Dear America,

A shot heard round the world; and so it begins.

This following story came via my girl's email...sent to her from a friend...who got it from a friend...and so on, and so on...

Sack Lunches







I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me.. I decided to start a conversation.






'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. 'Petawawa' we'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan .






After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...






As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'






His friend agreed.






I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq , it's almost like you are doing it for him.'






Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.






'This is your thanks.'






After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.






Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seat belt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.






Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.






When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!






Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'






Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.






As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little.






A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including their life.'






That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.






May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to everyone on your email buddy list.






I JUST DID



Let us pray...

Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer.


'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.


Amen.'

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.


There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one.


GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!

I think today would be a good day for remembering the practice of random acts of kindness to our soldiers; if you see one, tell them thank you, by them a coffee, let them know we wouldn't be here without them, ask them if they need anything; or go to a new organization (and just one of many) called http://www.comfortforoursoldiers.com/ -- the site provides an itemized list of personal belongings which were destroyed in a recent fire on base in Afghanistan -- it is a perpetual wish list basically. 
 
A Marine wife from our local Camp Pendleton began the operation to fill in a need; while in this moment of recollecting one of last week's thoughts, where our home should rise up to meet us, imagine that home for a year being in the desert of Afghanistan? Imagine creating a makeshift home away from home where a good night sleep never happens, a family never kisses us goodnight, and anything remotely personal and endearing is lost in a fire? Now, imagine the kind of person who volunteers to do it?
 
My unending gratitude goes out to the troops past, present and future -- with a very special hug and a kiss to my papa, who was lucky enough to always come home.
 
Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Your home should rise up to meet you...another Oprah-ism (I told you I was going to catch up to her more often).

It should please you, inspire you, send chills up and down your leg; our home should comfort us, sustain us, and shelter us from the world; it should be a safe place to return home to at the end of the day; and above all, be a sacred place that encircles our loved ones with unconditional love, mutual respect and protection.

Esthetically, spiritually, purposefully, our home is the cornerstone of our world -- and if it isn't, we need to make it so, pronto.

Any home can be it -- it is neither about money, nor status, nor things; the poorest of the poor can still bring a sense of home -- for it transcends the physical, our environment, our surroundings.  It comes from within us and radiates out.   It is the spirit of life, our motivation for creation, our inspiration to rise up and make our life everything God intended it to be.

The Oprah show featured Peter Walsh yesterday afternoon -- the clear your clutter, clean up your life guru -- and literally stripped a family of all creature comforts, gadgets, electronics, outside influences and anything else not nailed down, in order to restore connection with one another.  For a frame of reference, appearing like a typical family of four -- a mom, dad and two boys, ages five and teen.

In a nutshell, the family was ripe with issues pertaining to never speaking to each other, being busy into their own little world's, and basically letting the family unit degenerate and deteriorate right under their noses.  Disconnection became the norm, and they didn't even see it -- until Uncle Peter moved in for a week.

Now Peter, comes from the belief that everything we do and have around us is a metaphor to life  -- how we live, consciously or unconsciously, is how our world works or hinders us from receiving the bounty of life.  Most of his exercises stem from simply turning off the TV, computers, game boys, and phones -- and begin the habit of looking each other in the eye, and talk!  Interacting with each other becoming the new norm.

Let's face it, we've become a bit fried as a nation by our gadgets and electronics, and it is beginning to show.

With Peter taking away "the busy", the family was forced to sit with each other, and oh my goodness, did the metamorphosis begin to happen...within hours actually...and with lasting impressions and new modes of operation for all four.

What a gift; both for being able to watch this family transform and receive the blessings of an awakening right before our eyes, while naturally forcing us to look at our own lives.  Even for the lucky, self-actualized clans, already aware of the abundance surrounding them, there is always plenty of room to go deeper and grow even more.

The idea of stripping down the family to bare bones, cleaning out the clutter (as in a huge garage filled with years of crap instead of cars), ceasing the practice of "self-parenting" (using TV to settle the five year old down and keep him entertained), reinstating the ritual of family dinner, the picking up of our dirty laundry (and actually running a load from time to time), and the keeping of things that we truly love, wear, use regularly, all the while, lifting the burden of trying to hold onto things which clearly no longer serve us.

A funny thing happens when we straighten ourselves out -- to live honestly, find integrity, and live a life connected to the people we have surrounded ourselves with, along with the sacred place we call home -- all of a sudden the family machine begins to hum.

Now you would have to recognize the principles back behind the foundation of this country making it's way to the front door right now -- for within the bounty that is contained within the family unit -- connected to one another, God and to country -- the nation embodied all the nourishment and sustenance required to build generations of good character, honor, love, charity, faith, hope, encouragement, to make a home for all of us. 

For if we were to gather up all the homes, rounding up the families from within, we make a nation -- we make the United States of America.

If you take away "the busy," our founders gave us a gift; our founders created the opportunity where the road meets the world, and fully endowed by our Creator, and with Constitution in hand, were able to construct a shelter, a sanctuary, a sacred place  -- now world-renowned --  where our home rises up to meet us as a nation.

Even though I sense we have already upturned America in the day in the life of the last 157 days in the life of an American girl, truth is, we have only just begun.  We must continue to awaken our inner Peter the Great -- and honestly clean out the clutter, the corruption, the business of being busy from the White House on down and around the block...for in this moment, what is becoming crystal clear is the absence of our big white house rising up to meet us. 

It is time to strip our government down -- take away the busy -- the viral contagions corrupting the primary and true business of connecting with WE the people, and the very reason of their existence -- restoring our inherent duty to maintain a limited, free from bureaucracy, alive with life, monument of civility and integrity home.

Once we take away the busy, it leaves us plenty of time to get at the core values, the principles that not only sustain us as a people, but allow for plenty of room to grow, expand, and live beyond our wildest dreams.

I don't know -- and certainly, do not know everything; but blame it on Oprah, with the help from her apostle, Peter; for the thought of never really knowing what happens behind closed doors is annoyingly ringing in my ear.


Make it a Good Day, G


Dear America...click it....again and again...until you find yourself home...

By the way, the spanish youtube was just by accident, really...but when I realized the irony in relation to the neighborhood continually changing, I went ahead and opened the door anyway. 

Dear America,

Well, at least he took all the guess work out of it now.

I'm with stupid has been kicked up to a whole nother level; for have no fear -- I'm with the government... I'm here to help and save the day! (say it like Bullwinkle).

It is just a wonder he actually said it.

 'we've been in charge since day one'

Talk about acting stupidly. If it wasn't enough to hear Carol Browner repeat over the last couple of days, the government is in charge, the government is in charge, now we have the man in charge telling us the very same thing.

Of course, it included a bit of tempering -- when forced to address the Katrina comparisons by reporters, who actually got a chance to throw out live questions to the man, a first in many moons.  He likened to say that in uncharted territory, as times like these are, the ability to answer to all needs, and all concerns, has it's limitations.  Basically, a mellow cry for hope and change, with a monstrous side of cut me some slack.

Bush is still living off many a sleepless nights after Katrina -- but besides Katrina being an act of God and the BP spill an act of man, the similarities to the cause are simply non existent.  What is cause for alarm, is the effects.  As a people, we always want the added security of doing everything possible -- and even then, it may not be enough.

Obama said today that the federal government is in charge, just in case we had any doubts -- and on top of that, they have been in charge since day one!   And doesn't that sit well in the gallows of our confidences.  Do you feel better? Do ya? Do ya?

It's like we've been collectively watching a car wreck for a month.


