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Welcome to the 2007 Editorial Archives of Martin T. Ingham Read Martin T. Ingham's Current Column Here! | ||
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There is little else that truly matters in today’s world. Truth is the unalterable, unchanging element which is purely what it is. You can’t misinterpret the Truth, and you cannot truly deny it. Those who deny what is are self-deluding fools, like those who still believe the world to be flat. Just because they want it to be flat, doesn’t make it that way, just as anyone’s ignoring the truth on any matter does not make them right.
In life, one must seek out the truth of all matters. You must educate yourself, and explore knowledge, and then decide what is truth, and what is merely a masquerade. There are many different things being peddled as “truth” these days, but when you find your own truth, that which is as obvious as the ground beneath your feet, then you will know what is going on, and what is important.
So few people speak the truth these days, it is saddening. Most people walk around, pretending to be something they’re not. They constantly put on heirs, trying to appear to be what they are not, or like what they hate, or hate what they should love, merely because it gives them some sense of satisfaction, or power. Yes, it is all part of a sick, twisted game, which has permeated human societies since the dawn of civilization. Truly, it is time for a revision in the rules.
I challenge you to speak the truth, about whatever you think, whatever you see, whatever you know. Do not play the games of saying what is popular to get ahead or “spare” someone’s feelings. Do not recycle the same old trash you hear someone else tell you, either. Figure out the truth for yourself. Think logically, and realize that the truth exists for all of us, but it is up to us to share it.
Of which truths do I speak? I’ll leave that up for you to decide, but truly, I refer to all truths of the universe. You would not hesitate to tell a superstitious savage that the world revolves around the sun, would you? Well, perhaps if you were skinned alive for saying so, but those of us in America do not need to fear such persecution for speaking, regardless of what a handful of conspiracy theorists and left-wing extremists would have you believe. I do not recall any of the Democratic Underground radicals being locked up for saying our President should be assassinated, despite the legal statutes in place to do that very thing. So, if our country does not arrest people for speaking things that would be considered illegal, then it is most certain you can say just about anything in our country today, and not fear persecution, except by certain unenlightened segments of our population.
Speak the truth, Americans, and do not be afraid of the consequences.
I must apologize for being a day late on this column. Personal problems have prevented me from constructing anything substantive in short order, and I find myself rushing after the last minute to write this column.
2008 is still far away, yet the candidates for President are quickly lining up, and beginning to sling mud at each other. It will no doubt be a crucial election, one that is still too far away to even venture a guess upon. Personally, I cannot say that I have a favorite candidate yet, but I do know a few that I will never support and I currently oppose.
I oppose Rudy Giuliani's bid for the Presidency, because I disagree with him on several key issues. He is an anti-gun extremist, who wants to impose New York City style gun registration/bans on the entire nation. He has said so repeatedly. He is pro-Abortion (something that will cost him many Christian Conservative votes), and he's known as a "friend" to homosexuals and their agenda. He also cheated on his wife and left her and his children for his new fling. Truly, not a moral man by any stretch of the imagination. I will not be voting for Mr. Giuliani under any circumstances.
Hillary Clinton: Who could ever forget about this woman when she never goes away? I had enough of her socialist, anti-American, corrupt Nanny-State policies when her husband was president. I would rather not see a repeat of the Clinton bureaucracy, nor another Waco or Ruby Ridge. Go away, Hillary!
Barak Hussein Obama: A man who has done virtually nothing after 2 years in the Senate, and someone who belongs to a "Church" that advocates Racism against White people, solely based on the color of their skin, and promotes Homosexual Marriage. Not even considering his rumored ties to terrorist organizations, I'll pass on this weak but dangerous politician.
John McCain: Censoring free speech with campaign finance reform was bad, and constantly belittling the Bush Administration and flip-flopping to support Democrat proposals does not make me want to support this man. The pain and suffering he underwent in Vietnam does not give him the right to inflict pain and suffering on the rest of the American people though his bad politics.
Those are 4 frontrunners that I adamantly oppose. There will no doubt be others that shall come up. There are a few I am thinking of supporting at this juncture, including Former Massachusetts Governor Mit Romney & Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, but I am not ready to give out any endorsements just yet. I'm waiting to see who else will be running, and hear what these candidates have to say, as we all should.
It has been drawn to my attention in recent years that there are certain individuals who consider it “uncivilized” to carry a firearm. I must say it is quite the opposite. I believe it is actually quite uncivilized for people to not carry firearms. If you do not keep and bear arms, you are painting yourself a savage, someone incapable of the necessary self-control and discipline to responsibly bear arms.
Bearing arms proves a person’s character, more than any other action possibly could. If one bears a firearm in a responsible manner on their person, it shows that they are responsible and prepared. It illuminates their true character to be one of a higher level of intelligence and discipline.
If you carry a firearm on a regular basis, and do not use it in an improper way, it tells everyone that you are more civilized than the emotional savage human being who cannot control their own emotions enough to not go blazing away at anything that moves, or shoot people over their feelings.
Bearing arms proves you are better than those who don’t keep and bear arms, and perhaps that’s where a lot of the anti-gun mindset gets its true energy. Indeed, it is their own self-perceived inferiority that drives them to attempt to disarm everyone, because they know they are immature and incapable of self-control, so in their arrogance they do not believe that you or I could have such control, or in begrudging envy, they wish to steal our right to keep and bear arms to make us “equal” to them, by making everyone equally inferior.
I have gone over the need for people to be armed, and this great responsibility, that we all must take it upon ourselves to be armed, for the very survival of a free nation. I will point out to everyone, here and now, that I am armed whenever and wherever possible. The only time I disarm is where government restrictions force me, such as in schools or federal buildings. I deem these bans illogical and unconstitutional, but am used to the current government bureaucracy spitting on my rights and my honor, and must put up with their demands to obey the law.
Bearing arms, for me, is a matter of honor. It may seem illogical to a few, but hopefully understood by a great many, that I look upon my right to keep and bear arms as a sacred duty, and revere the firearm at my side as a Samurai of Ancient Japan would his sword. It is my badge of office, my mark of superiority, and it assures my equality among all men and women. To ask me to remove it is to spit in my face, and to demand I relinquish it would be akin to threatening my arm with an axe on a chopping block.
When people take it upon themselves to bear arms civilly, I take it as a sign of respect, for me, my way of life, and for them. It shows they respect the same basic principles of freedom and responsibility that I hold dear, and it proves they are truly an equal being. Every one of you who bears arms to defend your personal life, liberty, and property is a truly enlightened adult, and someone highly superior to any of the gun-grabbing primates who would eagerly deny us our rights for their own peace of mind and emotional arrogance. Keep your powder dry, and God Bless America!
I must say, this last week has not been pleasant. My wife and children came down with a most virulent virus, following which I, myself, contracted the illness. It leaves one very exhausted, feverish at times, with clogged sinuses, burning throat and chest, and minor nausea. The virus still lingers in everyone, though I am hopeful that we shall all recover within the next few days.
This illness has brought to mind a very pertinent subject; that of pain medication. I have noticed these days that people are in many cases obsessed with dulling their pain with pharmaceutical products, or other substances. I find this preoccupation to be detrimental to the fabric of society on so many levels.
Nobody wants to feel pain, and there are clear cases where people need something to dull the pain, but today any little bump or scratch seems to warrant a pound of cure. People get a headache, they run for the Aspirin, if they stub their toe, they need Tylenol #3. If they feel emotional pain, they need to crawl into a bottle of booze or fire up a joint! It is disgusting how far we have come as a culture. We are obsessed with painkillers!
I have found it possible to control pain with my own thoughts for the most part. That pain which I cannot totally ignore is generally tolerated, and I can’t remember a time in the last year when I have taken any pain neutralizing medication. To use pain medication for minor or fleeting conditions is counterproductive. It leaves you more sensitive to pain, and unable to control it yourself. It can lead to weakness and inferiority, as one becomes unable to manage their own bodily affairs. If you run for some dope every time you have a minor ache or pain, how are you going to deal with serious pain when it comes around, and how long before you become dependent upon the pain killing medication’s powers all the time, just to feel normal?
We see the scourge of drug addiction every day in modern day America. It’s common knowledge that our bodies are easy to adapt and build up a resistance to drugs. So, if we’re already used to medicating ourselves on a regular basis, when we really encounter serious pain and need something to dull it such medicine becomes less effective. Our sensitivity to pain becomes greater without drugs and our natural mental ability to ignore and control pain virtually disappears, leaving us at the mercy of that upon which we’ve grown dependent.
It is simply my personal philosophy to treat minor aches and pains as such: minor. I feel it’s something to deal with on my own. By handling such inconsequential irritations, I assure that I will survive greater pains without treatment, and that is a boon if in the future such treatment is for whatever reason unavailable. Where others would be crippled or destroyed by the pain, I can persevere, and recover. This especially helps on the job, when you run into pain and must persevere to earn a paycheck, granting greater productivity potential.
I’m not saying that if you need medication to treat a condition that you are an inferior person. What is inferior is the mindset that one must run to the medicine chest simply to cope with minor, acute aches and pains. Such action denies your own ability to handle such adversity, and makes you weaker in the process. If you have a problem and feel you need medicine, consider the severity. Do not fall prey to the drug pushers who would make you chemically dependent, but consider if you really have a need, or just a want.
So, this week Canada officially declared that they will not allow tanker ships carrying Liquefied Natural Gas to pass through Head Harbor passage to reach proposed terminals on the American side of Passamaquoddy Bay. I must say, while this isn’t surprising, it is disturbing in many ways. This threat is an attempt to influence Federal Regulators and snuff out our own development of LNG terminals in America. Canada thinks they can dictate our private affairs and control our commerce.
They say these waters are “tricky?” That’s a lie. If it was so “tricky” they wouldn’t be sending 770 Foot long tankers full of Ammonium Nitrate through those same waters! Right now, they send large container ships full of deadly chemicals and explosives through these waters on a weekly basis, and these dangerous ships must pass through American waters to reach their port at Bayside!
