Out of exile!!

 Once more unto the breach...

Finally, after almost 6 long years the Geezer has come back to his chair.  I truly cannot believe that it has been this long since I wrote anything here, the dust was so thick on the old rocker that I wasn't sure it would come off! 

What can I say?  Re-reading some of my old posts I feel like amateur hour pointing out how "bad" things were back then.  They were the good old days.  I am pining for the days of Obama, how twisted is that.  

Tolkien must have been a prophet:  

“The world has changed.
I see it in the water.
I feel it in the Earth.
I smell it in the air.
Much that once was is lost,
For none now live who remember it.”

To say that the world has changed in the last 6 years is the understatement of understatements.  What has happened is a near complete overhaul.  The gloves and masks have come off.  The people that were just merely our "opponents" before, have truly become our enemies.  This is the position that they have carved out, not us.  This is not a fight that the right has chosen.  We were content to take baby steps and continue to chip away at the problems we saw.  By definition someone that is "conservative" tends to be reserved and does not normally react to things rashly.  Well, Covid ripped the band aid off all that.  The left has gone so crazy, that they cannot admit any lie, lest it expose whichever pet lie that they hold onto.  The truth as we have known it, is a thing of the past.  There is no truth anymore.  Whatever I want to be truth is truth, it is my truth, and you have your truth.  Of course, that idea is flexible as well.  If my truth involves anything that isn't PC or woke, then my truth is not just wrong, but its bigoted, or racist or homophobic or who knows what else and cannot be tolerated.  My thoughts and opinions cannot even be shared.  If you don't comply with these rules, then you are attacked and no longer is being discredited enough.  You must be destroyed.  The arena of ideas no longer has gladiators of debate.  Now the arena is full of fact checkers and snowflakes with banning buttons for anyone brazen enough to go against woke culture.  And all the while the fourth estate goes right along and makes public pariahs out of anyone that dares challenge wokeness.

We knew before that the mainstream media was not our friend.  We knew they had a hidden agenda.  Things that they talked about behind closed doors or within their inner circle.  But these things never were talked about openly.  Once and a while we would get a glimpse behind the curtain.  Project Veritas or a hot mic would catch them once in a while.  But it was Trump that took his finger and jammed it right in their faces.  Pointed their hypocrisy and false agendas out to the entire world.  He used his bully pulpit for just that, go after the fake news media.  He took a light and shone it into every hole and crevice, and those roaches went running like Forest Gump, for all the world to see.  So much so, that now they do not even hide it anymore.  Once they were exposed, it was like, oh well, you've seen the truth, might as well go for gold.  Now it is not just the media.  It is professional sports and huge corporations that are selling out to the tyrannical woke minority.  I don't trust anything that Disney puts out anymore.  And it hurts me to say that.  I eagerly anticipate the new Star Wars shows that they are making, with the "New Hope", I mean hope that they won't have woke crap strung through all of it.  They have killed the Marvel Universe for me.  Instead of just going to a movie or turning on a movie because it is the new "Avengers" movie, now I cringe wondering what garbage they have added to push this new agenda.

I went to an AHL hockey game this winter and it was "Pride Night".  All the players were wearing rainbow-colored jerseys and then they auctioned them off, to you guessed it, support gay pride.  I had to endure an entire month of the Detroit Red Wings twitter page being rainbowed up.  I went to a AAA baseball game where they advertised the upcoming "Pride Night".  I turned on the NY Mets game and on the digital wall behind home plate advertising "Pride Night" there.  Now this is just the gay agenda.  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty more woke agenda to go around, I am just using that as an example.

