Reading lips, and my world of silence.

When I was born, I had severe ear infections.  The infection was so bad, that my eardrums actually burst.  They placed tubes in my ears, this created some scar tissue.  I was unable to hear for the first year or so of my life. The doctor's didn't know if my deafness was permanent, so my parents enrolled me in ASL classes so that I could communicate with the world.  

I began to hear, I believe, at about 18 months, or so.  My parents stopped taking me to ASL classes because it appeared that my hearing was back, although not at 100 percent because of the scarring from the infection.

Fast forward to 12 years old.  I was playing in the back yard with our dog, Raja.  Beautiful golden retrieve/irish setter mix.  I would tease her, and she would jump at me, and I would jump back.  We played like this for 20-30 minutes.  I leaped forward, and she jumped at me again, as I jumped backwards, some fencing wire that we had lying in the back yard punctured my eardrum and ripped out my hammer, anvil, and stirrup.  I was so freaked out, that I went inside and just sat down.  I was supposed to have been doing some chores, but had been playing with the dog instead, so thought I'd get in trouble.  My father looked up when I sat down, and noted that there was some blood coming out of my ear.  Panic attack, anxiety attack, screaming, crying, and apologizing that I'd skipped my chores.

Anyway, they run me to the emergency room, and nothing they can do.  They stuck gauze in my ear, and scheduled to see a specialist.  A year later, I find myself at some specialist in Salt Lake City.  Tells me they can try to fuse some bones that might get some hearing back.  We try that, excruciating pain, that's all I remember really, that and crying until I fell asleep.  The doctor later tells my parents that it didn't work, and that the hearing was gone.

I really began to notice that I couldn't follow conversations like I used to about a year after all of the surgeries.  At least, that's when it really hit me that the words coming out of everyone's mouth seemed to be muffled, or dampened.  I began focusing on the way someone's mouth would shape a word, and I'd commit it to memory.  I'd practice sounds in the mirror at home and watch how my own mouth moved.  I found that I could read lips, but people not knowing I was struggling would turn their heads away from me.  When I would ask them to repeat themselves, I was instantly mocked, and ridiculed.  Just one more thing to make this kid "weird".

Now, when I meet people, I kindly ask them to face me, to look at me, and to not turn away from me.  I get along fairly well for a guy who hears about half of what's coming in.  The hearing in my right ear has slowly deteriorated over the years, and I'm down to about 75 percent hearing out of that ear, and the prognosis isn't good.  The likelihood that I'll be completely deaf someday is a very real possibility for me.  I make sure that I take an extra minute to hear the wind blow, or listen to the rain every chance I get.  I think it's made me appreciate those things all that much more as I prepare to enter a world of silence.

Until that day, I challenge each and every one of you to appreciate those things that you have, and stop lamenting what you do not have.  Embrace your gifts, and talents, and share them with others.  Take a minute out of your day, walk outside, and appreciate what you see, hear, smell, and yes, even taste.  Appreciate those things God has given you, you never know if you'll lose those things.  Anyway, thought I'd post something personal about myself as I continue this blog/journal.

PS If you read this, bear in mind that you must look at me, and I at you for me to hear you.

The art of civility and how to debate with stupid people.

I have recently just finished reading George Washington's Rules of Civility.  Much of the advice is applicable today, as it was in yesteryear.  The attack ads recently, and attacks on candidates that go beyond their voting records are out of line.

I have heard a number of LDS people state that if you vote for Romney, you hate the country, and you are voting for Evil.  Who are they to call Romney Evil?  Who are they to attack him as a person, rather than his policies or principles?  I have heard LDS people make the statement about a certain candidate that he will bring forth a marvelous work and wonder.  I have been personally attacked, and I have had people attack and belittle my wife simply because they have disagreed with me.

It is this kind of attitude I wish to address.  Debate is healthy, and I, for one, am glad that not every Conservative agrees 100 percent..  Ronald Reagan stated that The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor.  It is important to remember this.  It is important to remember the guy standing next you is also a Conservative, a brother, a friend, an ally.  Just because you differ in the interpretation of the principles of Conservatism, is no reason to begin ad hominem attacks upon their person.