There has never, ever been an accident in Head Harbor Passage, so their excuse is ridiculous and purely fabricated.
They further claim that Passamaquoddy Bay is environmentally sensitive, and some opponents of LNG have claimed that this and the surrounding landscape is some pristine wilderness, never touched by the hand of man. What a freaking crock! This Bay has been worked for centuries. Industry has been pumping pollution and other waste into the bay for over 200 years, and the Canadians have no problem with their ships “threatening” the pristine wilderness, even though some of them are carrying Dynamite. They also have no trouble scarring this landscape by turning a mountain into an ugly quarry, which is plainly visible from the American side, not to mention the light pollution from Saint Andrews. It looks like a Christmas tree over there, and it snuffs out our view of the night sky from Robbinston! How dare they ruin the scenic view from the American side?!?
In summation, this area has been altered by the hand of man for centuries, and is nothing even close to pristine. Opposing LNG development based on the “pristine” nature of Passamaquoddy Bay is just plain stupid!
Blocking ships heading to US ports is illegal. Doing so would be a violation of numerous international treaties, including NAFTA. Canada’s threat to block our ships has no legal merit, and any attempts to forcibly stop our LNG tankers would be an act of war. Canada’s politicians know this, but they’re hoping they can terrorize America’s political leaders, and that nobody will call their bluff.
Why is the Canadian Government doing this? How could they be so hateful as to spit upon their greatest friend and largest trading partner, the United States?
There are many factors at play here. One key factor is the amount of fuel Maine imports from Canada, which is significant. Canada does not want America or the State of Maine to become more energy independent, because that would threaten their economic interests. It’s a well known fact that the Irving Oil Company has great influence over the Province of New Brunswick, and they don’t want to see any reduction in their sales. They are acting like OPEC, and think they can control us with their resources, dictating supply and pricing to suit their whims. Any attempt on our part to loosen our dependence threatens their power, and they will stop at nothing to keep a stranglehold over the people of Maine.
When it comes right down to it, the US government is entirely within its rights to permit the construction of LNG terminals, and send LNG tanker ships through Head Harbor passage. If the US government has the groinal fortitude to stand up and tell Canada to shove their petty threats, there is nothing Canada can legally do to stop us (the worst they can do is delay, delay, delay, acting like spoiled brats hoping to get their way by throwing a temper tantrum). If they wanted to get militant and put gunboats in Head Harbor passage to block our ships, they would be declaring war on the United States, and that is a war they are not able to win, and I don’t believe they are willing to engage in such a chaotic and underhanded undertaking.
In order to stop the trivial threats of Canada from deciding American energy policy, we must have our leaders in Augusta and Washington stand up and fight for us. They cannot sit idly by, and pretend these LNG projects are inconsequential. We’re talking about over a billion dollars worth of industrial infrastructure here, and that means millions of dollars in taxes for the Local, State, and Federal Government every year. For an impoverished state like Maine, this is a substantial increase in our economy and tax base. Also, the need for LNG across America is great. America needs this fuel to prevent energy shortages in the future. It is not just a Washington County issue, or a State of Maine issue. This is a Federal issue, which has now become a matter of national pride to boot!
Canada is rattling their sable, while we’re holding a .50 caliber machine gun. Their little sword will do nothing to deter our LNG projects unless we let them. We need to remind our political leaders that our Country and our LNG Developers are in the right here.
We must write and call our Congressmen, Senators, Local Reps, even the President, and tell them that we can’t allow foreign powers to dictate our domestic energy policy. Doing so would be as great a threat as negotiating with terrorists. It will send a message throughout the international community that America is weak, and can be made to capitulate to anyone’s petty demands of self-interest. It will show that America doesn’t care if international laws or treaties are on its side, but that we automatically assume that we are always wrong. Are we that pathetic of a nation? I certainly hope not. When we have the law on our side, we ought to stand up and say so, and demand our rights as a country. Please, don’t let the terrorists in Canada’s government win!
In a wondrous decision this week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the fascist Washington, D.C. handgun ban, along with a horde of other unconstitutional restrictions on law-abiding gun owners in the District, affirming that the 2nd Amendment bestows an individual right to keep and bear arms in America. This is no small victory, for it seems that many Judges these days don’t know or don’t care about the Constitution, and rule based on their own activist desires. I am proud that that is not always the case, and it gives me hope that some day all the unconstitutional gun-bans nationwide will be removed, and we will all truly experience the right to keep and bear arms, as the founders intended.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is most famous for saying four simple words; “I have a dream.” Today, I also have a dream, and it is very much akin to his. My dream is of an America where a man or woman is not discriminated against because of their preference to be armed; where gun owners are no longer persecuted and shunned like second class citizens.
I have a dream of an America where no man will be denied his right to keep and bear arms openly, where anyone can walk down the street openly armed, and not get dirty looks and constant questions from passers-by, not to mention the police harassment. Yes, I dream of a day when I can openly practice my lifestyle without persecution.
You may not realize this, but we armed citizens are the most oppressed and discriminated group in Modern America. If you don’t believe so, strap on a gun and go walking down the highway with it, unconcealed, and see how long it is before someone in a uniform starts questioning you about it, or outright slaps the cuffs on and hauls you off to prison. Try walking into a store, and see how long it is before a store rep tells you to get out or calls the cops. An armed civilian is not welcome in most places, unless they’re hiding it.
If a Gay man were to walk into a restaurant in a dress, nobody would dare say a word. If the owner asked them to leave, the Gay man would proceed to sue, and likely win millions of dollars for “discrimination.” However, if a man or woman walked into that same restaurant with a gun openly on their person, they could be thrown out and otherwise demeaned, and nobody could do a thing to stop it. How is that fair and just?
It is pure discrimination and bigotry for people to deny my American brothers and sisters their right to bear arms openly. Many homosexuals claim they are “born” that way. Well, I was born with a Six-Gun on my hip. It is less of a choice for me to bear arms than it is for other men to wear a dress. Bearing arms is in my blood, and I feel the stigma for it constantly. Whenever I go out, I must be careful to not let anybody know I am armed, fearing persecution. It is no different than Gays being forced into the closet, or someone with a black ancestor hiding their heritage during the Jim Crow era of the south, for fear of being hated and feared.
I want to be open about who and what I am. I am an American, and I am a gun bearer. It is my Constitutional Right to keep and bear arms, so why should I be harassed if I choose to carry a gun openly? I have a concealed carry permit, but truthfully under Maine law someone is supposed to have a right to carry openly without a permit. So how is it that so few people understand that RIGHT?!? Why should one be questioned if they bear arms openly for any reason? It is pure hatred and discrimination, which should be stomped out.
Will I ever see a day when I can walk down the street with my revolver hanging out, and not be lynched by anti-gun bigots and other ignorant people? Truly, it will be a glorious day when my people are finally, truly free!
Last week, the Roanoke Times published a list of Concealed Carry Permit Holders for the state of Virginia in an Editorial Opinion piece. They have taken considerable heat for this decision, and quickly removed their online article containing the list. As the article was removed before my attention was drawn to it, I can only assume about the article’s content, and have read numerous reports that it was published as an attack on the right to keep and bear arms. It is disgusting that anti-gun extremists and opportunists would publish such private information to further their unconstitutional agenda.
A situation like this will never happen in Vermont, because there is no permit requirement to carry a concealed weapon. Despite the lack of "state approval" for armed citizens, there is virtually no crime in Vermont, diffusing the notion that government must oversee and regulate the right to keep and bear arms to prevent a "bloodbath."
Government demanding that you get certified and approved by them to carry a gun is presuming guilt before innocence. They are assuming you are a criminal beforehand, and it is up to you to prove that you aren't, which is contrary to the spirit upon which America was founded. I say we should return to the original intent of the 2nd Amendment, and remove the requirement of government permits to carry guns nationwide.
It would be wonderful to truly have the right to carry firearms anywhere in the United States, without the government harassing you, or threatening you, or persecuting you. I have touched on these points recently, and hold firm to my dream of seeing a free America, where all citizens are guaranteed their right to keep and bear arms, and where a corrupt, oppressive government is not empowered to restrict those rights!
In a world of injustice, where heartless thugs kill indiscriminately for material goods, terrorists lie in wait, and child-raping pedophiles are regularly slapped on the wrist with probation by our court system and sent out to rape more of our defenseless offspring, I feel it is the obligation of every law abiding citizen to arm themselves. Without a gun, you are at the mercy of predators that care nothing for your life, or your rights; people who only care about their own desires, or even take pleasure in harming you. Without a gun on your person, you are assured nothing. Your rights are not worth the paper they’re printed on without the physical power to back them up, which only a firearm can provide.
Imagine a world where everyone was equally armed. What thief would seek to shove a knife in the face of an old lady he sought to rob, if he knew he’d get a .357 Magnum shoved in his face? How many pedophiles would kidnap children, if they knew armed citizens would hunt them down with lethal force? How many violent criminals really have the guts to stand up to armed citizens? Not many.
It is the fact that not every citizen is armed, and we are not allowed to display our firearms publicly in most places, that crime is allowed to prosper in our Representative Republic. The more people arm themselves, the fewer criminals will want to risk their necks for their ill-gotten gains, and the safer we’ll all be. I suggest that everyone attempt to acquire a concealed carry permit, and lobby your state legislators to enact legislation to legalize open and concealed carry without permits, so we might all experience freedom and security in abundance.
Stargate: SG-1 is being cancelled!
Voice your opinion on SG-1's future in Martin's Poll:
Stargate: SG1 hold the all-time record for both the longest consecutively-running Sci-Fi series on American television, and the series with the single highest number of Episodes. Beating the X-Files’ 202 episodes last summer, with the end of season 10 there will be a total of 215 SG1 episodes, a world record according to Guinness. Unfortunately, last August, as Season 10 ratings began to slip, the Sci-Fi channel decided to cancel this series, which has come to be one of my all-time favorites. Truly a shame they decided to end it just as it reached its record milestone.