Going back through the last several weeks, nobody could even give the same answer as to how much oil was gushing; we watched days go by waiting for boom to arrive; one minute BP said the effects to the environment would be minimal, while the next, categorizing the spill as the worst ever; we waited for weeks to hear someone, anyone, take full control, to put our minds at ease, while plumes of oil uncontrollably leaked into the most pristine and abundant fishing resources of the entire country -- all the while, finger pointing was taken to an unprecedented art form.

And how about the use of COREXIT -- a dispersant known to be highly toxic to humans. (And wouldn't that also include fish and everything else we don't see below the surface?)  On top of that, it is "dispersed" upon the sea floor, it keeps the oil from rising to the surface where it may otherwise meet it's fate by evaporation -- the corexit basically holds the oil hostage at the bottom, uses a greater toxic to kill a toxic, and doesn't eliminate a darned thing (or stop it for that matter) it disperses it...spreads it out...seeping into the nooks and crannies and homesteads of all living creatures under the sea.

COREXIT was banned in the UK ten years ago -- and so why would we be allowing, being the one's in charge and all, a company by the name of British Petroleum to use it, pray tell?

COREXIT is four times more toxic than the crude oil itself.

Worth repeating,

COREXIT is four times more toxic than the crude oil itself.

Hello? Government?  This can't be good -- but what do I know -- I'm just the 122 lb fly on the boom.

Of course, in the spirit of the mother of all conspiracies, according to the let's "never let a crisis go to waste" administration we seem to be dwelling under these days, why not cancel out all oil drilling from day one -- and on through every day from this day forward.  Yeah, yeah, that's sounds rational; no jumping to conclusions there, no rash outbursts or testy backtalk will keep this president from fundamentally transforming this here United States of America.  No sirree.

The campaign monies from BP to BO notwithstanding, along with exemptions on itsy bitsy regulations under BO's watch to boot (get it..."we will keep the boot to the neck until the job gets done" Salazar), and  considering BP was in line for another award on safety just moments before the explosion...

...realizing we stand side by side on the reality platform where oil executives and lobbyists gush both ways, priceless.

Call me funny, but because we allowed BP to act  nearly on it's own right from the start (since they were paying for it, and all), we didn't even declare a State of Emergency until NINE days into it; in comparison, during Katrina, the State of Emergency was declared by our President three days before it even happened --while it still didn't protect the Commander in Chief from being on the receiving end of the "why haven't you done more" angry mob. 

The act of God was one thing, but in the second thing, with the levees breaking -- that was totally unforeseen-able -- unprecedented, as some might say; an entire Corps of Engineers could not keep them from failing -- surely just a man, his name is W, a day in the life of an American President could not be everywhere and everything to every issue and live to tell about it in his latest memoir...

But G cannot help but notice that this President continues to get the unprecedented pass by our very own propaganda  press -- even while he intermittently shoots hoops, plays golf, and headlines fundraisers to save a dying incumbent breed like Barbara Boxer. (hmmm risk democratic political damage or risk total economic and environmental disaster in the gulf ... ahh screw it, "just plug the damn hole" already Obama chose to protect political fallout).

But this morning, thirty eight days into it, he brazenly noted that his response to the gulf has nothing to do with politics; it's just about doing the right thing, getting it done.  Yeah, right, and if you believe that I've got some swamp land in Florida to sell you (just never you mind about the ooey-gooey gobbledygook wading in along the shore).

Politics is not only everything in this administration -- it is precisely the most calculated, premeditated, and narcissistic-contrived theater back behind every action this administration plays out.

I'm just glad the wait is over -- the government is in charge; and unbeknownst to the majority of us, it has been the whole entire time.

Well, blow me down.

Now we know.

This is what it looks like; 
thirty eight days later, this is what our government in charge looks like.  And might I say, eew. 

That is good news, for now we know.

And likewise, now we know exactly where to point the finger --
and we will.

(and we might just raise one too)

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

"If you love someone, set them free. 

If they come back to you, they're yours.

 If they don't, they never were."

Richard Bach

Here endeth the lesson for the day; let us pray.

Ah, who am I kidding -- we're just getting started.

The thing is, America really started to get messed up the more we tried to control her. 

I'm thinking back to my Sunday evening watching America: The Story of US, listening to the remarkable progress we made over such a short period of time -- sweeping changes, and ever so swiftly -- our enterprising spirits were flying high and wide.  It was as if nothing could stand in our way, nor impede moving forward; all together, we were more brilliant than any one of us standing alone.

United, and how.
We broadened the definition of the United States of America to the hundredth degree.

We seem to forget that in order to be truly free, as a people -- we must be unhindered, unhinged, untied and unleashed -- in order to allow for each one of us to become all that we are meant to be.

I don't often get the chance to watch Oprah -- but as we approach her final days on the air, I'm trying to catch up with her; in a strange way, it is like an end of an era for me, too.  Not that everything has to be about me...

I can only imagine, however, that I'm not alone with such a narcissistic sentiment -- given how for the last couple of decades, I know for a fact, many women in America were thinking the same thing, all at the same time -- and you can quote me on that.

As women, we have this inherent way to empathize, to get sucked into someone elses emotional world before we even say hello.  As women, we feel everything, to our core -- so much so it hurts, while the next minute,we're all laughing and giggling like we have no idea what just happened.  We are a whirlwind of sentiment at any given moment, over sometimes the slightest thing -- and just fuggedabout the big stuff, whoa nelly, gadzukes, zikes @%$&**... 

Yesterday, it was Julia Roberts and Oprah; it was all about introducing Julia's latest movie, Eat Pray Love.  The author of the book, Elizabeth Gilbert, joined them about half way through the show.

Now, I'm not sure how I missed this little number, but I can tell you, I'll be reading it in a heartbeat.  I was struck by the writer having not a clue as to how her story could have gone "so viral," as she puts it.  She was like, this is so strange -- how could my story, my pain, my spiritual journey of getting over a broken heart touch so many people???  Printed in 44 languages??? And now this, a movie??? 

And then, after seeing her "story" -- her real life -- come to life on the big screen (with Julia playing her part, no less) -- she's like, oh, I get it... 

It may have been her personal thing at the root of all expression, but it was entirely universal; her story is much like every one's story.  A broken heart  is a broken heart.  We can all touch that cord in one way or another -- and, it's what ultimately ties us all up together as human beings into a pretty little package, if you ask me. 

Sometimes our lessons are difficult; sometimes we realize that what we thought was ours, and ours alone, never truly was; yet the freedom from just letting go of it -- allowing things to work out the way it's supposed to work out -- is what we must do, at times, if in fact we wish to save ourselves; otherwise, we are simply holding onto a dream, an illusion, something that really isn't there at all.

In this realm of letting our love flag fly free today, America could learn a lot from Richard Bach, and Gilbert for that matter.

We have come to a place, as a people, where we are trying to control nearly everything around us -- with regulation, with compensation, with corruption, with intimidation, with indoctrination, with redistribution.  We are controlling everything with everything except the one true thing we really need -- our Constitution.

Whether it be a personal constitution we hold tightly to ourselves, or the collective Constitution we rooted an entire nation upon -- the ability to fly free, to live free and die free, under the rule of law -- not man -- is at the heart of everything that matters to us now. For our rule of law was connected to a higher law, a natural law, compounding our ability to succeed -- for we were endowed with unalienable rights and duties from God that no man could ever take away.

America was not created out of the bonds of love -- but from the freedom to become everything we were meant to be.  America was successful at it for so long because, as a people, we were universally connected to this one spirit that united us all.  That freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness comes to those left to their own duty and devices to create something out of nothing, grateful for where our purpose and strength and talents and success comes.  We were fully, and utterly, united in this spirit every which way to Sunday; for on Sunday, we all gave thanks.

Lately, I keep hearing about what divides us -- the greatest of these falls victim to the loss of the melting into one pot that we used to be, morphing into polarized positions of what separates us instead.  Immigrants now come to America not to unite with the whole -- but to fight with it, antagonize it, feed off of it and make a mockery of it...