We, as the Conservative people, need to get our act together, and come together.  If we can't Unite on the little things, we sure as heck won't be uniting on the big things.  We need to stop looking for differences, and attacking those differences.  We need to start finding the similarities, and those things that we can agree on or we will be handing Obama another 4 years.

I believe it is time that we put away childish things, and infantile name calling, and start moving this country away from the cliff.  We need to stand together.  This is going to be a reoccurring theme for me, because I want it embedded in everyone that we need to UNITE.

Our nation, and our party are at a crossroads.  The people of the United States are at a crossroads.  We can choose a path of Darkness, Destruction, and mindless bickering, or we can choose the path of Light, Creation, and Unity.  Those are the two choices folks.  You can try to justify finding other options, but in the end, this is what it boils down to.  Do you love this country enough to do the hard thing, and embrace those you don't agree with?

If you feel you are debating with someone that you know won't change their money, walk away.  You're wasting your time, and you're wasting their time.  If you feel the need to name call on someone, walk away.  If you are being personally attacked, just walk away.  STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS.  If you continue to feed these hate mongering, fear mongering people, you only empower them to continue their tirades.  I find ignoring them is classier, and ultimately, more productive.

I am not your enemy.  I am not your nemesis.  I am a fellow Conservative that may, or may not agree with you on everything.  Live with it, and learn to find what we have in common, and I will seek to do the same.  I do not personally attack you, and I ask for the same respect in return.  If you cannot follow these simple directions, please place your head in a toilet, and flush it until you think you can play in a grown up world.  There, you have received a virtual swirly, I hope you have learned something from it.

Love each other, come together, and we'll pull this country out of it's downward spiral, without Unity, we have nothing, and right now our house is divided.  I challenge each and every person that reads this blog to begin a course of integrity, of civility and honor.  To begin living those principles that mean everything to our party.  If it would help, I would personally beg each and every person to get along, to be civil, to remember that we are all Heavenly Father's children, and as such, we deserve to be treated with the respect that Children of God deserve.

Chris Stewart and and the Principles that earned my endorsement

Yes, this is the same Chris Stewart of the famed Great and Terrible Series.  He is the New York Times Best Selling LDS Author that has promoted a message of Freedom and Liberty for decades.  He is a 14 year Air Force Veteran, a World Record Holder, and most importantly, he is an honest, genuine man of integrity and character.

I expressed interest in Chris Stewart's campaign, and shortly thereafter.  Chris Stewart himself called.  He didn't have a staffer do it, he didn't have someone else call and try to win me over, Chris called. I asked him some questions, some easy, some hard, and he didn't hold back, and he didn't coddle me with his answers.  He didn't know where I stood on the questions I asked him, and he gave the answers, and said that was what he believed.

I got off the phone with him, and Googled him.  Yes, I'm a Google Ninja.  I read everything I could on Chris, to make sure I was making the right choice.  I found out that the world record that he holds wasn't something easily attained.  During the flight, gas became an issue, and his crew wanted to turn back.  Chris, being a great leader, convinced them to go forward, and to achieve their goal of beating the world record.  They beat the record.  This was true leadership to me, someone who doesn't turn back, but instead pushes forward despite the challenges.

I also read up on his 7 Principles, and found that Chris is grounded in the Constitution, and has a great understanding and interpretation of this divine document.  I found that Chris was rooted firmly in what I believe the Founding Fathers principles would have been.  Recognizing sacred things must be kept sacred, and defended.

I first met Chris at a meet and greet shortly after he declared his candidacy.  I have been a fan of his for ages, and have often used his quotes to debate politics, and to promote the protection of sacred things like marriage. I digress, we drove to meet Chris, and he wasn't at all what I expected.  He wasn't full of himself, he was Confident, but not an egotist.  He was warm and friendly, and shared his message with the small group that had come together.  It was when I heard this honest, genuine man speak that he won me over to his message.  A man that so clearly believed what he was saying, and not just spewing rhetoric, had my vote.  I couldn't ignore the call to help this man get elected.

