Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell. Don’t Care?

I noticed that there were some discussions beginning on this subject in the threads today so I figured I would take the night to quickly open the subject for discussion. It is an area we have not tackled previously, and to be honest it is a subject that I have not had the time to research in depth. I had figured to cover it in the next couple of weeks since the President mentioned it in the State of the Union. But since I had no guest commentary submitted for this week, I figured I would throw it out there rather than simply going without another article until the beginning of next week. I am, as you can probably guess from the title, talking about the President’s promise to eliminate the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on homosexuals in the military. I know it can be a sensitive subject, and one that is often fought on lines of very different perspectives (veterans have a far different perspective on this than those who haven’t served). But perhaps we can discuss this without allowing the religious aspect of things to cloud the discussion?

State of the Union? Same old Crap….

So I have finished watching both the State of the Union and the Republican rebuttal. I thought both were weak. I thought both were full of bulldookey. I am not going to address every single thing that the President said tonight, but I am going to address some of the things that jumped out at me. Because in the end, I felt like he was right back in campaign mode, but more importantly, he was right back to claiming one thing while doing something completely different. I am sure that Black Flag will say “what did you expect?” I would answer that I expected exactly what I got. I am simply pointing out my disappointment that I was not surprised. And there are just so many things that I have to rebuke, if nothing else for the plethora of facebook posts from all manner of my friends saying how great Obama was and how awesome it is that he is on our side and how proud they are to be Democrats tonight. It literally almost drove me mad. Had I not had a few Raptor hybrids that D13 sent me to test out, I wouldn’t have had anything to kick and might have gone out and attempted to remove the pom poms and springs from Nancy Pelosi’s hindquarters. By the way D13, they really are as trainable as you promised.

Tuesday Night Open Mic for January 26, 2010

Another week of discussions is well underway. I have to say that I was disappointed initially with the way the discussion went on the bank regulation article. I was really hoping that we would hear some ideas for how this could be accomplished without government putting regulations in place. I would really like to find an alternative solution. As we move forward in discussions, we have to accept that reality is what it is, but I would really like to begin to formulate some actual ways to remove government from the vital areas that they currently inject themselves into. There was a little too much “regulation is needed” and too little explaining why. Alternatives exist, so I want to find them. Aside from that I offer a warning to Mathius, as I recall that he drives the same exact vehicle that I do (at least I think so, Infiniti G35S). I ran over a piece of metal today that blew my tire. Seemed like a small thing. But no, the simple flapping of my tire apparently cracked the wheel in three places. Total cost for a new wheel and new tire? $1500! Watch where you drive my friend. Owning luxury comes at a heavy cost for repairs! How that small event ruined my day is an epic tale or woe and dismay…..

Government Meddling or Necessary Regulation?

News came down last week that the President, in his haste to shift the focus away from a quickly diminishing chance at health care reform, will now re-focus on regulating the big banks in an effort to prevent them from becoming “too big to fail” again. I have already written on the fact that, despite the fact that the banks were too big to fail before TARP, they have comntinued to get even bigger. You can read about that HERE . I also shared a banker’s perspective on what regulations need to happen that I had found on the Huffington Post. You can read that HERE . So this isn’t a new subject. But the President was pretty strident in stating that he was going after these regulations, even going so far as to say if they (the big banks) are looking for a fight, he is ready and willing to give them one. Now, I know that you are all aware of where I stand on the idea of government regulation of private businesses. But I am willing to report what I am reading and keep an open mind to the fact that I could be wrong in some way.

Guest Commentary – A Trip to Oz

We have guest commentary moved to a different night. I took some of the advice that was offered and moved the guest commentary to a different night in order to give the writings of others a little more exposure. Tonight we get to hear from a long time reader and active participant at Stand Up For America. But in an interesting twist on topics, he has offered up an article that takes a look at one of the big conspiracy theories that are out there. He compiled a lot of information that was out there and linked some things together. The point in presenting such an article is not to make folks panic or even to espouse a belief that they are true. He merely offered the article as a look into one of them for folks to peruse and consider. I have to be honest and say that I was unsure whether this was a topic that I wanted covered at SUFA, but in the end, I have decided that it isn’t my place to determine the answer to that. While I may be the creator of this site, I am still here to serve all of you. And that means that you get to discuss what you want to discuss.

