destroy what America has always aspired to: individual liberty, responsibility and innovation.

Only he strove (past tense of strive?) to do it from within.

Now I still think the name "Mitt" is not appropriate for America, except that baseball (the world's second most boring professional game...preceded only by golf) is considered the American past time, so maybe it fits after all.

As for Santorum...I had a cousin who was schizophrenic and had to be committed to a santorum.

Wait...that was a sanatorium. Or maybe it was a sanitation department...I forget which.

As things stand now (assuming the Iowa caucuses have anything to do with anything), we are stuck with people with dangerous sounding and/or weird names to choose from.

What is America coming to?

A SIDE BAR OF NOTE

The following is from the side bar of one of my favorite blog sites, Important Stuff--or Not

Talking Points
I don't use talking points, I create them.

1. Hate makes people stoopid.

2. There is nothing so impenetrable as a closed mind.

3. A stupid person is not someone who can't learn, but someone who refuses to learn.

4. It is a small mind that has no room for God.

5. You can take Stalin out of the gene pool, but you can't take Stalinism out of liberals.

6. The best way to sabotage a bad plan is to follow it to the letter.

7. The race card is the first refuge of people who have nothing to say.

8. Ignorance is the cornerstone of arrogance.

9. Which is more racist, to hate someone who is not white or to assume someone is racist because he is white?

10. Children are not stupid. If a child is taught, the child will learn. If a child is not learning, the child is not being taught.

11. To express righteous indignation, one must first be righteous. And that's a label that doesn't stick to liberals.

12. Profanity is ignorance made audible.

13. An open mind is a liberal's worst enemy.

14. Paternalism is the purest form of racism.

15. People who bend the truth, usually bend it in their favor.

16. If you always stand in opposition to liberalism, you will never be wrong.

18. Life is simple. People who make it complicated usually have an agenda.

19. Getting your news from the corrupt, liberal media is like sticking your head in the sand, except you don't get grit in your teeth.

20. Liberals' emotional development stops at the age of 16.

21. To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell the truth.

22. Idealism seldom matches up with reality.

23. Those who don't hate communism have never lived it.

24. This was a much more civil country when men walked about heavily armed.

25. This economy will never heal as long as Obama keeps picking at the scab.

26. Liberals don't think outside the box; they ARE the box.

27. You cannot change the hearts and minds of liberals, because they possess neither.

28. There is no such thing as a kind liberal.

Which ones do you like best?

(I particularly like #s 4, 7, 9, 12, 20 and 26...although the choice is very hard.)

IT'S GONNA GET BETTER! THERE'S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DARKNESS-Chris Christian