The third contact I had with Chris was during a recent essay contest.  I was a winner, after having submitted the article.  The Prize?  A dinner with Glenn Beck, things conspired so that we didn't get an actual sit down with Glenn, but I did get a quick talk with him, and a picture.  It was awesome.  We then went upstairs to dinner, where we sat at the table with Jon McNaughton, the LDS Artist.  Again, AWESOME.  After dinner, we went to the Glenn Beck event, VIP seating, and a signed book.  The entire event was amazing, spiritual, and life changing.  I can honestly say that had I not gone to that event, this blog wouldn't have been opened, and that I wouldn't have started reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine. (Review, and Analysis to come later next week).

Meeting Chris has literally changed my life for the better.  He has been so openly concerned about campaign volunteers, and staff that you would never know that he was running for office, just an average Joe.  There is nothing average about Chris, however.  I believe that Chris has been blessed, and because he is such a humble leader, that he has been rewarded, and that God has personally touched his life.  I cannot thank Chris Stewart, Glenn Beck, and Hillary Weeks enough for the spiritual experience my wife and I had.  I will forever remember the generosity of these people for sharing themselves with us for one evening.  Thank you so much.

Now, I'll post my favorite quote by Chris Stewart:

“Now listen to me, people, for this is the key – evil can be twisted into virtue if you phrase it just right. Any vice is acceptable if you cloak it as an issue of freedom. Any immorality is worth fighting for if you tell them they are fighting for choice, if you wrap it in the mantle of privacy and freedom..."

- Chris Stewart "The Great and Terrible" 

State Delegate, and the act of confronting my fears.

To begin with, I have always had a fear of speaking in public, moreso, I have a fear of being in public.  I have been diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder.  I literally get sick to my stomach, and have passed out on occasion. This has been something that has plagued me for as long as I can remember.  It made making friends very difficult, and I'm sure it's added to my social awkwardness.

Last night, for the first time ever, I decided I had enough of the way the country is running, and stepped outside my comfort zone.  I ran for state delegate, and won last night.  I spoke from the heart, having memorized my talking points.  I had 60 seconds, and only took 57.  I knew a total of 4 people at the meeting, and there were 55 people there.  I garnered 46 votes  out of the 55.

I truly believe that if we are to save this nation we must all step outside our comfort zones, and stand up for what we believe.  We must go door to door, neighbor to neighbor, and not only bring a message of Liberty and Freedom, but also a message of hope.  We need to get our community active, and get them involved in the process to choose and elect our leaders.  Even if you don't agree with their personal politics.

We are quietly, and quickly losing our voice in Congress.  It's time to speak up, and speak out.  We must take a stand.  I challenge each and every person to talk to a neighbor, a stranger, friend, or family.  Spread a message of Freedom daily.  I'll repeat this over and over, but walk up and recite the Pledge to someone, walk down a hallway and sing the Star Spangled Banner.  Let  us renew our Pride in this Nation, and do not let it fall into decline.

We abdicated our voice, reclaim it, and require that your leaders answer to the People, which is what the Caucus is all about, choose our leaders, and choosing just and righteous men to be our voice.  Make sure when you make that choice, that you are educated, informed, and know what the candidate really stands for.

Sort of random, and jumbled post, but I've written it thru out the day.  If you get something out of it great, if not, find  rock, and use it like a computer mouse, double click the rock on your hand.  If you still don't like what I posted, rinse and repeat.

Chris Herrod, Utah's George Washington.

**Disclaimer** I support Chris Herrod for Senate, so he is the only candidate I will be mentioning.

First, let me state why I think that Orrin Hatch should be removed from office.  The Founding Fathers never intended for career politicians.  They intended farmers to go serve their country for a term or two, and then go home and live under the laws that they had passed.  I believe that they believed that longevity in Congress bred corruption, and dishonesty, and they were wise enough to know it without having to pass a law defining it.

Hatch in 1976, ran on the slogan "What do you call a Senator that has served 18 years? You call him home."  He used this in reference to his Democratic opponent, Frank Moss.  His campaign was built around term limits, and now Hatch has chosen to ignore the foundation his original campaign was run on.

