The Speaker of the House recently announced Congress will be suing President Obama and his administration over unlawful acts. One must understand Barack Obama is an ideologue.  It’s not hard to see he believes in a doctrine, which guides him, that America isn’t exceptional at all.  The United States is the problem, not the solution, for him. The Obama administration is full of ideologues and many of them don’t have a problem with carrying out their marching orders. Scandals continue to plague the administration, but the President shows little interest in getting to the heart of the matter - his lips move with reverberating syllables when the scandals cascade, but his heart is on display with the absence of disciplinary action or policy...

Most Americans equate Memorial Day to nothing more than paid time off from work, a holiday for hanging with friends, cookouts, or leisurely pleasure.  When in reality it should be far more than that if you dig deep into its origins. Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day and began in the late 1800s shortly after the Civil War ended.  It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the government made an effort to give fallen soldiers a decent burial, but it was only Union forces who were given that ceremony at first.  The Confederate fallen were pretty much ignored by the North and it drew outrage from Southern citizens.  It was a band of Southern ladies who organized and began spanning out to recover the remains of soldiers slain in...

The hardships many Americans are enduring today are excessive, unwarranted and unjustifiable, but many politicians don’t see it that way. Hardship dictated by government is oppression no matter how you slice it. As the White House proclaims a recovery is occurring, and the stock market has a head of steam, millions of Americans are being left out, according to economic indicators. Perhaps the most troubling, yet least reported, aspect of the so-called US recovery involves the national labor picture.  Although the official US unemployment rate is 6.3%, that figure obscures reality, according to an influential Wall Street adviser. In a leaked memo to clients, David John Marotta calculated the actual unemployment rate to be an astronomic...

I said America’s in trouble on election night 2008 because I knew about Barack Obama’s past when a majority of the electorate didn’t; I reiterated that point once more on election night 2012.  America has never had a more divisive President than it currently has.  Media personality Glenn Beck made the claim on one of his radio broadcasts that the Obama administration would go down in history as the most corrupt administration the United States has ever known - it would appear that proclamation is being fulfilled. Instead of jubilance and celebration being heralded from the White House that America elected its first African American President, there’s detachment, fracturing, and division being promoted, and hostility being exalted. The new...

Someone recently told me about a movie titled “God’s not dead.”  It stars Kevin Sorbo of Hercules fame, Dean Cain of Superman fame, and Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty.  After I looked up the synopsis, and read the critical reviews, I decided to go watch it. The movie critics gave it a failing grade.  One critic, who gave it a D-, said it was based on the premise of urban legend.  At the end of the movie the credits read something like this film is inspired by ... then it listed court cases that have been brought against colleges and universities across America that have discriminated against students by violating their freedom of speech and religious liberties - the list was quite long.  So, for that critic to say the film is a...

“With your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build a Great Society.  It’s a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled.” Do those lofty promises sound familiar?  Lyndon Johnson assured us of that 50 years ago.  Similar words are often echoed today. LBJ’s promise of a Great Society in 64’ was to be an end to poverty and society’s woes.  He claimed: “Government isn’t an enemy of the people,” but many today aren’t convinced. The “Great Society” was a set of American domestic programs first announced by President Johnson on May 22, 1964.  The main goals of the reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.  The Great Society in scope and sweep resembled Franklin Roosevelt’s...

I had a paper route when I was a boy.  I rose early on weekends, stuffed a bag full of newspapers, threw it over my head, and set out to deliver the news to my customers.  I enjoyed delivering papers, but I didn’t care for the collection process.  It was daunting to collect fees from some customers.  I remember how difficult it was to be a youngster in the role of a collection agent.  Some customers were rude and didn’t care to pay; others were kind, yet poor. A lot has changed in 50 years. I keep a mint condition 1936 Underwood manual typewriter in the office where I write the column.  It serves as a reminder of journalism yesteryears. The business of spreading the news was pretty much a monopoly for newspapers for quite some time, but...

One of my kids recently said: “I never really cared much about politics before, Dad, but I think I better start.  Life’s not easy, and the country’s a mess.  I think Barack Obama’s policies are scary, quite honestly, and I’m gonna register to vote for the first time.” My daughter's 32-years-old.  She’s an adult who rarely heeds my advice.  Who am I to tell her how to run her life anyway.  She’s had to experience life’s trials and educate herself in societal participation.  From the statements she’s made one could conclude she’s been a “Political Kindergartner” and quite satisfied with it until now. Studies have shown an individual’s identity is forged by the third grade.  I surmise attitudes and behavior are chiseled into the minds of...

I know shopping online is the craze nowadays, but it can be bland.  I recall that thrill in trying out the latest gadgets at the local Five & Dime, the intrigue I felt in browsing through that Army Surplus store, the entice in a candy shop, and the joy I had in playing around at the toy store. My wife and I, as many do, have a fascination with flea markets, variety stores, and antiques. In the spring of 2013, my wife and I decided to visit a small antique store one weekend.  The shop’s owned by a 60-year-old lady who’s been at that Avon, Indiana location for 15 years. In a glass case, at the front of the store, was an illustrious Purple Heart that caught my eye. I asked my wife and the shopkeeper, “Who sells a Purple Heart?” In...