The Right Message

With all the scandals in Washington D. C. -- the IRS probe, Benghazi cover up, HHS Secretary Sebelius' solicitations for Obama care, and the Justice Department's seizure of phone records of AP and FOX reporters -- it's been hard to know what's going on in America's "District" these days.  Wait a few days, and new denials are sure to come out.

One thing you don't have to wait for is President Obama denying any involvement in any of them.  In fact, he's as surprised as the rest of us when someone leaks the latest scandal.  "This is the first I've heard of it" should become his official motto.  How is it possible the most powerful person in America doesn't know what's going on?  And why was he missing in action the night of the Benghazi attack?

As tempting as it would be to harness our energies against President Obama, I think it would be a big mistake to go after him.  With the midterm elections coming up in 2014, conservatives need to focus their message on one thing:  TRUST.

If we can get the American people to lose trust in Obama and other big government types, we might be able to save this county from an early demise.

In my job as a sales professional, trust is the one thing I have to work at everyday.  Every single time. If my clients lose trust in me or what I am saying, I will lose them as a customer.  And getting them back will be harder than ever (if not impossible).  We need to let the public see these scandals for what they are -- arrogance, abuse of power and in some cases, even criminal.

Take the IRS for example.  Nothing embodies BIG government -- and the abusive administrative state -- like the Internal Revenue Service.  They implement much of the country's social policy through a complicated set of tax codes which control every aspect of our personal and business lives.  The limitless power of the IRS makes it easy for them to snoop, harass and destroy lives.  The agency employs three times the number of people who work for the FBI and has detailed information on every taxpayer in the nation -- including your Social Security number and those of your children, every place you work, how much you make, what you invest in, with whom you do business, the cost of your mortgage and your financial account numbers.  And the IRS answers to no one.

People like President Obama -- who want to bring change to America -- use it to mold the fabric of our lives and to influence political decisions, appointments and elections (as was done through the harassment of conservative and Tea party non-profits).

Now that someone has leaked the truth about the IRS, what should we expect out of Washington?  Don't wait for the IRS to correct itself.  This week's hearings have shown the utter contempt and disrespect Steven Miller, Loris Lerner and Sarah Hall Ingram have for us.   These people have so much power that they don't have to offer any answers, apologies or resignations.  That's not right and the average voter needs to know it.  Tying Obama to the IRS scandal would be nice, but shedding light on big government agencies like the IRS is even better.

Another example should be made of the Justice Department and Eric Holder's involvement in the seizure of phone and email records of reporter's at Fox News and the Associated Press.

The Justice Department's investigations involved a Fox News report that described the thinking of U.S. intelligence officials about North Korea, and one about Associated Press stories that the government said compromised a covert agent helping U.S. forces against al Qaeda in Yemen.

On the heels of the failed "Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation, the Justice Department is a prime example of BIG government losing the trust of the American people.  Making this example even better is the concern coming out of the media and some moderate Democrats.

"It seems clear to me that the actions of the department have in fact impaired the First Amendment," Representative Zoe Lefgren, D-Cailforina, said earlier this month.  "Reporters who might have previously believed that a confidential source would speak to them would no longer have that level of confidence."

Holder's reaction is typical of how things are handled in Washington these days.  Initially claim ignorance, then claim it was a misunderstanding, then say it won't happen again.  Holder is typical of this government's refusal to take responsibility while shielding the president from further scrutiny.  As USA Today reported earlier this month, he is a "sin eater" for President Obama, shielding him from controversies involving the Justice Department, CIA and FBI.

Not surprising, the right is furious about this violation of our first amendment rights.  Fox News chief Roger Ailes responded to the Justice Department's investigation by condemning the Obama administration's choices.

Will justice be served?

"We reject the government's efforts to criminalize the pursuit of investigative journalism and falsely characterize a Fox News reporter to a Federal judge as a "Co-conspirator" in a crime.  I know how concerned you are because you have asked... why should the government make me afraid to use a work phone or email account to gather news or even call a friend or family member?"

Again, I wouldn't focus solely on Eric Holder, although he did personally approve of the search of Fox New's  reporter James Rosen.  Conservatives must educate the average voter that this administration's Justice Department represents government without restraint, willing to violate our first amendment rights without apology or regret.

What the Justice Department has done is really one of the biggest threat to journalism in more than 30 years.  With luck, more media types (NY Times, Washington Post, AP) will call them on it.

In the end, the question is whether Americans want to live and prosper in a free society.  What the Obama administration has done is demonstrate that government intervention threatens our liberties in multiple ways.  These scandals seize our resources to pay for his progressive ideology.  We we are able to see -- yet again -- that public officials are tempted to use their power to reward friends and punish enemies like the Tea Party and conservatives.

Most Americans agree that BIG government is not good.  As Obama's former chief of staff,  Rahm Emanuel, is famous for saying, we must not let this crisis (scandal) go to waste.   Those who favor a smaller government must make "trust" the cornerstone of next year's political elections.

Losing Our Way

A few weeks ago, Jason Collin's gay coming out party made the cover of "Sports Illustrated," and virtually every newscast on the planet.  Today's article by the reigning NFL's most valuable player, Adrian Peterson, barely made a ripple.

Peterson, a running back for the Minnesota Vikings, told Sirius/XM NFL Radio last week that gay marriage "was not something I believe in."  Peterson made his comments when asked about his thoughts on the Vikings cutting longtime punter Chris Kluwe, an outspoken advocate for gay rights and gay marriage.

Peterson has been kicking Packer butt for years.

While Peterson agreed that it hurt to see his good friend leave the Vikings, he made it clear he differs with the punter on the issue of gay marriage.

"To each his own, (but) I'm not with it," he said.  "I have relatives who are gay.  I'm not biased towards them and I still treat them the same.  I love them, but again -- I'm not into that.  That's not something I believe in.  But to each his own."

Peterson concluded with, "I'm sure the Vikings organization didn't release him based on (his outspoken nature).  They know Kluwe, and they've known him for a long time."

With Minnesota becoming the 12th state to legalize gay marriage, and set to begin conducting same-sex weddings on August 1, you would think this would be big news.  Predictably, it wasn't.  I stumbled upon it while reading "Bleacher Report," a blog for Wisconsin Badger fans.  I had to search for the story on the ESPN website and other sports related sites.

The Vikings new uniforms were bigger news than this.

Why is it that an aging, out of work basketball player can announce he's gay, and the whole sports world (and most of the mainstream media) go nuts, but the reigning MVP of the most popular sport on television says he's "not with it" and it barely registers?

Is it because it doesn't fit our media's social engineering profile?

I tried to find information on the percentage of sports athletes in favor / against gay marriage.  Yahoo's search engine pounded out the results, with 99% of available links showing some type of support for gays.  They went something like this:  Pro Athletes Take a Stand Against Homophobia in Sports, Discrimination Against Gay Athletes On Sports Agenda, and A History of Athletes Saying Terrible Things About Gay People."  Do you think I could find anything in support of heterosexual marriage in sports?  Not until page three, and then it was a small blurb about Adrian Peterson's comments.

The results didn't provide supporting evidence for OR against gay marriage.  It just scrambled everything positive about gay issues to the front of the line.  In case you didn't know it before, you do now.  Search engines are as biased toward liberal results as is everything else these days.

If anyone should be crying "bias!" it should be quarterback Tim Tebow, who has been criticized for his religious beliefs by sports media since the day he was drafted by Denver in the first round of the NFL draft.  In his brief football career, Tebow has been criticized for wearing his faith on his sleeve.  Gay journeyman Jason Collins wears his sexual preference on his sleeve and gets calls from President Obama and ESPN.

Tebow doesn't cause problems with other players or get into trouble with the law.  He sets a great example for youngsters and has the type of values that should be welcomed in every locker room.  He boasts 2.2 million followers on Facebook and has been named by Americans as the pro athlete who holds the most influence with the public.  Yet he is out of a job, following his dismissal from the New York Jets.  Who do you think will get a job first -- Tebow or Collins?  And who will get the blame if a team doesn't pick them?