Hatch has many good votes in the Senate, and he has done good, I don't begrudge him that.  I do, however, begrudge him the unconstitutional, Freedom restricting, Liberty stripping bills that he has voted for.  He brags about writing the Patriot Act (Stripped Liberty and Freedom in the guise of security), NDAA (See Patriot Act), SCHIP (Socialist Forced Charity), Medicare Part D (There is nothing in the Constitution permitting this),  he voted for the TARP bailouts and the Auto bailouts putting the American taxpayer on the  hook for billions of dollars.  Hatch voted to raise the debt ceiling 16 times for a total of 7.5 trillion dollars.  (Yes, that's trillion with a big capital T).  His last offense against the Constitution and Free speech was his co-sponsorship of the Freedom of Speech killing bill PIPA.  It was only when faced with negative PR that he revoked his support of this bill.  This is not leadership, this is Washington as usual politics.  It is the go along to get along attitude that we MUST end.  We must stop supporting Congressman and Senators that ignore the Constitution and Bill of Rights to push their own agenda.  I call on the people of Utah to say, this is the line, we go no further.

Now, let me tell you why I support Chris Herrod.  I believe Chris Herrod to be the George Washington of our time.  A strong principled Conservative that isn't afraid to fight the good fight, even when it isn't the popular fight.  I have never known Chris to put his principles aside simply so a bill could pass, or to garner favor with his colleagues.  He has always taken up the banner of Freedom, and marched proudly thru the Capitol.

Chris Herrod is a founding member of the Patrick Henry Caucus.  A group created to defend Utah from Federal encroachment on State's Rights.  This same organization is single-handedly responsible for the court precedent to challenge Obamacare.   He has lead the fight in Utah to regain our lands from the Federal government.  He has helped create laws that will permit Utah to sue the Federal government to reclaim what was stolen from us.  He has also been instrumental in shaping immigration law in Utah, and fighting for Utah against the illegal alien tide.  He has faced personal challenges in standing up for Utah, up to and including threats against him and his family, and yet, he has stayed true to the Conservative principles he lives his life by.

He is also a very humble man, not a man to brag about himself.  His friends and family often have to toot his horn for him.  He isn't consumed with the search for power.  I think this is an admiral quality in a Senator, and a Leader.  We must have men that are willing to stand on principle without standing to gain the glory.

Lastly, I want to speak of integrity and character.  Chris Herrod put himself at a very large financial disadvantage by refusing to resign his seat in the legislator.  While in session, he was legally forbidden from collecting campaign funds and donations.  Chris opted for the Heroes road, and the road leading to integrity and honor, and chose to continue to serve the constituents of Utah, even at peril of his candidacy.  He took an oath, and he meant it.  He didn't find a reason to quit.  He gave his word, and kept it.

That is why I support Chris Herrod for United States Senate.

Herrod 2012 Campaign Website

For more information on Orrin Hatch please see:
www.hatchrecord.com
www.dethronehatch.com

Constitution, and raising a generation of idiots.

How come they no longer require the Gettysburg Address, Pledge of Allegiance, Preamble, Declaration of Independence to be read or studied in our public schools any more?  The only agenda I can see at this point is to keep our kids from knowing what rights they are slowly being stripped of, and to let the Media be the teacher.

How can you be informed on how to vote?  On what candidates to support?  On what issues to support?  If you forget the founding document, anyone can cloak immorality, and socialism in whatever form they want, and our kids won't know any better..

This scares the Hell out of me.  A generation of Constitutionally challenged kids, for the purposes of this opinion piece, they are idiots as far as their personal Liberty is concerned.  This article will tie into my previous post, I promise.

Our children are taught to question their parents.  Actually challenging their parents to vote for an agenda the Socialist are putting out.  Vote to save the whales, mom and day, don't hurt the tortoise mom and dad.  Please, oh please, don't drill any oil, you might hurt a tiny, tiny bird no one ever heard of.  This is a leftist and Socialist agenda, and it must be opposed.

How do we do that?  How do we defy the public schools, and their "curriculum"?  We start being parents again, and stop letting the government tell us how to raise our kids, and what to teach our kids.  We are the parents, and WE THE PEOPLE know what's best for our children.  It's time we start leading by example.

You want your kid to have a brain, independent thought, and have an idea what the Constitution is, and what it means?  Sit down and read it to him.  I think a copy of the Constitution should be up hanging right next a picture of Jesus, or some other religious icon, as I believe it to be divinely inspired.