It is no secret that I am a science fiction aficionado, and as a reader, watcher, and writer of my own science fiction, I am especially able to appreciate all aspects of the Stargate series. I find it has things that many other science fiction series lack. It has true character of its own, intelligence without overbearing arrogance and a haughty superiority complex. It speaks to the average Joe, and doesn’t preach far-fetched utopian fantasies of the future. It is both realistic and fantastic at the same time, with enough humor thrown in to keep it from being overly dry or monotonous.
As a dedicated Stargate fan, I was disheartened to hear the news of SG1’s cancellation, and I still hold out hope that the series will return to television someday. Perhaps MGM will yet find another television network willing to pick up an 11th season in a year or two, but that is looking more doubtful every day, as plans for “direct to DVD” movies are currently in the works, and appear to be either SG1’s last gasp, or regular replacement. New television episodes after Season 10 will likely never happen.
The spinoff series, Stargate Atlantis, is still going strong, and has been signed up for a 4th season. Some people see this series as superior to the original, though I find them equal in quality. They are dead even, with no clear winner. I only hope Atlantis can hold on for as many years as SG1 did, or even longer.
There is also a 2nd Stargate spinoff series in the works, which is projected to begin in 2008. Few details have been revealed to the public, but it is very probable that it will be made.
The future still looks good for Stargate, but it is sad to see SG1 end when it could have gone on for another 10 years! Perhaps it will yet return. We know not what the future holds.
One thing I find very irksome these days is seeing cars with “John Kerry For President” bumper stickers still attached. It has been over 2 years since Kerry lost his bid for the Presidency, and in that time he has proven himself to be a despicable human being. He is someone who lost the 2004 election for a very good reason; he is not a very good person. Feigning support for him now, simply because you hate George W. Bush, does not get your point across at all. It merely makes you appear petty and ignorant.
I believe there are a few similarities between Kerry supporters today, and those Neo-Nazi people who still worship Adolf Hitler and the 3rd Reich.
One big point all Hitler worshippers out there fail to acknowledge is that Hitler was a loser. He lost, big-time, and it was his own fault. He was an egotist, who had to do everything his way, and it all had to be about him. He was an opportunist, who slid into the National Socialist skin to gain power and enact his will. He was a pathetic failure of a leader, and his evil was ended thanks to his own bumbling idiocy.
One can say much the same about John Kerry. He is an egotist, and he is an opportunist. He flip-flops, following the political winds which smell the best to his elitist nose. Everything has to be about him, and he cares for nobody else. He thinks it’s beneath his dignity to tip the waitresses at restaurants, despite the billion or so dollars his wife has. Speaking of cash, he married two women, purely for their money (what a gold-digging Gigolo)! He is somebody who thinks the American people should kneel down before him, because he’s so much better than us peasants. He lost his 2004 Presidential bid thanks to his own bumbling idiocy.
Kerry fanatics like to compare George W. Bush to Hitler, but there are really more parallel between Kerry and Hitler. Both Kerry and Hitler were Medal-winning war veterans. Both professed a love for the environment. Both supported Gun Control measures. Both are suspected of having Jewish ancestry, which is in dispute. Most similar; both men believed in big government controlling everything.
So, there are a few things Kerry and Hitler have in common, but neither man deserves the worship they’re getting from Moonbats and Skinheads, who see these two as fallen heroes. These guys were pathetic losers! They don’t deserve your spit if they’re on fire! Stop putting either on a pedestal, for they are not worthy to shine our shoes.
Bush haters, get the damned Kerry bumper stickers off your cars. There is no need for such childishness from anyone with intelligence.
The day this column goes up, it will be my 27th birthday, thus as an aside from my usual, hardcore commentary, I shall muse and postulate concerning that which would constitute a great birthday for me.
To begin with, the sun would be shining, and it would be above freezing all day. Here in the backwoods of Maine, I remember so many birthdays with snow and ice, as early spring seems more like late winter here many years. Though I enjoy snow or rain on some occasions, my birthday deserves solar rays.
The morning would be calm and quiet, and I would enjoy several hours of quality reading or writing, as I love to do, though rarely is it uninterrupted these days. Most days when I’m writing, I have a wife to pound on the door, or children screaming for my attention; the joys of family life. A perfect birthday would let me focus on the written word in the dawn’s early light.
Lunchtime would see me grilling delicious meats in the fireplace, which is what I generally do on my birthday. However, to justify the quantity of tasty foods, I would like to see a dozen or so loyal friends to help celebrate. Friends so rarely have the time to visit me at present, with their lives so filled with other activities and responsibilities. On my birthday, I’d like to have some company.
Following the barbecue, I and my friends would go outside and let loose the lead. There’s nothing like target practice on a sunny day, and it would be nice to see a few of the guys bring their own firearms for me to test out. I, of course, would like them to sample my collection and let off a few of my custom reloads.
After the target practice, I would retire inside, where a few friends would remain to discuss my literary endeavors, past, present, and future. Perhaps they would be writers of some sort, as well, and share their latest work to compliment my own.
The evening would find me writing again, in peace and quiet, then retiring to the bedroom and watching a good movie with my wife. Sleep would come easy after a good day.
Such is really not unattainable, but at present is highly unlikely. The children need my attention, as does my wife, and I just do not know many quality people who are interested in spending any amount of time with me on my birthday. I simply do not fit into other people’s lives, which has been a curse my entire life. I have always been the odd man out, which people generally ignored or avoided. Yes, I enjoy my privacy some of the time, but it does tend to get lonely, especially during holidays. My birthday always tends to remind me of how alone I truly am.
Really, the best present to receive on my birthday would be people to share the day.
Sexuality is not something I generally speak about. I believe it is a private affair, which people should keep to themselves for the most part. You will never see me chatting it up with somebody about those things I do with my wife, and I appreciate it when others do not discuss their own sexual experiences with me.
I am disturbed and disgusted by the growing trend among the homosexual community to push their sexuality into public view. There seems to be a large number of “Gay” activists who constantly want everybody to know what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and why we should all join in, or at the very least applaud them for their sexual prowess. They want our children to know how great it is to be “Gay” and explain in graphic detail every single act that they perform to claim that definition.
Like I said, I don’t care what you do behind closed doors, and I particularly don’t want to see you doing those things in public. This is where I may differ from a great many sexual deviants, who feel the need to get society to not only tolerate them, but celebrate them. Too many homosexuals feel they need an ego-boost. They obviously know something is different about them, and they may not admit it, but it obviously makes them uncomfortable. As such, they must seek comfort from society, by reshaping it in their own image.
You see it every day now, as the homosexual influence pushes to assault our eyes with images of same-sex pairings doing all sorts of things, most of which I cannot describe without violating my own moral standards. Every other television program has Gay characters. You have billion dollar companies pandering to the Gay lobby, such as Ford Motor Company, and you have local officials, state legislatures and activist Judges usurping the rights of the people and rewriting law to impose same-sex “marriage” upon us.
High schools are no longer safe. You have Homosexual indoctrination classes for 9th graders in many places. You have “Gay Pride” celebrated in the halls, and you have entire classes devoted to Homosexuality. Many of the schools who push the homosexual agenda forbid parents from observing the classes, and go out of their way to avoid notifying parents of special indoctrination sessions. Gee, if it’s the right thing to do, why all the covert movement? Of course, we all know the answer; this is not right! It is sickening enough that taxpayer dollars could be used to promote homosexuality, but far worse that it’s used to pervert the minds of our children into thinking being queer is something desirable, or even better than being straight.
If someone wants to be gay, or claims to have been “born” that way that is their business. I have no problem with someone living their own lifestyle in the privacy of their bedroom and private clubs. I do have a problem with it when they try to push a sexual identity upon the world, and force society to change to suit their whims and desires. The vast majority of people are not gay and do not want to be exposed to homosexuality.
Tragedy has struck. A gunman has just shot up Virginia Tech University. As of this writing, 31 people have been murdered, and dozens more may die from their injuries. The shooter is dead, but they haven’t said yet whether he shot himself, or the cops got him. We will all no doubt hear the full story in greater detail as events unfold. Right now, things are still sketchy, yet I feel it is urgent that I speak out at this time.
In the days and weeks to follow, you will hear constant calls from the anti-gunners, blaming firearms for these deaths, and saying “if only we had stricter gun laws!” The exact opposite is what everyone should be saying. Virginia Tech has rules in place banning anyone from carrying a gun on campus. This includes teachers and students, even those with valid concealed carry permits! What everyone should immediately proclaim is; “If only Virginia Tech hadn’t had a gun ban in place, preventing law abiding students from carrying guns to defend themselves!”
I dare say these deaths are the result of having such anti-gun regulations in place. Where guns are banned, the unarmed, law-abiding citizens are at the mercy of madmen and tyrants who care nothing for the law and find them to be easy victims. As culpable as the psycho who committed these murders at Virginia Tech is, so are the well-intentioned fools who formulated such restrictive gun regulations.
We will never know how many of these murders could have been stopped, had just one student or teacher been armed. Perhaps no deaths would have occurred at all. Maybe the gunman would have decided against shooting people at the school, if he’d known he would face armed resistance that would stop his killing spree early on. It is the very fact that he knew there would be no such defense against his attack that emboldened him to murder so many with no care for the stupid anti-gun rules in place. Yea, the gun-ban really had an impact on him; the exact opposite of what the gun-grabbers had in mind.
I have long advocated for the abolishment of gun-bans nationwide, and a return to open and concealed carry by all law-abiding citizens. This is just another reason to rescind gun control regulations, and give people back their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Everywhere a gun-ban is in place, it is a big sign saying “no resistance here!”
It is time to repeal gun bans in schools, post offices, and federal buildings, as well as in cities and states where gun ownership has been severely restricted. Restricting our right to bear arms anywhere merely leaves us open to victimization by those who don’t care about the law, or about our rights.
Truly, the only purpose for having such gun-bans in place is to slowly indoctrinate Americans into disarming and surrendering their gun rights. Each generation has more restrictions, and doesn’t think anything of it, since it’s always been that way for as long as they can remember. Incrementally, our rights disappear, and gun-owners are being exterminated through attrition.
