Even as neglected as my blog has been over the past few months, I couldn’t let today pass without wishing our country a happy 234th birthday. It was on this day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was adopted announcing a severing of ties between England and the colonies in the New World.
To Thomas Jefferson, the inspired patriot who drafted this amazing document, I say thank you. I also say thank you to the other founders of this great nation. They saw a wrong and they did what was necessary to make things right knowing that the sacrifice would be great.
And finally, to those who wake up each morning and do what it takes to keep this great country free, thank you. You do what others either won’t or can’t do because it’s what’s right and for that I am grateful.
Last night as Holly and I were settling down to watch the latest episode of Chuck, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number so I figured that it was another survey to ask me who I’ll be voting for at the Republican State Convention in a few weeks. I answered the phone expecting to have a delay while the call was routed to some operator in a call center. Instead, my greeting was answered immediately with an actual person. The caller asked if he was speaking with Jeremiah, which he obviously was, so I answered in the affirmative. He then introduced himself as Rob Bishop. This is where my mind went weird.
After watching the beginning of the end of the country that I love so much as health care “reform” passed over the weekend, this video pretty much sums up how I feel. The nice thing is that I know that I’m not the only one that feels this way.
The Fourth of July is always a big deal in the Zohner household, and to be honest, why wouldn’t it be? After all, I come from a long line of rednecks (my grandma used to have a TV that worked on top of her TV that didn’t). The Fourth of July is the perfect redneck holiday! Not only do we get to celebrate the birth of our nation but we get to blow stuff up and cook meat on fire. Who could ask for more?
Last night President Obama laid out his healthcare reform plans for the world to see. I’ve been trying to stay away from political topics but I can’t resist this one. I promise I’ll keep it brief.
At my work we ship a lot of stuff. So much stuff that we have a UPS guy make two stops at our office every day. Note that I said UPS guy and not mailman. Our mailman is a nice guy but we’re lucky to see him once a week because of Postal Service cutbacks. This can be extremely irritating when we have to mail something. The Postal Service isn’t reliable enough for us to depend on so we chose to go with a non-government entity for our shipping needs.
Over the past few days, I’ve been feeling more and more fearful about the direction that our country is headed. The thing that really set me off is the recent report released by the Department of Homeland Security which basically labels anybody who disagrees with what the politicians are doing right now or hope to do in the not too distant future as a right-wing extremist that should be placed on a terrorist watch list. This may sound odd but I thought that it was OK to disagree with politicians in America. Apparently it’s not.
As I was listening to Glenn Beck yesterday on my way home from work, he started talking about this report and his words struck me to the very core. He was saying everything that I was feeling! Below are a few excerpts from the transcript of his monologue. (You can read the whole thing here.) I could not have even come close to saying it better myself.
There is a line in both Peter Pan and Battlestar Galactica that says “All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.” In other words, history repeats itself.
I just finished reading The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes and couldn’t help but get very fearful for the direction that our country is taking. From the very first page, it was impossible for me to not see the parallels between the 1930′s and now.
I have always enjoyed history because there is so much to learn. The funny thing about history though is that if you don’t know about it, chances are that you’re going to repeat it. Heck, even if you do know about it, you’re probably going to repeat it. But if you have knowledge, you can at least try and change the outcome. Look at the people that are running our country; they are making the exact same mistakes that politicians made in the 1920′s and 30′s. I’m guessing that they don’t know very much about history.
I’m so tired of hearing about the current economic state of our country. Well, not so much that, as I am hearing from politicians that say we have to do something right now or we’re all doomed. These people helped contribute the the current disaster. Why should I trust them to fix it? Oh, it’s because they say that they’re smarter than me.
Spending money hasn’t fixed the problem. Case in point: Citi received somewhere along the lines of $300 billion for their ineptitude. They then turned around and doubled their credit card holders’ interest rates due to “tough economic conditions.” This could potentially double a person’s minimum payment rendering it impossible for said person to continue making double payments to get out of debt faster. And what about those that could barely make their minimum payments? How does making it harder for people to pay their bills, increasing the amount of defaults, put more money in your pocket? I don’t get it. Again though, these people keep telling us how they’re the smart ones so we need to shut up and do as we’re told.
Since today is Veteran’s Day, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of those who have served, and are currently serving our country as a member of the armed forces. The job that you do is very important and very appreciated. Thank you.
Even as neglected as my blog has been over the past few months, I couldn’t let today pass without wishing our country a happy 234th birthday. It was on this day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was adopted announcing a severing of ties between England and the colonies in the New World.
There is a line in both Peter Pan and Battlestar Galactica that says “All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.” In other words, history repeats itself.