We are at at tipping point.  If we fail to act now, if we fail to educate our children, we will face a nation that is no longer sustainable, and we will face a nation that has a King.  The cold, hard, scary facts is we have tough times ahead, and it's going to hurt, and hurt bad.  We must, and I stress MUST turn the car around, we must not drive off that cliff, and we must participate, and lend our voice to the national stage, and raise it up as a unified voice and say, not this day, not any day.  WE THE PEOPLE do hereby proclaim that you are not our Master's, oh fallen king, we throw off the shackles of Forced Charity, and reclaim the heart and soul of this beloved Nation of God.  We reclaim our Freedom.

Declarations, and Proclamations that defined the United States

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

When was the last time we read this article?  I challenge every person out there to read the following documents this week.  The Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, The Preamble, and for you LDS folks, read the Proclamation to the World. For extra credit, read all 4 verses to the Star Spangled Banner, and say the Pledge of Allegiance out loud.  Don't just read them for yourself, read them out loud, read them to your children.  Even if they don't understand, be passionate about Freedom and Liberty, and the founding documents, and principles our country was built upon.

I believe that we must read, study, and pray about these sacred documents, which I believe are divinely inspired.  I have recently become a student of the Constitution, and these founding documents.  I believe that the founding fathers had such Faith, and Belief in it's own people, and in the American spirit, that they absolutely knew that they would succeed.  How can you bring about a document inspired by God and not know that your country would the framework the world would build on?

Now, back to the Declaration.  If you read the Declaration, and the charges against King George, it mirrors much of what is going on today.  The Declaration wasn't just a Declaration for one time, or for one place, it was meant to be a Declaration that would last for all time, that it would travel across the centuries, and mean the same thing now, as it did then.

In the course of human events, WE THE PEOPLE, need to remember our past, study it, learn from it, or WE THE PEOPLE will watch this country burn.  We are at a tipping point, I truly believe that our country isn't 10-20-30 years from failure, I believe that we are within arms reach of failure within the next 5 years even.   We must stand in the way of the Marxist, Socialist, Communism that is invading our Country.

An excerpt from the Communist Manifesto



The section ends by outlining a set of short-term demands:

Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
Abolition of all right of inheritance.
Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form and combination of education with industrial production.

How many of these things have already come to fruition?  I can tell you right here, right now, how this has happened.  WE THE PEOPLE have abdicated our voice, and WE THE PEOPLE have fallen asleep at the wheel, and we've let a drunk driver control the bus.  Now, we have an opportunity to change America, to change the course of this country.  We must vote not only for righteous men, but for men that are sound in principle, and consistent in living those principles.

The polar opposition between these two documents, you can absolutely feel the inspiration from one, and the total lack of humanity in the other.  We must sustain and uphold our founding documents.  WE THE PEOPLE will not fail, WE THE PEOPLE will not walk over that cliff.   We stand our ground, and WE THE PEOPLE need to again pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to each other, and to this country, and I promise you, that things will be better, that we will wake up, and the morning sun will be shining brightly.

I love this country, and it breaks my heart the direction we're going.  It's not just the Democrats that have caused this, Republicans have done their fair share of damage.  The direction the country is going hasn't changed since Obama, it is only the speed at which we are headed in that direction has changed.  Slam on the brakes.  Your voice is important, lift up your voice, share it, sing it if you have to, but share this message, share a message of Liberty and Freedom.  Learn it, Love it, Live it.

Censorship, and silencing voices in the Republican Party

Okay, here goes.  I posted some information that was less than a build up of our current governor.  Governor Herbert supported and passed the bills HB116, which is a guest worker amnesty bill, and and HB477 which would have hidden government records from WE THE PEOPLE.  One of the admins of the group deleted it because she construed the TRUTH as being a NEGATIVE thing.

When confronted, her excuse was she was a worker bee only following orders.  My question is, what agenda is being served by censoring, and limiting the vetting of candidates?  Since when has a dissenting voice against a government gone wrong  a bad thing?

Admittedly, it is a Facebook group, and they are entitled to do what they want with their group.  They shouldn't represent it as the Washington County Republican group if they're going to do that.  If all Republican voices aren't welcome regardless of the message they wish to bring to the party.

