Guarding The Gate

An astute Marine observed that it was not possible for there to be 72 virgins in Heaven since Marines had been guarding the gate for well over 200 years. I agree. I also know the Navy transports Marines wherever they go.
---William Fortner 2008---

Antidote

Leaving Barney Frank on the banking committee is like gulping more of the same poison that is killing you for an antidote.
---William Fortner 2008---

Arrogant Indifference

No one seems to listen to the people anymore; not Congress, not the Administration, not even the Supreme Court. History records that the spirit of man will not long tolerate tyranny and, when arrogant indifference is forced upon it, pistols, long guns and rope speak for the people. Their voices will not long be ignored nor their will denied.
---William Fortner 2008---

Unpayable Debt

I see the incredible arrogance in Pelosi and Reid and I wonder what can these people be thinking. Who gave them the authority to mortgage this country with an unpayable debt for unconstitutional reasons? Do they think they will not be called to account for this? I am gravely concerned.
---William Fortner 2008---

The Wicked Warriors of Waianae

Rogues, Rascals and Renegades

The Wicked Warriors of Waianae
by the editor when he was a young minnow in the sea of life.

Long, long ago and far, far away in the land of leis, ti leaf skirts and shakes-in-the-grass, there was a magical place called Waianae. In this little bit of paradise, in a quaint, sea side apartment building, did abide several single sailors. For five days a week, when closely supervised, these sailors toiled long hours at West Loch which sapped their strength to the point of exhaustion. But the island gods demanded sacrifice and ritual of these sailors the other two days.

Saturday mornings began with the sacrifice of a couple of bags of grape or cherry Kool-Ade into the sacramental brown gallon jug followed by
two bottles of Ripple Pagan Pink and a quart of vodka. A small amount of water from the sacred stream on tap in the kitchenette completed the potion. This elixir was then shaken, not stirred, and served to the supplicants directly from the sacramental container. The incredible
liquid came to be known as “Shake-em-up”, for obvious reasons.

First taken in small sips, then increasingly hefty draughts, the potion stimulated the young sailors to display their physical prowess for the
steady stream of golden wahinis who drifted by on the heady aroma of Plumeria blossoms. The young men engaged in ritual contests of volleyball and other feats of physical skill to impress the wahinis. Being an island nation, everything had to be shipped in which made material for swimsuits expensive, but the wahini’s made do with as little as possible. This was appreciated by the young sailors and they stared approvingly... sometimes so hard that the tops of their eyeballs got sunburned.

Eventually, the magic elixir would overcome the young sailors and they could be found draped over most anything horizontal, or sprawled out
in the sand like road kill. In every case, the sacred circle of red or purple was prominently displayed beneath their noses, the vividness of the color an indication of their dedication and how long they would be communing with the gods. Other acolytes rolled the devotees into the shade before they became burnt offerings. One occasion, the Kahuna of the group, a
young man I called John, invited me up to share in the sacrifice, participate in the rituals and ogle the wahinis. It was an offer no sailor could resist. I begged leave of She Who Must Be Obeyed and rose up in the middle of the afternoon to join my shipmates in their celebration. I
took my young bulldog puppy with me. I arrived to find most in deep communion with the gods, some laying half in and half out of the gently breaking surf. It was a sight to behold. Such dedication. It was obvious that I was far behind them. I was offered a sip of the potent libation and carefully flipped the sacramental jug over my forearm and took in a great, honking gulp so I could catch up with the others.

In a split second, my toes curled, my chin left an impression in the sand, my tongue was stripped of its ability to sense flavor and the hair in my nose uprooted itself and ran screaming toward the sea. The religious epiphany was such that I was speechless for several minutes until I was able to breathe again. I could see why the young sailors had reported diving into lawn chairs head first, swimming vigorously in the sand to escape sea monsters, seeing visions and speaking in unknown tongues. Yea, verily, it was good stuff!

I remember little of the remainder of the evening. I do recall moving inside and one devotee prostrating himself in the middle of the temple walkway. Some acoylytes dutifully rolled him out of harm’s way and set the large coffee table over him to prevent accidents. I remember some time later the fierce and insistent banging on the underside of the coffee table and the terrified cry, “I AM ALIVE! I AM ALIVE! DON’T BURY ME! I AM STILL ALIVE. It took several draughts of elixer to calm him.

I awoke the next morning in my own bed not knowing exactly how I had gotten there and feeling like 500 pounds of homemade sin on a popsicle stick. My hair throbbed in agony. I slowly, and I mean slowly so my heels would not slam down on the floor and jar my head, made my way first to the medicine cabinet to get some aspirin and then to the kitchen for
some water. On the way, I saw my dog, feet up, laying in the sun and his tongue snaked out like a wide strip of bacon. All manner of bugs were traversing his tongue enroute to other places. Apparently his breath
was a bit stout for them. Even I didn’t hurt as bad as he looked. I gathered him into the house and administered one aspirin to him and four to myself. We lay on the carpet for the remainder of the day, suffering like the dogs we were.

