Open mind and knowledge...

I’ll never forget it, the monstrous face, the sinister look of some undead phantom placed in ancient Egypt. Every time I would pass the store window I was drawn to the image like a moth to a candle flame, peering out of the passenger window of my grandmothers 1972 Chevy Chevelle, I was captivated. The year was 1984, I was believe it or not a shy introverted 13 year old who had grow up with grand parent whose idea of music was Elvis, Beatles or Patsy Cline. The image of the hideous yet brave and definite face that was on display was an obvious attempt to convey a satanic massage too the youth of the day; at least that what I was told by my teacher at the Seventh-day Adventist school I had been attending for the previous four years. In fact I was told by that teachers that no one who listened to such music could ever enter the Gates of Heaven; it should also be noted the same teacher also told me that anyone who ate pork and shrimp were likewise damned to the pits of the fiery beast.You see I was growing up in Staunton, Virginia and if you’re from there then you know how to say it. The “city” that was famous for three things, First; President Woodrow Wilson was born and spent the earliest part of his child hood here till his parents had the forethought to move, second; the country singing group the Statler Brothers who put Staunton on the map with their fourth of July free concerts every year and third; having more churches per capita then anywhere else in the world, at least that what I thought. It was at that very time that I realized that there was an outside world, more than the writings of Ellen G. White a SDA prophet of the 19th century, you see my Grandmother who I love dearly was going though one of her religious stages and any band whose album art was so “demonic” was a ticket ride straight to hell. Anyway back to the car, I would stair at the poster in the shop window every time we stoped at the stop light on West Beverley St. it seem so worldly, creative and dangerous; the picture of the temple at Thebes in Pharos Egypt mixed with George Romero film. I just had to find out more about this band. So where to go? School was not an option to get bias free opinion, nor was home, so I rode my bike to the Staunton Plaza that’s right (Plaza) not mall, to the record store that was near JC Penny. I found the album that I was in search of and to my surprise this band had more than one to choose from this surely was an evil conspiracy by the great Satin. Every album had the same zombie like monster but in different places and times, I was gobsmacked. So I bought the cassette that bore the same art that had captured my attention in the first place, took it home and that’s was it, I was hooked on the vocal sounds of Bruce Dickinson and the bass groove of Steve Harris, of course I’m talking about Iron Maiden’s Powerslave album of 1984. I listened to that tape over a thousand times till I wore it out; while I was walking to school, on the way to little league football practice even at night before bed, over and over again till I knew every word and lyric, I loved Iron Maiden. I could feel their music and vibe deep inside my soul. No other bands style of music or any other genre had even come close to this. Their songs were filled with tales of historical events and fantastic yarns of ancient times. Poetry that I would have never been exposed to like; Rime of the Ancient Mariner the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge written in 1797–98. The song of the same title was hypnotic; it was a poem and an account of ones sin and restoration. To me their music was a chance to leave this small Virginia town and go on a journey around the world, though time and space even explore the spiritual realms that didn’t exist here in the home of the Statlers.For better or worst Iron Maiden not LSD had opened my mind to the universe, it made me hunger for knowledge no matter how obscure or seemingly trivial. The study of theology, history and current events now held meaning to an adolescent of the Reagan era.Iron Maiden’s songs still hold great meaning to me, more nostalgic than life altering now that I’m staring my thirty eighth birthday in the face. I have two wonderful young boys of my own here in the Obama era. I have tried over the years to educate myself and explore the world of the unknown. I respect all religious views be they Christian, Judaic or Hindu. I realize that no one really knows anything; in MY opinion religion gives people hope to go on with life. I’m trying to teach my boys to stay open to new ideas that seem strange to them and never dismiss someone out of hand for their appearances or beliefs. To question every thing they don’t understand and to seek the knowledge of the worlds different cultures and places. I believe that music and poetry are two great pillars of the soul of humanity along with courage and intellectual knowledge.Iron Maiden opened my mind to the world, not to the “devil” or any other demonic force which yearned to drag my soul to the underworld. I believe as Socrates did, that ones wisdom was limited to an awareness of ones own ignorance, a trait that I find less and less in the leaders of today. Education comes in many forms and different sources, you can find it anywhere.

Last and probably most important,

Last and probably most important, Personal responsibility/leadership: debt, healthcare, and everything else I mentioned have solutions which with freedom can be brought to life in America. One of the only places that for now sets the atmosphere for this to happen. So far the Woodstock generations and newer have shit all over this idea. This is where Obama could shine some light. If he were to say, start a non profit organization to raise money for people that can not afford health care then his skills as a community organizer would be put to way better use. It would not only keep taxes low but make people feel happy about what they do to help others who are less fortunate. He could get doctors who might have some spare time on their hands to donate some of that time to help a person in need. Being in his current roll he is forcing everyone to take on the burden of someone else’s problem. Both have solutions, one result in theft andloss of freedom. The other results in no loss of freedom, warm fuzzy feelings, and someone getting that much needed surgery. Leadership focused on personal responsibility is for some reason frowned upon in this country. I don’t care how many beers you were able to down that night or how high you got. Imagine how wealthy this country could be if the "victims" in the ghettos stopped shooting at each other, grabbed a rake and wheel burrow and cleaned up their messy places. If they all had sit down family meals instead of going to a gang to fill that void because their parents are too high to care. That would fix allot of problems if the family was more respected. Going to church, or even just spending a positive day with the family learning how to better yourselves.I’m really sounding like a parent... but just ranting...If you like my ideas give me thumbs up... or discuss it because I’m always open to what others think. I’m very open minded.

economy & taxes

economy & taxes: The government should only provide for people the things that they can not provide for themselves: Roads, military, law inforcement. It should not get in the way for the good people that want to provide education, medical, and other assistance thru private sources. Taxing to provide for the needy takes away the warm fuzzy feeling ... people get by donating their extra income to help the needy. Being a drunk doesnt mean you should qualify for a packet of food stamps because you cant get a job.. getting hungry? maybe common sense is sneeking up on you telling you what you should change in your life. Stop drinking and get a job, that is if you want "change".. that is change you can believe in.

