Saturday, March 16, 2013

Liberals are Quitters

The title is harsh, but it's time to speak openly and honestly about what liberalism really is.  The political left relies on government and has essentially stopped relying on themselves to bring true progress forward.  Those individuals who believe the government is designed to "take care of them" have justified their positions by demonizing those who work hard for the money they earn and demand to keep that which they earned! 

Liberals have quit relying on themselves and deferred to the agenda of the communal good; this Marxist approach has embedded itself in penalizing those who have been fortunate and worked to better themselves.  Liberals have defined success as stealing from the rich and giving to those less fortunate--a less than noble approach to bettering society--when they should be educating individuals on how to be innovative, creative and a little risky when it comes to money investment and business.  The left loves Big Brother and is on pace to inculcate our youth with their ideological nonsense.  This should scare us all!

The current administration has, over the past couple of years, advertised the benefits of welfare and how much healthier a person is while on food stamps (Lynx card).  They have outlawed incandescant light bulbs, forced failed "green" businesses on us at the taxpayer expense of course, taken lavish vacations on our dime, done nothing to help reduce the cost of energy (in fact, they've contributed to its continued escalation in price) and have created further dependence on government by increasing taxes on business and the individual.  Yes, taxation on the general public actually forces the individual to rely on government because YOU have less money in your own pocket.  Do you understand this viscious cycle?

Unions are grounded in Marxism and rely on the uber left to keep them powerful and relevant.  They do little to further business or better society.  Rather, they corner business and force them to move overseas where wages are lower and the cost of goods are reduced.  Many union members (not all) rely on the "brotherhood" to keep their jobs, even though they may not be performing at optimal levels.  Some union members even proclaim their loyalty to their union, rather than to the company who hired them!  I find this disgusting and repulsive.

But many of these individuals rely on the whole to keep their lifestyle intact, rather than relying on themselves to better their household.  I would add that great teams are made up of great individuals, not quitters!

"Progressive" ideology is truly regressive at its core and should be shunned by those who would be great Americans, otherwise we are nothing more than France or Greece.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

American Politics and Sports: Bringing It All Together

Americans love organized sports, victory and a well honed athlete.  Most importantly, Americans are enamored with their favorite sports team and being able to rub salt in the opened wound of defeat on those who would dare cheer for another team.  So it is with me (and many just like me) who prefer not only athletics, but violent sports like football.  Not that European sissy stuff the rest of the world calls "futbol," actually known as soccer; no, I mean slam-into-another-human-being-at-maximum-speed football!  I mean, rip-the-arm-off-your-opponent-and-beat-him-over-the-head football!

But what drives Americans to athletics and more specifically those sports invented in the United States but not necessarily embraced by those in other countries?  The answer is not entirely complex nor overwrought with deep meaning which must be articulated in such a way as to give Issac Asimov pause or to cause Sigmund Freud to roll over in his grave.  No, to understand our love affair with sports is to understand the indomitable American spirit of creativity and the will to win at all costs.  We are a country founded on the precepts of exceptionalism, adventure and innovation.

Our Constitution dictates that we are a free nation--free to speak our minds, free to pursue happiness and wealth, free to worship in any manner we want and free keep and bear arms.  These ideas were radical when they were penned, contrary to those of England and the ruling aristocracy.  Indeed, they were the reasons we were exceptional and the most absolute description of who we are. 

America's political structure is inherently comprised of the indomitable spirit found in our athletics and our love of sports.  We love to win and we love to be forever in first place.  Unfortunately, this drive in our political foundation has created a chasm so vast and so wide I fear our country will never recover. 

Our desire to win and be first in politics has created two groups, not so dissimilar in make-up, but just different enough to drive a wedge between them so that the end game is winning a race, not maintaining that which made us great at the onset.  That very document written on the backs of those radicals who sought to avoid totalitariansm is now inches from the teeth of a shredder.  The ideas of The Constitution are questioned by those who desire power and authority over those they are supposed to represent and I find it disgraceful.

We currently hear calls for "gun control" and even some calls for "gun abatement," but lack the intellectual integrity to address real problems and care for those who would commit a violent crime before the crime transpires. 

We fear stopping our government from spending our money when it is OUR MONEY.  We lack the cognitive ability to question why our own government has become tyrannical, and while it screams "equality," what it desires is inequality--a separation of haves and have nots--to create an environment to placate groups of people squabbling over scraps while the elite eat, drink and be merry.

