I’m convinced Americans are conditioned to accept lousy service.  When was the last time you got cold fries and ate them anyway?  When was the last time you stood in line and said nothing while the employees behind the counter goofed off?  How about when that employee barked at you as if they were doing you a favor? I had our vehicle repaired at a dealership once and thought they had overcharged us.  When I brought it to the attention of the Service Manager, he cussed me out.  A couple days later the owner of the dealership gave me a call.  He said: “If you don't like the way we do business go somewhere else.”  I did, and the dealership later folded. The other day, I bought some pool supplies at a small shop in a neighboring town.  I...

Someone told a joke the other day.  At first, I thought it was humorous but then it got me to thinking about more.  The witticism was: “What's the difference between a politician and a catfish?”  The punchline was: “One's a bottom dwelling scum sucker and the other’s a fish.” Is that what our elected representatives have become, the butt end of a joke?  It would appear so because America's approval rating of Congress, depending on the poll, is as low as 9%. The citizens of the United States have a loftier opinion of pornography, polygamy, or that of the BP oil spill. The original title of this piece, before I scratched it, was: “The revelation of a disgusted nation.” Maybe that’s an intro for another day. In a Fox News interview on May 6,...

Well … it's barely been three months into the primary season and the whole process now seems moot; no wonder some voters feel they've been cheated. It would appear Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger, will square off against the incumbent Democrat, Barack Obama, in that fall heavyweight bout. I'm already starting to hear people say: “We're gonna be stuck with choosing the lesser of two evils again this fall.” For the Republican Party, the candidate will no doubt be Mitt Romney.  Some claim he’s a conservative, but far more say he’s a moderate willing to ride both sides of the fence.  A few commentators have said he's a “flip flopper” willing to say or do anything to get elected. And for the Democratic Party, the candidate will be...

Who might you say is responsible for high gas prices? It's a safe bet to say most fingers are pointing toward Washington, DC. About a week back I came across an Associated Press story titled “Four Dollars A Gallon Gas Is Damn Cheap.” I didn’t bother reading the piece because I was much too busy laughing and being angry at the same time.  For I just spent $118.50 to fill my vehicle, the highest I've ever paid! The Administration's Energy Secretary recently told a Congressional committee he was fine with European prices coming to America.  We often hear how we should compare our relatively inexpensive fuel prices to Europe's, Norway $9.27 a gallon, Greece $8.50, Morocco $8.45, Denmark $8.42, Sweden $8.18, Belgium and the U.K. $8.17, but...

A friend recently gave me a book.  Books need to be held in elevated regard and not whisked adrift.  Contained within the book’s pages were the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution.  I've read all three before and have always viewed them as noteworthy to revisit.  I take away something new each time I indulge myself in those documents of creative wonder. To be the ruler over our own existence is what the founding fathers wanted to instill in us.  A rule of authoritarian proclamation over millions to simply enrich those thirsting for power by throwing many into the peasantry fold is lowly and despicable, yet that's how the actions of many politicians are rightly defined. FDR’s new deal was...

2012 isn’t about Barack Obama or the GOP nominee.  It's not even about who controls Congress. Sure, the presidential election will dominate the headlines.  Millions will be pumped into the race and the direction of America will pivot on the outcome.  But the race for the White House isn’t what 2012 is really about.  2012, for many, will mean a paramount struggle is on for the very essence of liberty. In a letter I recently received from the Republican National Committee, Chairman Reince Priebus claimed Barack Obama has lied.  According to Priebus, the President promised “to have the most transparent administration in history” and Mr. Obama promised lobbyists “wouldn’t find a job in his White House.” The fact is Mr. Obama has hired at...

Did you have a chance to watch the Super Bowl this year?  That Super Bowl set a record for the most watched television show in American history.  The Nielsen Company said an estimated 111.3 million people watched the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots that Sunday night.  It was a great game, but I was struck by something other than the game that night.  Several times the network switched coverage to the troops watching the game at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan.  Every time that happened the crowd would erupt in thunderous applause. Sadly, there are a miniscule few in Washington and around the country who have a disdain for the American military.  They don't share my convictions though, nor do they speak for me.  They're like...

Does the thought of World War III send chills down your spine?  Many Christians believe Armageddon will be such a battle, a final one between good and evil as mentioned in Revelation.  The thought of a universal apocalypse may strike fear in most, but not for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad is an outspoken critic of Israel and the West.  He's been embroiled in controversy in regard to statements he made about the Holocaust and for saying: “Israel is a rotting corpse” that “the occupying regime will vanish from the pages of time.” In 2007 the Iranian leader claimed: “In the world, there are deviations from the right path: Christianity and Judaism.  There are also false claims that these religions will save mankind.  But...