Kids laugh at the “old-timers” telling of how when they were young they could walk down the street with a sixgun on their side, and nobody would bat an eye. Little do the kids know that such freedom is still their right. However, it will only remain their right if they exercise it, and demand to keep it.
I say to you today, America, don’t listen to the flat-out morons who want to take our guns away. Don’t believe them when they tell you that the gun is responsible for these murders. Remember, it is those gun grabbers who are responsible, and they are the ones who should be banned, not our firearms!
I am disgusted by the way the Democrat Congress is conducting itself regarding the war on terror. Their latest vote to impose an arbitrary deadline for troop withdrawals from Iraq is simply playing politics, and nothing else, and I am seriously incensed by this latest act which is equivalent to spitting on our Armed forces.
By setting a date to withdraw from Iraq at this stage, the Congress is declaring defeat, and telling our young men and women in uniform that their work doesn’t mean anything. They are making every combat death be for naught. Not only that, but they’re condemning more soldiers to die for nothing by keeping them in the combat zone for many more months, even after the politicians have signed the surrender papers.
If the war is truly lost, why the arbitrary deadline months in the future? Why not pull out right now, and save as many lives as possible? I’ll tell you why. It’s because the Democrats in Congress don’t give a damn about our soldiers. They care about having a talking point for the 2008 election. They want more of our soldiers to die in combat, so they can stand up on their soapboxes and snivel and whine about the poor, dying soldiers that they kept over there to die to win votes!
If the war is truly lost, pull the troops home now. No waiting, no timetable. Just get out! No pathetic half-measures, designed to prolong the suffering and add to the death toll.
With that said, I do not believe we have lost, yet. This war is still up in the air, but assigning an arbitrary deadline is a prescription for defeat. If we tell the enemy that we will be fleeing at a given date, we are letting them know that they will win if they just lay low and wait it out.
An arbitrary withdrawal also undermines the authority of our military strategists, who should be running this war. The greatest problem with this war, and several others in the past, is that arrogant politicians have been setting policy and running things from their cushy offices, rather than the generals in the field. Our military is not choosing how to run things so much as elected bureaucrats who have never seen combat. The Congress should stay out of the decision making process when it comes to military action.
I have two words to say to every Congressman who voted to create defeat in Iraq, but I will refrain from soiling these fine pages with such vulgarity. Instead, I will state the obvious, that they are cowards, and care nothing for the lives of our soldiers, so long as they can buy votes with the blood of Americans! They are utterly despicable, and everyone who voted for the withdrawal deadline deserves to be kicked out of office! How about we set a deadline for that? November 4th, 2008 sounds good to me!
I have been thinking a lot lately of the way people enslave themselves to debt. It is so commonplace today among everyone to spend, spend, spend, and get everything on credit, living beyond their means. Even responsible people, who think they’re fiscally safe, are not financially free, in many cases.
I’m not saying it is wrong to borrow money here or there, or to have a credit card, though I personally don’t. I am saying, however, that those who borrow in excess, beyond what they can truly afford to pay off, are enslaving themselves to the system. They are trapped within their own financial entanglements and cannot escape without significant loss.
If you have a mortgage on your home, you really don’t own it. The bank does. You are, in essence, renting to own from them; the same thing with a new car, if you don’t pay the balance up front. Not only are you leasing to own, you are paying so much extra in interest, that you could very well buy two for the price of one when you're all paid up, that is if something doesn’t come along to screw your finances and cause you to lose it all for failure to pay.
What do you really need to live on, and how can you get it for the bottom dollar, and with the fewest strings attached. That is what we all need to be asking ourselves. To do anything less is irresponsible, and every time we over-extend ourselves to buy that bigger house or that fancier car, and find ourselves constantly paying out a hunk of cash each month to cover the minimum payment, we are trapped into the system. There is no escape, and no room for changes in our lives in many cases, when we get stuck with such burdens.
What do you truly need in order to survive, and how can you manage without paying a lot of money? You may need a car, but you don’t need the latest model on the lot with the 10CD changer, sub-woofer stereo, immaculate paint job, and a GPS tracker. You really just need something that is mechanically reliable that will get you from point A to point B and back again. For a couple thousand dollars you can find any number of used vehicles that will outlast any of the flashy new cars on the dealers’ lots today. If you want that super stereo, save up and have an after-market one installed. It’s still a lot cheaper than buying a brand new lemon!
You want a house? Sometimes, a mortgage is necessary, but it all depends on what you need and when you need it. You probably wouldn’t be able to get anything truly affordable in the more citified areas, but out in many rural counties of America you can still find an affordable hunk of land and build your own home on it for a lot less than the bank would like you to know. You hear ads on the radio for prefab homes which are nothing more than double-wide trailers, and they generally start at $50,000! Heck, one could build their own real house for that, and get twice the living space. It would last a lot longer and be worth a lot more, and you would end up paying less in the long run than you would buying a previously-built home, new or old. It takes a little time and know-how, but it is not an impossible task for the average American willing to be industrious.
There is a big difference between money and wealth. Too many people are hung up on accumulating money and paying bills of their own creation that they are losing their wealth: The wealth of their life, the wealth of their time, and the wealth of their very soul. They are selling out for the almighty dollar, just to keep up with the Joneses. Personally, I will have nothing to do with that. Let the Joneses be slaves to the banks, car dealers, and credit card companies. I will drive whatever I can afford, and live in whatever I can build. The rest is all luxury, which one must only purchase when the money is in hand to avoid bondage.
When I first began work on Virtual Wiles, I sought to create an entertaining blend of Science Fiction and Fantasy, utilizing modern technological marvels to make elements of sword and sorcery logical and realistic. However, the setting of the story is very much a moral allegory of our own culture today.
Virtual Wiles plays upon humanity’s obsession with entertainment. We see it today, in a world where people live to be entertained. They slave away at their jobs so they can get enough money to buy the latest video game system, or get that new car with all the flashy extras. They sell out their time, and even their souls in some cases, just to get the most toys for entertainment.
The background of Virtual Wiles isn’t much different than our world today, except it’s taken to a logical extreme. In a future where one’s entire life can be spent on entertainment, people abandon the real world in droves for virtual reality. Even when a lot of people get sick, have their minds damaged by the process, they still volunteer to injure themselves for the sake of entertainment. There are a few places in the story that deal with the moral ramifications, and the government’s obligation, or lack thereof, to regulate and prevent people from harming themselves.
I looked at today’s world, and saw how obsessed people were with their entertainment, and decided to use that as the core setting for this entertaining tale.
Look at the way other popular technological innovations have altered the world. Decades ago, televisions were expensive luxuries that few could afford. As the technology grew cheaper, more people bought them, and they were used more often. Today, almost everyone has a television, and most people watch way too much. They are obsessed in many cases. How would it be different, if people had the option of downloading their minds into those television programs? How much more alluring would it be if they could escape the physical world for decades on end, and live in a fantasy world indefinitely? I believe, if virtual reality became affordable and commonplace, it would be easy for people to become addicted to it.
There are other morals to the story, but this was the original background with which I started when composing Virtual Wiles. I hope everyone avails themselves of the opportunity to acquire a copy of this fine tale.
There is a moral question concerning firearms which seems to keep cropping up, that being the moral ramifications of utilizing a gun to take another life.
I have heard it said that it is immoral to take another life, regardless of the situation. Truly I cannot believe this, for would it not be even more immoral to sit by and watch an innocent being raped or murdered, and then get murdered yourself by someone who cares nothing for human decency or the rights of others? Truly, if good people are not able to stand against evil, they shall be exterminated. Thus, I feel it is the obligation of the innocent to be armed and defend themselves.
Tibet is a prime example of what evil shall do to those who are unarmed. Millions of peaceful, pacifistic Tibetans have been slaughtered in the last 50 years by heartless Communists, in most cases simply because they believe in a God. Those who are unarmed pose no resistance, and thus it emboldens those who want to hurt them.
Before guns, there were swords and bows. In Feudal Europe, the nobles and knights lorded it over the people. They could come into your house, molest your wife and children, steal whatever you owned, and there was nothing you could do about it. In most cases, the peasants were prohibited from owning swords, for they were the "guns" of their era, and could be used against the oppressive tyrants who had diminished honor and no respect for lesser people.
It is the natural desire of those in power to seek to disarm their people, and they prey upon people's morality and kindness to turn them into vulnerable sheep, for the purposes of exploitation. What rights does one truly have if they are powerless to defend their own life? Only the rights bestowed upon them by some flawed human being in a high office, who may or may not care, or who might consider their own wants and desires over the well-being of others.
Human nature must be examined from all sides, and kind and caring people must strive to look beyond themselves, and understand that there are a lot of people who are not kind and caring; creatures with no sense of morality who will maim and murder for pleasure, or personal gain. I believe in being armed in case of emergency, to protect all of society from those who want to destroy the innocent.
I believe Robert A. Heinlein put it best: "An armed society is a polite society." When people are equally armed, they shall be more civil, and think twice before perpetrating evil against one another. Truthfully, 99% of criminals are cowards, and they will back down if faced with a serious threat. The other 1% will seek to hurt people regardless of the circumstances, so it is best to be prepared to match their threat.
So I say yet again, all good people should seek to arm themselves to protect against evil. It is our obligation, and our sacred duty, to defend those around us.
To my avid readers, I must apologize for failing to meet last week’s deadline for this column. I’m afraid a heavy work season has waylaid me significantly. In the past few weeks, I have put in many 10 hour days, and have found myself unable to write anything much substantive. As the work season ebbs slightly, and my personal schedule grows more flexible, I intend to provide greater insight into all matters regarding modern life.
I would like to share with you all a short letter I composed after my total disgust over the apathy of Maine voters on June 12th. Believe it or not, we did have an election, with 2 bond issues on the ballot. In all, 27 people voted in Robbinston, which is somewhere around 8% turnout. That is simply pathetic, and wholly un-American!