And so our government has become our favorite sports team; touchdowns are scored when parties win elections, the losers are those whose liberties are foresaken.  In the end, we are all losers.  I do believe our republic will fail until we once again have the intestinal fortitude to take back what is ours.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

An Open Letter to the People of the United States of America




Dear Citizens of the United States of America,

On this day, four years removed from the election of Barack Hussein Obama, our country faces one of its worse crisis's since the Great Depression and World War II.  Today's generations have never dealt with such apocryphal times, nor have we had these types of looming economic disasters staring directly into our eyes.  Terrorism, foreign and abroad, threatens our existence; how we meet this challenge will define us as a nation.

Let me first help everyone understand what terrorism does to an individual.  Psychologically, once a human has been terrorized, h/she will withdraw and become submissive to the perpetrator, possibly making excuses for the terrorist if the victim believes expressing such "reasoning" will curtail future incidents.  Oftentimes a leader will appear clothed as a savior but revealed to be an oppressor, essentially positioning himself in such a way to magnanimously usurp power from those who only want the perception of safety--safety promised after an individual or group has been terrorized.  A prime example of perceived safety is Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration, or TSA.  So bureaucratic is TSA that if a frequent traveler truly believes h/she is safe while flying, they are either naive or blind to the truth. 

We must continue to battle terrorism on its doorstep or terrorism will win here at home.  Signs of a terrorist victory are demonstrated by a scared populace who willingly give up freedoms, not by terrorists conquering lands or defeating armies.  George Bush capitalized on our fears when he passed the Patriot Act giving the government unprecedented power and insight into our personal lives.  Barack Obama has shied away from aggressively challenging our foreign enemies but has assaulted our right to keep and bear arms.  Obama, however, has done so in a very strategic manner--the impact of his actions are minimal until the opportunity arises to push additional legislation through.  Each time an attack is committed with firearms the call to "do something" will be shouted from the roof tops and our legislators will do just that: something.  Something, in this case, shall be defined as stripping the citizenry of another right.  Slowly but surely as a nation we become weaker, and slowly but surely our government gleans more power.

Our Constitution is the fabric from which our country was sewn.  Frequent interpretation lessens its validity and each time the citizenry allows our elected officials to interpret it, our country suffers.  Now I would like to clarify that some amending has been instrumental in our evolution as a free society: women and minority suffrage are prime examples of required amending.  But continued relenting by the populace to allow our elected officials to bend The Constitution to their will opens each of us to being controlled by the very people whose only job is to protect the document they are bending!  How disastrous and mortifying these days are for each of us. 

To what am I alluding when I talk about interpretation or bending of our Constitution?  As I stated above, the most recent assault on our rights has come via presidential order.  The cold hard truth is our most powerful elected official has decided to redefine what constitutes an "assault" weapon and how many rounds a weapon can and will hold.  To minimize casualties during sinister and murderous shootings, the president and his minions have decided these ideas are in our best interest.  The government has also called for a national gun registry, which outwardly sounds okay, but what we don't comprehend is that our elected officials will be the deciders of who can own a weapon and who can't.  Should I not pay a speeding ticket or post something to some social media site a government official doesn't like, my name could appear as one not qualified to own a firearm.  As far reaching as this may sound, ideas such as these are being seriously considered on the federal level.  Some congressmen have even bantered around the possibility of the forced disarming of America!  These are your elected officials who have sworn an oath to protect The Constitution, the same document that protects our right to keep and bear arms.

Next, I would like to briefly discuss the economic disaster we have staring directly at us.  Our country is over sixteen trillion dollars in debt with much of that debt owned by China--a sworn enemy to freedom and democracy.  To default on our debt would be globally disastrous; to borrow any more money from China or any other country is equally disastrous.  Our president, and many on his side of the aisle have called for increased taxation in order to pay down much of our debt; thus far, there have been no signs that spending will be curbed on the federal level. 

We have been called upon as patriots to help our country pay its debt.  I do not believe there is an American reading this who doesn't believe h/she should help, but when is enough really enough?  The truth is if everyone making $250,000 per year and above were taxed at 100%, our debt still wouldn't be paid.  How do we pay the debt, then, without creating another market disaster?  It's really quite simple--stop spending.  How does the cessation of spending impact America?  Obviously, the absolving or cutting back on many programs and jobs will hurt some, but our government is out of control.  The United States Senate has not passed a budget in almost four years!  Why haven't they passed a budget you may ask?  Because they know they can't curtail their appetite for spending your money.  Should we give in and pay more money (taxes) our government will do nothing but spend it--this is their legacy and this is our president's history.