This boils down to personal accountability and actions.  If my words are offensive to someone, they can employ the use of the ignore/block option that is inherent in Facebook.  We do not need our leaders policing, editing, and censoring posts simply because they don't agree with those posts.  What we are seeing, even on a local level, is a growing government involvement, a need to limit the speech of those that dissent, and a tyrannical approach to those that post opposing views and opinions.

I am a Conservative, I am an American, and I deserve to have my voice heard when and where I choose, as long as I'm not infringing on the rights of another person.  I was simply stating an opinion, and was shut down by the oppressive administrator of that group.

I can't find a single reference in the Utah Republican party laws, Utah Constitution, or US Constitution, that allows leaders to squelch the voice of those that oppose their agenda.  It's a sad day when a fellow Republican whom I had respect for decides that she knows best for the group as a whole.

These are truly the latter-days and it's important that we hold strong to the principles of the party, and principles of the nation.  It is important that we do not find reasons to walk around those principles or ignore.  It is more important to stand or fall on principle now, than it ever has been.  We must dissent!!! We must disagree!! We must scream every time a fundamental right is attacked, even if it's a small thing.  We live in a time of diminishing Liberties and Freedoms.

This is more of a rant, than a traditional post, but I'm irritated at leadership attacking my right to express myself by acting like Facebook Fascists.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
--- George Washington ---

Trophies and the business of building the entitlement generation.

Trophies.  Everyone gets them now, win or lose.  Play badly, trophy, play great, same trophy.  What is this teaching our children?  What kind of example does this set?

I realize that we want our children to avoid disappointments, and hurts.  Are you really equipping your child to go out in the real world when you teach them that everyone wins, and no one loses?  Are you teaching them to really compete?  What kind of motivation do children have if they think that everyone gets the same reward?

It is the spirit of competition that drives our markets.  It is the spirit of innovation, and the ability to overcome challenges that drives this country.  When you ill equip your children to deal with real world competition, you are in essence, creating a handicap for them.

We are creating a nation of children that feel entitled to the trophy, entitled to the job, to the paycheck, to school, to a car, etc.  We are teaching our children that win or lose, you reap the same benefits.  If you try hard, the guy below you gets the same prize, so why try hard.  It breeds mediocrity, and along with apathy, is destroying this nation.  Do we really want a lazy nation of children that feel entitled to everything, and thinks everything should be handed to them without working for it?

I say let them fail.  Let your children fall.  Let them get some emotional road rash, and toughen up a bit.  It's time to tell your kids to suck it up princess, and move on.  Let's build a bigger, better future by letting our children have the best tools at their disposal, and this means being able to cope with loss, and to recover from rejection and failure and move forward.  Start being parents, and stop trying to win your kid over and play best friends with them, and start teaching them correct, and righteous principles.

We are an exceptional nation, and we, as Americans need to start pulling our weight, and stop relying on the government, and progressive, feel good psychiatrists to tell us how to be parents.  So, turn off Oprah, turn off Dr. Phil, and go be a danged parent already!

A little about me tonight

I apologize beforehand, this is going to be disjointed, and a little incoherent at times.  I'm going to recount some items about my life, so that you might know a little about me.

I was married in 2002, divorced in 2004.  I had smoked tobacco from about 16 to 31 years old.  I have suffered abuse through out my life. I also conquered that abuse.  I am a survivor, not a victim.  I grew up with alot of rage.  My brothers and I would literally beat each other until the neighbor's came over.  I won't make excuses, I had a problem.

I stopped smoking for a brief period, when I wanted to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I was called to the Hartford, CT Mission.  I didn't make it out of the MTC.  I was having a difficult time because I went when I was 24, and I wasn't coping well at all.  My companion, for one reason or another, pushed my buttons, and I shoved his head through a wall.  Not against the wall, through it.

I immediately walked to the mission president, and asked to be released from my mission for medical reasons so that I could go get the help I so desperately needed.  I went to see a therapist that taught me that I could walk away from people making me angry, that I didn't have to sit there and take the abuse until I'd pop.  It literally changed my life.  I no longer get angry, I can simply walk away.

Skip around some more here. I was feeling prompted, so I looked thru Myspace, I saw a cute girl, so I messaged her and told her that she was cute.  She ignored me.  A couple of weeks later, I sent her another message, hey, in case you were wondering, I was flirting with you.  One thing lead to another, and we've been married happily 4 years.