I think you know the answer.

1973's Battle of the Sexes

It's been one gay victory after another this year.  The overwhelming push coming from the Progressive left -- including sport media and big time political donations (sometimes 5 to 1 in favor of gay marriage) -- has states like Minnesota ignoring the voting majority and passing laws to allow a  new definition for marriage.  Money speaks, especially in sports.

To the left, sports like football, basketball and baseball continue to represent a new frontier.  In the past, they have pushed  racial equality (even though most of the NFL is black), equality of the sexes (remember the "Battle of the Sexes" where Bobbie Riggs played Billy Jean King in tennis in 1973), and Title IX  which forced a certain ratio of women's sports for every men's sport in college.

Today, the physical, snot-busting, winner-take-all entertainment of major league sports needs to become less dangerous and more politically correct.  Progressives want to change sports from "a pursuit of victory" to a "guarantee of victory."

At the athletic facilities of West Point Military Academy you will find these words:  "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown seeds that on other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory."  Never have those words rung more hollow than today.   Liberals have taken away most of the fun that came with childhood recess --  no more dodgeball and please don't keep score because it may hurt someone's feelings -- and now they're trying to change America's most popular sports.

If the left continues to push for social change in sports -- and they will -- football and basketball will never be the same.  Showing athletes as "pioneers in social change" would make me laugh, if it didn't hurt so much.  And calling "for an end to homophobia in sports" paints a picture of intolerance, abuse and vitriol that simply doesn't exist.

Unfortunately -- NFL lawyers, players' union leaders, and the bureaucrats in Washington -- will not give up.  It's what they live for.  With a younger draft of NFL players coming into the league every year, eventually things will change.

As Adrian Peterson's comments show, the left only keeps score if their side is winning.

Nifty Fifty

Turning fifty is a traumatic experience for some people.  Take my wife, for example.

She turned 50 last June and felt a significant change in the universe when her internal clock moved from 49 to 50.  If she was captain of the starship Enterprise, we would have just come out of some worm hole into an alternate time zone where days pass much quicker, and your hair turns gray and wrinkles appear overnight.

Earlier this year, Liz traveled to Mexico
looking for the Fountain of Youth.
She found a beautiful hat instead.

It must be a female condition, because most guys I know look at it as another reason to celebrate.  Throw a party and see how long you can last.  Buy a car, put the top down and see how fast it will go.

I had no such shift in reality.  When I turned 50, I decided to grow a beard to mark my age in pictures that will live on for years to come.  The idea was to grow it for a year , but now I've decided to mark the decade, not just my 50th year.  That way when I hit 60, I'll shave it off and look ten years younger.  I can start my fifties all over again.

Turning a certain age will make you re-evaluate your life and in doing so make you realize that you need another 50 years to do all the things you haven't gotten to yet.  That means you have to stay healthy and find a way to do it without going broke.

Staying healthy is never an easy thing, especially when you get older.  Years ago, Liz and I took an exercise class called Combat Endurance Training.  If it sounds tough, that's because it was.  Created by some marine workout junkies, our instructor had us doing things to our bodies that only masochists would enjoy.  After about three years, we got tired of our internal organs feeling sore all the time, so we quit.

This year, as a result of turning 50, she teamed up with a friend from Trane company to work with a personal trainer.  As part of her training, she has been challenged to try things like eating vegetarian for a week, doing 100 push ups each day for a week, and running a 5K race.  Having successfully conquered the first two challenges, she enlisted my "expertise" in preparing for the Festival Grandad, Three Rivers 5K race, held in La Crosse on May 4th.

After contemplating the personal risk I was taking (Liz has been known to throw shoes at me while walking, I could only imagine what she would do running), I convinced her that we needed to train outside.  Get off the treadmill, leave the "Ease Into 5K" app on the IPad and hit the pavement.  For my running routine, I would get up early and run around the track at Central High School.  Not the most exciting thing to do, but for someone who had never run a quarter mile -- much less 3.1 miles -- I thought it would provide an easy way to gauge her progress, one lap at a time.

Our first obstacle was the weather.  In Wisconsin this year, spring decided to take a holiday, leaving winter in charge of the weather.  We had snow and 20 degrees into the first week of May.  But like all obstacles, you can either take another path, or put on your shoulder pads and knock it down.  Liz reluctantly chose the pads.

On a nice Sunday morning, with two weeks to go until the race, and with temperatures in the low 40's, we put on our Under Armor sweats and our Saucony Ride 2 tennis shoes and headed over to the track.  For our first outing, I thought we would try a mile to see how she did.  After a leisurely lap, Liz was breathing hard, so after another 1/2 lap we decided to walk to the end of lap two.  At that point, the "Ogden" in her must have kicked in because she continued running through the first mile and half way through the second, before we took a breather.  Another quarter lap later, she pushed on until we reached our twelfth and final lap.  I didn't bother keeping track of time, because I didn't think we'd run the entire three miles.

Our second outing involved running the scheduled route from Riverside Park, through downtown and to the La Crosse River path before finishing at the park again.  I felt familiarity with the course would make it easier for Liz on race day.  What I didn't realize was that it would make it harder for her before the race.  La Crosse is laid out with Riverside Park low next to the river, then gradually rising all the way to the bluffs.  So, one of the toughest parts of the race is at the beginning, where you have to climb a persistent hill before leveling off three blocks into downtown.   Liz and hills get along as well as Superman and kryptonite, so my claims to her that she was "doing great" fell on deaf ears.

Once we leveled off, she did better, but not to the degree that other runners seemed to enjoy.  We encountered two groups of young,  quick and graceful runners trotting past us, some even with baby strollers in tow.  They were laughing and talking, and I could feel her disappointment grow as we slowed to a trot barely faster than a walk.  By the time we returned to Riverside Park, over 40 minutes had passed, which was slower than she had hoped.  Despite my best attempts at telling her she had just completed the full 3.1 miles without stopping, she showed no signs of confidence.  Even her favorite breakfast at The Hungry Peddler didn't help.

Our final attempt to train for the race was back at Central's track, where we decided to run  a mile and a half.  My thinking was to conserve her energy (the race was in four days) and to help her overcome the initial "wall" she had encountered earlier.  Success was tempered by her frustration at anything I said, especially the attempts to push her harder.  "I'm not cut out for running," "Don't tell me what I can do!" and "Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?" slid out of her mouth as easily as the sweat from her face.

I wasn't worried -- because we had a very comfortable couch.

The final piece to her 5K training was to put together a playlist that she could listen to.  I'm sure she was thinking that music would make the pain of running a little easier to take.  The bad news is, nothing makes the pain less.  Your mind may like listening to "The Love Shack" by the B-52s, but your legs still send signals to your brain that scream WHY AM I DOING THIS?  IT SUCKS!

Nonetheless, we spent an evening putting together some of her favorite songs, like "Panama" from Van Halen, "Girls Got Rhythm" by AC/DC, "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol  and others from when we used to head to the bars at 10:30 after work.

I just hoped Travis Tritt's "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" wasn't a sign of things to come.


                                             *                              *                          *


Race day arrived with temperatures in the high 30s and a threat of rain.  Ideal conditions if you were a duck on the first day of duck hunting season.  Or an incumbent politician hoping for a low voter turnout.

Once a champion, always a champion.

Arriving the night before was a good friend, Lu Ann Jordan who had participated in the Danskin triathlons a few years earlier.  Liz initially thought it would be fun to run with her, but as the race approached and she continued to struggle with her time, I think she was having second thoughts.

Nonetheless, Saturday morning dawned, and LuAnn, Liz and I prepared ourselves for the race.  Weather called for rain, so we didn't know what to expect.  And the wind was chilling whatever moisture was in the air.