My Take on What Scott Brown’s Win REALLY Means

As everyone is aware, Massachusetts held their special election on Tuesday and shocked the system by electing a Republican to fill the seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. From the moment he was declared the winner in the race against Martha Coakley, all of the news outlets, political pundits, politicians, and spin masters, including the White House, have worked to tell America what this monumental upset means. Is it the beginning of the end for the Democratic party? Is it nothing more than a rebuke of a candidate that thought she was entitled to the seat and, therefore, didn’t bother to work hard at winning an election? Is it a statement made by Massachusetts voters that America is not happy with the direction of the Obama administration and the progressive movement that is afoot in Washington DC? Is it a statement that Americans do not want the health care legislation in its present form? Is it a statement that the back room deals, sweetheart bribes, and partisan games in Washington have finally proven too much for the average American to tolerate?

Tuesday Night Open Mic for January 19, 2010

Ah the first week with the new writing schedule has thus far been a nicer pace for me thus far. I was able to participate in the discussions from my Sunday night/Monday morning post at a much higher level, which makes me feel more like I am a part of the discussions. Some good thoughts were put out there on my general lack of liberty post. I realize that there was not a real “topic” there to discuss, but I have to admit that I was surprised that there wasn’t more that people wanted to say! Don’t worry, the topics will get better! I found a couple of articles on the Huffington Post for tonight’s topics. I hope you will all go and read the original articles in their entirety, as they are interesting. We also will welcome a longtime friend to the world of blogging his thoughts and discuss the madness that was a result of the Patriot Act, and wonder when Obama will get around to repealing that abhorrent piece of “legislation”.

I Don’t Want to Tame Big Government….

So as you awaken to the beginning of yet another week in today’s America, I offer today a bit of a pep talk, a bit of a rallying cry, and a bit of a further explanation for where I want to go, both personally and with Stand Up For America. I can tell you all that the last 14 months has been a tough time for me. Challenged by many of you, those faithful readers that have digested my daily thoughts, and then took off your kid gloves and smacked me around, I have spent the last 14 months challenging myself. I found that the paradigm that I had been living for so very long….. was not entirely flawless (yeah, I know… Shocker). I found that while I still am smarter than the average bear, I still make mistakes, find contradictions in my conclusions, and stumble as I attempt to find the path to personal freedom, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. My most shocking conclusion (at least most shocking to me) came in my conclusion about government in general.

What I found is that I have absolutely zero interest in taming big government…. I want to kill it.

Massachusetts… Battleground State Deluxe

I figured as my final article for this week, this topic is the right one to cover. As many of you are now aware, the special election to fill the vacant Senate seat that was once held by Senator Ted Kennedy is being held on Tuesday. It is a pivotal election, as a GOP win would drop the Democrats majority to only 59 in the Senate, meaning that they would be unable to stop a Republican filibuster on health care or any other illegitimate legislation that they are attempting to ram through Congress with 1:00am votes and limited debate allowances. The seat is being held temporarily by Paul Kirk, a Kennedy family friend and former Democratic National Committee Chairman. The Massachusetts legislature allowed Governor Deval Patrick to appoint Kirk as the interim Senator back in September. Kirk’s vote has been a pivotal one over the stretch of time since then.

Nothing New… But There are Questions

As all of my long time readers have found, I am a many of many words, and also a man of habit. For the last 14 months I have written articles either 4 or 5 nights a week. I have found it a pace that I cannot continue while simultaneously being an active participant on the site. I find my lack of participation unfair. I make my points and the idea is to debate them. When I don’t have time to respond, I feel like I am not a participant in the way that I want to be. The last 6 months or so I have been writing an article 4 or 5 nights a week. What I am proposing is that I write a new article 2 nights a week, and thrown in the open mic and guest commentary as well. New articles to read on Monday morning, Wednesday morning (open mic thread), Thursday morning, and Saturday morning (Guest commentary). It would allow two days of discussion on each of my main topics. I could thus participate more often in the conversations.

