FREEDOM REQUIRES THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS

"I HAVE LEARNED SILENCE FROM THE

TALKATIVE, TOLERATION FROM

THE INTOLERANT, AND

KINDNESS FROM THE

UNKIND".

         

                                               Kahlil Gibran

      It seems that it is better now that more people seem to honor those who have sacrificed so much so we can have a country.  That we can go where we decide, pursue interests that are appealing to us.  After the war of Independence was won and the long task of creating a nation was underway one of our founding fathers found himself in conversation with a skeptical woman over the new founded Republic.  You have to remember that the group that declared independence was in the minority.

     In that conversation about a form of government that had never been tried in world history, and I assume, the great costs that it took to defeat the most powerful nation on earth.  That the answer is enough to live without the detail of the story, "we give you a free Republic, Madam, if you can keep it".

      I notice that there are more individuals that respect and appreciate the costs that our Veterans have had to give over the years.  To the soldier that is rebuilding a life without limbs, or sight, or peace of mind the sacrifice is everyday.  It is good that the average citizen seems to understand more now than when I was growing up.

     I was never called to duty and never asked to pay the price.  Like my soul, someone has done that.  Do I dare not be thankful and show respect for those who have?

      At the end of  'The War to End all Wars' the Armistice was set ending the hostilities.  "The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month".  It became a great celebration and the ideal date to honor all those who sacrificed so much.  So Armistice Day became Veteran's Day.

      Though we still have war as the bible says we will, we have to be thankful that there are those who will water the fields of conflict with their blood so you can live your life as you see fit.  I hope you choose an honorable way to live it.

HOW THIS ENDS

"THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO AVOID

CRITICISM:  DO NOTHING, SAY NOTHING,

AND BE NOTHING."

                                            Aristotle

      As a nation we have just come through one hundred years plus of a graduated progressive movement.  Through the years of gradual change and diverting from the original intent of the founding fathers.  There are literally thousands of factors that have gone into the place we now stand as a nation.

      We have emerged from one of the most brutal midterm elections and now we set and wonder if the Republicans can change from the impulse to take their new found power and just continue the direction that the country has been heading all this time.  Seems that the names may change but the direction never does.

       Due to the spending that both parties have to take blame for it has been obvious to any economist and anyone who lived through hard times as to the fact that there will be a day of reckoning.  It is not even considered scandalous that the debt the nation is in cannot be paid off.  No matter what happens now we are almost at 18 TRILLION in debt.  Our major creditors are our enemy's, so called friends, as well as the people ourselves.  Every bond you may have bought is a loan to the government as well as their ability to tax you beyond reason and seize your assets for any perceived wrong that you may commit.
      Nations that we have held gold for in Ft. Knox have not been able to even look at their bullion let alone transfer it home.  The Chinese have been soaking up 90% of gold produced each year and India is soaking up the silver.  Both elements are essential in the new electronic world that we are addicted to.
       So what happens when it all comes to and end?  I put the question to you as to why the last 30 years of government administrations have been seizing land and assets in the West?  There has been more Federal monuments, parks, and forest lands created and more controlled by the BLM than at anytime since the 1850's.
       The West is in a major part owned by the government.  That means us, but the people in Washington have made it there own.  Since Bruce Babbit in the Clinton Admin. to today, more land is seized.  Without any act of Congress the President can make national monuments on his own signature.  You probably don't know that the latest was last week.
      By the Governments own figures these states percentage of federal ownership is over 50%.  Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Alaska.  When other agency ownership is added such as military and other varying agencies the western states are in minority private ownership.  There is also strict usage on private lands by various agencies.
      When the dollar is worthless and a major event or string of events has devastated the US and World economies there will be a mandatory repayment in commodities and the old controls will be thrown on the ash heap.
      The US Government will be shipping timber, oil, gas, copper, coal, gold, silver, and anything that can be stripped from our lands to pay off the world of creditors.  It is our only resources that will have any value.  The old environmental restraints will be gone and our country will be stripped of its value under threats that can only be speculated at right now.
      If this is a far fetched scenario ask the residents of the German Vimar Republic or Germany after World War 2.  This sounds radical I know.  Given the circumstances that we are in now I would say that the next two years are critical.  If those who now are in power do not do what needs to be done there will be a backlash that will throw us into the hands of those who allowed this to be set up. 
       When you say that we have spent our grand children's future, it gives the impression that we will be dead and gone before it happens.  I am afraid that you will be here to see the devastation that has been set up and your grand children may not even be here to deal with it.
       Gloomy enough for you?  I pray we never see it!