Finally, it was time to line up. As we reluctantly left the  protective cocoon of the warming tent and shuffled to the starting gate, my thoughts wandered to Monroe, Wisconsin 28 years earlier.

I was remembering a day I ran with Liz's dad back when I was just starting to date her.  It was a hot and windy day, and Don was out to prove to his future 26-year old son-in-law that he could run further and faster.  He couldn't have been much over 50, but he ran like he was 35.  Like all things that he did,  Don couldn't settle for second place.  Before the hour-long run was over, I was bent over, sucking for air and he was running up the stairs to his house, well ahead of me.

While Liz didn't share the same competitive spirit that her dad had, she was still his daughter, and I was confident that she would not back down from the challenge.

With the start, everyone rushed from the gate and headed around Riverside Park.  LuAnn quickly jumped ahead and increased her speed.  I could sense the panic in Liz as she watched men, women and children run past us, almost effortlessly.  I had tried to warn her that some runners make the mistake of running too hard at the beginning of the race, then suffer toward the end.  Adding to the risk was Liz's choice of music now pounding in her ear buds -- I could literally hear Nickleback's "Burn It To The Ground," coursing through her body.

We continued up the hill on State Street, then turned by my office onto 6th, as more and more people streamed past.  As we continued through the intersection I could hear her say, "I've got to stop..."  But after a few quick jumps, she pushed on and we crossed the first mile marker at a little over twelve minutes.  As is often the case, your mind shuts down and your legs carry you through the next mile. Then we hit the La Crosse River trail for the final mile of the race.  With sweat running from her face, Liz slowed, trying to catch her breath.  With the chords of "Girls Gone Wild" on her IPod, she was off again straining to keep up with the distant crowd that was now turning past the Grandstay Residential Suites on Front Street.

As wonderful as the thought of finishing a race is to your tired body, the final stretch leading up to that point can be shear agony.  I could tell the stretch of Front Street that leads to Riverside Park was becoming unbearable for Liz.  I tried telling her she was almost done, but I don't think I was registering on her radar anymore.  All she could think about was the painful breathing and tired legs.

But in true fashion for anyone facing the reality of turning 50, she somehow found the extra energy that screamed, I'M NOT QUITTING NOW!  Putting aside the pain, she rounded the final bend and focused on the finish line.  As we crossed that line, approximately 6,680 strides later, the race clock above us indicated 38 minutes and 28 seconds.

By my calculation, it was an improvement of over two minutes from only a week earlier.  Not bad for someone who used to say she couldn't run.

Now if I can just get her to climb that hill on Hwy 33.

A Real Game Changer?

It used to be that the sports page of the La Crosse Tribune discussed sports.

Not anymore.  In this age of political correctness, the sports page has less to do with actual scores than settling a score.

Take the Jason Collins announcement on Monday.  Based on the amount of coverage -- and the near unanimous praise -- given to it by major network news anchors, ESPN, sports talk radio and magazines like  Sports Illustrated, you'd figure we've just seen the second coming of Jackie Robinson.  Instead, all we have is a black basketball player who announced he is gay.  The media is claiming this is big because he is the first openly gay, active athlete in a major American team sport  to come out.  I'm sorry, but he is an aging, 34-year old basketball player (currently without a team) who is approaching the end of his career, averaging 1 point, 1.6 rebounds and .02 assists per game.  A good guy, I'm sure.  But Kevin Durant or Michael Jordan he's not.  Never has been and never will be.

Jason Collins

So it is safe to say that it isn't his game that people are talking about.  It's his activities off the court that are earning such accolades.  First off, why do I -- or anyone else -- want to hear about his sexual preferences in bed?    Because that's basically what he's saying.  It has nothing to do with basketball.  Or being black.  Or being 7 feet tall.  It's who he prefers to have sex with.

And for this he is being called  "a true pioneer," and his announcement a "historic decision" by CNN's Anderson Cooper.  Bill Clinton said, "I am proud to call (him) a friend."  I bet!  Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat tweeted, "Jason Collins showed a lot of courage today and I respect him for taking a stand and choosing to live his truth."  Kobe Bryant gushed, "Proud of (Jason).  Don't suffocate who you are because of the ignorance of others."

I ask again:  what does this have to do with sports?

All it has to do with is spreading the political correctness of the leftist media who demand we show love for all things gay.  It's an orgasmic smorgasbord of gay marriage,  gay characters on prime time television, gay interior designers and gay politicians.  All being supported by the press/ media, our public education system and civil rights activists.  If you disagree, you are classified as simple, ignorant and capable of spewing bigotry and hate.

Did someone decide in the middle of the night that 2013 was going to be the year of being gay?   I feel like every day, my traditional way of life is being threatened by the left.

My son (and most high school / college students) would say gays just want to be treated equally.  They want the same rights as heterosexuals.  I'm sorry, but being gay isn't a right.  Being treated fairly while being black, female or disabled is a right.  You can't change the fact that you're black or female (although Michael Jackson and Chaz Bono tried).  That's why I support their rights to be treated the same as someone who is white or male.  But you can chose if you're going to have sex or not.

And stop shoving it in my face.  I'll let you lead your life the way you want until you demand I approve of it.

I honestly don't care what most people do in bed.  I'm probably one of the few who didn't care about President Clinton's sex life.  People like Clinton and Kennedy got around, but why should I care?  I remember how the media refused to break the Monica Lewinsky story because they thought it was no body's business what Clinton did.  Funny how 18 years later, the same people can't wait to tell us about Jason Collin's adventures in bed.

As for Jason Collins' announcement, I can't believe the backlash being written about the few who have spoken out against his "courageous" lifestyle.  On Foxsports.com, columnist Jen Floyd Engel completely misses the boat by bashing Christians (who in her opinion) are spewing a gospel of hate.

She writes:   Jason's admission unleashed a torrent of Biblically-annotated vile so ugly, so hateful from the good "Christians" of the internet that I have to believe Jesus was somewhere saying "Keep my name out of your mouth."  She continued:  For every (loving) President Obama and Kobe Bryant tweet, there was an army of judgmental, homophobic, angry Christians condemning Collins to hell in Jesus' name on Twitter, in columns, on TV and radio.

The sad reality is this bellowing minority has drowned out the silent majority of Bible-believing Christians who take very seriously Jesus' call to "love one another as I have loved you' (John 13:34).  This is just the beginning.  Much of what Jesus says in the Bible translates to "coach your own team" in the sports version.  John 8:7 is especially instructive as Jesus says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone."

I do not pretend to have all the answers.  But what I know for sure is people who get their salvation from the New testament would be wise to get their doctrine from the old.  And when in doubt, ask yourself, what did Jesus say?  What days like Monday do are turn people away from Christianity, and make them view good Christians as phony.  It is not un-Christian to admire Collins.

So Engel  asks, "What did Jesus say?"  Lets check.

In Romans 1:24-27, Jesus says, "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women...  Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

In Leviticus 18:22 Jesus says, "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."  In chapter 20:13, he says, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."

Finally in 1 Corinthians 6:9, he says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived:  neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, not men who practice homosexuality."

Sounds pretty clear to me.  Jesus did not favor homosexuality and no amount of double talk by this journalist or Christians who want to reward people like Jason Collins with praise on high, is going to change it.

A pastor friend of mine explains it this way: "Jesus said go and sin no more.  He may love the sinner, but he doesn't love the sin."  This fact seems to escape those who think Jesus was tolerant of the sin being committed by the prostitute, or the envy by Adam and Eve, or the pride of the Pharisees in the temple.  "Jesus would never endorse a sin," my friend said.  His sermon this week asks "what is happening to our world?"

What is happening is traditional Christians who believe in the Bible are being made to look like hypocrites who don't follow Jesus' message of forgiveness and understanding.

