Cynthia Lee Meyers (cousin of one man who was killed in Bengahzi ) – The Dubuque Town Crier

Posted on 16/06/2013 by Grumpa Joe

us_burning_flag

Read this news story and try to decide for yourself if  the President and the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deserve prosecution for the callous way in which they handled the Benghazi Embassy bombing. Both Hillary and Obama told deliberate lies to divert  “We the People” away from the real issue of their incompetence.

What is left unmentioned in this story is that Ambassador Chris Stevens was an openly gay man. Muslims abhor homosexuality and they abused Stevens in most horrific ways.

Cynthia Lee Meyers (cousin of one man who was killed in Bengahzi ) – The Dubuque Town Crier.

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Radical Ideas Resonate With the People

Posted on 22/12/2011 by Grumpa Joe
Ron Paul's blimp

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While I still worked for a living, one of my engineers asked me who I was voting for. I answered “the most conservative candidate.”

“Oh, are you voting for Ron Paul?”

At the time, Ron Paul was a no name to me. I didn’t have clue about him or his background. Today, I know a bit more, but still not enough. Paul continues as a favorite in the Iowa polls. Why? I’ve tried to get answers from friends, and they tell me he has some radical ideas and is dangerous to the country. So why does he continue to show so well in polls during the primary campaign?

It is my belief that the man’s ideas resonate with the average person. So what are the ideas presumed so radical, and why do they strike such a strong appeal to we the people?

I had to read several articles to decide for myself what ideas Paul promotes. After doing so, I concluded the ideas are not so radical, and they appeal to me too. A few months ago I took one of those ten question tests to find where I stood on my political beliefs. Before this test, I considered myself a conservative; surprise, I tested strongly libertarian. Ron Paul is also a libertarian. Another person whose ideas and commentary I love is former ABC, and now Fox commentator  John Stoessel. Stoessel is a libertarian who regularly exposes how when government gets involved things go seriously wrong.

Here are the Paul ideas that my friends consider radical:

1. A balanced budget, (Not radical)

2. Obey the Constitution, (Radical only to Progressives and Socialists)

3. Cut One trillion dollars from Federal spending in his first year of presidency, (Radical only to Democrats)

4. Iran is politically no different from any other country, (Yes, radical even to me)

5. All wars approved by the US Congress (In the current Constitution)

6. Remove sanctions from Iran, (I’m not sure on this one)

7. Establish a non-interventionist foreign policy, (Radical to US politicians)

8. Eliminate the Federal Reserve, (Radical to big banking)

9. Withdraw from the United Nations, (Not radical)

10. End the Cuban embargo, (No longer radical)

11. Repeal the Patriot Act. (Not radical)

Out of this list of eleven ideas I see four that may be perceived as radical.  How do you feel about items 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10?

Four out of the five (6,7,9,10) listed are foreign policy issues, the fourth (8) is a banking issue.

Yet, the people of Iowa seem okay with these proposals? My wife often tells me we have no business in Iraq, Afghanistan, or in giving money to foreign governments to see them use it against us. Does that sound familiar to items 6, 7, & 9?

Maybe our foreign policy of past years has been the reason for the mid-Eastern countries hating the USA so much, and if we get the hell out of there they can go about their business of converting the world to Islam. Or, they might just be so happy with their new lives they will convert to capitalism.

I see Ron Paul resonating with common people because they like to hear him say things like obey the constitution, cut a trillion dollars in spending, balance the budget, or go back to the gold standard. The common guy who still believes in working for a living, while supporting government employees with the same labor, like to hear those ideas because they are the ideas the common guy lives by.

The real question, however, is not whether Ron Paul’s ideas are radical, or whether he resonates with the people, but rather can he beat Obama?

I don’t believe Dr Paul will be our next president, but I applaud him for awakening America by passionately discussing his libertarian values.

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Burning Gas to See the Sights-Grand Teton

Posted on 11/03/2011 by Grumpa Joe

Every once in a while Grandma Peggy and I get the itch to see some stuff. A couple of years ago we took a trip out west. The destination was Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The plan was to visit the US National Parks that Peggy has not been to, and then to cross the border to see the things I have missed.

We left on Friday morning and  headed toward Grand Teton National Park by crossing Illinois, and Iowa into Nebraska. We wanted to spend our first overnight in Lincoln, but there were no accommodations to be had. Nebraskans take football seriously and the team was playing their homecoming game.

