SOCIATAL CANCER

"THE WAY YOU SEE PEOPLE IS THE

WAY YOU TREAT THEM, AND THE

WAY YOU TREAT THEM IS WHAT

YOU BECOME."

                                                  Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

     As a society we have been under increasing sickness that has taken the greatest nation of the world to a level of behavior that is beyond what the most patriotic citizen could have imagined just thirty years ago.  From the beginning this 'perfect' union has been a work in progress.  So many for their own agendas delight in the changes that have been occurring. 

      It is no secret that anything man creates is imperfect.  And the concept of a self governing people is a concept that never gained any foothold in world history before we became the United States.  We have had blemishes from the start.  The inadequacies that as a nation have been committed over the last 200 years is a slow learning process. 

     In the fact that the country was taken from indigenous people is a sorrowful part of the story is self evident, yet the history of all civilization is full of such tragedies.  Thousands of lives were butchered in the Civil War that goes even deeper than just the end of slavery, yet we paid the price.

      The industrial revolution was created on the backs of immigrant labor and vast natural resources that unharnessed an economy that would not be duplicated in any other fashion.  The ongoing fact that many super huge corporations have lost the face of the human element is a scourge on a society.

      In the face of what is wrong many take the advantage of destroying what is right to punish what is wrong.  The gripe that politicians and bureaucrats have on the government have allowed the destruction of what that simple document guaranteed us all.

      It has allowed for the education of our citizens to be diminished and the truths and fundamentals are clouded by the many isms that seek to be in control.  Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Humanism, and Agnosticism. 

      It has been my lament that since the 1980's I have not been able to vote for the candidate for president that I preferred.  Both parties have been taken over by those who feel that the country cannot be trusted to the common everyday person.  And they have gone out of their way to accomplish this.

     There is a backlash that is happening and it is pleasing to me to the point that it is even being manipulated by those who would be in control.  There is an anger in the land.  It is not exclusive to either party, there is enough rotten on all sides that they are now threatened.

     But the anger that is building in this country is concealing the first chance we have had to take control of things in decades.  And that anger is being turned on us.

     I do not ever remember making a good decision when I was angry and I am afraid that the country is about to make the same mistake.  Maybe anger works for WSU Basketball but it is not good for politics.

\     When a candidate makes his followers take a loyalty oath to his candidacy there is something very wrong, especially if you are a student of history as I am.  Notice I say student, not an authority.

     I make a pledge and take an oath to God and the Constitution.  Without either our country will fall into the chaos that has been the last 30 years.  If we do not recognize that words have meaning and when someone says that he will do something like HOPE AND CHANGE and that fundamental changes are going to be made, they mean it.

      I hope that the level headedness that the people have had during times of crisis will be found once again.  Those who expect something that they have not earned, those who are disenfranchised, those who instruct non truths and political agendas are as guilty of taking this country down as any spy that Germany, Japan, or Russia could put forth.

     There is a societal cancer that pervades this country from the school, university, state house, capital chambers, pulpit, and especially a news media that is so intent on killing the Constitution that they will cut their own throats.  We have agencies who resort to stealing the livelihoods of families in the west and control of resources by foreign companies.

     If your candidate is not saying THE CONSTITUTION and returning to one nation under God then I would suggest you examine what your really believe.  It may be too late to turn the tide.  It may come down to a constitutional convention to force the reforms in Washington that they refuse to do.  Non treatment has only one outcome.

CHANGES OF VIEW

"BE FAITHFUL IN SMALL THINGS

BECAUSE IT IS IN THEM

THAT YOUR STRENTH

LIES."

                                                     Mother Teresa

     Put yourself in the position of not being able to breath well and get so full of congestion that you are sent to the hospital.  I have had this experience and do not really enjoy being slowed down worse than I already am.  I had wonderful care in the hospital and they acted like the bother I caused them was no big thing.  But I was a problem.  I hate to bother anyone and when I feel bad I just want to be alone.

     I had time to catch up on some reading for my book and they were surprised that I did not keep the TV on all the time.  (I hate the needless drone if there is nothing interesting on)!  It is surprising how you hear so much of what is going on out the door when the noise maker is off.  And it makes you realize how many have it so much worse than me. 