The letter, published in the June 21st issue of The Calais Advertiser, is as follows:
“I began serving as the Election Warden for Robbinston this year, and I am absolutely appalled by the poor voter turnout on June 12th. I understand that many people did not know there was a bond issue on the ballot, or even know an election was being held. However, I fear that this is more a case of voter apathy, where people simply didn’t want to be bothered and felt their vote inconsequential. It’s truly a sad affair, which condemns us to minority rule.
“More than anything, I am disturbed by several key figures in our community who were absent from the polling place. None of Robbinston’s Selectmen bothered to vote, and there is no excuse for that. Tommy, what gives?!? What kind of leadership does it display when our own town government officials don’t participate in an election?
“That being said I continue to support our Selectmen, and plan to vote for them again next year. However, I hope they heed my advice and don’t skip out on another election!”
For those of you outside of Robbinston, “Tommy” would be our 1st Selectman Tommy Moholland, who was conspicuously absent from the polls on the twelfth. I believe the letter is fairly self-explanatory, but to be clear, I expect to see Robbinston’s Selectmen at the polls on November 6th, lest they receive another malicious whipping from my pen!
It is vitally important that we exercise our freedoms, and there are few rights more sacred and fundamental than voting rights, so keep your wits about you and pay attention. Get to the polls. Personally, the only thing that would keep me from casting a vote in any election would be death. More people need to take their electoral duties so seriously!
Closing on a lighter note, I have a book signing for Virtual Wiles on June 28th, from 4-7PM at the Calais Bookshop, 405 Main Street, Calais, Maine. I hope to see you there!
Time really flies in the summer. I'm so busy, I turn around and find that two weeks have come and gone in the blink of an eye, and it's time once again to throw down words for this column. In the winter months, I sometimes find it hard to wait for the deadline, with 2 or 3 columns written ahead of schedule. Now, in the busy work season, I could easily let it slide for a month or two, but I don't want to let anyone down, especially not my readers. So this column is being written off the cuff, unedited, and otherwise in a hurry. I hope you enjoy it.
My sequel to Virtual Wiles is progressing little by little. I managed to write another chapter this week, and now have 6 completed chapters. I still have a long way to go, but work will progress faster when winter arrives and free time is abundant.
With one published novel now under my belt, and a couple more currently being considered by other publishers, I have been thinking about the future, and where I'd like to be in a few years. No doubt, it is probable that I'll still be here, struggling for fame and fortune, yet should I actually achieve the success I desire there are loftier goals to strive for.
Should I ever make it to "the next level" in my writing career, I think it would be great to write for or create a sci-fi television series. To write a script for a series like Stargate Atlantis, or work on a new Star Trek series must be every science fiction writer's fantasy, and so few ever get that chance.
I happen to have a few ideas for new and different science fiction programs which could turn into legendary serials, if ever my chance arises. I also have a few ideas that could revitalize the waning Star Trek francise, though I'm sure a million other Trekkies out there do as well, and I doubt Rick Berman or Paramount Pictures are interested in the ideas of an obscure writer such as myself.
As I fight against obscurity, my dreams seem not so distant, yet still ever so far away. Perhaps, one day, I will be lucky enough to see my mind's creations turned into cinematic success stories.
This week, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection held their public hearings regarding Downeast LNG’s proposed facility in Robbinston, Maine. I attended both public meetings. I spoke Tuesday night, noting my favorability toward the project and pointing out some of the misconceptions currently being spread by the anti-LNG crowd, principally those concerning the “pristine” nature of Passamaquoddy bay, which has been the home of industry for hundreds of years.
I’d like to express my reaction to the LNG opponents.
We’ve seen a lot of Canadian opposition to Downeast LNG, from various organizations, individuals, and Canada’s government, itself. For the most part, the Canadian opponents seem greedy and self-interested. Most of them have no problem with Irving Oil building an LNG terminal in New Brunswick, and have no problem with the plan to build another nuclear reactor at Point Lepreau. The environmental concerns about the construction of an LNG terminal seem far inferior to those that should be voiced about a nuclear reactor being built, especially since Point Lepreau is notorious for “accidentally” dumping heavy water into the bay on a semi-regular basis.
The Canadians seem to think they have the right to dictate what America does, but they don’t afford us that luxury when it comes to their industrial plans. They never consulted Americans about the detrimental impact to the scenery when they decided to open a strip mine at bayside, a few miles up the river from the proposed LNG terminal in Robbinston. They do not ask if we’re concerned by the environmental damage caused by Cuban freighters dumping their ballast water in the St. Croix River, nor the threat of having boatloads of Ammonium Nitrate and Dynamite being shipped up the river. In fact, Canada could care less what we think about what they do, so why should America care what they think about our industrial projects which might change their scenic view of our sovereign territory?
I’m not saying Canadian opposition should be censored, but I don’t think their opinions should be given the same validity as those of US citizens and local residents in particular. No offense, Canada, but this is America, and it’s our decision to make, not yours. 77% of Robbinston residents said yes to Downeast LNG in 2006. Wouldn’t it be a novel concept to have Americans deciding on whether to build American industry, rather than foreign national and a handful of malcontents?
As for the environmental extremists on both sides of the border who continue to spew lies, exaggerations, and misinformation about the potential ecological damage from the construction of an LNG facility; I must ask, if they think an LNG terminal will be that detrimental to shore birds and other wildlife around here, what must they really think about pre-existing habitation and industry? How long before they call for the removal of our homes and the few industrial jobs we have left in this county? I believe it’s the eventual intention of many of these people to depopulate Washington County and turn it all into a vast northwoods park. That may not be the intention of them all, but it will be the end result of their activism, if it is allowed to progress unhindered.
America needs Downeast LNG’s facility to meet future energy needs, and the Federal Government regulates the LNG industry to the extreme. There are laws and mandates in place to limit environmental damage, and assure that the public is kept safe. Despite that, the anti-LNG crowd continues to exaggerate and nitpick to an almost criminal level. They bring up the handful of incidents, most of them decades old, in which relatively few people were harmed, and they love to point out the Algiers incident, where 27 people died, despite the fact that the proposed terminal in Robbinston is a totally different type of LNG facility. The opponents try to slap red paint on an orange and tell us it’s an apple!
As a self-educated individual, I’ve found that you don’t need a degree to discern or speak the truth, but if you’re going to lie or bend the truth it seems to come in handy. It saddens me to see how so many educated people can be so ignorant and close-minded when it comes to industrial development. Truly, it is fear and hatred which drives them, not the love or compassion that they espouse through their frowns.
I’ve heard it said that forcing the impoverished to pay taxes is beneficial to recruiting anti-taxation crusaders, and lowering our future tax burden. It’s been argued that having poor people pay a token sum of their earnings in income taxes in some way makes them more fiscally responsible and conscientious. It’s supposed to make them care about how their tax money is spent, and make them want to fight against increases and government waste.
Unfortunately, from my personal observation and experience, this is not the general impact of taxing the impoverished. In fact, taxing low income earners seems to worsen the problem. Making the poor pay taxes in fact causes them to demand more government services. They feel they’re entitled to the government services they receive, and think they deserve more because they’re kicking in their “fair share,” never mind that what they pay in taxes doesn’t come anywhere close to covering the cost of the services they receive. They think paying taxes means the government owes them.
As someone who has lived in poverty, I have seen this attitude in many an impoverished worker, yet I do not share the mindset. I recognize that excessive taxation is evil, and greater government services are the root cause of taxation. I understand the economic impact of higher taxes, and understand how harmful they are to all businesses and every wage earner.
Taxes also keep many low income earners from getting ahead. In many cases, the government makes people dependent. There are many people earning near the poverty level who would have enough to get by on their own, if the government didn’t come along and steal a hunk of their earnings every year. Instead of letting people pay for their own services, the government takes tax money from them, and gives it back in the form of handouts.
Now there’s one motive behind the tangled web of government taxation. The bureaucracy needs people to need it. If more lower-income workers didn’t need government services, we wouldn’t need so many paper pushers in government offices. Government jobs would be eliminated, saving taxpayer dollars, and reducing the size and scope of government. Thus, we would have lower taxes, because we wouldn’t be paying so many government employees to redistribute our wealth.
Therefore, it is my conclusion that anyone who earns near or below the poverty level should be exempt from filing federal and state income taxes. It would be a net gain in the long run for us all. It could help many poor people drag themselves up by their bootstraps, and eliminate the entitlement mindset. All that, and our tax burden would decrease. It is only logical.
There is a fine line between being courageous and being a coward. It is very difficult to tell who will truly stand up and become a hero, and who will falter and cave in to their emotions during the heat of the moment. Truly, what defines us as hero or zero?
My life has really been too uneventful and mundane to find out whether I would have the courage to stand up and be heroic. I don’t make excuses, but don’t see I’ve anything to apologize for, either. In respect to doing what is right, I’ve turned away from the low road so many times, avoided drugs, violence, and immoral activities, even during my youth, when many succumb to such degrading activities, and even when immorality would have been the more entertaining way to go. Truthfully, I was afraid of what doing the wrong thing would do to me, so in that respect fear was a useful tool which led me on a more righteous path.
When it comes down to it, our lives are greatly controlled by fear, either by giving into the fear, or challenging the fear and working in spite of it. Fear of God, fear of parents, fear of society’s wrath, fear of our own conscience; it’s all fear, yet is it cowardice? When fear of doing the wrong thing makes you do what is truly right, are you a coward, or a righteous man? What’s the difference? Is the righteous man righteous because he chooses to be, or is it because he’s more of a coward than those who dare to do something different? I cannot answer that question right now, and it scares me ever more.
Can I honestly stare God in the knees and tell him that I have lived my life in a clean and moral way, for the right reasons? Or will primal human fear not hold up as a good enough reason for having done the right thing?
Then I must look at my life and ask; even without fear, could I have lived differently? My sense of honor and justice are not mere products of fear, even though my childhood may have been greatly influenced by it. No, I have always had a sense of right and wrong, and those evil things that eat away at society and at a man’s soul I have despised with a vengeance. I feel hatred at this very moment over those sleazy things and sleazy people who are working to destroy all that is right and just in the world. I wish I had the power to stand up and smite those who would dare defile the world and the innocent, but I am not God, and I do not have the wisdom of the almighty to enact flawless justice.