What if in fact, the answer, is in the union?

Lately, I keep hearing of the "contagion" rolling out from Greece...moving towards other parts of Europe...crossing the pond and affecting our markets here.... with the possible economic devastation contributing to the fall of democracies far and wide...unless we get it under control...

What if in fact, the answer, is actually in the letting go?

Free Enterprise, the American made mentality made manifest by our founders, relies on each one of us, separately, to hold true to the principles of success -- requiring a healthy constitution, firm in faith, honor, charity, truth, and hard work; and if left to our own, to do just that, wouldn't we naturally all become, all together, a nation united in the same? Wouldn't we all naturally prosper?

It doesn't take regulation, control, a government telling us what to do and how to do it --  or going so far as covering for us when we don't do a darned thing whatsoever.

Sometimes our success relies on the government letting us go -- or in us, letting go of it. 

If we are of sound mind, of conviction, of constitution, in keeping with a will to be of hearty contribution to society, everything will work out just fine -- there is nothing to fear -- all else shall be added.

Living in America is a personal journey, sure, but with universal consequences; it takes each and every one of us to do our part.  But more than that, it challenges us to let ourselves go for the betterment of the whole.  No other country in the world comes from such a place.  We were the first.

Or shall I say, our founders were the first -- we just got lucky. 

They gave us everything we ever really needed for our own personal journeys in the pursuit of happiness, and set us free -- now look at us, collectively, we are a real mess, a basket case, and in the middle of an entire box of tissues kind of afternoon.  And I would be remiss if I didn't point out the obvious -- that being, we're on our own; what we do now is far be it in their control -- matter of fact,  it never really was.

Therein lies the stark reality of letting something go.
Sure, there is risk involved; but real Americans wouldn't want it any other way.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

It was a big night for TV; the finale for LOST and Celebrity Apprentice were both in wild competition for our attention - while the History Channel included an entire evening almost exclusively for AMERICA: The Story of US.

Wondering where the American Girl settled in? 

Aside from the fact that I clicked into Celebrity Apprentice just in time to watch the underdog of the entire season, Rocker Bret Michaels, hear the infamous words from the Donald, "you're hired"...my eyes were glued on America.  And I trust I wasn't alone.

Wow.  Can I just say, thank you, to all of you who have come before me.  Each and every one of you, I owe you my life -- for shelter, for food, for the shirt on my back, for the power at my fingertips, for the fresh morning cup of joe I sipped from my favorite cup with such ease, for the ability to advance and grow this nation into what it is today.

Of course, dumb luck and perseverance ventured into every endeavor time and time again.  The will to see something through to completion, the spirit to win, the mindset of never taking no for an answer, and the unwavering character deeply embedded into the American way that carried US to greatness over, what hindsight tells us, a very short period of time, was remarkable to watch.

And the statistics thrown about oh my goodness! And the change of perspective of things, nearly overnight!

For example, oil was first considered "a nuisance" when farmers and land owners were digging their wells in search of water; we had to wait until the mid 1850's before we were able to understand how to purposefully use the gook.  And how within the first year, as the drill baby drill mentality sank in, over 500 oil companies jumped into the new market; subsequently, how the price of oil went from $200/barrel to THREE CENTS; ultimately, how refineries made it possible to develop the automobile for the common man, not just as play toys for the wealthy.

Certainly, stunning commentary was floated in and around the stories, like from Bill Maher (eew -- but I digress) who said something like this during the Prohibition segment: "ya just can't legislate morality."

Exactly.
For the first time, I think we can agree on something.

The government intervened with the sale and commerce of alcohol, and what happened?  All hell broke loose; self-discipline was the nation's saving grace, at the root of our success or our own personal failure.

From William Blackstone, one of America's free thinkers of yesteryear:

"Let a man therefore be ever so abandoned in his principles, or vicious in his practice, provided he keeps his wickedness to himself, and does not offend against the rules of public decency, he is out of the reach of human laws.  But if he makes his vices public, though they be such as seem principally to affect himself (as drunkenness, or the like), they then become by the bad example they set, of pernicious effects to society; and therefore it is then the business of human laws to correct them...Public sobriety is a relative duty [relative to other people], and therefore enjoined by our laws; private sobriety is an absolute duty, which, whether it be performed or not, human tribunals can never know; and therefore they can never enforce it by any civil sanction."

The only guarantee of a good and civil society comes in the nurturing and substance back behind good and civil individuals.

Going another direction, the history of our wartime is mind-boggling; from the over 600,000 killed in the civil war, to the 126,000 killed in one battle alone, at Normandy during WWII -- combined with the 64,000 civilians who died just making ammunition and military supplies -- lives sacrificed for the good of the whole is at times in our history unfathomable.

While the context of the fight between Joe Lewis and Max Schmelling I never fully understood, given the distance of my generation.  I had no idea of the power-keg surrounding the representation of ideologies -- of the son of a slave standing for America, up against the master race, and Nazi Germany.  It may have taken a rematch, but we, or should I say, Lewis, defeated pure evil.  America was the hero, as exemplified by an African-American man, and the year was 1938.  Now look at US, flash forward to 2008, and the first African-American President is the leader of the free world.  Only in America.

Yet, what seems to have struck me the hardest, and left such an imprint in my memory, was the level of lawlessness (along with how incredibly dirty everything was); besides the brutal hardship of homesteading across the open plains, the invention of mass produced steel created a little something we like to call, the city.  The truth is, movies like Gangs of New York, frightfully nail it; for crime and punishment was simply the way it was, way back when; a civil survival of the fittest.  The thought of being able to rent a gun by the hour, traveling murderers and thievery reigned as a method of survival, and haunted the streets of every city brave enough to pop up, seemingly getting worse the more advanced we had become.

The early nineteen hundreds are credited for the invention of mug shots, as well as the explanation behind the Third Degree: 1) persuasion 2) intimidation and if that doesn't work, 3) inflicting pain!

Think about it, there were no drivers licenses, or I.D.'s of any kind -- thugs were able to wreck havoc on a city and move on to the the next without so much as a way to find them again, criminals ran around anonymously with the rest of us every day.  Now look at US, we not only have databases of head shots and pages of psychiatric profiles to go with, but we have amassed a way to save the DNA from every crime.

And of course, speaking of the filth found in the streets, up until the day indoor plumbing was required in every tenement, 40,000 people died a year in New York alone, from the incredible amount of human waste and dead animals found under our feet.   Flash photography, also invented in the early 1900's, managed to shock Americans into reform and shortly thereafter, saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Now look at US, Yahoo! and YouTube and NY Times and newspapers around the globe, bring us face to face with every atrocity known to man within probably 10 minutes.

Now look at US! 

The age of enlightenment was followed by an industrial age like no other.  America grew from guts and glory, in feast and famine, through dust bowls and floods; whether it was the eighth grade education or the ivy league schooled, the drunk and disorderly or the civil and constraint,  we made US; whether war time or peace time, we always advanced.

The method of looking ahead, not back, has always served US well -- whether it be technology, energy, ecology, humanity, or our simple liberties.  But lest we forget, America awas built upon the foundation laid by our founders to forge ahead in every which way conceivably possible -- for if we could think it, dream it, build it, they will come.  The Constitutuion -- with it's limitations and duties, individually and collectively, gave US the very framework for all we have before us.

Now look at US; spoiled beyond recognition.

One of the most heartwarming things I heard last night was that the History Channel was making available the entire series to every school in America: The Story of US.