We were married in the St. George Temple, on April 19, 2008.  It was a great day.  The spirit was really strong with us that day.  It will forever be my happiest memory.

Things have not always been easy, and we continue to struggle.  I hurt my back shortly after we were married, and I have essentially been unemployed for 2 years now.  I really began to get into politics when I lost my job.  I wanted to have leaders that would promote business growth, so job losses wouldn't happen as often.  I need leaders that better represent our founding father's ideals, and ideology on free markets.

I have lost 85 pounds in the last year or so, and my back continues to heal.  I am still sore often, and I have pain, but I am learning to cope, and move beyond the pain so that I can do what is necessary to provide for my family.  I do not take any government handouts, even though we qualify, we have managed to find a way to pay our bills, and keep a roof over our head.

I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I hold a calling within my ward.  I know that Thomas S Monson is a Prophet of God.  I also know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God.  I know that I am a member of the True Church.  I know that Jesus loves me and that he died for my sins.  I know that through the atonement, I can again be with my Father in Heaven.  I believe in Eternal Families, and I believe that we should protect those families.  I believe that we are not only Children of God, but also His soldiers.  That we must do as he has commanded, and what he has asked of us.  I believe that our nation was founded on Divine principles.  I know that my Heavenly Father knows me personally, and that He wants each and every one of us to return home to him.  I believe in the Bible to be the word of God, and I believe the Book of Mormon to be another Testament of Jesus Christ.  I know my family loves me, and I love them without hesitation, and would protect them at the cost of my own life.  I love my wife, and all that she does for our family, and I know that she loves me, without hesitation, and without regret.

This is probably the most I've spoken about my Testimony in my whole life.

I have social anxiety disorder, and have a difficult time with large groups of people, or even changing my routine.  It causes havoc emotionally to me.  I am also completely deaf in my left ear, and must read lips.  In large crowds, it becomes difficult to hear sometimes, and causes a panic attack.

I'm 37 years old, I haven't had a cigarette in over 6 years now.  I still crave them daily, but I'm good, and have learned to deal with my addiction.

That's about all I'm going to write, right now.  I'm going to bed.  I will be back on target tomorrow with more riveting political material.

Partisanship

I see alot of partisan politics going on lately.  Republicans did this, blah blah blah, and Democrats did that, blah blah blah.  The truth of the matter is it's both parties fault we're in this freaking mess.  They have the country so divided, just to create the illusion that there is a bad guy.  There isn't just one bad guy, there are bad ideas, and bad policies, bad principles, but those people that you're attacking, and trying to make out to be the bad guy, they're fellow Americans who just want the best as they see it.

Do you have to agree with them?  Absolutely not.  Should you berate them, talk down to them, attack them personally for views that you may not agree with, or views that you find silly?  Absolutely not, we must remember, that United we Stand, Divided we Fall.  If we don't start healing the divide in this country created by these combative politics, we're going to end up in a very dark, lonely place.

It's time to put away the silly toys, and get to work on fixing the problems, and part of the problem is every person in office right now.  It's time to clean house.  You can't stop business as usual politics if you keep the business as usual folks in their same jobs.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.  Are you insane?  I doubt it, you could be if you're reading this blog, however.

We need to focus on those things that we agree on the most.  That Democrat across the street, I'm sure he doesn't like children starving any more than a Republican does.  The disagreement happens when we talk about how we will fix the problem.   We need to find areas that we can come together, once we start working together again, and pulling the country back to the center, and I'll be biased here, a little bit to the Conservative side, I think the country will be in much better condition.

We need to realize that we cannot do this alone, and we can't do it with out the so called Democrats, and Independents.  Partisan bickering must come to an end.  It is time to Unite, and embrace our brothers, and say, you guys in Congress, yeah, you guys writing checks and not balancing your budget first, to quote the immortal Trump.  YOU'RE FIRED!!!.

I love my Democrat friends and family, and though we disagree on many, many issues, I never doubt their love for me, and I hope they never doubt the love I have for them.  We are a passionate people, we are a Free people, and I hope we can be WE THE PEOPLE again.

Participation in Politics.