Energy...

Energy: A smart energy plan also involves debt free solutions and common sense answers. Drill now and tap into our resources but dont put your focus there. Renuable energy makes alot more sense as long as its economical to produce. Electricity is alot better and environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. More environmentally friendly cars can save consumers money, improve the standard of living for all, and make those hippys happy. Electricity can be produced pretty much anywhere at any time. Electric motors have tons of torque too. dont get me wrong, I like fossil fuel and its lots of fun but if the goal is to reduce overall costs of transportation and emissions then clean electricity is the answer. Make the move over time and it will impact the economy less. Supply and demand will knock the cost of "fun" fuels down for my drag racing addiction too.

Religion and cultures...

Religion and cultures: The country is here to celebrate everyones ethnic or religious background, not condem it. The 10 commandments are common sense and a great guide on how you should live your life. To remove them is just like removing the constitution from our public buildings. Even if your athiest, most athiests believe in common sense... to ... the 10 commandments ... you can just be good and mind your manners.Racism is a joke in this country.. People poke fingers but when it comes down to it everyone I know lives by Dr. Kings dream: " I have a dream that one day people will not be judged by the color of thier skin but the content of their character" Now days if you judge a minority by the content of their character they call you a racist. If you think you didnt get a job because of your color, you have every right to start your own business and put that Ahole out of business with better service and business practices. Lets see this happen.

WOW

"The requests, made of me, have been to endorse Mr. Deeds, the Democratic Candidate, for Governor. I refrain from doing so and will leave that choice to the voters."

Former Democratic Governor of Virginia Doug Wilder

No moe need be said...

Tea Parties are a good start.

Over the past several election cycles the Left has shown us on the right a “road map to power” for the new millennium. With groups like Code Pink who show up at every televised rally or governmental event that they can get into; they’re very tenacious and resolute in there beliefs and seem to be everywhere. Community groups like Acorn who until recently have built a strong support structure in minority circles; even if it does go under; there’s 10 more “Acorns” to take it place. You have Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, PETA, Greenpeace, moveon.org, the list is endless. That’s before you factor in all the giant media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Washington Post and Salon.com; we had Fox News, Rush and the NRA. It’s clear that we in the “opposition” parties are trying to play catch up as fast as we can; over the past decade we have had new radio personality emerge like Glen Beck, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity to complement Rush’s over all message, the Fox News Channel routinely beats the other cable news networks nightly in viewer rating and we have learned to use the Web and social networking sites like Facebook and twitter as a vehicle to drive our message out too the “wired” generation. Still, we have never used the “mass demonstration” until now. There have been peace rally for decades, civil rights marches, global climate change demonstrations and animal right rally in Washington my entire life; it seemed the left had a monopoly on these types of actions. Was it because they cared more about their causes then we did? No, they were just better at getting folks together; the majority of us on the right have careers and families to take care of. It was difficult to just jump off on a moments notice and drive hours for a rally in some major US city. Were we scared of being labeled a “racist” or “redneck” someone not intellectual enough to grasp progressive thought. Until the Tea Parties, we just sat back and voted, maybe. Listened to the radio and talk at church or some sport bar about our ideals, we paid our NRA dues, read the Drudge report and complained. We never took the next step; very few have ever called our congressman or even attended our own city or county government sessions. But we were the first to complain when taxes went up and the services went down.

During the past few years we came to notice our voices can be heard in Washington whether our elected officials like it or not. When the “amnesty bill” was being debated we jammed the phones and web servers in Washington like never before, the “inside the beltway” establishment was stunned .The “amnesty bill” died and we felt like we had made a difference for the first time in years, what happened? We were told by a vast majority of the media that we were all racist and bigots; so we got quiet, it even seemed that some leaders in our own party were embarrassed by our expression of free speech.

Now the Tea Parties, again we were angered by what we see as wasteful spending by our State and Federal governments. We marched and rallied all over the country which is our right, it was amazing. But how has it been reported? Hillbillies, Klansmen and idiots; God and gun nuts running amuck in the streets, racist extremist full of hate because the President of the United States happens to have and African father. We cannot let them quiet us down this time; we must keep the movement moving forward.

The Tea Parties were a good start, but that’s just what they were a start. It’s going to be an up hill battle all the way as we on right learn to organizations and try to combat the non-stop bombardment of the leftist media, Hollywood and special interest groups like the Trail Lawyers lobby.

This movement must gain in magnitude and scope; national, state and local Tea Party groups must continue to play in the “now” climate of the 24 hour media cycles and instant information age. We must stay organized and on target; not get sidetracked by distractions the left will throw at us like a decades old college thesis written in the sprit of academic theory.

Make no mistake the left is intent on imposing an EU style socialist government, we must stand up now and say no more. They have controlled the direction of the political climate for too long, we must win the hearts and more importantly minds of our fellow citizens locally first and foremost. That is why I have started this blog and why I am pondering whether to enter the “blood sport” that can be local politics.

Thank you for spending the time to read my thoughts, hopefully you will return to my blog from time to time whether you agree or not; the open and free exchange of ideas is what has made this nation strong. Thank you for your time.