It's like a grandparent sitting all the kids down to hear a story, one that reminds the youngins' how hard it was to work, for pennies an hour, barely twelve years old, in order for the family to have bread for their evening meal; or one that refreshes the spirit of a romance, how grand daddy met grand mammy, and the rest was history; or one that reminds us why we fought so hard for the rights of all people, even people we don't even know, whether here or across an ocean and around the world; or one that reinforces the strength of growing a nation of good character, freely honoring a religion of one's choosing and wanting, truly, to become something wonderful for the world -- but most of all for our country for which we stand.

The day we stop telling the story of US -- in ways that bring about the exceptional and remarkable, along with realities of the reprehensible and ill repute --  will be the day we stop being America.

Sometimes growing a nation takes persuasion, intimidation and pain -- three degrees of separation from being truly free on our own merits, or behind bars.

And the real beauty is, the story is ours to make every day as we speak.

Make it a Good Day, G

I had my doubts about Bret Michaels...a fine example of never throwing in the bandanna too soon.  Way to go, Mr. Michaels -- and rock on, American boy.  Today's music is dedicated to you, just a click away on Dear America.

For another interesting take on the making of history today, go to http://ring4liberty.blogspot.com/
Good stuff on the big H, Ringo!

Dear America,

"...[Republic] a government derives all its powers

directly or indirectly from the great body of the people,

and is administered by persons holding their offices

during [the people's] pleasure for a limited period,

or during good behavior."

James Madison, (Federalist Papers, No.39)

Okay.  We could go round all day on the many ways size does matter; but today, we will narrow it down to a funny little thing I found on Yahoo. this morning, something that ventured to explain why we exist.

Many of us could actually answer that without thinking twice about it, and It begins with the letter G -- but heck, let's just roll with this anyway.

Apparently, for years, scientists have wondered how matter and the antimatter do not entirely cancel each other out; how is it we can walk around, when all things point to the opposite affect, and to that end, non-existence for everyone, and every thing? 
Well, low and behold, according to a band of 500 rocket scientists, there is a one point advantage to the side of matter -- 1% separates us from being a thing or a no-thing.

Matter over the Anti-matter; conviction over apathy; honor over corruption; truth over ignorance; everlasting over the moment; we the people over congress -- good always comes out on top -- oh, thank God.

It may not appear so, it may take time, it may even take a generation to return; but the means to the end, holding dear to principles and values, wins every time.  It's just the way of natural law, of cause and effect, of how matter truly does matter; while without a doubt, the one-point edge is good to know now for certain.

I was enlightened by another ongoing experiment in the pursuit of understanding We the People yesterday -- Glenn Beck pointed out the realization that 17 out of the top 25 books being sought after for enlivening and enrichment (on http://www.amazon.com/), for answers and not rhetoric, encapsulate either our Founders, early Americana, or our Constitution --  we all seem to be looking at the one thing that continues to capture our imagination and answer the question, just how did we get here? Just how did America get here?  After all that's been said and done, how can this be?

And with that goes along something I find humorous within the media -- seems the journalists and commentators can't seem to explain the Tea Party phenomenon as easily as they would like it to be; it's a matter that for all intents and purposes, reckons to be something undefinable; even though the typical tea party group is never one in the same with another -- homegrown and vibrant, they are an enigma of political sway and circumstance. 

Neither party is safe, or considered absolute, under the looking glass of a truth-er -- a political scientist hell bent on finding the candidate that best subscribes and holds to the founding principles of this country -- those who best exemplify the men (or women) of honor like days of yore.

Yet the commonality of what matters to everyone acquainted with, or intimately tied to, a tea party is the same -- no matter where you go, there you are.  It is absolutely brilliant, really.

The matter, and what truly matters, is all the same -- restoring America's limited government, in keeping with the principles beholdened to our personal liberties and freedom for all, equally, under the rule of law -- not man.

Some try very hard to define, control, round up the data into one word, like calling it a "movement"  -- nix ay on the oovement-stay;  as if it is fleeting somehow, a fad, something that will go away -- here today, gone to Maui... 

When in fact it is way deeper than that; for it is simply the way -- the American Way! 

And every one born on these shores is made of this!  What's more, we embody this kind of matter, this American way of life, this conviction to our founders, and the intentions brought forth within our sacred documents -- like the Federalist Papers, our Declaration of Independence, our Federal Constitution, our State Constitutions -- we cling to these because it is our Truth.  It is what matters to ALL of US in the end.  And without it, we got nothin'.

Discovering that science supports matter above all else is cool; finding out that only one-percent separates us from what truly matters, and what does not, is even better; KNOWING what matters has the edge, priceless.

The T's have it today, and hopefully until the end of time.  For the tea party people have recognized, for quite some time now, the edge of our existence; and with any luck, it may be the one factor that pushes the doubters over to the believers in this instant.

Make it a Good Day, G

Someone who has clearly lost his edge is our President; but come to think of it, upon further examination, it appears to be more a case of being consumed by the anti-matter right from the start.  That is unfortunate; we had such high hopes., nobody questioned a thing.

Remember: 

Click on Dear America above, 

every day, don't forget, let the music muse you.

Dear America,

 "Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship

with All Nations -- entangling alliances with none."

Thomas Jefferson

"Observe good faith and justice toward all nations.  Cultivate peace and harmony with all.  Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it?  It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice an benevolence."
George Washington

"Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens, the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.  But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided instead of a defense against it." Washington

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.  So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith.  Here let us stop."  Washington

To yesterday,

"We can do so if we create a safer border, a border that will unite us instead of dividing us, uniting our people -- We can do so with a community that will promote a dignified life in an orderly way for both our countries."  Mexican President Felipe Calderon

The South Lawn was the scene, along with Mexican and U.S. flags flapping together like the mexican hat dance, with the props of cheering school children, waving the two Presidents on, for the moment of greatness and grandeur to poetically and politically ensue.

"I say to you and to the Mexican people: Let us stand together,"

Mexican--Muslim -African-American President

 Barrack Hussein [Jesus, pron. hay-suse] Obama

We have apparently skipped over securing the border to just tearing down the wall, what's left of it anyway.

Along with the recent escapades in China -- starring our very own U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Michael Posner -- discussing Arizona's law as a "troubling trend," ripe with "issues of discrimination" with a rogue dictator nation who gets it's kicks starving and murdering their own, atrocities in Tibet, and issues of forced abortion, if heaven forbid a woman has not conceived a boy, or for population control, along with the day to day reality that if anyone who might cross it's borders be subject to hard labor for life, or even immediate death -- we seem to be taking our foreign policy to a whole new level of kiss ass all around the world.

Did America slip into some kind of black hole? If we hadn't just emasculated our space program, I would have thought we had fallen into some kind of perverse universe, or something.  Or maybe I'm just getting dazed and confused by the nation's slip and slide into Margaritaville.

Hello?  Hola, anyone seen America?  I know she's around here somewhere.

You know, an American cannot buy any property in Mexico, ever.  The closest thing you can get to a stucco-ing your own mi casa es su casa is a 99 year lease -- and even that has it's own caveats and idiosyncrasies.  It's Mexico.

A gringo cannot go to Mexico, without perhaps an attorney these days -- just in case the Federales throw you in jail just for looking like a stupid American.  The police are renowned for just pulling you over and hauling you into jail -- oh unless, you have a handsome Benjamin  lying around.  Then, you may get lucky.

For years, Americans have crossed the border down south, crossing their fingers that everybody behaves and nobody looks at you funny...as minding your p's and q's is ratcheted up to a whole 'nother level.

If you go, you need to know Spanish and the current exchange rate; otherwise, you could be taken for a ride -- whether it is just in a taxi, dinner, or the ceramic Elvis you just had to have.

If you go, some may say, an American risks his life nowadays -- what with the drug wars and gang violence. 