I think perhaps more than anything that has happened recently the one thing that absolutely made my head explode was Megan Rapinoe.  If what I am about to share does not completely encapsulate what I said before about not admitting one lie or it exposes them all.  Megan Rapinoe, former U.S. Olympic Soccer player, for those that the name may not ring a bell.  Ms. Rapinoe, who is a lesbian and an advocate for LGBT+ rights, feels that it is just A-OK for transgender men to compete in women's sports.  This is the same Megan Rapinoe that in 2005 began her college playing career, on full scholarship I might add, for the University of Portland women's soccer team.  The same Megan Rapinoe that has earned a living since 2009 playing women's professional soccer and then competing on the U.S. Olympic Women's Soccer Team.  The same team, with her on it, beaten in 2017 by FC Dallas under 15 boys' team.  Yet despite all that, despite getting a full ride to college, despite earning a living playing in a women's sport league.  Despite representing her country on a women's sports team, despite that team being beaten by a bunch of 15-year-old boys, she is for trans male athletes competing in women's sports.  Here is where it would have been nice to have a news media that actually had no agenda.  Where is this reporter?  "Ms. Rapinoe, what do you say to Ms. Smith that has been on your team for the last 3 years and just now lost her job because of Ms. Jones (formerly Mr. Jones) who is bigger, stronger, faster and plays better, (because he is really a man) than she does?"  Megan Rapinoe's entire adult life has been centered around soccer.  What happens to the women that invest all that time and effort, and they are cut from the team because a man claims to be a woman?  Their life's dream and work ended because of total and complete insanity!  If anyone should realize how amazingly blessed, she is, it should be Megan Rapinoe.  She has risen to the top of her profession.  She has made college teams, pro teams and Olympic teams because she is one of the best female soccer players in the United States.  Allowing men, in any form, to compete in women's sports will kill women's sports.  Good luck to my daughter's generation of female athletes after Charlie becomes Susan.

Well, that is it for today.  I've vented enough that I can't think of anything more to say for now.  If it takes me another 6 years to write something else, I hate to think where our country will be by then!

Who should we vote for?

May 2nd 2016 was the last day that I had complete clarity in regards to the current race for President.  That was the day before Ted Cruz suspended his campaign.  For more than 5 months now I have struggled with what to do on election day.  For much of the summer I was beyond any doubt never Trump.  The way he treated Ted Cruz absolutely turned my stomach.  As time passed and those fresh wounds began to heal I have started to exam my position.  That does not mean that I will end up voting for Trump but it does mean that the last month has been an agonizing evaluation of all sides of the argument for and against voting for Trump.  As a born again believer what should I expect from a non christian political candidate?  Should it surprise me that they do not live up to my "christian" standards?  It shouldn't but yet too often I think it does.  Should I then just give them a free pass?  Absolutely not.  At the same time however I cannot have the same expectations from them that I would my Pastor or someone that is claiming to be a born again christian.  I think this has to be the main reason that this years campaign has been so difficult for so many evangelicals.

So who are our alternatives other than Hillary and Trump?  Gary Johnson?  No thank you.  I didn't like him when he ran in 2012 and he hasn't improved since then.  Jill Stein?  Absolutely not.  She is ultra left wing on almost everything.  What about Darrell Castle?  Who?  That is probably one of the biggest problems with him, no one knows who he is.  His domestic agenda is solid but his thoughts on foreign affairs seems to be a bit too isolationist.  What about Evan McMullin?  Much like Castle nobody knows McMullin.  He is the Independent Party candidate.  Unlike Castle, McMullin's background of being in the CIA in counter terrorism gives him a far different view of the world.  He is not an isolationist and his domestic agenda seems pretty solid so overall he is probably a little better than Castle.  So there are the alternatives in a very quick nutshell.

So now what?  What do we do with all this?  I believe any honest person will admit that only Trump and Hillary have a chance to win.  But should that stop us from voting for someone else?  That is one of the questions that makes everything so complicated this time around.  If both candidates are awful and no one else really has a chance to win what do we do?  Its painful, its agonizing, it just down right stinks!  This isn't Romney vs Obama or McCain vs Obama.  I didn't really care for Romney or McCain but I had no doubt they would be better than Obama.  While I was not a huge fan of either man, I did not have the moral questions and doubts about McCain and Romney that I do about Trump.  What about Trump?  Will he be better than Hillary?  I think he will but I am not 100% sure, not like I was with Romney and McCain.  I held my nose and voted for both of them because they were the lesser of two evils.  I have so many doubts about Trump, not to mention all the baggage and junk that comes along with him.

