So I haven't been back for a while, but lately my mind has turned toward 2016.  Yes, the next election.  I don't think James Madison or George Washington or Abraham Lincoln will be on the ballot, and probably not John Quincy Adams or FDR.  We just don't have those types of leaders any more, or for that matter those kinds of brilliant political thinkers.  So, what will we get?  Or better yet, what do we need?  It came to mind that what we need is Vladimir Putin!!!  What?  Yep, Mr. KGB himself.  The Crimea land grabber. No, I'm not kidding.  I was having a discussion with my neighbor the other day and we hit on one important aspect of the Crimea showdown.  Well, not exactly a showdown or a standoff.  More like what a real leader does, not what we presently have in the White House.  I don't mean we need a Russian agent, but what we do need is strong leadership.  Let's remember, Putin came to power in a Russia that was down on it's knees. He knew that the only way to bring it back was to act without fear.  He could care less what the rest of the world thinks.  He has done what he thinks, and knows, his people want.  The Crimea's population is vastly of Russian ancestry, they think Russian, call themselves Russian.  They were in no mood for Western democracy.  The "revolution" in the Ukraine was not to their liking.  Putin merely took advantage of the situation, "protecting" the pro-Russian population.  Now, let's go back in history a bit.  You may claim that Hitler entered Austria under the same disguise of protecting the German heritage of the population.  Okay, fair enough.  Back further.  Texas.  Do you know why I mention Texas?  We, that is the US, land grabbed Texas from Mexico to protect the so called Americans.  Andrew Jackson disregarded orders and land grabbed Florida from Spain.    Ancient history.  Hey some might say that Lincoln land grabbed the Confederacy, but that's another story all together.  But you have to give props to Putin since his land grab was done without a single dead body, or at least as far as we know.

Now, what might we do to punish the Russians?  Hey, I have an idea!  Let's go to Alaska and grab it from...oh, never mind.

It's just plain silly to think that Putin cares one iota what sanctions are leveled against him and his country. He knows that Europe depends on Russia for raw materials.  He was smart enough to land grab to the west.
Don't go east Vlad, that's China over there and among other things you don't want to steal from the Chinese.

So, except for the need for new maps, does it make much of a difference that Crimea is now part of Russia? He faced down the rest of the world and it looks like he's won.

We used to have that kind of strong presence in the White House.  I don't think Putin would have messed with Reagan.  And remember that Kennedy faced down Nakita over Cuba.  Nobody messed with Ike or Truman.  And we didn't need weapons to show our strength.  We needed strong leadership.  We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

The downfall of our nation is the lack of spirit.  The lack of leadership.  The lack of will.  It comes from the top down.  Weakness at the top, like a roof full of holes, causes the house  to crumble.

To all my Facebook friends are relatives:  Clearly Mr. Snowden has touched a nerve.  The US is hot on his trail.  Why?  Aren't we all obliged to reveal actions that may cause harm to others?  Take for instance the post WWII convictions of Nazis who claimed they were only following orders.  That was insufficient defense.  Now we learn that not only does the Fed feel it necessary to defend the citizens of our country against those who would destroy our way of life (?) but also uses outsourcing to do so.  BenjaminFranklin stated that those who would surrender their rights in order to be safe don't deserve either rights or safety (paraphrase). Remember that Snowden worked for a private company, not the Fed.  He was given top security clearance (?).  Our tax dollars paid Mr. Snowden and the company he worked for.  He didn't just sit there and blindly accept that his employers were doing harm to Americans.  He did not follow orders, instead he manned up.  Now we demand that the Chinese, who we are spying on, turn him over.  Then we demand that the Russians turn him over.  Surely there is no way he would ever gain his freedom, or possibly, his life ever again.  The NSA actions clearly violate the 4th Amendment in assuming that we are ALL guilty of something or else why are they listening?  Obama laughingly says the government is not listening.  Of course he can lie since it is the private corporations such as Booz, Google, Yahoo, Facebook (yes), et al that are doing it for the Fed.  Plus the US and Great Britain have agreements which circumvent the laws of each country and allow spying reciprocally.  
WAIT, who is that knocking on my door?  
OH, Freedom of speech?  Unless someone thinks otherwise.
UH OH, who just checked my FB page?
UM, why is my online banking...

I'M MAD AS HELL AND...