The truth is, it was always a concern, even twenty years ago; as an American, you always had to be aware of your surroundings, know where you are going, and appear to blend in without causing any trouble.  That's just the way it was -- and is today, albeit worse, if it could ever really be. 

As crazy as it may sound, it was all about respect...the same sentiment of when in Rome, when in Rosarito -- if you come with respect, honoring the culture, and obeying the laws and your inherent responsibility of adhering to them at the very intersection of time crossing over the line, no worries.

My home-girls and I would venture down to an Americanized compound just south of Rosarito, called Las Gaviotas, buenos dias mucho.  Again, you could buy a homestead there, just never really own it.  The government could take it from you at any time -- and sometimes they did.  Even for people who had property south of the border for a generation, or two; even for people who spent years hand tiling their floors and mantels, searching out furnishings of leather and fine wood, hanging plates and art pieces to their freshly whitewashed walls.  It was just an understanding between communities; no harm was ever really meant, I think.
The best thing was just sitting on the deck catching the soft ocean breeze with tequila and lime, eating ceviche tostadas, basking in the abundance of sunshine on Mexican time, with not a care in the world.
 
The people of Mexico have actually loved Americans coming down -- and possibly still do, just I haven't crossed the border now in years.  But if my memory serves me well, and I truly believe it does, the taco stands were always a mix of gringos and the neighborhood, enjoying the same carne asada with cilantro, guacamole and lime together, in a unique blend of culture and camaraderie.  They needed us as much as we needed them, and there was no border line in-between us.
 
Calderon has called for us to basically "unite" our borders now -- as if asking, in some kind of off-beat way, to disregard there ever was one.  Ahh si, who needs a border...borders divide us...they stand for bad will....they discriminate...and offer no help to the Mexican people whatsoever. 
 
And then there goes our very own President of the United States of America, saying si, I agree, let us "stand together" as one nation, indivisible, under God, tell the clergy everyone -- uniting church and state now with every sense of the word, elevating another liberal universe where wonders never cease...but that which we will save for discussion for another day.
 
Our nation is becoming globalized and politicized with the rest of the world -- and I do believe, if Washington or Jefferson were sitting at the taco stand next to us today, they would muster their best Spanish and say, 'no comprende senior' at the top of their lungs -- or maybe, 'mi casa es mi casa immedioso' when you are ready to respect mi case, beinvenidos, until then, adios. 
 
For perhaps they knew then, what may be, far more than we know now -- the revelation that politics and tequila do not mix (just as politics with Saki; just as politics and Ouzo; just as politics and Vodka; just as politics with Limoncello; just as politics with Champagne; just as politics with a yummy Amber Ale -- which is ironically back to where we started.) 
 
Make it a Grande Bueno Day, G
 
You know what's funny, part of southern california's electricity may get cut off -- if you don't here from me for a few days, you will know why...  apparently, given the LA/SD Boycotts of Arizona, a place most notable in this moment to give us our lights and refrigeration among many other creature comforts and favorite things -- THEY may boycott business back.  Too funny.

And just to be clear -- I love Mexico -- adore the culture -- and for a little bit of TMI, was actually conceived in Mexico, as the romance is told.  I say viva la Mexico, but not at the exception of our very own America.  Yes we can secure our southern border, with the same level of adherence and discipline and regulation as every other nation -- of course with a whole lot more compassion and human rights thrown in, unlike China, or North Korea, or North Vietnam, or Iran...just saying.

Dear America,

I would be remiss if I didn't bring it up; for I am just a girl, her name is Gretchen, a day in the life of an American girl...

So how about that Miss America last night?  What a beautiful flip of the hair to the irony of the times, no?

Never mind Miss Colorado, and the return of pageant's past in flubbing the dreaded question portion of the evening, for I have no idea what she said. Let's just race to the finish and the first nationalized, Arab-American girl, Rima Fakih -- from the state of Michigan, no less -- being crowned our nation's most beautiful girl in the world.

Now think back fifteen minutes.

There she was, Miss Morgan Woodland of Oklahoma, answering the most controversial question of the night -- judge, Oscar Nunez, could barely get the question out of his mouth before a bevy of boos came at him from the crowd of commoners in the background...he's like, 'now hold on...you haven't even heard...' 

It didn't matter where Nunez was going with it -- the audience wanted no part of it; he asked it anyway.

And without skipping a beat, the poised American maiden replied,

"I'm a huge believer in states' rights.  I think that's what's so wonderful about America.  So I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law,"

adding also, that she doesn't approve of illegal immigration and her concern for racial profiling.  In less than a minute, she honestly maneuvered around the most volatile subject of our day with compassion and rare American-girl guts, grasping the founder's intentions without blinking an eye, but quite possibly, with a wink.  She nailed it and she knew it.

Tell us what she won, Johnny?

Little Miss Morgan from Oklahoma got first runner up and was beat out by the only immigrant in the bunch -- for the baby girl born in Lebanon, a far cry from one of our fifty states, took home the prize; and with a twist of immigration nation kicks and giggles it was over. (Rima's question, if birth control should be covered by insurance...please, and you call that equal billing with immigration reform, coupled with protests and boycotts, but I digress.)

Truth be told, Rima is actually the second "Arab-American", but who's counting anymore right -- for the first was a California girl back in 1983 -- Julie Hayek; this born and raised American girl's father came, too, from Lebanon, fleeing from a country taken over by radical Islamic terrorism.

But in the spirit of this fine nation, in the spirit of this nation's LEGAL immigration policy, in the spirit of this nation's open door to all who wish to come through the front door and maybe end up center stage at any one of our umpteen venues displaying the best and the brightest, the fastest or the strongest, the prettiest and the luckiest, play out their live long dreams -- it is here, only in America! for God Bless the USA!

Baby Rima was not even born here and she is now Miss America -- she couldn't be President, so she decided to go for Miss USofA.  Is this not a beautiful country, or what?

Sure, one could make other noteworthy claims after this year's extravaganza -- like how many girls get boob jobs now, or how the more things change, the more things stay the same, when watching a spectacle of this sort.  It still gets down to girls prancing around in bathing suits and evening gowns with pasted white smiles across their well-spackled faces and bouffant hair dos.

This year is no exception -- except for that itsy-bitsy minor error in sound judgement, allowing the girls to masquerade around in their undies, and shoot artistic stills in black and white for cover.  We somehow went from poo pooing any suspect modeling backgrounds, frowning upon any display of sexual deviation from the dignified and reserved head shots and completely clothed portfolios, to a new era featuring the Guess model -- fifty of them.

Interesting that the pictures came out of nowhere, just days before the televised event...hmmmm...and who says sex doesn't sell...

Interesting to note further, even though the Maine girl fully approved -- by the likes of her answer anyway, while still  in the top five -- the photo shoot wasn't something where the girls had a choice.  If they were in it to win it they did it, no questions asked.  I mean seriously, can we really expect Maine to say, you trashed the contest in front of millions of Americans and be able to live to take first place?

So what kind of litmus test is in the future for contestants coming of age down the road?  Or have we broken that barrier too? Does Miss America become just a stage of talking tits, I don't know -- or is that just the way it's always been...hmmm....time will tell... at least it use to...for we certainly don't wait until we are deep into middle age to get a boost anymore, now do we. (not me, of course)

The genuine American girl is becoming a thing of the past -- it may not matter where you are born -- or even if your boobs are real -- but one thing's for sure, if the next Miss America is an illegal alien from Tijuana, you know we've got problems.

Make it a Good Day, G

and go world peace.

Dear America,

Life gives us exactly what we make of it; our level of commitment, to nourish and sustain us, is at the core; while the seed of our expectations, planted at the very start, gives us everything we ever really need to know.