So what to do?  I can understand those that are choosing to vote for Trump.  I can also understand those that are voting for someone else.  Its been a difficult decision process for me and I have not completed it yet.  If I vote for Trump it will come down to 2 main issues.  First there is a current vacancy on the Supreme Court and I know for certain that Hillary would appoint a left wing justice for that vacancy and any future one.  Second I believe that Hillary would be a danger to the 2nd Amendment.  Would Trump be better for the country in those areas?  I am reasonable certain that he would.  The rest of Trumps "agenda" I am not as confident in.

Obviously to many people Trump is not the ideal candidate.  He is a flawed man as we all are.  At the same time he has created shock waves in the media and he managed to overcome 16 primary opponents and the establishment of the Republican Party in order to win the nomination.  He is neck and neck with Hillary in the polls despite the "scandals" that have come to light.  We may sit back and say "if only so and so had been the nominee", I know I do that from time to time, I salivate at the thought of Ted Cruz debating Hillary Clinton.  Unfortunately that is not going to happen.  Like it or not we are stuck with Trump.  Now it is just a matter of diligently praying and thoughtfully considering what we should do.  I think there has been a bit of a divide created in evangelical circles because of Trump.  Some are and have been ardent supporters of his from the beginning.  Others have been dead set against him and it has created tension and hard feelings.  It is almost as if the family of Christ had to choose sides between Ohio State and Michigan, yes it has gotten that bad!  If the last 5 months have taught me anything it is that I am responsible before God for my own decisions.  It is not up to me to smack down someone that has decided that Trump is the way to go.  If someone is feeling lead to vote for Trump than so be it.  Secular political candidates do not have to be the next Charles Spurgeon or D.L. Moody.  Paraphrasing Ravi Zacharias who might have said it best, "we should look for the candidate that will provide us access to the most fertile soil in which our christian values can grow".

So we are about 3 months away from the Presidential Election and its been almost a year since I last posted.  I don't know where to begin so I will just fire away.

Is it better to elect a woman under investigation who is likely a felon?  Or is it better to elect a man who says "mean things"?  I keep seeing this kind of question posted online and frankly I am tired of it.  I know there are strong feelings on both sides and my frustrations have grown as I have listened and watched several well known "conservatives" that I admired and respected jump on the Trump train.  Rush Limbaugh, Allen West and Sean Hannity just to name a few big ones.

What do we know about Donald Trump really?  For every video clip that exists with him declaring conservatives principles there are just as many clips with him saying the opposite.  I was not always anti-Trump, when he first got in the race I was interested.  I listened to him and watched him, I gave him a chance but it became clear before too long that he would not have my support.  It was not because I "hated" Trump, it was because there was a candidate in the race that embodied everything, and I do mean everything, that a conservative such as myself is looking for.  My problem with Trump is that I do not trust him.  I do not have any proof that he is what he claims to be.  He has flip flopped so many times in the past and he continues to flip flop now.  The name calling and personal attacks on his opponents are ridiculous but they are not what has turned me off to him.  He has been on practically every side of every major issue of any importance.  When the field included a candidate that was the real deal, who not only said the right things but actually followed through on his promises, how can you settle for a candidate that is as faulty as Trump?