     After burying a friend of mine a while back it seems that death takes on more meaning as we get older and not so full of ourselves and that we will live forever.  Losing friends especially to cancer has been a major effect on my outlook for a long time now.

      I thought as I have for over a year about a former Kansan that made good and created a picture perfect life and great success.  Rory Feek.  Rory met and married a beautiful and talented lady from Indiana named Joey.  I grew to be a huge fan of the act JOEY + RORY.

     Many in my Western Music family have met and performed on stage at festivals and venues over the years and found them to be just as down to earth and Christian as they appear on their videos and TV show.  It had been a goal of mine to meet them someday and try to get them on a show here in Kansas with some of our friends.

     This will not happen now.  Joey suffered for over a year with cervical cancer and we lost here at about the time I checked out of the hospital.  I had still been praying for a miracle while being in there for her not me.  Now I have to pray for the friends, family, and fans that have to trust in God's plan that he has for all of us.

      I am not one that grieves for celebrities like many people do I grieve for a friend I never had the chance to make.  Maybe that means that as a cowboy I am not that tough anymore but I get choked up and a tear when I read the condolences that are coming out.  But then I am not proving to anyone who or what I am.

     Life is short and many, especially the young, don't get it that what you do will effect you way sooner than you can expect.  I have thought this since I started cutting youngsters out of wrecked cars in 1974.  Closeness to death gives an in your face lesson on what it is.  So many do not recognize what they may have just been spared and others just did.

     I treasure the life and the gift that Joey Feek gave the world in beauty, grace, talent, and faith.  I have the chance to offer my opinions and try to give a thoughtful opinion when I do.  I am hoping that you will take the time to get to know Joey + Rory and understand what we have lost.

     Joey had three goals before she died, to have her father give his life to Christ, to make it to Christmas for her daughter Indiana, and make it to Indiana's second birthday.  She made all three, God is good. 

      There are many things that will be said and all I know is that Joey was on loan and God let us have her as long as he needed for her to fulfill her destiny. 

     I hope when you all are facing your toughest times that there are friends and family to share your burden.

HEALTH

HEALTH NUTS ARE GOING TO

FEEL STUPID SOMEDAY,

                LYING IN HOPITALS DYING

OF NOTHING."

                         Redd Foxx

     What I hate about feeling sick is how I cannot get much of anything done.  It is also a real brake on the function of my mind.  Normally I would pop in some snarky line here but one just don't come to mind. 

     It is spring (like) and everything is trying to bud out.  My allergies are going wild and I think it has moved into bronchitis.  I started coughing and eyes watering and burning coming home from the fish fry at Sharon Friday night.  To say I have been sick as a dog is a disservice to dogs.

     I am in the middle of researching a lot of subjects for my book about Kansas and it is really slowing me down.  A lot.  It is already hard enough that my subjects are little known things about Kansas.  When it is little known I mean it is hard to find any source on a lot of topics.

     But the good thing is I have a great doctor and she is going to get me in this afternoon.  Maybe I won't be up every hour on the hour tonight.  Now I would not be the one to claim that I have had a healthy lifestyle.  But right now I don't think I have done anything right.

     Now this brings a good subject up, the Federal Government has cut back Medicare payments to our rural hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics.  We have already lost some in this process.  Someone in their brilliance has brought up that Medicaid should be expanded.  All the states around us that have, have fallen into the trap of growing numbers and less dollars.  The job that the legislators do is not one that I would like to be doing.  There is a no win situation there.

     So I will just go lay down for a while until it is time to head out of here and hope someone will answer my e-mails that I have sent out today.  Here is hoping for a clear head, sinus, and lungs this week.  The best advice I can give is upgrade to a better whiskey.

LIFE WELL LIVED, NOW MISSED

"START BY DOING WHAT'S NECESSARY;

THEN DO WHAT'S POSSIBLE;

SUDDENLY YOU ARE DOING

THE IMPOSSIBLE."

                                             St. Francis of Assisi

      The first set of triplets born at St. Francis Hospital was the beginning of some very colorful children full of life and talent.  When young they would dress in sailor suits and do acrobatics and all three would play the trumpet.  Full of life born into a farm family they grew up knowing the meaning of work, play and faith.  And one more thing, humility.