This morning I am fascinated by our "level of commitment" to Afghanistan; over the last ten years, it has ebbed and flowed, it's been up and down, it's captured our attention, and then poof!, out of sight out of mind and then back again.

For the United States, it has settled in an uncomfortable position to say the least; we are damned if we do and damned if we don't, and would hate to risk it either way.  We have one foot in and one foot out,  do the hokey pokey and we turn ourselves about...

How can we say in one breath, we are out July 2011, and in the very next, be on our knees committed to a marriage for a lifetime, if that's what it takes?  It just doesn't make sense.  We simply can't have it both ways.

Then there is Hamid Karzai, who in a real stunner happened to say this yesterday -- mind you, while at a press conference to calm the nation's nerves...and I QUOTE:  "If there is anything we can do, call us."

What?

Seriously?

We have our warriors in your backyard to fend off the growth of radical Islam terrorists planted amongst the poppy fields, and you act like the neighbor next door, offering what appears to be an insincere sentiment without the stamina or will to back it up?  Oh yes, let me know if you need anything...cup of sugar, I'm there for ya...

His comment almost made me laugh, if it weren't for the sinking feeling in my gut that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, while if we are not 'in it to win it' no matter what it takes, it would be highly recommended for us just to get out.  Now.  As fast as we can.

Our level of commitment is everything.

In the very same evening, I happened to jump to the PBS News Hour -- and all I can say now that I'm looking back -- it must have been Divine Providence leading me out of the desert, or something.

There he was, a guy named Wes Moore.  An articulate, handsome, breath of fresh air; a tall glass of water to quench my weary soul, indeed. He was exactly what I needed.

Wes wrote a book -- of which I am doing something I would not normally do -- by recommending it before I've read it myself.  Look for The Other Wes Moore today, and buy it.  Support this man and his foundation, built upon a simple premise, there were two roads... one took the high, the other took low.

Without reading it, as lame as it sounds, I can just tell you my expectations of value are on high alert for this one; for this man is the very example of living his expectations, rising above challenges and making something of himself.  For the two "Wes Moore's" were of startling similar backgrounds:  both from single mothers, both from the same inner city neighborhood, both with the same inclination towards drugs and gangs, and both with the same prospects of getting out...or so we thought.

Yes, both boys played with fire, committed petty crimes at an early age, and seemed all but a lock in for taking the road commonly traveled by an African-American boy of these highly suspect and tenuous surroundings.  However, one boy had a mother who had a dream for him to be different -- and believed he could.  On a wing and a prayer, she sent him off to a military school to set him straight, if you will, and give him a foundation to carry him into a life of higher aspirations.  And it worked.

Years down the road, this Wes comes home to find his mom mumbling about some other Wes Moore; turns out there are these posters up all over the neighborhood, bearing a picture with the forewarning that "Wes Moore may be armed and dangerous" and to steer clear.

Well, the long story short, is that Wes Moore, captured by the happenstance of the two worlds of the same but different converging, wrote a book about The Other Wes Moore -- reaching conclusions that our expectations shape our lives in unimaginable ways -- and in looking back, he could very well have been this other Wes Moore. 

The Other Wes Moore sits in jail today, having been the outcome of what Wes refers to as "making unforgivable [bad] decisions."  But the point is they came nearly from the exact same seed by all accounts, and could have been twins, if not for the internal push from within to become something better, and to believe and expect that he could by the strength and conviction of a mother who wished harder for him than  for herself.

Sure, luck may play a part; being in the right place at the right time maybe.  Perhaps a few caring souls along the way, integrally involved at all levels to help him succeed, sure.  But above all, it took Wes' personal commitment to do the work, the hard work -- and boy did it pay off,  he went on to be a Rhodes Scholar of all things!  He grew to expect great things -- and he did great things; as he said in the interview, "expect to graduate, and you do."

His story, in a word, inspires me; it forces me to stop and pay attention to where my commitments are in my life -- am I committed to what truly grows a better person, today, right now?  What kind of life am I nurturing -- and how may I serve my girl better, or my love better, or my own soul better? How absolute are my expectations, and in turn my actions, in creating the outcome for success or failure, in my own life?  Are both of my feet in, dare I ask, in everything life requires of me? Am I doing my very best, to push myself forward?

Of course, on a grander scale, my heart aches for the path of this country; my mind wanders down the road of financial defeat and insurmountable debt, the absence of good character and of the Wes Moore's of true substance, finding ourselves suddenly at the crossroads -- the lost, disenchanted, and the so called disenfranchised on the one side, coupled with those who recognize the secret within us all and only believe in the something better -- an idea humbly fostered by our forefathers, seemingly terribly lost in translation from one generation to another two hundred and thirty four years later.

It is unimaginable really; how we have all come from the same seed set forth by our founders, and yet here we are, collectively, dying on the vine.

I wish to nurture the mindset of the wiser Wes Moore in us all; I wish to stand for an undying commitment to America, the land of the free, home of the brave -- maker of people like Wes Moore, the Wes Moore who wrote a book about The Other Wes Moore -- planting seeds of greatness, shedding a little light on those of us who need a little help, providing us with a gentle reminder of what we are made of, our potential, sprinkling us with inspiration and the push to burst forth with both feet firmly planted, committed for all seasons, everlasting.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

"to see rising in America an empire of liberty,

and the prospect of two or three hundred

 millions of freemen,

without one noble

or one king among them"

John Adams

How weird is that?  We are at the 300th million right now...

The intentions were pure, and simple.
The whole nature of American Government was set up with the separation of powers so that we would be a nation under the rule of law, not of men.

We hear this over and over, and yet, we still don't get it -- and matter of fact, are taking things in reverse; we are becoming everything we left England for; we are becoming a land based on everything we loathe -- a government shaping every aspect of our lives from what is deemed too much salt to bailing out failed businesses, banks and failed European nations, like Greece -- with our military spanning the globe to protect every other nation, but our own.

Think about it. We don't have our military lined up upon our border; we don't have our military protecting the streets of New York; our military is so embedded with other people's defenselessness, we barely have enough left over to care for ourselves. 

This was not what our forefathers intended; peace through strength was the mission, the way of the nation's security -- and it was as simple as that.

We were supposed to be somewhat isolationists, our military was to be used to defend our shores and more or less keep to ourselves -- and not get involved with the rise and fall of the rest of the world.  Now we could argue night and day the justification of our involvement in the both the world wars, and places like Vietnam, and of course today, occupying places like Iraq and Afghanistan -- but that is not where G wants to go -- we can save it for another time and place.  And just to make myself perfectly clear, my utmost respect and gratitude for our Armed Forces ranks super high on my list, everyday.

But let's delve deeper in this idea of keeping to ourselves.  Here at home, and as intended by the founders, our system of checks and balances of both federal and state powers elevated the individual; as the Tenth Amendment states, "the powers not delegated to the U.S. Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."  We were a nation of the people, by the people, WE the people.  And likewise,

"If the federal government became dominant, it would mean the end of local self-government and the security of the individual.  On the other hand, if the states become dominant, the federal government would become so weak that the structure of the nation would begin to fractionalize and disintegrate into smaller units."

It was all about the balance of power. 

As laid out in The 5000 Year Leap, a major shift in our checks and balances in government occurred in 1913, after years of rolling along just fine, the 17th Amendment swooshed in at the first sign of progressivism, allowing the popular vote to take away the power of the state -- Senators, having been previously appointed by their own state legislatures --  only now being elected by the general public, just as in the House of Representatives.

But by implementing this one change, the federal government usurped control and power as originally intended -- as the actions of Senators were no longer on behalf of the individual state, advocating the needs of the state, with the ability to "veto any legislation by the House of Representatives which they considered a threat to the rights of the individual states." (Note to self, if I were president for the day, first thing I'd fix).