Is Trump worse than Hillary?  I would like to think he is not but how can I really tell?  I do not believe for a minute that he is socially conservative.  Would he appoint conservative Supreme Court justices?  I would like to believe he would but even Republican Presidents that had far more conservative chops haven't even always gotten it right.  Ronald Reagan gave us the squishy middle of the roaders Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor.  George H.W. Bush gave us liberal David Souter and George W. gave us John Roberts who sold out on Obamacare and is becoming more suspect all the time.  What expectation do we have that Trump will appoint another Thomas, Alito or Scalia?   Because he says he will?  I have no confidence that Trump will do anything he has promised.  If there is one area that Trump has provided us with plenty of evidence, it is that words mean nothing to him.  He will say whatever he has to in order to advance himself and hurt his opponent.  Far too many of his tactics are what Republicans and conservatives have for years complained about from the Democrats.

I understand the thought process for those that will be voting for Trump.  I get it, I really do.  I only wish that the Republicans nominee was a little easier on the digestion.  I also wish that the true blue Trump supporters that get angry at those that have some BIG issues with their guy, might be a little less snotty.

I was reading an article today on how badly the Republican party is divided.  In the writers view it is because of the "fringe" groups like the Tea Party within the GOP that is causing the divide.  I do enjoy reading the perspective of someone that has no clue what it even means to be a Republican let alone a conservative.  Any divide that exists within the party is not between the Tea Party/"crazies" and the leadership/establishment, it is between the establishment and the Republican voters. 

What was even more interesting was reading the comments on the article.  The total and complete idiocy of some of the responses is always exciting.  I have found over my life that common sense and logic exists only in small measures on most of the liberal side of the aisle.  I can't help but hear my grandfathers words, to paraphrase: if the Democrats are accusing the Republicans of doing something then it is really them that is doing it.  Comment after comment was about how clueless the "rich supporting" Republicans are.  How blindly conservatives follow "nutjobs".  How racist the Tea Party is.  Comments abounded about how bad the policies of the Republicans were for the country.  Many blasted Trump for one reason or another.  Many talked about how there is no way someone like Ted Cruz can win the Presidency because he is a "right wing nutcase".  I can't stop and wonder just how often any of those that commented have actually been challenged in their thinking?  They are educated from the start in the liberal thinking public school system.  Then they go to away to colleges that are dominated by the liberal and progressive mindset.  All the while they listen to and watch the biased news media and read the leftists newspapers and magazines.  Who then is really enlightened?  Which of the two world views has truly been tested and thought through in someones mind?  The person who is conservative and taken slings and arrows their entire life while enduring the liberal school and college systems or the progressive that thinks exactly like the majority of every "authority figure" they have been taught under or see on TV?  Yet time and time again all you hear and all you read from the mouths of progressives are how smart they are and how ignorant conservatives are.  Then the instant a progressive is challenged they name call and claim that the person doing the challenging is ignorant.  They are foreigners to the arena of ideas.  They are small minded and narrowly focused.

The liberal writer sees the polls and the "outsiders" that are leading the way for the GOP and concludes that it is because the voters are sick of the squabbling inside the party.  The average Republican voter, especially grassroots conservatives, see the polls and they know exactly what is happening.  Republican voters are tired of holding their noses and voting for the lesser of two evils.  They are tired of voting for people that say one thing and get to Washington and ignore the voters that got them elected.  They are tired of the leaders of the party not leading.  The voters elected them to stand up against a President who's policies they believe are harming this country.  Instead what the country got was more of the same.  Leaders that tell us we can't change this or the President will veto that.  Jelly spine career politicians that are more concerned about their jobs and being liked then actually standing for the principles that they say they believe in, at least when it is time for their re-elections.  Unlike the writer of the article I read, I speak from at least a little bit of authority because I am one of these voters. 

Where does the time go?  It has been almost 10 months since I last posted here.  I have thought about writing many times and actually started a few times but never finished anything and never seemed to carve out time to do it.  For months now I have been constantly reminded of how time seems to escape me more and more as I get older. 