I have always tried to do the right thing in life, not out of cowardice, but out of fear, with a sense of right and wrong to guide me through it. It is all any of us can do in this primitive flesh in which we currently reside. So the line between cowardice and righteousness is very thin, indeed.
I enjoy shooting firearms, and I’m very proud to say it. Not only am I a shooter, I am a reloader. I reload just about all the ammunition I shoot because it saves a lot of money, and also because I really enjoy casting bullets from molten lead, working the presses, experimenting with various power charges, and manufacturing a finished product all my own. For me, reloading is half of the fun, as it is with most anyone who loads their own ammo.
As of late, I have gotten into reloading shotgun shells, which is something I have not done extensively in the past. Shotguns never caught my eye the way rifles or pistols did earlier in my life; perhaps because the only shotguns I have ever been able to afford are pretty utilitarian, whereas nicer rifles can be had for significantly less. It has only been in recent years, as my enjoyment of shooting has grown, that shotguns have truly appealed to me significantly enough to warrant my self-loading of the shells.
In loading shotgun shells, I have discovered something my father has been complaining about for years; the shrinking availability of larger lead shot. Sure, there are always 25 pound bags of #6 shot, or 8, and even #9 shot on the store shelves, but it’s hard to find anything larger. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with shot, the smaller the number, the larger the pellets.) Sure, the lighter shot is great for the skeet shooter, who doesn’t need a sizeable pellet to penetrate an animal’s hide, but if you’re interested in doing any serious hunting, it is advisable to use the larger shot to assure a clean kill. My father doesn’t like using anything smaller than #5 shot in a 12 gauge, and I can’t blame him. I’ve seen #6 pellets bounce off the breast of a partridge (or “Ruffed Grouse” for those of you outside of Maine). Also penetrating power of heavier shot is clearly apparent to anyone who has shot at targets through sparse brush. Lighter shot will be soaked up by leaves and twigs, where larger shot will punch on through.
I understand that the banishment of lead from hunting waterfoul is party responsible for the scarcity of larger shot, and I do agree that we must protect the well-being of wetland animals. However, there are plenty of other uses for heavier lead shot. I wouldn’t recommend hunting rabbits or hares with minuscule shot, nor pheasants, partridge, or other dry-land birds. I also do not find that steel shot is worth the metal it’s made of, and the high-tech shots like Bismuth or Hi-Density are too expensive to waste on anything but tasty waterfoul, for which non-lead is required. Therefore, lead is a must for most small-game hunters.
I am simply at a loss as to why larger lead shot is disappearing from the marketplace. Perhaps it is simply my area, where fewer people are reloading with lead shot, but I think it could be more of a national trend, as many online stores I have found charge higher prices for larger shot, due to low demand. It is becoming a “specialty” or “custom” shot. It is even becoming hard to find loaded shells with the heavier shot, and when you find the loaded shells it is more than double the price of lightweight shot.
I put myself up as an advocate for expanding the use of heavier shot. I recommend that everyone begin using heavier shot loads, and pushing a demand for this product. We must not allow large lead shot to become obsolete and a unattainable. Tell your local reloading supply shop to get you a bag of #2, #4, or #5 shot today! You’ll be glad you did.
Things are so hectic and serious these days, and everything we read and hear seems to be doom and gloom, “The world’s about to end” nonsense, despite the fact that we Americans still live in the greatest country in the world, and have the easiest lives in history. I’ve found myself straying from the hard-hitting articles lately, and have tried to see a lighter side to things, though as 2008 gets into full swing I’ll no doubt be more political, and have more serious think-pieces. In the meantime, however, I would like to lighten things up a little, with a column of absolute nonsense.
I was thinking the other day about the old adage, “You are what you eat.” Well, I’ve noticed that many Americans eat a lot of chicken these days, and at the same time we seem to be losing our fighting spirit. So many of us are becoming cowardly or weak stomached. Perhaps this is due to the fact that we eat so much chicken that we’re becoming bird-brained and “chicken.” Truly, someone ought to do a study. No doubt, some pencil pushing bureaucrat could blow a few million taxpayer dollars to some flunky college student to investigate this cynical theory.
Noticing how people like to slur words these days, I heard my wife saying the word ticklish the other day, and she pronounced it “tick-lish,” rather than tickle-ish. I was wise to tell her that tick-lish is a candy made out of ticks (like licorice). She proceeded to tickle my neck until I leapt from the moving car and ran into the house to safety. Fortunately, the shock of my death-defying actions removed her desire to tickle me to death, and thus most likely saved my life.
The tickling part was true, but the moving car was actually parked, though it makes for a more entertaining and nonsensical story to add such frills and thrills.
I picked up a copy of Coins magazine today, the first one in over a year, and I quickly noticed the price of coins has skyrocketed. Collector coins have become too rich for my blood, and that is why I have done little in the way of coin trading lately. It’s interesting to see how the new Presidential dollar coins lacking the edge inscription are going for upwards of $130.00. This is insane. They are junk metal, not worth the energy it takes to mint them! People want to pay over a hundred bucks for a hunk of gold-colored scrap, just because they forgot to put “In God We Trust” and “2007-P” on the edge, where nobody sees it, anyway? I know, as a coin lover, I should be more appreciative and understanding, but this edgeless error coin has gone beyond collectible sanity, and delved into the realm of super-fad-hype, a scary bizarro dimension where normal people become mindless zombies seeking the latest, greatest “rarity” in the name of their Pagan God, Numismo!
In today’s world of guttural slang and dirty words, it is commonplace for foul language to dominate insults. Therefore, I declare that curse words have lost their effect, and no longer have the kind of impact they once had. Surely 30 years ago, if you told someone to screw themselves, it was a big deal, and wasn’t something you heard every day. Now, you look at somebody the wrong way and they flip you off, so many of us have become pretty desensitized to it. Not that it still doesn’t have an effect, but it’s not the kind of sudden impact that it once was.
Now, the next time you hear someone blowing a lot of smoke around, and being an arrogant moron, who obviously doesn’t have a clue about the truth, try this witty remark: “It appears you have not had excremental relations with a toilet recently.” It may take them a moment to figure out what you’re saying, and if they’re as dumb as they sound they might not understand it at all. If someone is being a coward, tell them they have no “groinal fortitude.” These insults have the proper finesse that one needs to truly be a master of insult and prose, when they seek to be “mean-spirited.”
Truly, this column is nothing but absolute nonsense, but I hope you got something out of it. If you haven’t done it yet, read my book, Virtual Wiles. Buy a copy, or tell your local library to get a copy for you to read. Trust me, you’ll get a lot more out of it than you ever could from these few paragraphs.
With the 2008 presidential primaries approaching faster than ever, I have been giving a lot of thought as to what kind of candidate I would like to see emerge, both in the national spotlight of the presidential race and the local representative races.
First, I would like to say that we need people who seek to be stewards of the Constitution and support America first, above anything, including their own political ambition. I know; that’s a virtually impossible prerequisite to find among any politician today. It would seem very few of them care more for the country than they do for their own power or pocketbook. Still, that is the first thing I look for in a candidate; someone who cares about America and the Constitution as it was written in 1787, not as a “living document” or any of that modern Marxist crap which seeks to rewrite it.
Staying on that vein, I would want a candidate who supports the 2nd Amendment religiously, who makes no distinction between “well-regulated militia” and “every citizen of the United States of America,” for that is who the militia is; the people. Well-regulated refers to people who are knowledgeable about firearms and familiar with their operation, not “regulated” in the modern governmental sense.
I want a candidate who will stand up for gun owners and fight to repeal the fascist gun bans in places like New York City and Washington, D.C. I would like a presidential candidate who comes out and says, “I believe guns are protected by the 2nd Amendment, and that all Americans should have the right to keep and bear arms nationwide.” A few of the Republican candidates this time around are close to that, but I don’t see any of them, not even Fred Thompson, standing up for the 2nd Amendment as strongly as I would like.
Next on the agenda would be immigration. It has become a complex and convoluted subject, when it really should be simplistic. Bureaucrats have twisted it around for their own ends so much nobody knows what to do anymore. I think it’s time to throw out the old system altogether, that corrupt and complex system akin to the IRS tax codes, which is impossible for anyone to understand. Strip it down, and create a simple pass/fail test for immigrants. All immigrants, legal or illegal, should be required to answer the following questions:
1: Do you Speak English?
2: Do you denounce all foreign citizenships, and swear eternal allegiance to the United States of America, so help you God?
3: Do you swear to never apply for government welfare, and understand that no such welfare will ever be provided to you?
If they answer YES to these three questions, and perhaps a couple more, they should be fast-tracked for legalization, with no bureaucratic paper-shuffling or expensive form application fees. If they say NO to any of these questions, deport them! All this should be done after shutting the borders down and blocking further illegals from entering. I know; it’s an unattainable fantasy...
Next on the list would be foreign policy. I want a president who stands up for America on the world scene, someone who will go a few steps farther than recent presidents in our country’s history. In the past 30 years, we’ve seen most presidents bend over for foreign interests and global trade. We have had presidents trying so hard to be nice to the rest of the world, while all the foreign countries do is spit on us and hate us, no matter what we do. We have had presidents sell us out to foreign powers for monetary gain, and others unwittingly abet the enemy through shoddy trade deals and open borders policies. I’d like to see a president with the groinal fortitude to stand up against the global interests, and put America first. Be a little protectionist; not isolationist, but mindful of America’s true needs and economic independence.
I want a president who tells the communist dictators in China where to shove their poisoned toys and other cheap junk. I want a president who will not allow trade with countries who are knowingly our enemies, like Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. Nationalize Citgo stations in America and hand them over to US operators! The same should be done for all anti-American foreign companies operating on our soil. If you don’t like America, get out! That’s the message the President should send to foreigners who don’t like us and openly oppose us.