It no longer matters whether you are Democrat or Republican.  We tend to forget that both political parties are private entities that exist to get their candidate elected.  Neither party exists for the benefit of the constituents that their candidate purports to represent.  We lost representation long ago.  Perhaps it was when the number of representatives in the House was cut off at it's present level rather than expand to fit the population.  Or maybe it was when Senators were handed over to popular vote rather than being responsible, and chosen, by state legislators to whom they would directly report.  Or maybe it was when corporations were designated as though they are individuals given equal status to an American voter.  I have said this over and over and it is more true than ever, "This is not the America I grew up in."  It has been handed over to corporate liars, cheaters, scammers, banks that are too big to fail, the NSA, and on and on.  My despair for the future I hand directly to Mr. Obama in whom I saw so much promise that I voted for him twice.  He has disappointed me to the point that for the first time in my life I am considering never voting again.  He was sworn in to uphold the Constitution.  He has supported domestic spying, claiming it has saved lives.  This is a pitiful attempt to gain support for a policy that is at the very least unconstitutional and as a Constitutional lawyer he knows this is a smoke screen that we should not fall for.  He wants to send arms to Syrian rebels while we still have Americans in need of aid after hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, etc.  WHY?  Keep the money you would spend on aiding people around the world who hate our guts and SPEND IT ON AMERICANS WHOSE MONEY IT IS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!  My goodness, what are they thinking????  Had Obama spoken the truth prior to the election I never would have voted for him, or probably not voted at all.  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well the Dems, whom I've supported since first voting for Hubert Humphrey back in the day, can kiss my, er kiss my vote goodbye.  

I wonder...do those who believe that evolution is a liberal myth ever look at the world and see it as it is, or just how they think it should be.  Do they ever walk on the beach and truly think it's just a few thousand years old?  Do they think those huge bones on display at the Franklin Institute are from some sort of steroid induced chicken?  Do they think that if you think evolution is a fact that you don't believe in some higher power?  Or is it just that you MUST think the way they think or else you are just a gay supporting, liberal, Obama supporting freeloader abortionist?  What ever happened to using one's brain?

The NRA promotes the idea that if everyone is armed then everyone would be safe.  So, if this little old lady in line at Walmart pushes her cart into your butt you just empty a couple of rounds in her face.  There are far too many people in our society that are on the edge, and arming them is ultra dangerous.  What we need is serious regulation.  I don't believe that your average citizen should be permitted to carry a weapon, period.  And our DC politicians need to read Federalist Papers #29 which is Alexander Hamilton explaining the thinking behind the Second Amendment.  The intent was not to arm the citizenry but rather to arm a militia in time of need.  The NRA has, in recent years, distorted the intent on the Founding Fathers.

Teachers with guns???

My daughter is about to enter 9th grade in high school.  If her teachers were permitted to have access to a weapon I would home school her.  I don't believe that this is something any civilized people would allow.  Does anyone really believe that a person out for revenge would even think twice just because a teacher may have a weapon?  Does that stop anyone?  Haven't we learned that even the threat of the death penalty does not inhibit a killer?  How about just having a trained officer at every school?  We have one at the local middle school even in our sleepy town.  This makes sense, as he is trained to handle any type of crisis.  Teachers have enough to do, and are under enough pressure, without having to worry about anything as preposterous as this.

It always surprises me when we as Americans react with shock when countries and regimes such as Iran and North Korea threaten us with their nuclear arsenal.  Look at a map of the world and it will reduce your amazement.  These two in particular are not in the most comfortable position.  But let's take the latest threat from NK.  First of all, they are now led by the third generation Kim dictatorship.  But he is under thirty years old and being, supposedly, under the influence of his military and trying to establish his own credentials.  What better way than to threaten war with South Korea and the US?  That's the easy part, be a bully who threatens another (US) bully.  The problem for Kim is how to get out of this and what to get out of it.  If you make these threats you better have some way to back it up or you lose credibility with your own military.  So, with the war games in South Korea and the US flying overhead he waves the nukes in our face.  But there is surely more to come.  I don't think an all out war is too likely, but a skirmish off some small island just to show they mean business is a distinct possibility.  Then there is the second possibility for Kim, which is to untie the noose around NK's neck.  They can not do business with any nation other than China and Iran.  Forget Iran.  But China has a common border and fears a huge influx of refugees should a hot war begin.  That would be the camel that breaks China's back as they don't exactly relish the idea of feeding millions of starving North Koreans.  The NK regime is basically surrounded and their only weapon is nuclear.  Our allies in South Korea and Japan will not tolerate more threats and military gesturing without having the ability to not only defend themselves but also the support of the United States, the UN, and the rest of the world community.  The last thing the US needs is another Iraq.  So in my opinion the best thing we can do is see this as something to not exactly ignore, but to remain calm politically, not to threaten back, and for China to step up their political and financial pressure on the NK.  Having been to the north of China, Shenyang to be exact, I know personally how close to the situation the citizens of this area are, and how they must be threatened by the fear of a mass influx from NK.  Calm heads on this side of the fence are needed.  The NKs need the outside world.  They need food.  They need money.  They don't know how to get it other than how they have proceeded since the end of World War II and the Korean War.  They have built up the weapons while their people are starving.  How long can this last without the end of this 60 year stalemate?  We all hope that it ends soon and peacefully.