Jason Whitlock, racist journalist

Another journalist (believe me when I say it hurts to call him that) who celebrated Jason Collins announcement was Jason Whitlock, a columnist for Fox.

He said,  "Tolerance will be met with intolerance, fairness will be mitigated by unfairness, intellectual evolution will be thwarted by dogma.  Soon there will be a last call for alcohol at the Jason Collins party, the kind words will quit pouring in and the forces of regression will pick apart his exquisitely crafted story, question his motives and loudly protest that the gay man's seat at the table of equality will lead to the ruin of this great nation."

So he is saying that coming out gay leads to equality for Jason Collins.  And that the Bible and those who believe it represent intolerance, unfairness and religious dogma.  Does everything with these leftists have to be about equality? I can't image going through my day completely consumed by such a feeling of unfairness.  Someone needs to get Jason Whitlock a new box of crayons!  Preferably with colors other than black.

Jason was just getting started.  He continues, "My friend and one of the best people I know, ESPN NBA reporter Chris Broussard, claimed that Collins and all gay people are in "open rebellion" of God's will.  CBS radio host and TV personality, Tim Brando made it perfectly clear that he doesn't regard Collins as any kind of hero.  Brando also said, "Simply being a Christian, white male over 50 that's raised a family means nothing in today's culture."

Well Tim, it does mean you're more likely to get a loan from a bank, less likely to be profiled by the police, more likely to get a six-figure job, and more likely to be afforded every privilege and benefit of the doubt this country has to offer.

Huh?  Is that why I feel so loved by members of the media?  And why today's television sitcoms embrace my traditional way of life?  What planet do these reporters live on?  Since 2008, racial relations have never been worse.  During the last two years, gay and lesbian relationships have never been more at odds with heterosexual relationships.  I've heard "intolerant" so many times lately, that I'm thinking of having it tattooed onto my forehead to save them the trouble of repeating it.

And Jason, don't get me started on why there are so few white players in professional basketball.  If you want to talk about equality, let's get a few more slow, white guys who can't jump.  According to you, that shouldn't be held against them any more than Jason Collin's sexual preferences.

Whitlock concludes by saying, "Gay youths need prominent role models in all walks of life, most especially in sports.  As a kid, I was the typical insensitive, unenlightened jock bully.  It's unfair.  Kids don't chose to be gay.  We need to recognize and respect the full scope of humanity.  Jason Collins can help us do that.  I fully expect -- and quite frankly demand (the commissioner) use his power to ensure that Jason Collins has a job in the NBA for 82 games next year.  This is a chance for basketball to be as important as baseball in 1947."  Seriously?

The significance of Jason Collins coming out party is not the fact that he is gay.  To reporters like Whitlock and Engel, his coming out is just another political initiative that fits their liberal mold of a contemporary America.  No morals, acceptance of low standards and the destruction of traditional values.

Liberals are tearing down our families, our military and now our sports page.  What a shame the majority of people listening and reading their editorials don't know it.

A Blast in the Past

Last year, Liz and I watched Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," starring Owen Wilson and Amy McAdams.  We saw it again a few weeks ago as part of a church youth gathering celebrating French cuisine and a movie.

It is a movie about a successful Hollywood writer who is trying a career change -- writing his first novel.  But it is not coming easy, so he travels with his fiancé (and her parents) on a business trip to Paris, a city that he loves.  To gain inspiration, late one night he goes on a walk through the city.  Unexpectedly he travels back in time to the 1920's, an era he admires and idolizes.  He encounters Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway, to name a few.

 

The nostalgia of this era draws Owen Wilson's character, Gil, to return each night at midnight, in search of new characters to help complete his novel.

A recurrent theme of the movie is how various characters have different takes of which era is the greatest.  For Owen Wilson's character, Gil, it is undoubtedly the 1920's.  For another character, Adriana, played by Marion Cotillard, it is the Belle Epoque, an era she considers Paris's Golden Age. As Gil and Adriana go further back in time, they encounter others (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin and Edgar Degas) who think the greatest era is the Renaissance period.  Is seems as though each character thinks an earlier time was better than the one they are in -- be it the 1920's, Belle Epoque or the Renaissance.

The movie ends with Gil realizing he can't live in the past.  But the experience forces him to leave his fiance (who thinks he's nuts) for a local Parisian woman who shares his love of music from the past.

Gil and I both share a love for writing, and a fondness for music and other things from an earlier era.  As a result, I'm fond of the decades between 1940 and 1960.  It's easy to think life was easier, less stressful and more enjoyable.  I'm sure my parents wouldn't agree, since they lived through the Great Depression, raised four children on a single income, fought a world war, and were missing many of today's modern conveniences like dish washers, disposable diapers, computers and television.

I wonder why it is so many people are always wishing they were in a different era?  Undoubtedly, nostalgia has a way of painting the past in faded colors which mute many of the harsh realities of daily life.  My memories of life as a child are mainly of playing neighborhood games like kick the can, riding my bike, playing football in the street, shooting baskets in the driveway and reading comic books.  What kid wouldn't enjoy that?

If I was an adult, those wonderful memories would undoubtedly be colored by work, paying bills and worrying about the kids.  Just like today.   It's not that I'm unhappy in the world as it is today.  I love the progress we have made in medicine and technology (yes, even I am succumbing to it).

We have tried to do a lot with our boys during their childhood -- from vacationing and getting involved in our community.   Participating in sports and music. And we've even helped them travel alone to Europe, China and South America.  I know their childhood was a lot busier than mine, which may be why I enjoy the 50's and 60's so much.  Those decades seem like a much easier time, with less to worry about and less to get your head around.

But despite the assumption that my youth was a much simpler time, I do think some things really were better back then.  Like music and television.

I've always liked the music of the 40's and 50's, sung by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby.  All of Me (1947), I Get a Kick Out of You (1953), and Chicago (1957) are some of the best songs ever written.  They don't write music like Black and Tan Fantasy by Duke Ellington's and his orchestra, or Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin anymore.  It must have been fun dancing to their music on a Friday and Saturday night down at the Concordia Ballroom when it was new.

Try doing that with today's music.  Sure there's still some good music being played, but how much of it is going to survive 70-100 years?  Rap?  Forget it.  Today's R & B?  It all sounds the same.  Where's the elegance, the style?  Good luck trying to interpret the meaning of some of Lady Gaga's songs.  Try grooving to the beat of Rocko's U.O.E.N.O remix with Wiz Khalifa and Future  (I don't even know what that means, much less who they are).  And if you're really brave, invite mom over to listen to some tracks from the likes of bands like Obituary, Carcass, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel.

Too much of today's music seems to reflect dark, depressing themes that express the hopelessness of today's youth or their attempts to rebel against a society that has them under its thumb.  I'm not saying some of what they say isn't true.  I'm just not a fan of it.  With the exception of a few bands like Brian Setzer, Jamie Cullum  and Michael Buble, today's music spends too much time in bed having sex or wallowing in the gutter.  What has happened to romance?

 

Television is something else that's changed.  The other night, PBS had a special on Carol Burnett and her eleven years of being at the top.  Maybe I'm a sucker for comedy, but that show was the epitome of good comedy, great singing and wonderful dancing.  Her guest list included the who's who of show business.  I wonder if my kids even know what a variety show means anymore?

Many believe the 50's, 60's and 70's were the "Golden Age" of television.  It certainly was for me.  You only had three networks -- ABC, NBC and CBS -- and networks seemed to put everything they had into it.  I remember sitting on a Saturday night for great shows like All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show, MASH, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Carol Burnett Show.  Not a bad way to spend a few hours, huh?

Sunday nights featured Walt Disney, Lassie, Bonanza, and The Ed Sullivan Show which featured greats like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  Some other greats included the Adams Family, Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Munsters, The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone.