The Senate simply became just another branch of government conveniently swayed and corrupted by popular opinion, lobbyists, special interests and all the perks that come with higher power; and the sovereignty of the individual state was gone. Making it much easier for making law run amuck and for states to lose their say -- and indeed it has.

This is not what our founders intended.

If we consider what is happening in Arizona for a moment, we might just see how essential the balance of power and the effects of any imbalance might be.  If only the federal government heeded the wishes of the state; if only the representation in the Senate came from a position forcing the issues particular to the state; if only the task of securing our borders, as delegated to the federal government, was handled thirty years ago -- like for instance, immediately following Reagan's amnesty of 3 million illegals.

This is not what our founders intended.

And now, we're all over the place; today, we have 54 BILLION American dollars bailing out Greece with no say whatsoever; it's done with a phone call, from our President to the EU, with the message, "let's get it done."

While poll after poll will tell you, Americans haven't given the stamp of approval on our own bail outs -- whether it be TARP funds or "STIMULUS" -- but here we are now, bailing out other countries without so much as a congressional vote, just like that -- the federal reserve waltzes in, writes a bad check without looking back.

While on top of that, if the issue raised by our very own Glenn Beck is true -- referring to AIG insuring the Credit Default Swaps, being currently secured by billionaires, banks and Hedge Fund Managers, betting in wild abandon that Greece will ultimately fail -- America will surely come tumbling after.  For why would we put ourselves in such a vulnerable position, with our own serious liabilities and mass corruption to correct as well?  Why? 

This is not what our founders intended.

Here's a question, why would we ever mirandize and jail any illegal immigrant?  With one-third of our jails occupied by illegals, wouldn't it be cheaper, and wiser, to send them immediately on a one-way ticket home?

Here's another question, if places like Greece -- renowned for unfunded liabilities in entitlement programs, socialized medicine, and union retirement benefits bankrupting an entire nation goes unchecked for years, until such time they simply can't turn on the lights, causing uprisings and violent protests -- are we really all that far behind?  Or do we just don't want to look?

And how about what we are calling the latest Grecian formula for revival in this new legislation to fix themselves the world over -- referring to it as the Austerity Policy.  Are you kidding me?  After years of living the antithesis of such -- living it up on Ouzo, throwing plates up against the wall with retirement at 53, and celebrating the live long day, you now wish to bestow upon your citizens brand new policy based upon strict financial regulation, taking on more personal responsibility and capping benefits, characterized by austerity?  Have you not seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

This is Greece on bailout, in the words of Aunt Voula, "What do you mean he don't eat meat?" pause.  "Oh that's okay, I make lamb."

I just don't see how this is all gonna work out okay.

If I were making the deal, I would have at the very least proclaimed free gyros to Americans for life (with proof of I.D.of course), but that's just me.

Here's another question, what happens when Portugal, or Italy, or Ireland go down?

And just who is left to bail out America when the European Union is broke?

This would be a good time to get back to original intent.

Less is more, as austerity was the way -- if we simply stuck to the Puritan mindset, as archaic as that may sound, isolation -- without taking away the community and fellowship with one another as a whole, nor the joy of true free enterprise -- and living the simple life would have saved us; much of our mess simply would not exist.  And Greece proves that theory on the streets of Athens as we speak, though it's all greek to me...opa!

If America is in fact "the world's best hope," as Thomas Jefferson once said, what really happens now when even our own foothold upon the very foundation of this nation keeps slipping away?

"It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force."
                                                 Alexander  Hamilton

The great equalizing of society is taking shape on a global scale -- as horrific as it may sound, perhaps the intentions of this government is for America to fail, in order to come to the table of the global economy on the same poor, miserable footing as the rest of the world -- for that would be only fair, right?  

According to the latest government era of "never let a crisis go to waste" along side the ever so popular ideology of the redistribution of wealth (note of sarcasm, please), you would think the individual, and the rise of the common man, had nothing to do with America's Divine Providence all these years.

To return full circle with a word from John Adams, he concluded that:

"if the people abandoned

 the freedom gained

 by the adoption of the Constitution,

 it would be treason

against the hopes of the world."

Perhaps it is time to re-affirm and re-establish "good government from reflection and choice;" in other words, that being what our founders intended and the rest of the world depends. 

Yes. Exceptional-ism joyously intended.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.

there is way too much going on in this world -- unprecedented turmoil all around; while I haven't even had my coffee for three days... talk about don't talk to me...talk about sinking into despair and Lifetime TV movies and letting it all out sequestered under my blankie with my BooBoo by my side...

the world is just not that funny.


But then, no stopping our dear President making a a few jokes at the Correspondents Association Dinner, huh.  And good for him; that's the way to let out a little steam. 

Seriously, it is.

It's just funny listening to what he thinks is funny.

And he was funny, have to give him that.

He is so comfortable in the accompaniment of his people -- even though, he tries to pull off the idea that the mainstream media have been all over him, saying "even though the mainstream press gives me a  pretty hard time (really?)...I hear that I'm still pretty big on Twitter, and Facebook, or as Sarah Palin likes to call it 'the socialized media." hardy har har

All too funny, given he then turned around to diss the prevalence of ipods, ipads, and xboxes, oh my, all in one fell swoop during a commencement speech just a few days later at Hampton U...and he was being totally serious to boot.  go figure.. coming from the prince of peace wagering on every techno widget and gadget known to man when campaigning to get out the vote. 

"...coming of age in a 24/7 media environment, some of which don't rank high in the truth meter...ipods and ipads and xboxes and playstations, none of which I know how to work... Information becomes a distraction, a diversion; a form of entertainment rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than a means of emancipation..."

Say what?

For it was in the days of his campaign, he used McCain's lack of techno wizardry as a talking point...poking fun at his all but non-existent experience with the keyboard and his inability to evolve beyond snail mail (oh the irony, now that he's in charge of the post office, bet he's wishing we all showed more love to that crumbling monument of government's failure to understand business).

Oh he loves to make fun of McCain, and by all means his home state -- while yucking it up at the dinner, he started out riding McCain just a bit, noting he never gave personal claim to his  nickname "Maverick",  brilliantly spinning it into a serendipitous dig on Arizona's new immigration law, saying "we all know what happens in Arizona when you don't have I.D...adios amigos..."

Well, it's just another perfect example of how things can spin around the world at lightening speed these days, even a President can be misguided by the rhetoric and political correctness of a moment in history.  Good thing we have a place to go to...places like the world wide web await us.. to lift us up and bring us back from the brink...that is what he meant when he said this at Hampton U, no?

"so many voices clamoring for attention on blogs, and on cable, and talk radio.  It can be difficult at times to sift through -- to know what to believe -- who's telling the truth and who is not."

Are you talkin' to me? Say it like Joey, on the streets of Chicago.

Ah yes, to be perfectly clear, true emancipation doesn't come from the hand of government, nor out of the hearts and minds and mouths of Presidents.

To be fair and balanced, America has equally shared the spotlight with both political parties; none of which may take credit for carrying the common man out of poverty and suffering.

Why? because as our founders cautiously but emphatically outlined for us, the politics of party line cannot accomplish what must inherently come from the INDIVIDUAL.  This country was designed in all seriousness to let the common man be, do and have whatever the common man can.  It was not predicated on a government, everywhere and larger than life itself, to do for man what man must do for himself.

With all things being equal, this is what makes all men equal -- this is what made an Oprah, a Bill Gates, a Hollywood, a Silicone Valley -- this is what takes us from the first automobile to an industry in under sixty seconds in relation to the rest of the  world -- this is what makes a Wall Street and a Main Street, both the highs and the lows -- this is what makes an "L.T.", only sharply contrasted by the differences between a Tomlinson and a Taylor -- this is what makes a President of mixed race deliver a few funnies, whether it be a correspondents dinner or college commencement, with such ease and eloquence, you would be led to believe he was the perfect candidate for the task at hand, being the American President who came from nothing to become a very big something that he is.