Finally, I would like a President who is moral, who isn’t afraid to say Homosexuality is an Abomination to God, and that abortion is murder. It’s just the plain truth. Like I’ve said in the past, I don’t care if you’re “Gay,” nor do I care what you do in your own bedroom, but don’t try to make me accept it as normal, and don’t try to tell my kids that it’s cool or fine, because it’s not. As for Abortion, anyone with two brain cells can tell you that a fetus is a living human being, and those who refuse to apply this definition to an unborn child only do so for their own convenience or personal desire. You can paint an orange red and tell us it’s an apple, but that doesn’t make it so, and you’re only being a con-artist. I want a president willing to stand up for common sense and morality, and most of the candidates fall short.
After careful review, there is one Presidential Candidate who comes close to these beliefs, and that man is Alan Keyes. Now, does Alan have a snowflake’s chance on Venus to win the Nomination? I don’t know. Honestly, I think he’d easily sweep the general election were he given the chance, since he is a moral, honest American, who believes in the Constitution more than any other Presidential Candidate currently running in 2008. Am I officially endorsing Alan Keyes for President at this time? You’re darned right I am!
Martin T. Ingham endorses Alan Keyes for President, 2008! For more information on Alan Keyes, including his political positions on the issues, visit www.alankeyes.com!
I have long voiced my support of the 2nd Amendment, and gun rights throughout America. I have gone so far as to call state-issued Concealed Carry permits unconstitutional, because the right to keep and bear arms precludes the government from restricting our carrying of firearms. Some may call me radical, or even comical, to suggest this Constitutional course of action, but I say we should treat the 2nd Amendment no different than the first.
To illustrate my position, let’s have a look at what our 1st Amendment rights would be like, if we treated them with the same kind of “respect” that our current government treats the 2nd.
First and foremost, to buy a book you must undergo an instant background check, to make sure you aren’t some kind of criminal, or a radical rabble rouser, seeking to use the written word to cause violence. Hey, it could save lives. Why should you object if it could potentially stop crime, or terrorism, to require federal background checks when you buy a book? Not just certain books, but any and all books! Don’t worry, this isn’t back-door book registration. We’re only going to store your information for 90 days, then the records will be disposed of, unless there’s some kind of glitch.
Now, if you’re reading this, you’d better have a permit, unless you’re in one of those radical backwoods communities where they actually allow you to possess written material without one. You never know what kind of criminal activity could be encouraged or even caused by reading words on a computer screen, so everyone must pass a psychiatric evaluation before being allowed to read.
Don’t even get me started on children. We can’t let them be around these hazardous words! If you’re under 18, you shouldn’t even be allowed to touch a book, let alone own one! Think of the dangers of children reading. They might grow up with ideas of hurting people, or overthrowing the government! We can’t allow that. Children are the future, and we must not put them in harm's way by exposing them to these deadly objects known as books.
You’d better not bring books across state lines, unless you have a dealer’s license, and you dealers had better do your jobs, because the BATFEW (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Writings) will be sending agents to your store on a regular basis to check up on you, and make sure your transactions records are up to snuff. Don’t feel threatened; they’ll only shut your store down if they find a typo in one of your transfer sheets. And to make sure those dealers aren’t selling to the wrong people, we’ll have undercover agents pretending to buy books for other people from out of state. Can’t have any of those “Straw-Man Sales,” can we?
Hey, that’s just regulating the use and transfer of written words. How about owning the implements that actually write them? Each pen and pencil must be branded with a serial number, and treated just like a book. Same with anything that writes, including your computer, a typewriter, even a stick of chalk. And before we let you use those items, you must pass a 50 hour government course, to make sure you know how to properly use the implements, and have the right mindset to not abuse the right to free speech. We can’t risk you writing anything threatening or criminal, so you have to get a writer’s license before you compose anything.
Imagine all the lives that would be saved, if people were required to be fully licensed before they were allowed to write. Think of all the violent protests that would be kept peaceful, without the unlicensed rabble-rousers to spread hateful propaganda. How many revolutions around the world would have been stopped, and millions of lives saved, if only writing implements had been regulated and restricted! How can we not take this seriously, and make sure that we keep pens out of the hands of evildoers?
Hey, we haven’t even hit freedom of religion yet, but, of course, the government is doing a great deal to treat that part of the 1st Amendment like they treat the 2nd Amendment, with loathing, disdain, and disrespect. Government regulates what churches are allowed to say these days. Don’t dare let your pastor say anything “political” on the pulpit. That’s illegal now. Screw free speech.
You may think this absurd, but I say to you that 100 years ago if you’d said these kind of regulations would be used against gun owners people would have thought you were just as nuts. It is absolutely outrageous that government has such fascist regulations in place, telling us when, where, and how we can practice our constitutional rights. The next time you think that requiring permits for people to carry concealed weapons is a good idea, think about getting a permit to write a letter to your congressman. The next time you think instant background checks and mounds of paperwork are a good idea when you go to buy a gun, consider being subjected to that when you want to buy a box of pencils! It is the same thing.
So, this week the school board of King Middle School in Portland approved a measure to give girls as young as 11 access to prescription birth control medication, without parental knowledge or consent, from the King Student Health Center. The medicines now being made available to 6th graders confidentially include contraceptive pills, patches, injections, and the most controversial “morning after” pill, which induces an abortion shortly after conception, and has caused painful side-effects in many girls and women.
This decision is stupid, disgusting, and short-sighted. Not only is this going to lead to more pre-teen sex, it is going to promote the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, since birth control pills, patches, shots, etc... do not protect against such diseases.
They try to justify this program by saying that 17 girls in King Middle School got pregnant in the last 4 years. For virtually every one of these pregnancies, the law had to be broken. It is impossible for anyone under 14 in Maine to consent to sex. Regardless of their willingness or the age of their “partner,” any girl under 14 who has sex is being raped, and this is something that needs to be addressed. Excuse me if I don’t see how handing out contraceptives is going to do anything more than promote the sexual activity of minors.
We should be considering both the physical and mental health of our children before proposing these kind of knee-jerk laws, designed to slap a band-aid on a cancer. We should also look to the future, and what kind of physiological damage birth control pills could do to a prepubescent girl taking them. Ten years down the line, a lot of young women who took birth control at 11 might find out that they’re infertile or downright sterile, thanks to the hormonal damage caused by pills designed for a fully developed female body.
Too many of these pro-contraceptive proponents are thinking with their own reproductive organs. They remember being young and lustful, and instead of thinking as adults they make decisions based on their childhood emotions, trying to justify their own past desires by letting the next generation do what they only dreamed, or had to do in secret and with significant risk. They want to change the rules of society to suit their basic instincts, and demean today’s kids by assuming that they can’t possibly have the self-control to not tear off their clothes and hop in the sack at the first chance.
At present, parents still have to sign off on their kids using the services of the King Student Health Center, but of course that will change in a few years. Pretty soon, you will see them mandate that all kids have access to the medical services, regardless of parental consent, in the name of health and safety. This move is just one more step toward indoctrinating our society into accepting the perversion and molestation of our children!
I am not generally one to call for government action on such matters, but I dare say we need a state law banning the issuance of birth control to girls under the age of consent. That would be the logical course of action, but Maine’s legislature isn’t very logical at present.
The battle of contraceptives continues in Portland, and I am utterly disgusted by the depraved radicals who continue to fight in favor of the King Student Health Center’s program to hand out birth control to 11 year old girls. What is wrong with these people that they are so indecent and decadent that they can’t see that giving young children sex drugs is wrong?
Maine Commentator Al Diamon this week had the audacity to brand the Christian Civic League and others opposed to handing out birth control to 11 year olds as “anti-sex extremists.” This over-sexed Santa ought to end his advocacy for a program which promotes illegal activity. Any sex with a child under 14 is rape, and handing out contraceptives to them should be equally illegal, as those drugs are obviously to be used as accessories to a crime. I guess not wanting to see pre-teen kids turned into sex fiends is being “anti-sex.”
What is next on the pervert agenda? How young is too young? I suppose they don’t see the need to extend this program to those under 11. No, those kids can screw around all day long and not worry about getting knocked up. Of course, I doubt the defenders of pre-teen contraceptives would have any problem with eliminating the age of consent altogether. Free love, baby, and all that crap! Disgusting!
These child-sex extremists are living in some drug-induced hippy fantasy, trying to push perversion on our kids, and normalize molestation. They need to wake up and realize this isn’t Woodstock 1969. Our kids don’t need to be “liberated” or carry on like wild animals, and they don’t need nanny government to save them from their “evil, oppressive parents,” who think it’s a good idea to wait to have sex at a more mature age!
I dare say that anyone who is not opposed to this policy is in favor of it. That includes anyone in the legislature who doesn’t speak out against it. Anyone who will not openly oppose this attempted legitimization of pedophilia does not deserve to remain in Augusta to represent Maine citizens! I’m making a list, and checking it twice, and any legislator who opposes a law banning the issuance of contraceptives to kids under 14 will be on my crap list. Your advocacy for sexual perversion shall be exposed, and I hope it costs you the 2008 election!
Those of you in Augusta fighting this perversion, keep up the good work. You are taking the only logical course of action, and I hope you prevail.
This is Martin T. Ingham, proud Anti-Sex Extremist, signing off.
I am dismayed by what I see as the slow erosion of our rights and our nation's continual slide toward a socialist world state. Over my lifetime, and over the last hundred years, our country has been slowly and methodically stripped of its founding principles, in the name of "fairness" and "our-own-good-ness." I know why this has happened, and I'll tell you.
The radical socialists of the last century knew they could not change America overnight. Not like they'd done in Russia, with a revolution. No, America was a far harder nut to crack, for we hold dearly to our Constitutional Rights, and will not stand by why some Commies come in to steal our country. So, they had to come up with a better strategy, and it is the Incrementalist Agenda.
The key component of their plan was the infiltration of America over several generations, and the slow preparation of our minds to accept their ideas as beneficial and necessary. They did so by injecting themselves into the major political parties, and using them to slowly enact their "reforms." This they have done successfully since Woodrow Wilson's presidency.