WHO ARE YOU?

"OBSTACLES ARE THOSE FRIGHTFUL

THINGS YOU SEE WHEN

YOU TAKE YOUR EYES

OFF YOUR GOAL".

                                                  Henry Ford

     When you read this the elections will be over and you will be filled with either joy or dread.  You have been bombarded by so many half truths and lies that the future is either clear as a bell or muddy as the Mississippi.  This may lead to more confusion but at least the bombardment of the ad campaigns are gone and all we have to put up with is the news media again.

     So in the mean time the world has gone on and who won will likely not have much to do with what is real.  Have you stopped to evaluate what is real to you?  Maybe you should.

      In the last news cycle we have two different stories of suffering and two different ways of handling it.  On one hand we have this beautiful woman who is only 29 years old who has been sentenced to less than a year to live because of cancer.  On the other a 19 year old who had a non operable tumor that will soon produce the same result.  Yet how each handles the news is so different.

      Each can bring a tear to this old cowboy without shame.  Life is not fair and each life has so much to give.  The thought of two so young enduring so much pain is heart rending.  Each is a reflection of how society has become and only you can determine which is how you feel.  I cannot impose my faith and beliefs on you, but this is a measure of where you stand.

      "The wisdom of man is foolish in the eyes of God".  So a verse is written that transcends the need to justify the path these two women have to take.  Pain is a terrible destroyer of reason and without a strong faith it can lead to poor conclusions.  The need to maintain control over your life can be a terrible distortion for what your ultimate path is to be.

       Both women will inspire but which is the better?  Pouring all strength in a goal to maintain a gracious ending and marking a great example to leave behind is what each strive.  I am thankful that it is not mans wisdom that will in the end matter.

      To end your life at the prospect of what is ahead is holding all control to the end that a person chooses.  To allow the end to come as it is ordained requires more courage and sets the better example.

       Those of you who feel good at the choice taken by the lady in Oregon I feel a stab of sorrow for you.  It was sad but not inspiring.  Instead of defining the value of life it has cheapened it and enabled those who do not face the prospect of death with dignity to advocate for it.

      The girl who lived her dream and will receive the final passing with faith and friends surrounding sets the better example.

RIDING FENCES

BEWARE OF FALSE KNOWLEDGE;

IT IS MORE DANGEROUS

THAN IGNORANCE.

                                          George Bernard Shaw

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, it is a duck.  This is why I hate politics.  But there is reason to not ride a fence.  First it is uncomfortable and then it makes people think that the more preposterous the story can be made that you will fall for it and go their way.

It is no secret that I am beyond horrified with the leader of our country.  I am not enamored with those who voted for 'hope and change' without understanding that the hope and change was told to us all along and many just ignored it.

I have been brought to task by a few that I need to support what is going on in the White House and Washington because of who they are.  I am sorry, they do not support the oath of office that they took and our country is paying the price of corruption and turning from God and the foundations that our Republic was founded on.

I am not confident that Washington will ever change itself.  Until we have a constitutional convention and we limit the power of the thieves that we have put there, we will have to do the best with who we send up there.

So not being enamored with the status quo there have been games devised in Kansas that will seem to circumvent the vote.  If the race for senate and governor have not bothered you it should.  Even if you don't like the incumbents.