I've tried watching some of these shows with my boys and they don't seem to enjoy them nearly as much as I did.  I suppose they aren't sophisticated or "real" enough.  Even boring.  I still enjoy the simplicity of the Andy Griffith Show, the goofiness of I Love Lucy and the classy talents on display in variety shows like The Carol Burnett Show.  But I fear I am a dying breed.

One of the things those shows had going for them was the writing.  Today's writing has become cliché and predictable.  I swear TV series just change characters and keep recycling the same bad jokes or sadistic crimes.  I have found a few shows that I like with my sons, like Frazier, Justified, The Good Wife, Game of Thrones and Homeland.  They all feature good writing and interesting characters.  But those shows are far and few.

And what has happened to comedy?   Carol Burnett recently said that the early comedy shows of the 50's and 60's didn't need politics or vulgarity to be funny.  They were just great shows with great writing.  But today?  Kids think Comedy Central, Two and a Half Men, Family Guy and South Park are funny.  Seriously?  What are we -- a bunch of 15 year old boys?  Reality TV and lame sitcoms have taken over the medium and left us with really bad people behaving like a televised version of Facebook or Twitter.

But like Owen Wilson's character Gil in "Midnight in Paris," I too can't live in the past.  My head is firmly planted in the twenty-first century (the Anno Domini era) even if my heart belongs somewhere else.   Fortunately, I can watch old episodes of Gunsmoke and Get Smart whenever I'm feeling nostalgic.  Or dance with Liz to the beat of Helen Lewis and Her All-Girl Jazz Syncopators.  And I can never get enough of Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club orchestra or Mel Torme's Mel-Tones.

Yeah, I'm a small percentage of an even smaller percentage of the 7 billion people living in the world today.  But I'm ok with that.  As much as I'd like to, I know I won't find a way back to the 50's.  Somedays I try to image the material Norman Rockwell could work with if he would illustrate our lives today on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.  Somehow it just wouldn't be the same.

Ignoring Reality

Today's news featured a story on Stockton, California, which is the largest city in America to enter bankruptcy.  Stockton, a city of nearly 300,000 has tried to restructure its debt by slashing employment, renegotiating labor contracts and cutting health benefits for workers.  Library and recreation funding has been halved, and the scaled down police department only responds to emergencies.  The city crime rate is among the highest in America.

Looks like another reason I'm glad I don't live in California.

In Atlanta, Georgia, thirty-five public school educators and administrators were indicted on charges of racketeering and corruption.  That's a legal way of saying teachers were caught cheating -- changing test answers and giving better grades than were earned. This indictment is the bookend to a story that was once touted as a model for the nation's school districts after the district's test scores dramatically improved in some of its toughest urban schools.

I've often wondered if kids are getting smarter, or if teachers are giving A's and B's to undeserving students.  Now -- in some cases -- I know.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced last month that the state will take over the operations of Detroit's city government due to its long-standing financial problems.  It will involve appointing an emergency manager who will have many of the same powers as a bankruptcy judge.  The state's takeover underscores just how far Detroit has fallen in recent years -- a city that was once the center of the US auto industry and the birthplace of Motown music.  It is the poorest major city in the United States, and struggles to provide basic services like garbage pickup, security, even streetlights in some areas.

Despite this city's failing government, Snyder's decision is very unpopular with unions and many of Detroit's residents.

Know what all three of these examples have in common?  The people responsible for their failure are all Democrats. And yet, the people of California, Atlanta and Detroit continue to support and vote for Democrats in local, state and national elections.  One of life's biggest mysteries is why people continue to support such miserable losers.  Abusers of power.  Tax thieves.

And continue to ignore reality.  That's ignorance with a capital I.

Not surprising, these same people are quick to criticize -- and destroy -- someone from the right who offers solutions based on morality, hard work and financial responsibility.  I'm almost at the point where I don't care if California or Detroit go to bankruptcy hell.  And I'm sorry if someone's kids go to school in Atlanta, but for crying out loud, be responsible parents and get involved in your child's education!

I came across an email about a year ago that proposed letting the left take over certain states.  Let the liberals run New York, Ohio, California, Illinois and some border state like New Mexico.  Put as many Democrats into those states as possible and let them do whatever they want.  You want carbon taxes?  Clean water?  Wind power?  Highly paid unions and teachers?  A richer minimum wage?  Separation of church and state?  Gay marriage?  GO FOR IT.  Do what you want, charge what you want, and install the socialist leaders that you want.

At the same time, open up a few states that want to be independent and conservative.  Texas, Missouri, Florida, Michigan and North Dakota would work.  Fill them with supporters of smaller government, fewer taxes, gun rights, religion and less business regulation.

Regardless of natural resources, they would be left on their own.  Neither side could tax the other or tell them what to do.  Leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone.

How long do you think it would take for the left to completely blow up?  Which states would be bankrupt and which states would be prosperous and growing?  Which residents would be lining up for welfare and food stamp payments and which ones would be lining up for job applications?

You get the feeling the left couldn't survive without us as their scapegoats, while the right would never look back.

He must be going to college.

Unfortunately, that will never happen.  We're stuck with more than half the population interested in American Idol, the Kardashians, reality TV, the Occupy movement and Facebook to worry about things like fiscal responsibility and good grades.  They will ignore the lessons of past societies that collapsed from within, and wake up someday with nothing left to take.

It's not just a lack of intelligent voters, because many politicians think they know what's best for people.  They go to Madison, WI or Washington, D.C and ask, "What do I do now?  What can I change?  I'm here to make a difference, where do I get started?"

Laws are passed that restrict our health care choices, the amount of soda we can drink, how cigarettes are displayed, and the amount of rainwater runoff that's allowed outside your house or business.  And the people of this country allow our elected officials to do it

Just this week, the Obama administration began pressuring banks to lower lending standards so they can make more loans to minority home buyers.  According to an NAACP publication, they are forming a partnership with Bank of America to "advance fair-lending practices" that will help provide credit to "disenfranchised communities that were ravaged by the economic crisis."

Huh?  That's exactly what caused the economic crisis in the first place!  It's been less than 10 years and they want to do the same stupid thing?  We need term limits, baby, and we need them now.

As if that isn't bad enough, Attorney General Eric Holder has sued several banks based on groundless charges of discrimination.  They are now under court order to change lending policies to qualify more "credit-poor" borrowers.  God, I hate our legal system!  (I forgot to add all the lawyers in America to those states full of Democrats.  I think that's where they belong.)

If you need further proof that we've gone over the edge -- and are completely ignoring reality-- look at our media's support of our nation's "recovery" under President Obama.  They continue to push a much better outlook than the one that actually exists.

According to economist John Lott in his new book, "At The Brink,"  a typical economic recovery usually shows a large expansion after a large contraction, a mild recovery after a mild contraction, etc.  Following the Great Depression of the early 1930's, the economy boomed, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth peaking at an astonishing 13.6% in 1936.  During the recession of 1946 to 1948 (following World War II), GDP reached 8.7% in 1950.  The economy did well over the 1950's and 1960's  in further recovery from the Great Depression.  And it boomed with the historic 25-year Reagan recovery from 1982 to 2007 after the disastrous 1970's.

That kind of track record should have been encouraging for Obama.  Expect a big recovery following a big recession.  Just get out of the way and watch it happen.

But because of his desire to "transform America," real GDP peaked at 2.4% in 2010, and never again reached even that pitiful level during our current recovery.  All of this has meant higher unemployment and fewer people looking for work than for ANY PRESIDENT IN THE LAST 60 YEARS.  That includes my favorite do-nothing president,  Jimmy Carter.

Making matters worse, Obama's economic numbers exist despite his record stimulus spending.

So why do so many people ignore the reality of President Obama's recovery, allow states like California and Michigan to suffer bankruptcy, and elect school officials that are destroying our children's future?  My short answer is because too many people believe tradition, faith and family are attempts to impose morality on one another.  As a result, they turn to people who call for "change", irregardless of whether this change is for good or bad.  And they repeat this mistake over and over.