The quick and easy solution to our problems are to demand tougher penalties for criminals and those who assist criminals up to and including a speedy trial (Constitutionally protected) and a speedy penalty (death if required).  I have no problem paying more money to hire more police officers, so long as those police officers aren't a part of the bureaucratic mess (IE. unions, etc.).  What I do have a problem with is paying money into ineffectual programs that do not have success rates above eighty percent (it doesn't matter the program, should it not be successful by this definition, federal funding should be pulled immediately).  I do not believe the government has the ability to run a business, nor should it embroil itself in the private sector.  Bank bailouts, government loans and mandating nationalized insurance are areas our elected officials have no place in delving.  Government health has proven itself a failure time ad nauseum in other countries and there's no reason to believe it will be successful here.

Lastly, I want to point out that I still believe in the United States of America and I believe she will survive in spite of our elected officials, not because of them.  Our country's leaders have specific duties as outlined by our legal documents.  Now is the time for us to hold them accountable, demand term limits for congressmen/women, make them adhere to budgets and pay back our debt.  They must never be allowed to dig us in a hole like this again, ever!

I call on each of you to write and call your elected officials and demand a return to responsibility, both personal and governmental, fiscal and social.  Only then will our nation prosper and move forward with absolution.  Until then, the word "forward" will only be recognized as a campaign slogan.

Sincerely,


Howard Upton

Sunday, January 20, 2013

2013-A New Year/Same Results

We all lived through the Zombie Apocalypse, Mayan Apocalypse, Nostradamus Effect and perceived Bible prophecy.  December 22nd came around just like December 21st without significant world wide occurrence.  Unfortunately, the U.S. reeled, and is still reeling, from the shocking mass murder of twenty children and six teachers by an obviously disturbed young man.

Our country plunged headlong off the fiscal cliff, while congress and the President elected to come to some sort of outrageous agreement post-mortem.  Our economy creeps along at the speed of smell and our government continues to reign in any potential for real recovery.  Violent crime grabs headlines even though gun crimes are down overall around the country--but we shan't allow that to stand in the way of sensational headlines, shall we?

The University of Alabama won back-to-back national championships in football defeating a clearly outclassed Notre Dame team.  The college football world imagined a return of Rudy in South Bend, IN and Manti Teo imagined having a real girlfriend.  The Southeastern Conference brought home its seventh national championship in as many years and the state of Alabama held on to the crystal ball for its fourth consecutive season.

A not so quiet attack on Constitutional rights continued into the new year with talk of gun and ammunition control.  Our president and vice-president were sworn in and a grand party scheduled to the tune of 170 million tax payer dollars.  Let me re-type that for you--that's one hundred seventy MILLION United States dollar bills.  That's all of us paying our fair share so D.C. can party like it's 2099.  To put this in perspective, I gave a guy a couple of bucks the other day who was begging for enough money to purchase a sandwich.  This fellow is from the south side of Chicago.  Guess who else is from Chicago (well, sort of)?

And after all the craziness that is the United States, still we fight about what "is" really is.  So many are concerned with scoring political points and securing power that our future generations are left wondering if this country is all it's really cracked up to be.  The one thing we can all agree upon is that it needs to be fixed.  How we fix it is what we continue to argue about.

The last thing we can all agree on is that the University of Alabama is one dominating football team and the Southeastern Conference is the most dominating conference in the world of college football.  You see?  The year has changed but the results remain the same.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Falling Victim to Corporate Marketing

I admit it.  I took the bait hook, line and sinker.  The History Channel (both one and two) sucked me in with all the talk about the Mayan Apocalypse (perhaps because I've visited Chichenitza personally), Ancient Aliens, Kulkukahn, aligned planets, certain death and destruction and the possibility of sentient awakening.  Yes, I sat mesmerized in front of my television for weeks on end, superfluously engaged in television marketing carried out in perfect form.

I've prepped (just in case), considered the remote possibility that the world could end on the Winter Solstice for no good reason other than I had it ram-rodded into my brain, albeit voluntarily, for several weeks on cable television and on the Internet.  All the while I thought my own mind stronger than that storm trooper tricked by Obi Wan Kenobi on Tatooine by a Jedi mind trick.  I failed dismally.  Master Yoda would have kicked me out of his swamp on day one after realizing how easily I could fall for the simplest of mind gaffs.