      One of the three was Don.  I knew him smoking meat around the area with his friend Lee.  I remember hearing him pull out and play the harmonica.  I remember a quiet sense of humor and a genuine concern for how you were doing.

      I remember Don and Jo Ann because they were the couple you would envision when the perfect couple would be mentioned.  They raised a family together and went through the tragedy of losing a beloved daughter to cancer.  They bore the trials of this world with patient faith, hope, and the grace that we always would hope that we would be able to when we are faced with it.

      They believed in the dignity of life and when many would be loud and rally against things like abortion, they would quietly give the hope and assistance to those who would choose to keep their babies.  Working quietly with a group of volunteers out of a small garage behind St. Anthony's Church in Garden Plain they ran the Pro Life Outreach Program.

      Any mother who chose life was able to come and receive things like baby beds, formula, clothing, and many other things that helped to make raising a child a bit easier.  Soon agencies from all over Wichita and many other places knew to bring the new mothers out to Garden Plain for a little assistance and a lot of love and encouragement.

     Don had the knack of finding and buying the things needed to make the Outreach work.  He knew where to go, who to talk to, how to get the best deal, and many times would get many of the items donated.  He will be missed.  But he would only tell you that there will be someone to step up and do the job.  He would never consider himself to be indispensable.

     Indispensable?     How can someone not be indispensable who has such a strong faith in a world losing faith, who would be so humble as to not brag or bring attention to himself, who knew how to welcome everyone as a friend?     Indispensable as a man who will bring a smile to my face whenever I think about him.  Indispensable when I pop the one CD he made in my player of Don playing his harmonica, a thing that his daughter convinced him to make.

      I will cherish the time that Don got up to play his harmonica with my friend Barry Ward at our backyard concert.  A whole community has been enriched by his life and now diminished by his passing.  The impact that Don made will never be known or calculated.  Everything he did was done quietly and many times no one knew what he did.  His influence will continue through his family and friends.  And through someone who will step up and carry on where he left off.

      His spirit will always be quietly behind all of us that knew him and even those who didn't.  His was a life well lived and now missed.

TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH

WORLDS OLDEST LIES:

I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER,

THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL,

            I'M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND

I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.

     The one truth in keeping yourself healthy is that you have to take charge of your own health management.  Initially it involves not doing things that are harmful to yourself, next is to change the things that will harm you, and last is being in control of the actions taken to become healthy again.

     Not as simple as it sounds.  We are all doing things that are just not good for us.  Some we try to change and others we get bull headed and do anyway.  This brings to mind the series of redneck jokes that you can customize to group or state.  The punch line is always "hold my beer and watch this".

      For some reason we many have put doctors and the medical profession on a pedestal and when we are hurting we allow anything to be done to us without understanding why.  The medical profession is full of very sincere and intelligent people who want to do their best to help you.  And then there are those who are there to just get a pay check.  Those in the medical field are first and foremost human.  Subject to all the same virtues and faults.

      It is up to you to control your own destiny as to how you are managed when you are hurting and it is also the worst time to make sound decisions.  And now the government is sticking its nose into your health. 

     In Wichita there is a medical clinic that is more famous around the world than in it's own town.  The Riordan Clinic, when I talk of this group of medical professionals no one can picture who they are.  Until I tell them that the group of Geodesic domes and the pyramid on North Hillside.  Generally they remember seeing them off of K-96 but have no idea what or who they are.

      The history of the Riordan goes back to Dr. Riordan and Mrs. Garvey.  The research started by Dr. Riordan forty years ago continuing the work of Dr. Linus Pauling on Vitamin C therapy continues to this day.  Dr. Ron Hunninghake continues the work and has lectured around the world on their work with Vitamin C IV Therapy.  They have worked with literally thousands of patients with cancer, lupus, obesity, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and much more.

     Now the FDA has superseded the directive of congress on the prescription products that they use, Vitamin C IV.  In effect the cost has been forced to skyrocket and the dosages cannot be kept on hand until ordered specifically for a patient.  It also eliminated the companies that made the product to one.