I am grateful for the opportunity to live in a Free society.  Where I can worship as I please, and I can vote as I please without intimidation.  Do I think the current government is a wise, just group of people?  I do not.  I believe many of them have forgotten whom they serve.  I find that our leaders, with the exception of a few, have failed us in many regards.  They have left us, our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren holding the bag for which each and every leader benefited.

I believe it is time to call all incumbents home.  In the immortal words of Orrin Hatch.  "What do you call a Senator that has served 18 years?  You call him home."---1976 in reference to Frank Moss.

It is time we wipe the board, and start fresh.  It's time we bring new ideas to the table, and resurrect founding principles that have been laying in the dust for far to long.  It's time that WE THE PEOPLE, rise up, in one clear voice, and say.  You will not cross this line, we stand our ground, do what you must, but in the end you answer to us.

Those of you who refuse to vote, are part of the reason for the decay of our great democracy.  Apathy is creeping in and killing Freedom and Liberty at every turn.  Do you really want to wake up tomorrow with gays waving their colored flag on your lawn, while your government locks you up?  Do you really want to abdicate the Freedoms that God has given you?  You are commanded, in a scriptural sense, to elect, just, good, righteous, moral people.  You must vote for people that are willing to defend, and die for righteous things like the divinely inspired Constitution.

We must stop sacrificing our essential liberties for bits of security.  In the end, we will all be secure, but we will have no Freedoms.  I choose FREEDOM every day of the week, and Liberty twice on Sundays.  We are at an impasse with our country and it is time for those people who have been sitting on their behinds to get up, and go vote, be part of the process.  Good and bad, you can't bitch and moan about something that you simply don't take part in.  It is of the utmost importance that you participate in politics.

If you are LDS, then you know that the First Presidency itself has urged attendance at local caucuses.  It is time, my Fellow George Washingtons.  It is time to help apply the brakes, turn this bus around, and get us the Hell away from that cliff that we're just about to go over.  It's going to take every single one of us to hold onto that steering wheel, but by Heaven and Hell, we're going to move that bus around.

Say your prayers, read your Scriptures, read your Constitution, if you need a pocket one, let me know, I'll find a way to get you one.  The Scriptures and Constitution should be read daily,  and at the very least, weekly.  Remind yourselves that one voice can make a difference, that WE THE PEOPLE started out as one voice.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/first-presidency-issues-letter-utah-precinct-caucus-meetings

Political Correctness

Political Correctness is destroying this country.  It's turned everyone into people who don't mean what they say.  We've become a nation of liars, and are afraid to say what we really mean.  Whatever happened to saying suck it up princess? Or sticks and stones will break your bones?  Are you kidding me?  Have we really become so wussified that we can't take someone saying retard, without the entire disabled community raining down on you?   I grew up and I could say Fag, Gimp, Retard without repercussions.  Who are we really protecting?  Are you protecting these wonderful people?  Or are we protecting ourselves?  It's time we stop hanging on to the concept that we have to make everyone happy all the time.  It's simply going to create a nation of whiners.  Raising our families inside a bubble isn't healthy, and it certainly isn't American.

We need to defend and stand for Freedom of Speech, even when we find the speech offensive.  We have the option to stand up and leave if you don't like it, but to hold some company hostage because someone said something offensive?  Please, grow up, get over it, and quit crying.  It's time to pick up your toys and move on already.  I'm tired of trying to be PC all the time, and I'm done with it.  If you don't like what I say, you can kiss my butt, and walk away.  I'm not speaking to make you happy, I'm speaking to convey a message.

Changes.

I have given much thought, in the last week, to Republican, and Democrat. I find both parties to be lacking in much, and both parties have forgotten the founding principles. I feel that the Founding Fathers would weep over what we have become. I believe there is a growing movement of people who are moving beyond parties, and are moving towards a more purist ideology. I think I'm becoming one of those people. I'm no Ron Paul supporter, but I do see good in many of his ideas, where before I did not. I oppose Obama, not because of the D besides his name, but because I view Obama and those that stand around him as one of the largest threats to Freedom since Woodrow Wilson. It's time for the propaganda to stop, for us to get serious, for us to unite to bring us back to Founding Principles. If we fail to do this, I see a fallen nation in our future.