Life was simpler when I was kid.  I had time to do most of the things that I wanted to do and I did not have to think much about how that would impact others.  Now my life includes an amazing wife and two wonderful little children.  Throw in a full time job and now being a homeowner and those are things that take up a great deal of time.  How does one balance all that and just because life isn't "simple" does that mean it is bad?  While my life might have been simpler "back in the day" it was not complete. 

Getting married and starting my own family has made my life complete.  But wow does that completeness put a strain on ones ability to manage their time.  Should I mow the lawn or play with the kids?  Should I fix the crack in the shower or take Natalie out to ride her bike?  Should I take a few minutes for myself or spend time with Renee?  Should I go to bed because I am tired or stay up a little longer to finish the show we are watching?  Should I sit down and right on this blog or send an email to a friend I haven't in a hundred years or fix the front screen door that the kids broke?  Those kind of things happen more and more and finding a balance is not an easy thing.  The next thing you know it has been 3 weeks and the screen door still needs to be fixed or its been long enough that the lawn is overtaking the neighborhood, ok maybe not that bad.

No one is perfect at balancing their time and I don't always make the right choice.  I guess it has just become more and more apparent to me how quickly time passes.  I seem to remember hearing people say to me when I was a kid how fast time will go.  Of course those people saying it at the time were "old", now I guess I have become one of them. 

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Where to even begin?  I will just choose to ignore the fact that it has been 5 months since I posted last, other than to mention it now.  So now that that is out of the way, as Miles Lane would have said: "lets get it on".

There is so much I want to say and just no way I can say it all.  I will focus on something that I was thinking about today while I was working.  It has been nearly a year since the unthinkable happened and our fellow citizens re-elected Barack Obama.  It just didn't seem to make any logical sense.  There have been days, weeks, months that have looked very bleak to me in regards to our nations presidential politics but today was not one of those days.  If you actually look at the results of our elections over time there is room for optimism.

Let me start with the first election of my lifetime...1976.  I was yet to be born but had been conceived by the time that election took place.  This was the first post Watergate election.  Watergate was suppose to relegate the Republican Party to minority status for a generation.  One could imagine that President Ford would stand zero chance of winning because of the stain that Richard Nixon created.  Well, the 1976 election was anything but a landslide.  Despite the scandals, Ford lost the election by less than 2% of the popular vote, about 1.7 million people and 297-240 in the Electoral College.  Ford actually carried 27 states to Carters 23.  If any election should have been a blow out for the Democrats 1976 should have been it.

There was a blowout in 1980 but it was for the Republicans.  Ronald Reagan beat President Carter by almost 10% in the popular vote, 489-49 in the Electoral College and he carried 44 states.  Carter's defeat was the biggest by a sitting president since William Howard Taft was defeated in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt.  The Republican Party had returned to prominence in 4 short years, due in large part to Carter's incompetence and Reagan's conservative optimism.

1984 was an even bigger landslide.  Reagan defeated Walter Mondale by over 18% in the popular vote, 525-13 in the Electoral College and he carried 49 states in one of the biggest election landslides we have ever seen.

1988 saw George H. W. Bush ride Reagan's coattails to an almost 8% win over Michael Dukakis, 426-111 in the Electoral College and carrying 40 states.

1992 saw Bill Clinton win the presidency with only 43% of the popular vote.  Carrying 32 states and winning in the Electoral college 370-168.  Ross Perot got almost 19% of the vote, sealing President Bush's defeat.

1996 was a sequel of the 3 way race, this time seeing Clinton win with just over 49% of the popular vote, beating Bob Dole 379-159 in the Electoral College and carrying 31 states.  Perot dropped to only 8.4% of the vote.

2000 was a squeaker.  George W. carried 30 states, won 271-266 in the Electoral College and became the 4th person to win the presidency despite losing the popular vote (48.4% to 47.9%) about 500,000 votes.

2004 was a little less of a nail biter for Bush.  He carried 31 states, winning the Electoral College 286-251 and becoming the first President in 16 years to get more than 50% of the popular vote.