     Vitamin C is something that the body does not make for itself and oral dosages that you would take can only be absorbed in partial and the rest eliminated in the digestive tract.  The IV therapy is the only way that the full benefits of the vitamin can be used in therapeutic ways.

      Because the mainline medical establishment is always hostile to thoughts and practices very few doctors even know about the work that can be done and is being done at the Riordan.  Since the government specifically the FDA has decided that this practice is outside the norms it is taking a mandate from congress and twisting it into something it was not supposed to do.  But then this is a common theme now with the three letter agencies.

      In conjunction with my family physician the doctors and staff at the Riordan have worked with me for years on the collection of ailments that I am dealing with.  The IV-C is always the thing that enhances my treatment and helps me make progress on getting my health in order.  I am outraged that the costs and time elements are added to my treatment by some faceless bureaucrat.

     If you or a loved one is suffering from a debilitating disease I would more than encourage you to check into this clinics abilities.  And I encourage you to go to www.congressweb.com/iacp/8 and sign the petition to support S.1406 SAVING ACCESS TO COMPOUNDED MEDICATIONS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS PATIENT ACT

      The first rule of the undermining our country is seize control of health care.  The first steps have been taken and if you want to have any control over your health and life you have to insist on controlling your own health treatment.

IS TYRANY OUR FUTURE?

"AT BEST, MAN IS THE NOBELEST

OF ALL ANIMALS; SEPERATED

FROM LAW AND JUSTICE

HE IS THE WORST."

                                                Aristotle
Let me add one caveat, I understand the frustration
of the protesters in Burns Oregon.  I do not agree
with their method.  Even with a constitutional right,
choosing to be armed will allow the worst to happen.
And then those who simply won't care will allow
the worst to happen and those in authority to get
away with whatever they choose to do.
Roger

     Since the mainstream media has chosen to give the 'official' line and even the cable outlets have pulled back from reporting, we are left with a barrage of stories that have to be sifted through with what degree of understanding we have, of what is going on in the west. 

      When it is shocking that news coverage of people shot in the inner cities and the resultant shock waves go through the news.  Then a rancher going to a meeting from a protest is shot down, and there are comments on it being his fault for being killed.  What has this country become and where are we going.

     It is not easy to explain and understand what is going on in the West and why are farmers and ranchers protesting the federal agencies that they have to deal with.  When you have not been educated on the underlying issues and the complex set of circumstances it is too easy to just accept what is given and automatically blame the victim.

      Even though I have been following a large number of happenings that have been going on in the west it is not easy to get across what is really happening.  We have been so insulated here as to what the daily workings of the alphabet of federal agencies are doing and capable of.  So we don't think that it is a real threat.  After all your farm or ranch is not in danger of being seized and your business and life being put on a fast track off the land.

     Do you think that the controlled burn that got away from you and crossed your property line would have the potential of putting you in prison?  Controlled burns are standard practice for the health of grassland and at times when a controlled burn gets away it is considered an accident.  It is put out, any compensation is agreed to and life goes on.
     However, that is unless you border a piece of Federal Property and a bureaucrat has decided that your property is wanted for an unnamed project.  Then if the officials who you elect that are supposed to stand by your side decide to stand against you, you can go to prison.  And after going to prison and getting out after doing your sentence another judge decided you did not do enough time and sends you back to prison for another sentence.  There is only one word that can describe this TYRANNY.
      Is this our future?  Federal agencies have created and used SWAT teams to enforce regulations created by personnel in offices in Washington with out the express consent of the Congress.  A rancher in Idaho is shot by two deputies when he tries to put down a bull that they had pumped full of ineffective shots.  Texas ranchers who have patented lands that have been paying taxes for 4 & 5 generations are notified that they no longer own the lands.
      In Wyoming a rancher built a pond that his family can fish in and livestock can water from.  The EPA under the new 'Waters of the US' are imposing $75,000 per day fines because he did not ask them to build it.  This on his own land and permitted locally.
     When the Hege's in Nevada have fought for 25 years and won judgments from Federal Courts and have not seen a dime, or any orders of the judge fulfilled, and are still in court.  The father did not live long enough to see the so called victory and the son has had to become a lawyer to even afford to still pursue the court actions that the government continues to file.
     This is just a sample of the TYRANNY that exists in the country.  The protests in Oregon being controversial have allowed the media and government to dominate the information that you are expected to believe.  Yet when a 71 year old rancher stumbling in a snow drift is shot at least 7 times and the only narrative is an overhead film that is purported to justify the action, including the shot in the back and no other facts, including the fact that the truck was shot up and a boy was wounded in it, this is TYRANNY.
     If all you can do is blame the man for resisting, and protesting, and it is OK to kill him when no gun was in his hand then you need to examine what you believe.
     The last time that the phrase 'hands up, don't shoot' took place it was a lie.  And yet this man was hands up and when it went down because that was where the first bullet hit.  As he lay in the snow no aid was attempted. This is ok with you?  Everyone I know is busy trying to support our police and let them do their job.  So is the shooting of a 71 year old rancher ok with you?
     The sad thing is the history of this whole mess will be written by the ones with the power to dominate the narrative.  Will the full story come out?  I do not know.
      We have a party in Congress that supports agents crashing in your doors to arrest you for any suspected wrong, even if it is a protected right, this is TYRANNY.
      Will you silently allow the creeping power of the bureaucrat to remove all rights and the ability to live as you see fit?  Will you vote for a candidate that supports the might of the government over it's citizens?