Anyone who really cares about the Constitution and America should recognize that there is a growing trend among both political parties to play on the same team. It's like a game of Bad-Cop/Worse-Cop. One side will be wholly up front about their extremist views, while the other pretends to oppose it, while preaching "compromise." Whoever gets elected enacts the same agenda, incrementally stealing our Constitutional rights, and moving America toward the socialist New World Order.
Look at how our rights have been trampled upon. Think of our Gun Rights. Fifty years ago, you could go virtually anywhere in this country with a gun, and nobody would bat an eye. But how can the socialist world order conquer America if we're all armed to the teeth and able to oppose them? They can't, so they have slowly stripped our rights, stigmatized gun ownership, and outlawed the widespread practice of carrying guns. Now, well-intentioned entities like the NRA support "permits" to carry firearms, and laud laws allowing permits as progress. I dare say permits are just a further step in the Incrementalist Agenda, getting us used to the government turning a right into a privilege.
What about taxation? We used to pay nothing. The first income tax was only for the rich, then it went up, little by little, expanding to everyone's income, and now your 16 year old kid has to pay income tax for working at McDonalds! Anything you buy is taxed to the extreme, and what does the government do with that money? They redistribute it, just as any good communist organization would. Taxation is about controlling the money, and the power that goes with it. Think of how people have become dependent upon the money from government? A hundred years ago, people could take care of themselves. Now almost everyone is on some form of handout, and couldn't dream of being without the "free money" from Uncle Sam. We are becoming slaves to the "benevolent" government, thanks to their Socialist programs.
Think of the attacks on Christmas, and how that very word is being eliminated from the public vocabulary. Think of how all Christian symbols have been spit upon by the radical socialists, who deem it inappropriate for us to believe in "One Nation, Under God." God is a competitor for our loyalty, so they want to stomp him out! The only "God" they want us to worship is the State, and anything that helps eliminate the idea of a Christian Savior is part of their agenda. That includes Gay Marriage, Polygamy, pre-teen sex, abortion, drug use, and all other immoral activity you can think of, which goes contrary to the dictates of God. It is a tool of the Socialist World Order, which hates America and wants us to all bow down to the State!
Like I've said, the Socialists knew they couldn't overturn our Constitutional Republic overnight, and know there is still much conditioning to be done, so they're continuing with their Incrementalist Agenda, getting us accustomed to their hopes and dreams and slowly making them the ideals of our children. Each generation is used to more socialism, and more accepting of the erosion of our rights and culture. Open Socialists aren't the ones you must be afraid of, but the "compromising moderates" who enact their agenda.
How do we fight this? Can we? Yes, I say we can, and must, battle this Incrementalist Agenda! We do it the same way they have indoctrinated us with their ideals. We turn the tables, and incrementally work to remove their socialist programs and erosions of our liberties. We use their own tactics, and slowly condition the American populace to accept Constitutionalism, and reject socialist oppression. We must fight them in this manner, to avoid fighting them in other, less benevolent ways. Do not compromise any more. Make them compromise, and take back our Country! Our grandchildren will thank us for it.
The anti-gun mayor of Boston, Thomas "Mumbles" Menino, has implemented a new crime-fighting initiative in his city. The plan is to have police officers go around and ask parents for permission to search their children's bedroom for firearms. Somehow, having the cops come in and perform these voluntary searches is supposed to cut youth crime. Of course, it would be unconstitutional, and criminal, for the police to conduct an unwarranted search without a homeowner's consent, but you can't consider this idea of "voluntary searches" as being anything but a trap, one which wholly circumvents the Fourth Amendment.
Consider that you are a law-abiding homeowner who just wants to be left alone. There is nothing wrong with your kids, and you already know what's in their room, and you further consider it to be nobody else's business but your own. Now say that a Police Officer shows up at your doorstep and asks for permission to search your kids' rooms. What do you do? If you say no, the officer will automatically assume, "These people must be criminals with something to hide," and he'll have all the ammo he needs to get a warrant and search your house. It's truly damned if you do, damned if you don't.
There's a reason we have a Fourth Amendment, and it is precisely to prevent this kind of unwarranted search of your property. It is not the business of police to ask to search your home unless they have some proof that you're a criminal. If they have that proof, they should get a Judge to issue a warrant, not come knocking and asking you to surrender your Constitutional rights voluntarily.
Warrantless searches are nothing new. Just look at Human Services. If you have children, they have the "right" to show up at your doorstep and inspect your home, question you and your children, and can take your kids if they don't like what they see or hear. They don't need warrants. All they need is some anonymous complaint, and they'll show up without warning or appointment to intrude upon your life. Never mind the Fourth Amendment, the whole idea of "anonymous" complaints violates the 6th Amendment that gives everyone a right to know their accusers. It's all for the well-being of children, comrade! Your rights cannot stand in the way of societal progress. All hail the Fatherland!
I would say that most people who would refuse a voluntary search of their property are not criminals. They are just lawful citizens who want to be left alone, and don't want Big Brother to step on their toes or spit on their rights. Too much incrementalism is forcing us to abandon our rights by attrition, in the name of safety, security, and our own good. It should not be the government that decides what's in our best interests. We fought a revolution to be assured that we control our own destiny. People need to remember that they are supposed to be running their own lives.
I, Martin T. Ingham, hereby announce my candidacy for the Maine Legislature, in the race for House District 31. This is something I have considered doing for many years, and have now decided that it is vitally important that I actually do it, so we can have some real representation out here in Washington County.
My legislative run will not be your regular, run-of-the-mill candidacy. I am not running as a politician. I am not a slick-talking bureaucrat who will tell you what you want to hear, or hide my allegiances. I will tell you what I believe, why I believe it, and what I plan to do in Augusta. Honesty is something you don't see everyday from our elected officials, but something we should demand of them.
You'll never agree with any candidate 100%, and it is that reality that scares politicians into hiding their beliefs. They don't want to risk offending you with that five or ten percent of their platform which you'll disagree with, so they remain vague in their answers, and don't take a lot of open stands. They figure, if you don't know what they think, you won't have any reason not to vote for them. Sometimes, that works, and of course it works when both candidates for the same office use the same tactics and you don't know where either really sits. With me, you will always know what I stand for, whether you agree with me or not.
It's about time we had actual representation in Augusta, and not corrupt leadership. Over the past decades, we've had plenty of "leadership" telling us what we need, and what we want, without asking us or explaining the consequences of legislative actions. We have become an over-taxed nanny-state, full of corruption. As a representative, I will not stand idly by while crooks steal from all of us, and commit heinous crimes against our citizens.
Take the Department of Health and Human Services, for instance. They embezzled millions of dollars, and nobody was held accountable. There were no investigations, nobody was charged for anything! While they were stealing from the taxpayers with no fear of prosecution, the same corrupt department handed five year old Logan Maher over to a foster mother who duct-taped her to a chair and murdered her! Nobody in government was called to answer for this negligent crime, and DHHS is still stealing children from suitable homes, "for their own good," and nobody dares stand up to them. There aren't enough people in Augusta demanding accountability from government agencies, and that has to change!
Maine needs somebody willing to fight the corrupt bureaucracy in Augusta; somebody who will not compromise, and won't sell-out his constituents. We need someone who will not allow anyone to steal our constitutional rights, and not stand for underhanded criminals stealing and wasting taxpayer dollars. There is more than enough money to fund all vital services, and more, but since Baldacci and his cronies in the legislature have squandered resources we're finding shortfalls, and the economy continues to be depressed! It's time somebody took out the trash, and that's what I will do in Augusta.
I acknowledge that I'll be fighting an uphill battle here. I have to defeat an entrenched encumbent in the general election, and I may also have a contested Republican primary to go through first. Judith Alexander told me months ago that she wants to run again, and who knows if anybody else will be throwing their hat into the ring? Still, I'm certain I can prevail in November, so long as I can secure June's primary.
I believe I'm best suited to represent House District 31, for I am a common, working man. I'm not a bureaucrat, and I tell it like it is. That is what America needs in all elected officials, and I hope to prove that an honest man can win with a grassroots campaign.
For more information about the campaign, visit http://www.martiningham.com/hd31.html.
We near the end of another year, and I find myself looking ahead to a future full of hope and horror, as I embark on new and exciting endeavors. Every year has its positives and negatives, and 2007 was a decent enough year. Although my income dropped a little, I did fulfill my lifelong dream of having a novel published, and I have had many blessings in my personal life.
2008 is a hazy cloud, which many uncertainties. The presidential election is coming up, though I won't go in-depth about that chaotic mess at the moment. Needless to say, I am disappointed that my preferred candidate, Alan Keyes, has failed to draw any significant support. I still believe he would be the best man for the job, but don't see any chance of him winning. I don't know who I'll be supporting at caucus time, but I can assure you it won't be Huckabee, Giuliani, or McCain.
With my announcement to run for the Maine Legislature, I have been given much to think about. Everyone I have spoken to locally is very supportive and downright eager about my running, though I still expect this to be hard fought. Before this is over, I expect to be insulted, humiliated, and slandered left and right. I expect to be called stupid and ignorant for my beliefs and lack of credentials, and I expect to be readily attacked over my lack of "experience" in government. I'll be portrayed as an undeserving candidate, one who couldn't possibly know what to do in Augusta, since I haven't played the system for years and I'm not a political insider. I dare say that should make me a better candidate, because I'm not a bureaucrat, and I am not corrupted. I expect my fellow Mainers in District 31 will understand that.
I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into here, and it's not pretty. If it were a selfish act for me to run, I wouldn't be doing it. This is not something one could do for glory or pleasure, but rather it is something that must be done for the good of the people, and of society. Truly, the reason we have inferior legislators and crooks in government is because good people don't want to run. I wouldn't insult our armed forces by comparing it to military duty, but it is something in that category, a civil service that requires everyday citizens to volunteer and fight for America. At least, that's what it's supposed to be.
I expect 2008 to be a time of trials for America, and for me. The epic battle of right versus wrong in government will have many battlefields, and there will be casualties. I only hope the Constitution isn't one of them, and that when the dust settles our nation will be stronger with good people in positions of power.
So here's a salute to the New Year. May we all survive the experience without a bitter aftertaste.