When half truths and open games are played it should alert and bother both sides.  When your talking points have to come from the morning postings of your party you need to start being upset about being manipulated and treated like a fool.

Elections should ideally be between the best candidates available.  Yet it seems that the challengers must depend on manipulations and gamesmanship and believe that you are not smart enough to make your won decision on the merits of the candidates.

As much as I hate pushing one side or another in a losing game I will have to support the two incumbents in Senate and Governor because the alternatives don't hit a good chord with me.  There is something wrong here.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it is a duck.  My advice to both parties is, can't you get real citizen legislators to carry the party banners?

SURPRISE!!!!!!

"TO SUCCEED IN LIFE, YOU NEED

TWO THINGS:  IGNORANCE

AND CONFIDENCE."

                                                   Mark Twain

     There are many ways to define success and each has his own and everyone else has theirs about yours.  If monetary measure is a standard then I failed that miserably.  But there are many other ways that are more important.  I have done a lot in my life trying to do what I love.  Most times that is the worst paying but with a lot of satisfaction.

      Of the many things that I have an interest in, some would say passion, the presence of music is as strong as anything.  Those who know me only by my opinion columns would have picked up a little about how I feel about music and the people in it.

      Many know me as being a vocalist in Western Music and a poet.  Now my music is a wider field than just Western and we have been trying to define what that is anyway for years.  Now the term Roots or Americana is probably defining things a little better.

      At a point in my life my best friends started to die and the majority have been to cancer.  The way I dealt with the loss was to dust off an old talent from high school that no one knew about, poetry.  Applying my life experiences it became cowboy and country poetry.  The things I feel strongly about like horses, cows, tractors, farming, ranching, being outdoors and being rural.  Being independent and making my own mind up about issues and not follow some party line.

      Being aware of how many times I was swerved away from things that would have turned out bad.  Enough close calls to know that when my time is done I will meet a crippled up guardian angel that took a lot of the hits for me.

      I also know that to ease the grieving from so many friends lost a new group would come from out of no where to give me hope and purpose.  I was transitioning from poetry to music, my love from high school and a little college, and joined up with a group that took me in just as I am. 

     Western Music, which is a combination of old classic cowboy tunes, classic Country & Western, Folk, Celtic, Spiritual, movies, Tin Pan Alley, Bluegrass, Hillbilly, Ethnic, Western Swing, and Rock, was booted out of Nashville and mainstream music.  Yet it exists today and is represented by the Western Music Association.

      I found a group of talented and diverse people with a streak of decency that was left behind by mainstream music long ago.  I am still amazed that this group lets me hang around with them.  I have tried to promote the music, artist, and fan whenever I could.  And still intend to even though I am slowed down temporarily.

      I was at our Kansas Chapter meeting at the Flying W Ranch in the Flint Hills last Sunday.  I am the Chapter Vice President and we had a good gathering of our members.  On the agenda there was listed a 'special presentation', which I had not any idea what it would be even though I have input into the agenda.

     When the time came there was a certificate of appreciation and a Life Membership to the WMA and I was looking around to see who had won it.  This is not something that happens often, many of our members work their tails of for the group.  The nice things they were saying I knew fit a lot of people in the room and then they called my name.

      For the first time in recent history I was speechless.  I did not see it coming.  When you love what you are doing, and the people in it, it just does not occur that anything special has happened.

     They like my ideas, wait until they hear about the show at the Ryman.

Thanks to all!

ATTENTION ALL POLITICIANS!!!!!!!

"WE HANG PETTY THIEVES AND

APPOINT THE GREAT ONES

TO PUBLIC OFFICE"

                                     Aesop

     Now pay attention all politicians.  Whether I support you or not, stop with all the half truth, pompous, gutter sniping, mud slinging, advertisements, phone calls, and mailings.  Stop trying to spin where you stand and start answering questions honestly, straight forward, and courageously!

     Any one running for office should be able to answer all questions with a YES OR NO!  I have had it and if I had hair I would pull it out.