The last time I visited Grand Teton, I was on a bicycle with my friends. Five of us drove to Yellowstone and then unpacked our bikes to spend a week sightseeing  by bicyle,, and finally ending at Jackson Hole. Another time we camped at Jackson Lake campground as a family. The five of us took a boat across Jenny Lake to hike in the mountains hoping to spot some wildlife. My son Michael was only six at the time and newly diabetic. We hiked as a family for as far as we could when Barb stopped and told me to go ahead with the older kids. She would stop and rest with Mike to make sure he didn’t use up all his energy. It was a wise move. She and Mike sat along the path and waited for us to return.  A half hour later we returned to find two of the most excited people on the face of the mountain. While we continued our search for wildlife, a male moose with a rack the size of our car walked down the mountain and stopped to graze within a few feet of Barb, and Mike. They froze until the big guy ambled off down the mountain. We came back within five minutes of the event. We had not even seen a ground squirrel on our venture up the hill. We had a nice hike back to the boat landing and crossed the lake. It was still a short hike back to our campsite when Mike’s insulin kicked in and used up the sugar he had left in his blood. Barbara instantly turned into paramedic. She ran, carrying her son, to the nearest camper to ask for sugar. Luckily, she found some and stuffed it into his mouth to keep him from passing out.

Luckily, this trip was less eventful than our family camping adventure, but the sights were totally different from the last time. Grand Teton mountain was bare. Every photo on every calendar of the Grand Teton is one with a snow cap. The mountain is not as spectacular without snow. Another difference is that we experienced a grey cloud cover with rain. I have been to this park four times and always saw super blue skies with billowy white clouds; rain came in the late afternoon and lasted for only an hour.

Nevertheless, Peggy and I toured as much of the Park as we had the energy for. I wanted to stay at Jackson Lake Lodge, but that is not a place you can book on a short notice. It is such a popular place, tourists book a full year ahead. Getting a room two weeks before you arrive is like winning the lottery. After striking out, we chose the Painted Buffalo Motel, a two star accommodation in downtown Jackson hole. That is another difference from before when I slept in a tent, and in a cheap motel with a bunch of guys.  The Painted Buffalo is older and worn, but super clean. Most importantly, it is affordable and only two short blocks from all the touristy shops, bars, and restaurants in Jackson Hole. Parking in the town is a premium, and we walked everywhere we could to avoid moving the Avalon. (I still called it the Avalon back then because it hadn’t been recalled for runaway acceleration at that time.)

Jackson Hole brags about having thirty frost-free days each year. We experienced a light frost which disappeared rapidly when the sun appeared. It was September, and we wanted to see quaking aspens reflecting into Jenny lake against a snow-capped Grand Teton. We didn’t see the picture i visioned.

Here is some of what we did see:

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Davenport’s Bright Idea

Posted on 31/03/2010 by Grumpa Joe

      There was a time when I was in love with the state of Iowa. Twice in my life, I had opportunity to ride my bicycle across the state on the largest organized bike ride in the country called RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). The ride begins at the Missouri River on the west, and finishes at the Mississippi on the east. It takes seven days to complete the course. Every year the organizers route the ride through a different set of towns.  I have ridden my bicycle over one thousand miles of Iowa and have stayed in, or passed through forty towns.  I met a lot of great people. They are friendly, helpful, and cheerful.

     Most of Iowa is agricultural. I peed in many cornrows, and passed by hundreds of acres of soybeans. I rode quickly past many pig farms. The stench being, well let me just say distinctive. Just about every town had at least one church with a cross on the steeple

     Farmers are usually small businessmen. They are independent, and in my mind conservative.  . That is why I was surprised to see the big support Iowans gave Obama. It is also a surprise, that the city of Davenport, Iowa wanted to change Good Friday to “Celebrate Spring Day.”  It was their attempt to separate the church from the state.

     I have a suggestion for Iowa. If you want to separate church from state, do not celebrate the holidays. I believe government should work three hundred and sixty five days a year.  You pay the bill, and as boss it should be your rule for your government to follow. If you do not like it leave, and work for the private sector. The state will improve with fewer people working for it. Besides, by working an extra hundred and five days, you need fewer people to do the work.  Do not try to change two thousand years of tradition and the culture of Christianity because you believe in separation of church and state.

     For the farmers of Iowa, please do not get any more good ideas like Obama again.  I recommend that you get away from the pig farm regularly, and breathe some fresh air. That way when another Obama shows up you will be able to recognize what he really is by the odor.

Ronald Reagan’s reflection on God and morality: “Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. I’m convinced more than ever that man finds liberation only when he binds himself to God and commits himself to his fellow man. Our liberty springs from and depends upon an abiding faith in God.”

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