What do you think?  America needs to re-connect with what made this country work, and do it now -- before our next national election.

Gringos in Mexico

I know Paul is in trouble before Kelli starts yelling at him to back up.

The waves, which should have progressively gotten smaller, creep higher and swamp the Polaris 250 Trailblazer all terrain vehicle, causing Paul to hesitate, then stop.

As he struggles to rock the vehicle backward, I yell "You've got to move, now!"  

I hear Kelli telling Paul to back up, but I can see he is having trouble finding the right gear.  As the wheels start to sink into the wet sand, another wave -- this one larger and more powerful -- crashes into shore, sending a sudsy mass of salt water and sand into the ATV.

Just when the water threatens to pull the ATV -- and Paul and Kelli with it -- into deeper waters, the vehicle lurches forward, sending a rooster tail of sand and water through the air.  It roars up onto dry sand, does a tight loop and skirts around a rocky bend to safety and firmer ground.

 

"He made it!" I shout to Liz, as I position our ATV for the same maneuver.  Thirty-seconds later, my thumb gives the throttle a push and we head into the rocky gap.  "Here we go!"  As the wheels narrowly avoid the rising water I ask, "Are you having fun yet?"

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We were in Mexico for a week of relaxation and fun with two other couples -- Paul and Kelli Mundinger and Doug and Peggy Schoenfeld.  It was a trip that had been planned for over a year.

It began when Paul mentioned someone he was connected to through La Crosse Friends of International Students had stayed at a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) in Los Barrilles, Mexico.  He thought that it would be a blast to spend 7 days in sunny Mexico during the grey and cold winter month of February.  For the most part, he was correct.  Ten days might have been better.

We had rented a beautiful beach front home, located on the Sea of Cortez, about 60 minutes northeast of  Cabo San Lucas, playground of the rich and famous.

Snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, surf fishing and beach combing were right out our front door and patio.

The house was down the beach from Los Barrilles, a small town of 5,000 at best -- about half of which are locals and half are expatriates of Canada and the United States.  The local area is fueled by tourism, especially sports fishing, and you can find wonderful mangos, dates, and avocados grown in the nearby town of Santiago.

The area lends itself to a relaxing and remote Mexican experience.  Liz and I had experienced the tourist spots of Cancun and Isla Marheres a few years ago with its towering hotels, sparkling pools and elegant restaurants.   Los Barrilles was nothing like that.  Many of the buildings were very modest, with the apparent exception of the state-run Pemex gas stations.  And the roads were not paved at all and better suited for ATVs, not our rented Volkswagen Jettas with their suspensions protesting every bump.

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"Paul, I thought you were a goner," laughs Doug, taking another swig from his bottle of Corona.  

We are all sitting around a table at El Viejo, a simple little restaurant in Los Barrilles favored by the locals.  Actually, most of places in town are simple and little.  Part of its charm was its indiscriminate location, hidden behind two or three ATVs' and a beat up pick up truck.  Today's special is chile rellenos, served during lunch only on Friday's between 11 and 1.  The shop owner next door had recommended it, so we make sure to get here before they were out for the day.

"When that big wave washed up, I thought your ATV was going to stall," I add, taking another bite of my stuffed pepper.  "Somehow though, you kept it going and got out of there.  Liz and I were thinking we might have to get the tow rope."

 

Paul leans back and says, "I was trying to get it into reverse, but the water was coming up over my shoes.  When that failed I decided to keep going forward. "

"Despite that, the ride on the beach was fantastic, wasn't it?" I say.  "I can't believe how great it was."

"Yeah, with the exception of those rocks."

From across a brightly colored tablecloth, Peggy sarcastically asks, "So now that Paul knows how to operate the ATV, do you guys think you know the way to Coral Beach?"

"Rod said to follow the beach until a path takes us out of town," volunteers Paul.  "Then another path to the right that follows the coast until we reach the point."  Like most things in Mexico, we are finding things a little hard to define.  There are few street signs, and directions vary from one person to another.  A "short while" could be five minutes or half an hour depending on who you are talking to.

"Sounds like a plan," says Kelly, paying our waitress, a young Mexican girl who struggles with English.  Isabella takes our pesos and we head for the exit, eager to continue our adventure. 

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Our plan was to use Los Barrilles as our anchor, allowing us to make day trips north through the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains to the port city of La Paz, or south to the busy tourist city of Cabo San Lucas where movie stars and vacationers populate the town.  For the most part, it was the perfect location.  During the day we were able to enjoy ourselves, walking down the beach, running into town for groceries at the local mercado or having lunch and margaritas whenever the mood struck.  At night -- as isolation in the form of invading desert mice and star-lit skies exploded overhead -- we played cards and drank till laughter was running down our sunburned faces.

Driving in Mexico turned out to be an adventure none of us expected.  As our neighbor (and rental manager) said, it really isn't wise to drive after dark.  Some would say because of the possibility of vandalism and nefarious characters.  But in truth it was because of cattle roaming the highways and broken down cars running without lights.  I'm not so sure how safe it is to drive during the day either, with speed bumps the only way of controlling traffic.  Many of them are mostly unmarked.

Our weekend journey to La Paz was interesting because of the twisty, mountainous roads often missing recommended guard rails.  In town, four way stop signs were astonishing to observe.  Many drivers viewed them as a guideline, not a rule, as cars sped through them without stopping.

 

Our arrival to the city showed an ugly urban sprawl, their development outpacing the spread of paved roads and facilities.  But the town center, modernized as it was, managed to preserve something of its older colonial atmosphere.  We strolled along the waterfront malecon, observing its puerto de ilusion which included ice cream shops, discotheques, brightly colored fishing boats and sea loving statues.  The beaches were white against the gorgeous blue water of the Gulf of California.

On the way back, we stopped at a roadside stand to pick up fresh watermelon, mangoes and pastries from local farmers.  On the other side of the mountains, we passed through the small town of San Bartollo, where we passed a dozen Mexicans dressed in white cotton shirts and pants, congregating in preparation of a Sunday evening mass.

It was a wonderful, rural piece of Mexico, far from the tourist traps of lion-peddling photographers and hot, congested streets that were to come our way the next day.

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From our raised vantage point, the sparkling blue-green water stretches east and north past the few remaining houses along Coral Beach.  A resort called Hotel Punta Pescadero is just out of sight, where tourists fly in to a private air strip to vacation and fish.  The roads are so bad here that there is no other way to get to the resort.  At times it seems like we are lost.

The sun colors the water below us in bright shifting patches of green, blue and turquoise.  A strong wind creates a line of  waves that crash noisily against the beach, then retreat before gaining strength and attack again.

I maneuver the ATV around a sharp bend and cut across a remote stretch of gorgeous, white sand.  The water breaks white over jagged fingers of brownish black rock that reach out from a bend on the beach.  We have reached our destination.

"This is unbelievable!" declares Liz, as she jumps from the ATV and turns to face the others as their ATVs descend from the rocky hill and cut across the beach.

"We're finally here," I say, watching Liz strip down to her bathing suit and head toward the water.  She splashes in and out of the briny waves breaking on the shore, leaving perfect footprints in the perfect sand.

"Oh, it's cold!" she yells, backing out before a large wave crashes at her feet.  Instead, she climbs one of the jagged fingers of brown coral, looking for little pools of water.  As she looks for signs of sea life, a small crab shuffles along the edge of a rock before disappearing beneath the water and sand.

It seems unnatural that such a beautiful place is without the usual beachcombers.  But perhaps that is its charm.  Isolated, difficult to get to and rugged.  I look into the hills above us and see sparse vegetation consisting of cactus, dead brush and rock.  Lots of rock.  Such a stark contrast.  To my left, it is  barren and lifeless; to my right, it's alive with color, fish and vegetation.

"Should we go swimming?" asks Paul, as he and Doug approach.  Peggy and Kelli are off exploring a cave area further to our left.