2008 saw Obama beat McCain 365-173, while carrying 28 states and getting 52.9% of the vote.

In 2012 Obama become the first President to win re-election while getting fewer popular and Electoral College votes.  332-206, 26 states and 51.1%.

I give all these stats to point out facts.  The media, the left and the establishment Republicans all blame the "right" for everything that is wrong.  They say that the reason for the lack of recent success for Republican party is that the tea party and the conservatives that are pulling the party too far to the right.  Horse pucky!  Look at these elections.  The only real conservative was Reagan and he won two HUGE victories.  When were Republicans defeated?  First was in 1992.  The country thought that George H. W. Bush was going to be Reagan's "heir".  When he failed to fill the shoes they threw him overboard.  Ross Perot split enough of the vote to guarantee a Democrat would be president.

The next defeat was 1996.  The Republicans nominated moderate Bob Dole who looked old and stiff next to the younger Clinton.  Dole was "the next in line".  He had been in Washington for almost 30 years and was the poster boy for the "establishment".

Then next loss came in 2008.  Ancient moderate John McCain against youthful eloquent Barack Obama.  McCain had been in Washington for 25 years and was the media's darling for ripping his own party and being a "maverick".  He was "the next in line" because he was runner up to George W. 8 years before.  I held my nose and pulled the lever for him.

Then came moderate Mitt Romney, a former governor of the socialist state of Massachusetts.  He wasn't my first choice, or second choice, or third choice, or fourth choice but he was "the next in line".  Held my nose again.

What do the last 3 "losers" have in common?  They are moderate, big government Republicans.  It seems to me that it is the moderates that lose presidential elections for the Republicans.  Now Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are suppose to be the problem with the party.  Try again.  2016 can't come fast enough and there are some REAL conservatives that are rising stars.  A showdown is already underway between the old guard and these new stars.  The people are with the new kids and they are winning.  A tidal wave is coming, first in 2014.  It is going to wash away some of the entrenched big government Republicans that inhabit our nations capital.  Then on to 2016.

Tomorrow we observe a holiday meant to remember those that have served our country by wearing the various uniforms of our armed forces.  We think of those that paid the ultimate price to preserve not only our freedom and liberty but to spread the same to countless millions around the world.

I have always respected those in the military.  My father was in the army reserves during Vietnam.  My grandfather was in the 10th Mountain Division in WWII and saw action in the pacific.  My great grandfather was in the army during the first world war but did not see action.  I have grown up in a family that honored those who served in the military.  But this year something has happened to me.  I can't explain it completely other than to say that maybe it is because my grandfather is gone now.  Or maybe it is because I see a total and complete lack of leadership in this country.  Whatever it is this Memorial Day "season" has hit me very hard.

In the past year I have watched as our president has done nothing in the face of attacks that cost the lives of not only a U.S. ambassador but also 3 other Americans.  Two of those men were nothing short of heroes.  In the face of what seems to be direct orders to stand down, they ignored the order and flew a plane to do what the men and women in our armed services have always done, rush to the aid of countrymen in need.  My heart goes out to the families of these men that have seen NOTHING done to hold anyone accountable and bring the murderers to justice.

I have watched as this president and the trash he has chosen to surround himself with, have allowed political expediency and political correctness to trump national security, integrity, truth, honor and leadership.  I have watched the lap dogs in the media do nothing but ignore scandal after scandal.  I can't help but wonder what the same scoundrels in the media would think if the presidents name were George W. Bush.

I feel like a stereotypical "old man" with thoughts of the "good ole days" but I have watched my country's leaders take a sledgehammer to the foundations of this nation.  This president and the other progressives in our government have manage to do more damage to that foundation in less than 5 years than was done in the 221 years that came before.

At this point in time I am becoming convinced that there are only a couple of men with the guts and spine needed to lead this country out of the morass created by the current administration.  I have been a fan of Marco Rubio and I still like him but we need someone like Ted Cruz or Allen West in charge next time.