Odd Lot

Christians are an odd lot. They will die for their belief in Jesus Christ, but not fight for it.
---William Fortner 2008---

Liars Thieves and Montebanks

When the government is rife with liars, thieves and montebanks and overt lawlessness among themselves is given tacit approval by the congressional leadership it should come as no surprise when the citizenry holds them in low esteem and follows their example.
---William Fortner 2008---

Stark Reality

Stark reality begins to dawn on many Obama voters as they grasp the reality that they have voted away their livelihood and freedom for an empty suit's vaporous rhetoric.
---William Fortner 2008---

Public Masters

Every single time the government has violated the letter, spirit or intent of the Constitution of the United States the country and the people have suffered while the government has gotten stronger, more intrusive, more controlling, more distant, more aloof and has led us farther from that shining beacon on a hill that was America. Public servants have become the public's masters.
---William Fortner 2008---

Shred Pelosi's Credit Card

Judging from the Democrat made and managed economic disaster and incredible national debt, it is past time for Harry Reid's hands to get yanked from the taxpayers' pockets and Nancy Pelosi's national treasury credit card to get shredded.
---William Fortner 2008---

Survival of the Fittest

Survival of the fittest is a reality. When the government disarms honest citizens it skews survival in favor of the criminal thus ensuring a growing criminal threat.
---William Fortner 2008---

For The Children

Unprecedented, massive national debt compliments of the Democrat Party..."It's for the children"... and their children...and their children...and their children...infinitus...to pay.
---William Fortner 2008---

Socialist

There is not enough difference between a liberal democrat and a socialist to make a distinction.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Media Journalism

Media journalism has descended to depths beyond which there is no recovery. There is little news, only Madison Avenue salesmanship of agendas.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Land of the Lazy

Socialism and communism create the land of the lazy and the home of the hopeless.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Helpless Women and Children

Muslim men beat helpless women and children because beating their donkeys can result in a kick in the nuts.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Fight For Survival

It was liberals who made and kept America dependent on Mideast oil. That made those countries rich enough to fund the takeover of the world in the name of a brutal religion. This is not some petty political or religious disagreement. It is a fight for survival.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Constitutional Qualifications

If a citizen has the authority and the DUTY to vote for president, but doesn't have standing to verify a candidate's constitutional qualifications for that office then who does? Should not the documents verifying the candidate's legal suitability for office be made available for all to see and examine?
---William Fortner 2008---

Wanted

WANTED: American born president to return this country to its constitutional foundation and eliminate all socialism and communism in government.
---William Fortner 2008---

Political Passion

Political passion, like religious fervor, can be an overwhelming tide that sweeps aside rational thought and careful analysis burying truth under a sea of strident, unbridled rhetoric. It is unwise to blindly accept the rantings of those who shout the loudest without a thorough examination of motive and fact.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Government Health Care

“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.” (Nobel economist Milton Friedman) This is currently true in Canada. Now the federal government wants to manage health care? If that happens, how many Americans...and Canadians...will die waiting for tests and surgery before anarchy destroys government?
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Democrat Funding

Vote Democrat and elect billionaires George Soros, Peter Lewis and the ultra-liberal Tides Foundation...the big money that moves MoveOn.org.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Information Control

Without information control, liberalism, socialism and communism die.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

$650 Million

We just paid $700 billion dollars for nothing. We could have bought the whole government for $650 million.
---William Fortner 2008---

Truck Chasing Dog

Every now and then the dog does catch the truck, but I have yet to see one able to drive. Most end up under the wheels or thrown in a ditch.
---William Fortner 2008---

What's The Rush?

I used to worry that suitcase-sized nuclear and even smaller biological weapons, capable of leveling entire cities and/or killing the millions that live there, are a reality and could be smuggled into all our areas of major population concentration relatively easily. I used to think it was crucial to America's safety and in her best interests to keep those kinds of technology out of the hands of radical tyrants, terrorists, and other loose cannons until I happened to see the red and blue colored 2000 election map again. The light went on.

Now I think perhaps America should not be so hasty and rush headlong into a war that "NOBODY," particularly liberal democrats, want and are desperately fighting. Perhaps America should be patient and forgiving and wait until the terrorists absolutely, unequivocally, beyond a shadow of a doubt make perfectly clear their intentions by wreaking havoc on all our major cities with non-existent Mid Eastern supplied nuclear and/or biological technology and weapons. Perhaps then we could go to the UN and beg for a resolution condemning the perpetrators after Hans Blix has had several years to investigate the situation and determine if there is, in fact, a guilty party or if America's cities and population centers were merely asking for it and simply brought it on themselves.

Should the UN get enough votes to determine that America was indeed attacked, then we should send a delegation consisting of Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hil Clinton, Tom Daschel, Ted Kennedy and a large contingent of actors and Hollywood illuminaries, provided any of them are still alive, to the perpetrators to apologize on their knees and ask why we all can't just "get along."