"I think it's a little cold, but I still want to go in the water.  We can't travel this far and not say we tried it."  I look out over the stretch of perfect sand and add, "Right now in Wisconsin, they are getting snow and ice.  Temperatures in the 20's and a forecast for a foot of more snow.  What would you rather do -- swim or shovel snow?"

I don't have to wait for Doug and Paul to answer to know their response.

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Cabo San Lucas, at the gateway to the Sea of Cortez, was once the base for pirate vessels waiting to pounce on Spanish treasure ships.  Today, it is a paradise of green golf courses, multi-million dollar homes that dot the surrounding hills, an ultra-chic marina and dozens of 5 star hotels.

Along a 20 mile stretch of coastline where Pericu' Indians fished and Jesuit missionaries struggled to establish a stronghold for Spain, today is a four lane desert highway that runs through a third world urban sprawl that is San Jose Del Cabo.   By sheer luck, we pass through its congested traffic and arrive via the tourist corridor at Marina Cabo San Lucas in search of our own boat captain and first mate.

An hour later, onboard the 33-foot sailboat Alegria, our crew of Burasto and Enrique was quick to provide all the alcohol we needed.  The initial hour was spent snorkeling off the shores of Lover's Beach and Pelican Rock, viewing the famous Arch and sea lion colony at Lands End.  While snorkeling, we saw an abundance of tropical fish, including guitarfish, sea bass, parrotfish and yellowtail.  A bag of fish food guaranteed a school of fish would be directly beneath your suspended body.

 

Later, after leaving the Sea of Cortez and moving around the horn, we passed into the Pacific Ocean where we spotted three or four humpback whales.  The crew shouted Alli! (over there) with every boat-sized splash.  It was another bucket list item that we could check off our must-do list.  After a platter of fruit and vegetables, Burasto brought out some of the best guacamole on chips we had the entire week.    A shot of tequila for everyone on board capped off our sailing adventure before heading back to land.

The day was permanently stamped as estupendo with a memorable visit to Senior Frogs at the marina, where Peggy led us in celebrating another great day in Mexico.

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Outside, an explosion of stars spreads across the dark sky -- some bright and near, others faintly clustered like galaxies a million miles away.  Maybe it was the rum spreading through my body, but I mention that stars never look like this back in Wisconsin.  Everyone agrees.

"This had to one of the best days ever," says Paul as he marvels at the astral display.  "Other than the water and rocks, ATVing was great."

I wrap my arms around Liz as we lay under a blanket and look up into the sky.  Waves continued to crash ashore only a hundred feet from where we lay.   "I'm glad we found Coral Beach, I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get there."

"It's like planning for this trip," continues Paul.  "It wasn't exactly clear what we were going to find down here in Mexico, but once we got here, it was great.  I propose that we do this again in a few years."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of waking up to these sunrises," said Doug.  As if in response, a trail of light from a falling star races across the horizon, disappearing behind the black shadow of the nearby Sierra de la Laguna Mountains.  "Or the stars."

The Great Divide

A lot of money is spent on Super Bowl ads.  Like $4 million for each 30 second spot.  This year's Super Bowl had the usual assortment of dumb and dumber ads featuring beer drinkers, fast cars, fast food and talking babies.

There was one exception, however.   In the fourth quarter,  Dodge RAM ran an ad called "So God Made a Farmer" featuring photographs of rural America set to a narration of a speech given by radio broadcaster Paul Harvey at a 1978 Future Farmers of America convention.

 

This ad focused my attention on a growing divide, between two very different cultures: those wanting security, and those wanting freedom.  It's a culture divide that highlights what's happening to our country.  Half of our country voted for Obama last November.  Nearly an equal number voted against him.  Political debate -- which includes everything from race, religion, guns and education -- has never been more divided.

On one side you have those who favor security.  It is defined by racial equality, sensitivity training at work, removal of God from our public schools, and classes that stress diversity, public health and community service.  Unions are the enforcers of this ideology, especially when it comes to labor and education.  On the other side are those who believe the strength of our country can be found in the writings of our founding fathers.  The Constitution and related documents are to be held above reproach and should be defended -- even by death.  Private enterprise, conservative educators like Hillsdale College,  and our military (for the most part) stand guard against those who would take away our freedoms.

This distinction has been discussed on many levels, including books, radio and television.  I heard the latest discussion on the Dennis Miller radio show.  Is America headed toward the same fate as most of Europe?  The answer, according to Miller's guest, is not known yet because there remains a fight between two opposing views.  There has never been a country like America, which was founded on an individual's right to freedom and prosperity.  In that regard, we stand alone.

It has been 237 years since we declared our independence from Great Britain.  During those years, immigrants left Europe and other countries to find freedom and to chase their American dream. Where we go from here depends on which ideology wins the fight.

Look at Europe (or any socialist country) that has fully embraced the philosophy that says you can't do it without government help.  You can see it in workers reluctance to give up any of their benefits.  Several major trade unions have staged strikes, demonstrations and rallies across the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Spain and France.  These countries have bought into the need for labor rights, to the extent that they can no longer exist any other way.

For example, Bernadette Segol, the European Trade Union General Secretary recently said, "Enough is enough!  The future of Europe cannot be based on  austerity, insecurity and social regression.  Europe needs a radical change of course... (our) leaders must stop bowing to whatever the financial markets dictate."

In other words, we don't want the banks telling us what to do.  We like our benefits  --  to hell with reality. We don't care if our country is broke, causing the Euro to sink beyond repair.  We want the security of government programs so our workers can have jobs, get paid and be taken care of if disabled or retired.

Once started, this reliance on government leads to other attachments like social medicine, state welfare and free education.   Europe has been "on the other side" for much longer than the United States.  But like anything that advances, once something starts, it incrementally picks up speed.

Look at how quickly things have changed under Obama:  $16 trillion in debt spending leading to 44 million people on food stamps, 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, welfare without work requirements, and Obama Care.  The Occupy movement and asking the rich to "pay their fair share" are clear indicators that security is finding a home in America.

Now contrast it with Paul Harvey's comments in the Super Bowl ad I mentioned earlier.  The farmer in this ad represents the other side of America's great divide -- freedom.  While it may have been a bit nostalgic, the ad nonetheless featured a slice of early Americana:  self reliance, selflessness, a love of something greater than themselves, and asking nothing in return for a hard days work.

Compare the feelings this ad stirs in you with the over-zealouness of Beyonce's performance during halftime at the Super Bowl, or Alica Keys' addition of "Obama's on fire!" during the Public Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C..

This ad -- and what it represents -- is our last chance to fight back against those who would make America another Europe.

Paul Harvey:

And on the 8th day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, I need a caretaker.  

So God made a farmer. 

He said I need somebody to get up before dawn and milk cows and work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.

So God made a farmer.

I need someone with strong arms.  Strong enough to rustle a calf, yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild.  Somebody that can shape an ex handle, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, make a harness out of hay wire, feed sacks and shoe craps.  And ...who, at planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty hour week by Tuesday noon.  Then, pain'n from "tractor back," put in another seventy-two hours.  

So God made a farmer.

It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight... and not cut corners.  Somebody to seed and weed, feed and breed... and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk.  Somebody to replenish the self feeder and then finish a hard days work with a five mile drive to church.  

Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who'd laugh and then sigh... and then respond with smiling eyes, when his son says he want to spend his life "doing what dad does."

So God made a farmer.

The message in this ad inspires reflection on the history of this country's original pioneers.  Early Americans didn't wait for the government to build roads and railroads.  We didn't expect someone to pay us to farm the land or raise our family.  We went to bed tired, and sometimes hungry, but always free. 

If we are to keep America from becoming another socialist failure, its citizens must reject Obama and his handouts. Government must be reduced from its current state of provider, and return to what it does best.  A defender of freedom and democracy.