Tuesday Night Open Mic for January 12, 2010

Tuesday night open mic comes to us and I have found some interesting articles. I did intentionally avoid the “Sarah Palin coming to Fox” story. I prefer to wait that one out and see what she brings to the table before offering my opinion on the move. She may be great… she may be horrible. Time will tell. However, I do bring some global warming change to mini ice age, some “solutions” to unemployment, and the mortal threat of deer to our existence. Plus a little lapse of individual liberty from, of all places, Texas. I am sure you have all noticed that I have not written as much lately. I am sure you understand the holiday season for me and what made it so. I am also contemplating some changes to my writing schedule that would be more permanent. I will post my thoughts and get everyone’s opinion of them once I flesh them out in my own head. What I would like to do is get to a point where I have the time to be more active in the discussions again. I miss the debates!

Harry Reid: Racist or Window on America?

I Bet Spike Lee Thinks its Racist

There appears to be quite a flap over the comments that Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, made in reference to then Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. I understand the remarks and I am not yet convinced that they were meant to be taken in the way that many in America will take them. But I guess the real question for me is whether the remarks make him a racist, at least in the form that the word is used today, or whether the comments that Reid made really are nothing more than a brief look into the true heart of the average Congressional member, or for that matter, into the heart of the average American citizen. Because while I don’t necessarily believe that the average American is a “racist” in the sense of the word as it is normally meant, but that does not mean that the average American has yet gotten to the point where they do not see color at all.

If Only Temporary… The Death of the Death Tax

I was going to touch on the article I will have below on the open mic thread the other night. But I decided against it because I wanted the idea of the estate tax to be given its fair due in debate here at SUFA. For those that are unaware, if you are wealthy, and want to pass that wealth to your heirs, then you may want to ensure that you find a way to die during the year 2010 (Perhaps you could sign up for government health care!). Because for 2010, and 2010 only, the Estate tax has been suspended. As of January 1, 2010, a “temporary repeal” of the estate tax occurs. For all of 2010, there will be a 0% estate tax assessed. However, come January 1, 2011, the estate tax goes back into effect and the top rates of up to 55% will once again be assessed. Were we exceptionally wealthy, 2010 would be the year that Mrs. Weapon and I try every daredevil thing we have ever dreamed of attempting. After all, we don’t think the federal government has a right to what we have earned.

Tuesday Night Open Mic for January 5, 2010

Open mic returns to its regularly scheduled night. Last week was a Wednesday, but the discussions were just as good. I would still like to see more of folks using the format that I do to bring their own topics to the table. I know discussing my chosen topics is fun and all, but with all the multitudes of brainpower here at SUFA, I know there are tons of other interesting stories and thoughts out there that we are missing. The same goes for the guest commentary pieces. I haven’t seen nearly enough of them lately. I know the holidays are a busy time with family. But now it is time to get back to business and begin hearing everyone’s thoughts on how things are and how we can make them better. It is no fun to just talk about what I want to talk about. So bring it on!

I’ll Pay You $5 To Beat Up That Guy

Fresh off some very interesting (although full of doom) conversations yesterday, I offer an extension of a discussion that we started a week ago. We were discussing the increase in rhetoric around Yemen and the fact that I was hoping this was not a precursor to yet another military operation in yet another muslim territory on yet another Al Qaeda is a threat to the world charge. I still believe that this is the precursor to increased involvement in Yemen. And that is disappointing to me, because I don’t want us involved in another cat-fight in ANY other country (including Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, or Nigeria). As I perused the news this evening I find this little gem of an article on the Fox News political site. It probably started on the main news page but wasn’t there for long. The article was titled: “The Other Terror War: Pentagon Eyes Foreign Aid to Fight Al Qaeda.” And I found myself even frustrated with this simple premise that most Americans won’t bat an eye at…

Much Criticism… But Is There a Solution?

I was reading yet another article this evening on the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and his ranting about increasing regulations in order to limit the ability of speculators to create a bubble that can throw the economy into crisis. As many of you can guess, I am almost never in favor of increasing regulations on anything. I think the government uses the words regulation to mean control, and not in a good way. And hearing the FED Chairman talk about it, as if the FED had nothing to do with the housing troubles we saw, was nothing more than another level of the blame game in my opinion. As I have often stated here, I am a smart guy, but I am not an economist. I understand economics, and my common sense fills in for those big words. But there are those who understand it better than I do on this site, so I hope they will offer their thoughts as well. The big question that I have at this point is whether there is a good solution to the problems we see in the economy?

WE ARE…. PENN STATE!!!!

And the game goes final. Penn State Nittany Lions 19, LSU Kitty Cats 17. Big Ten Rules!