     If you are running for office as a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, Prohibitionist, or any other label, if you cannot answer these questions and quit bothering us.

ARE YOU?

1. PRO LIFE?
2. PRO ABORTION?
3. FOR GUN CONTROL?
4. SUPPORT SECOND AMENDMENT?
5. FOR CONTROL OF THE BORDERS?
6. FOR AMNESTY?
7. SUPPORT OUR MILITARY?
8. FOR THE FAIR TAX?
9. FOR CLOSING THE IRS?
10. FOR FREE MARKET HEALTH INSURANCE?
11. AGAINST REGULATORY AGENCIES MAINTAINING SWAT TEAMS?
12. FOR A RESTORATION OF FUNDS USED BY OTHER AGENCIES BACK TO SOCIAL SECURITY?
13. DRUG TESTS FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS?
14. AGAINST GATHERING ALL DATA ON CITIZENS WITHOUT LEGAL WARRANT?
15. AGAINST ACTIVIST JUDGES OVERRIDING THE WILL OF THE VOTER?
16. FOR FREEDOM OF RELIGION NOT FROM IT?
17. OPENING NUCLEAR WASTE FACILITY IN NEVADA THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN BUILT FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?
18. RESTORE THE CONCEPT OF MULTIPLE USE TO FEDERAL LANDS?
19. REMOVE THE ABILITY FOR 'GREEN' GROUPS TO SUE AND HAVE ALL LEGAL FEES PAID BY THE GOVERNMENT OVER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES?
20. STOP THE DISMANTLING OF THE COUNTRY BY USING 'CLIMATE CHANGE' AS A REASON?
21. FOR BREAKING UP THE EPA?
22. SUPPORT THAT NO MILITARY ACTION BE TAKEN ANYWHERE WITHOUT CLEAR INTENT TO WIN?
23. FOR FUNDING ALREADY APPROVED IMPROVEMENT OF RIVER LOCK SYSTEM?
24. NO AGENCY OVERRIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ON AGRICULTURAL ISSUES?
25. STOP ALL FOREIGN AID EXCEPT FOR HUMANITARIAN?
26. STOP FUNDING THE UNITED NATIONS?
27. BUILD THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE?
28. STREAMLINE ALL LICENSING PROCEDURES FOR POWER PLANTS AND REFINERIES?

     It is not hard at all to answer these YES OR NO.  Quit bothering us with the rest and quit asking me to give you money.

FALL COWBOY STORYTELLERS

"THE PAST ACTUALLY HAPPENED

BUT HISTORY IS ONLY WHAT

SOMEONE WROTE DOWN."

                                         A. Whitney Brown

The Cowboy Storytellers of the Western Plains is an organization that started in Seiling Oklahoma over coffee from a bunch of ranchers telling stories about the old days.  It has been meeting ever since in Kansas and Oklahoma to have the locals tell the story's of the old days as close to first person as we can get.

Many get it wrong about the group coming to their area as being a group of entertainers.  No.  The group comes to hear and record your stories.  The stories of your growing up, your parents, grandparents, and the old stories you grew up listening to.

If these stories are not recorded from you they will be lost when they put you under.  That is why we need you to step up.

The Fall meeting of the Storytellers will be in Medicine Lodge Kansas on October 25th at the Senior Center 213 N. Main.  Music starts at 12:30 and meeting at 1pm.  It is open to the public.  Membership in the organization is $15/year.  You get a newsletter before each meeting.

We have been to Medicine Lodge 5 times before.  The Gypsum Hills is a great scenic area of the state.  From Medicine Lodge west 40 miles to Coldwater is the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway.  There is the Stockade Museum and the Carey Nation home that you can visit.  A great Veterans Memorial and several places to eat.

We are also home to the MEDICINE LODGE PEACE TREATY PAGEANT which will be done in 2015.  We are home to the Kansas State Championship Ranch Rodeo and the home of Martina McBride just over in Sharon.

If you have a story to tell or need questions answered call me at 620-213-2403