Let's hope that the upcoming sequestration cuts can be made.  These are cuts to increases, so the budget will still increase, just not as much.  And why are firefighters, police officers and military personnel always the first to lose their jobs when we discuss these cuts?  Why aren't we discussing cuts to Congressional benefits like pay and benefits?  Make them pay the price for their stupidity, and we may finally get somewhere.

Yes, our job is big.  The obstacles in front of us are huge.  Government will continue to entice a willing population into thinking that security is better than freedom.  This message is spreading its vile roots beneath our very feet -- in our schools, our courtrooms, our churches, our city governments and even in our homes.

We need to ask our children what they will chose for America's future.  And then set an example of working hard, honoring tradition, defeating political correctness and keeping religion in our lives.

Freedom must win for us to remain God's farmer.

Just Turn It Off

In the Broadway production of The Book of Mormon there is a song that contains the following verses-

"When you start to get confused
Because of thoughts in your head
Don't feel those feelings, hold them in instead"

"Turn it off like a light switch
Just go, click
It's a cool little Mormon trick
We do it all the time"

"When you're feeling certain feelings 
That just don't seem right
Treat those pesky feelings like a reading light"

"And turn 'em off, like a light switch
Just go back
Really, what's so hard about that
Turn it off, turn it off"

About half an hour into the musical production, I found myself wishing I could just turn The Book of Mormon off.  Unfortunately, I couldn't.  I was in Des Moines, Iowa watching it as part of a group outing held by my employer.

The song, "Turn It Off" is a catchy tune that highlights the struggle faced by Mormon missionaries, urging them to banish thoughts about being gay by simply turning them off.

Apparently, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of The Book of Mormon, think Mormons are consumed by conflicting messages.  Belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints requires you to deal with difficult issues like being gay, suffering from AIDS or being abused at home by simply "turning those bad thoughts off."

And therein lies the problem with the play:  if you believe in a greater power, you are living a lie.

Its message is that religion is fake --  it doesn't solve any of our problems, doesn't fill empty stomachs or save the destitute, doesn't prevent cancer or help our football team to win the Super Bowl.  But, if it makes people feel happy, then who cares if it sounds ridiculous?  In the eyes of Parker and Stone (who are also responsible for TV's South Park,) religion  is overbearing and torturous for young people (in this case it's young male missionaries assigned to Africa).  It conflicts with today's "modern world" where people are accepting of gays, adulterers and sexually transmitted diseases.

The play's religious blasphemy is front and center, with an appalling emphasis on shocking the audience through song and story.

Examples include a song featuring characters sticking up their middle fingers to God while singing "hasa diga eebowai!" (f-ck you, God), performing the act of Holy Baptism as a sexual encounter between two virgins ("We just went all the way!  I'm wet with salvation!  I performed like a champ, praise be to God!"), and performing a pageant to "honor" the story of the Mormon's founder ("Joseph Smith, American Moses") by showing him having sex with Africans and frogs to cure his AIDS and dysentery.  If that's not bad enough, there is an extended dream sequence showing Hitler enjoying oral sex with the devil, and a blown-up x-ray of a rectal blockage cause by the Book of Mormon text.

The New York Times, Washington Times and Rolling Stone (all left-wing rags) called it "courageous and fearless," "shrewd, remarkably well-crafted and wholly hilarious," and not surprisingly, "a feast of sweetness."  It makes me wonder if they saw the same play that I did.

To its credit, the play does address some very difficult issues facing a small African village -- living in appalling conditions of famine, poverty and AIDS while being threatened by a repressive, murderous warlord obsessed with female circumcision and mutilation.

And it's a very well done production.  It has fine acting and correctly captures the culture, terminology and idiosyncrasies of the Mormon church.  It won Best Musical in 2011, Best Director and seven other Tony awards, including 2012 Best Musical Theater Album.  It won, despite some stiff competition from War Horse, Catch Me If You Can and Scottsboro Boys.

Much to the dismay of a friend of mine, the play does have some redeeming aspects to it -- if you can get past the blasphemy (and I know that's not possible for some).  I read a review that compared it to The Music Man, a great Broadway musical from 1957 starring Robert Preston.  In the play, a stranger comes to town to sell a fake idea, but in the end the idea is real and it works.  It changes people's lives and buoys their spirits.  The same could be said for The Book of Mormon.

As offensive as the play is, it would be easy to ignore it if it failed miserably as nothing more than the ramblings of two sick comedians.  The trouble is -- it's drawing huge crowds on its national tour to Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and even Des Moines.  The show that I attended was sold out, as it has been everywhere it goes.  I don't understand how we could have moved from a society that used God in forming the Declarations of Independence and the Constitution to one where we now laugh hysterically at an actor portraying Jesus while wearing a dildo and screwing the natives.  What has happened to us?  Do we have no shame?

I think we're all familiar with the attempts the left is making to remove religion from public places and everyday life.  It's on full display in Hollywood movies, broadcast television and now Broadway.  Religious exhibits, prayer and even the Christmas holiday are regularly challenged -- and defeated -- in court under the auspices of "separation of church and state."

 

What gripes me the most though is the praise piled onto anyone attacking religion as though it's courageous and groundbreaking.  Parker and Miller's South Park is well known for lampooning Scientology, Mormonism, the Pope, Moses and the Virgin Mary.   Whether it's for the shock value or viewership, these guys have been practicing their brand of anti-religious pioneering for many years.

It's interesting to note that while claiming to lampoon all religions, South Park has pretty much stayed away from Islam.   In particular, they avoid saying the name of Muhammad or even showing him in character.  When challenged by radical Islamic groups during a special 200th reunion episode, they self-censored themselves by bleeping out his name and showing a black box with the word "censored" on it whenever he appeared.

To be truly "courageous", South Park should practice what they preach. And The Book of Mormon should have put a character on stage, representing Muhammad.  Throw in a few radical suicide bombers, lop off a few heads, and you might have something.  As it stands though, that could never happen, because these people aren't really courageous.  They're just opportunistic hacks, purveyors of anti-establishment and anti-morality.  Throw in Jesus with Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, Genghis Khan and Johnnie Cochran and you have a funny play.  The prophet Muhammad?  Not so much.

After the play, a group of us went out to eat at a local restaurant, which allowed us to talk about what we had just seen.  Reactions were mixed at best.  Mike, my boss from a few years ago, asked if I was offended.

"Yes!" I said.  "How could I not be?"

The look on his face was one of shock and surprise.  "Seriously?" he asked.  It was like I had just told him I voted for Obama.  

"Yes, I was offended.  What's funny about telling God to f-ck off?"

"Well...."

Mike and I have had a number of political discussions over the years, so I wasn't shocked to hear the surprise in his voice.  What is disappointing is how he can be so strongly opposed to my way of thinking on abortion, gun control and welfare, but he can't understand my opposition to religious blasphemy. I guess it's the left's way of thinking that they are always intellectually superior to us, including any belief in a greater power.  It must be beneath their pay scale, because they just don't get it.

There is a chorus line at the end of another song called "Making Things Up Again," sung by Arnold (one of the Mormon missionaries) which may someday haunt the writers of The Book of Mormon.  It goes,

"You're making things up again, Arnold 
(We're learning the truth!)
You're taking the holy word and adding fiction!  
(the truth about God.)
Be careful how you proceed, Arnold.
When you fib, there's a price.  
(We're going to paradise.)"

Whether that price is ever paid by Parker or Miller in hell, remains to be seen.  But their play has certainly added to the continuing decay of human society.  My Christian faith reminds me to forgive and forget, but sitting through this play has put it to the test.  Based on the reaction our group had with The Book of Mormon, I think that a fair number wished they had been given a chance to "turn it off." At a minimum it made some question if they should applaud a song, or stand at the end to acknowledge the musical's finish.

If the play (in the words of Matt Stone) is an "atheist's love letter to religion," then it's my opinion that it never should have been opened.