FARMERS INGENUITY

"I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT POLITICS IS TOO SERIOUS

A MATTER TO BE LEFT IN THE

HANDS OF POLITICIANS."

                                                      Charles de Gaulle

      When the Kansas aircraft industry was getting its real start, and the clouds of war were looming over the world, there was a definite reason for locating aviation here.  Since aircraft innovation and advancement were already a major part of life in the state it would be natural for it to be here.  The location in the center of the country for security was another.  The conditions for flight in the Midwest was another.  But one major reason was the workforce.

      It was considered that the potential workforce that consisted of farmers, who had a knack for problem solving, and young people would be ideal to train.  The bad habits or idiosyncrasies of traditional manufacturing areas was thought to be harder to break in the need of innovation and work customs.

     The history of Kansas is full of farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and craftsmen that dreamed big dreams and solved problems.  And as the manufacturing of aircraft and many other things developed here, this proved to be sound thinking.  Even if the owner of Boeing was not thrilled with the scenery of Kansas over Seattle.

     It has been common knowledge that during NASA's hay day, when innovation was the order of the day, that comments were made to "send that problem up to Wichita and let those farmers figure it out".  They were not wrong. 
     There were times that the Wichita aircraft plants would arrange for vacations or time off to be taken during wheat harvest.  Many plant employees were farmers that worked the city job and went home to farm.  Aircraft employees were known to drive from as far as Blackwell OK and Anthony Kansas and further for the regular wages and benefits.
      As is well known, at least locally, there have always been ups and downs in the aircraft industry.  One innovator was Beech Craft, and during the foreseen end of World War Two, they could see that the seeming unlimited orders from the government were going to end.  So they were looking for things to fill the gap between war and peace.
      Beech was working on two Dodge reconnaissance vehicles for the Army that were gas/electric hybrids.  Sounds familiar?  They were an all wheel drive unit powered by a small air cooled aircraft engine powering an electric generator.  Each wheel was powered by electric motors.  This eliminated the transmission, drive shaft, differentials, and weight.  The units could operate easily on a 45 degree angle.
      With VE day the engineering department was instructed to take this technology and apply it to a civilian automobile.  Just imagine the automotive industry today with the big names GM, Ford, Dodge, Beech Craft.
      The prototype became the Plainsman.  It featured a lot of aircraft design,  including all aluminum frame and body.  Spacious interior for six adults, great visibility, and top speed of 160 MPH, 25 MPG, and 30 MPG in town.  Although the projected price put it in the $4000, to 5,000 dollar range (the range of the Rolls Royce) there would have been a definite market niche for it.  And besides when the farmers got done putting it into production the cost would have come down.
     Many of the features makes me wonder why a lot of this 1946 technology is not being used today in cars?  But then if farmers ran the auto industry it would have a different face on it today.
     Think of how Washington would be if farmers were called in to fix things there?