Now we find ourselves moving into 2013 and I've begun scratching my head at those who fear the number thirteen for no apparent reason at all.  I have to wonder if I will fall prey to the superstition created after the Knights Templar were rounded up and slaughtered on Friday the 13th.  Yes, I've researched that too.  It would seem that many humans have both a fear of the end times AND a morbid fascination with it.  And it would seem that I am one of those many humans.  I type this both proudly and ashamedly.

Honestly, I wondered if and how the Earth would end--solar flares, alien invasion, nuclear war, Gog/Magog, power grid corruption, massive computer failure, polar shift, global anarchy, earthquakes, floods, food shortages, global warming...............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggghhhh!!!

So now I am forced to face the world on the 22nd of December.  Luckily I love life and all that it offers--the bad and the good.  I have Christmas to look forward to, a new year to ring in, time with family, a road trip to make, hard decisions to face, and all the stuff in between. 

We can all thank the Mayans for their inexorable ability to tell time, Nostradamus for predicting Hitler's rise and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Holy Bible for telling us that "no one knows the time or day" that everything will end.  Living life one day at a time should probably resonate with us all, but most especially me!



Sunday, December 16, 2012

Music-Medicine for the Stricken Soul

We are all moved by certain things in life: religion, sports, politics, hobbies, movies, television, and on-and-on the list goes.  No doubt that all of those things listed above (and many more) shape and mold us as humans and separate us from the animal kingdom.  It's also interesting to note every person on the planet is motivated and moved by different things and inspired to greatness or mediocrity by his/her environment and personality.  Truly, the things that drive and captivate us make up our invisible human fingerprint.

One thing, however, has proven to be the universal commonality amongst mankind throughout our evolution as an intelligent species: music.  No matter the genre, people are drawn to the rhythm, math, melodies and harmony made by talented musicians.  Genius is often exhibited in the stories told by blues singers, wisdom of the ages demonstrated in the classics, tears ripped from our eyes by the soulful sounds of church hymns. 

What is about music that speaks to us?  I prefer to think of it as food for my soul, nourishment for a hungry spirit.  Music has the uncanny ability to make me smile, laugh, cry, dance, scream and mourn.  Nothing else on Earth has the power to move an individual like a heaven-sent song, whether that song be sung or simply played. 

Do you pay attention to the "score," or background music, during a movie?  Whether you think you do or not, I can assure you your soul hears it.  Imagine a movie or television program without music!  How boring would that be?  How would a twelve hour car ride be with no radio?  No thanks. 

The most important thing music seems to offer is healing.  Native American chanting, Tibetan Buddhist chanting, peaceful Beetles tunes or the haunting sound of Amazing Grace will stir that inner self that we all struggle to understand and know. 

I hope this moves you to listen to more music..........


  

Monday, December 3, 2012

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

You thought this title was about Christmas and New Years?  Boy are you wrong!  The most wonderful time of the year for me is the BCS national championship game, more commonly referred to as the SEC Crystal. 

This marks the seventh year in a row that a Southeastern Conference football team will play for the national championship.  It marks the fourth year in a row there has been much rejoicing about football in the state of Alabama, as The University of Alabama brought home the big boy trophy in 2009 and 2011, while cross state rival Auburn University won it in 2010.  This will also mark the seventh year in a row there is much gnashing of teeth across the nation, especially outside the SEC.  Screams of "easy schedule," "down year," "media bias," and other such nonsense permeates the minds and lips of the unknowing armchair football analyst.

Remarkably, the SEC has demonstrated its dominance in collegiate football year over year by not only winning championships, but by placing the most talented athletes in the National Football League.  Names like Mark Ingram, Cam Newton, Trent Richardson and on-and-on reverberate throughout the League.  And while the cries of a playoff resound around the country, this year alone, had there been a playoff, would have allowed for two SEC teams to play in it.

There are certainly talented athletes at every major college football program, but to deny the current superiority of the SEC is to deny reality.  Will there be a significant polar football shift some day?  Possibly.  But that shift may not happen any time soon, as the conference's focus on winning national titles is only outdone by, well, nothing.

My prediction for the upcoming national championship game, which pits number one Notre Dame versus number two Alabama is this:  an Alabama victory by no less than ten points.  After the game we will hear about the strength of a probation ladened Ohio State team and how it could have beaten Alabama, or someone will note that Bama was beaten by SEC newcomer Texas A&M, but none will want to admit that the University of Alabama has created a dynasty among the collegiate faithful. 

So, with that I bid everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  And I would also like to bid everyone a very merry Roll Tide Roll!!

Rammer jammer yella hammer
Give 'em hell Alabama!
Rooooooll Tide Roll!




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