What's funny is how this government wishes to solve the world's inequities by taking away from those who simply HAVE -- those who have "made it" by figuring things out on their own -- including those who may have needed some help, perhaps relied on the wisdom of those who have came before us -- like our founders; or perhaps, more closer to home, find themselves indebted to the undying love and support of a parent or grandparent, and maybe a guardian angel or two.

There is only one thing that keeps us from reaching our highest and our very best every day -- and it is the value we place on ourselves to becoming everything we ever dreamed. This begins with the first family we ever come to know; the environment in which we are raised and the mentoring from none other than our mamas and our papas, and perhaps a few teachers down the road, shape us into who we ultimately become.

For richer or poorer, all families come from this place we call home; and all families have the ability to transcend circumstances and make something of themselves, whether you accept it as truth, or not -- it was laid out before us a very long time ago, five thousand years ago to be exact.

Whether we come from a good family or not, our inherent rights, passed on from generation to generation, come from a higher place; nothing but our individual connection to this Life Force, along with our recognition of our ability to rise above challenges and hindrances we think are beyond repair -- can keep us apart from receiving the Kingdom, for nothing is impossible in the eyes of God.  America begins and ends at the kitchen table and good night kisses; let us return to making good families, as if our future depends upon it, because it does -- and that's the truth.

For even with all the modern conveniences like ipods and xboxes, Obama is right to some degree; for we have seen time and time again, money and things can ruin a child just as easily as the lack thereof.  (Did you happen to catch that story on Warren Buffet's son?) 

It always seems to get down to the values we teach our children from the moment they are born, how we foster them into becoming the young adults on the precipice of entering the new world, so that they may become the journalists or the bloggers or the cable news dudes or the talk radio renegades or like anyone else from the mainstream media who simply fall to their knees in the presence of the great articulator-in-chief...mindlessly enthralled by everything he says or does.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails...and now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13

It is a wacky world out there, no kidding; some things we read are true, some things are not, while some things totally contradict what was previously widely accepted... but the greatest of these is love; we must embrace it all -- for whatever it's worth, for whatever value we gain -- for censoring any of it would be un-American, and may very well take away the amusement, the empowerment, the distractions, the education, and the opportunity to grow tolerance, have faith in our fellow man, and hope for a better future -- and in so doing be able to reach our highest pinnacle,  true emancipation for us all.  What a wonderful world that would be.

Then we have this,

"is not general incivility the essence of love?" 

Jane Austen

Keeping it real -- even if that means we endure snippets in time when we laugh at ourselves and each other -- is one of the greatest man-made distractions we've got left.   And if anyone is keeping score, who really has the last laugh anyway?

But there is a funny thing about truth; the truth shall set us free...

in joy, or in sorrow, right on cue and according to our belief, every time.

I never proclaim all the answers, amused mostly by lots of questions.  But maybe if we get back to teaching our children a little self-reliance, empowering them with words of common sense respective of liberty and freedom to build from all schools of thought, our kids might be better prepared for the whole world; instead we have a president going around saying read this and not that; this is funny, but not that; this is news, but not that -- selectively censoring all the world has to offer, woefully ignorant of supporting the open and lively debate from which a young mind truly grows; as civilized as it may appear, a world like this would look a lot like tyranny.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Happy NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER; let us pray!

whether it be in meditation or in chants,
let it be.

whether it be in Hail Mary's or in the Lord's Prayer,
let it be.

whether it be in the Jewish faith, Islamic faith, Buddhist or Hindu,
let it be.

whether it be long or short, personal or for the world,
let it be.

whether it be for everything or nothing,
let it be.

whether it be alone or in unison with thousands,
let it be.

whether it be in remembrance or in anticipation,
let it be.

whether it be when we are lost or found,
let it be.

whether it be in love or in loss,
let it be.

whether it be in freedom or oppression,
let it be.

whether it be in happiness or sadness,
let it be.

whether you are a believer or not,
let the joy of this country's FREEDOM of RELIGION ring from shining sea to shining sea, uniting in prayer with one another on this day, for it is our RIGHT to give Him/Her thanks and praise -- not just today, but everyday.

Do I believe we must return to prayer, or a moment of silence, in our schools?  Yes.
Do I believe we deteriorate as a nation the more we drift away from being a nation of firm faith?  Yes.
Do I believe we must look to the Divine Intelligence more often, whether it be for governing a people, raising a family, or being of sound mind and body for our selves?  Yes.

How could such ideas be threatening to anyone, dare I ask?

This nation is under attack these days for the very things that has made us exceptional around the globe -- being a nation of faith, charity, independence, freedom, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, hope, values, Judeo-Christian work ethic and enterprise, capitalism, freedom to think and grow rich, freedom to go from rags to riches, freedom to share our blessings with anyone and everyone, freedom to inspire, freedom to think outside the box, freedom to worship whoever and whenever we wanted without a King or Queen dictating the Anglican doctrine (remember that's how it all began), the freedom to live and raise our own any way we wished (with a few surprises there...), the freedom to treat people fairly and wisely and with compassion (or sadly, not), the freedom to live the American dream as an American through and through (no hyphen needed, for we are ONE voice, one people, one nation, one birth... be it in 1776).

The honest truth is, the more we have gained in the secular world, the more we have lost in the spiritual; and I believe, whether they be indigenous people, learned men of all walks of life, or the masses of mankind, if we but stopped for just a moment, we would equally recognize the human error of our ways -- at great expense, indeed.

This rather odd disenchantment taking place today -- with such a Thing that used to be our most natural inclination, our most precious resource -- having so easily been assimilated and transferred from one generation to the next, as testament to our beliefs and universal principles which took hold in shaping this country's birth, of all things. 

Belief in the Supernatural, a GOD, was the very cornerstone of this nation; the strength of our faith led us into the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War, and created the very path we take for granted today, as if we could have done it alone, or had the will and inspiration even to start!

How could this softer side of ourselves, and our humanity, suddenly become so uncool, and under fire?

Here's a newsflash, anyone who preaches tolerance, must surely accept another man's loving God; for no person can judge another man's faith, nor keep them from their God-given RIGHT to express it.

"Congress shall make NO law

respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." 

First Amendment in Constitution

They taught us to let it be, ALL of  IT, right from the start.

A simple prayer is nebulous; it is undefined.  The only thing there is, is a faith, found only deep inside the one who is praying, mysteriously subject to the one praying with the One they are praying to.

An atheist cannot prohibit the free expression of one person's religion over another, including their own.

We've gone down this road before, A National Day of Prayer is open to all who wish to pray, or not.

It is not open for debate; nor is it precluding any particular religion to take part -- it is the pure antithesis of the lone renegade doing this Thing called Life on their own, without a belief in anything more than their own ability to create or tear apart that which Is to the rest of us.  How dare atheists demand conformity to such an empty world. My belief does not take away from your unbelief, so why do you care?

The National Day of Prayer may be the very thing that saves us today;
tomorrow, as with everything else up in the air these days, we shall see now won't we.

 Better make today a really good day, G


Go to Andrew Breitbart's Big Government.gov to check out a well written blog comment by Danielle Avel, who calls herself a modern feminist:
 http://biggovernment.com/davel/2010/05/02/feminists-and-franklin-graham/

Go to The Patriot Post to check out Founder's history on National Day of Prayer

Go to The National Day of Prayer website for even more freedom loving prayer talking...or
Go to http://www.iamnotashamed.org/