To be prudent, massive and utterly overwhelming response should be timed to arrive about fifteen minutes later when the tears are really flowing. As near as I can tell, the national crime rate would drop to near zero, we could stop pouring money into the "Big Dig", requirements for imported oil would diminish to nothing, a Hispanic might actually get confirmed to the DC Court and congress would operate much smoother.

Political Language

Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
George Orwell, English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 - 1950)

The Hooray/Witchu Plan

Considering how he treats his half brother and aunt, I have a sneaking suspicion that Obama operates on the "hooray witchu" plan. That would be "hooray for me, the hell witchu".
---William Fortner 2008---

Coincidence

Have you noticed that once Al Gore stopped his 24/7 rant the earth cooled? Coincidence?
---William Fortner 2008---

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

"The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam ... and how they ran and left their agents ... is noteworthy."
--- Intercepted e-mail from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ---

Young Person

I AM a young person. Do not be fooled by this old, wrinkled body I happen to be wearing at the moment.
---William Fortner 2006 ---

Lord Make Me Worthy

Lord, make me worthy of those who call me friend.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

When it comes to politics do we ever know the truth??? This is very interesting. Is it true??? If so, God help us if the democrats get elected again.

The Art Of War - Sun Tzu and Four American Presidents by Tom Adkins.

Over two-thousand years ago, an ancient Chinese warrior wrote a brief book on warfare. His name was Sun Tzu. His book, The Art of War, is now a staple forvirtually any military strategic training. Sun Tzu barely mentioned weaponry. Instead, he focused on strategies. Strategies that convert to winning and losing. Hisinsights into the nature of competition, battle and diplomacy apply to virtually every aspect of life, from the battlefield to the boardroom, from the football arena to the global arena. Within this context, let's briefly examine the greatest challenges of our four most recent American presidents.Jimmy Carter versus Leonid Brezhnev 1976-1980

"I say: Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle."-Sun Tzu

From the end of World War Two, United States foreign policy towards the Soviet Union was essentially a "keep up with the Jones-ski's." If the Soviets made a bomb, we made a bomb. If the Soviets built a tank, we built a tank. Essentially, we treaded water. Jimmy Carter was the first president to buck that trend. Carter slashed our military and proposed we become buddies with the Soviets. The Soviet Union promptly took over ten countries. When the USSR marched into Afghanistan, Carter responded by withdrawing from the Olympics. Carter didn't understand that leadersbent upon world domination usually aren't concerned with track and field events. During Carter's term, world leaders smelled his weakness. The OPEC nationspulled back production of oil, driving prices to four times their 1976 level. This created "Stagflation," when energy prices skyrocketing regardless of economicconditions. The cost of everything rose overnight, crushing the American economy. But Carter wasn't done. He decided that it would be wonderful to put virtually the entire nation on the dole. All sorts of government entitlement programs were created and expanded. Few worked and most of them caused heavy damage. Taxes rose. The economy slumped. Interest rates quadrupled. Poverty rose. The economy staggered. All because Carter wanted to play horseshoes with the Soviet Union, who essentially wanted to destroy the United States. Carter invited them to a tea party. The Soviets showed up and played smash-mouth rugby. Our military was toothless, our intelligence organizations were hollow, and our nation was floundering. Carter left office with America on its knees. Nobody respected us, and we were powerless to show them otherwise.

"It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but ratherto make one's self invincible." -Sun Tzu

Ronald Reagan versus Mikhail Gorbachev 1980-1988"To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supremeexcellence."-Sun TzuRonald Reagan inherited a terrible economy, a nation with no international respect, and a bold, expanding Soviet Union. He tossed away the old concept of military parity along with the Carter concept of capitulation and took it upon himself to defeat the Soviet Union. Reagan recognized that a socialist economy barely functions. By rebuilding American armed forces, Reagan challenged the Soviet Union to keep up. They obliged. Our military spending increased to 27% of our federal budget. But the Soviets needed 60% of their budget to keep up. That's math that didn't work well for the USSR. But the Soviets were willing to bleed their people dry.

"Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuvering for advantageous positions."- Sun Tzu

Reagan had a stroke of brilliance. The Soviets relied upon hard currency to maintain their straining military budget. And there was only one source ofSoviet hard currency; Oil. Reagan tripled the foreign aid to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to about 3 billion each, but under the following conditions: 1-They stopfighting. 2-They buy American military hardware. 3-Saudi Arabia increase oil production to meet American demand. The Saudi's opened up the oil spigots. Overnight, the price of oil dropped below $20 per barrel. In one fell swoop, Reagan brought peace to the middle east, boosted the American economy with lower energy prices, and eliminated the only source of money to fund the Soviet army. It actually became more expensive for the Russians to pump oil than it was worth. The USSR was on its knees, ripe for defeat. Shortly after, Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative. The USSR tossed in its hand. Within 24 months, the USSR was no longer in existence.

Until Clinton, our economy benefited from lower oil prices and less military spending. All because Reagan won the Cold War. That victory wasn't the sum ofefforts from previous presidents. Reagan alone won the Cold War. Without firing a shot. Few give him credit for his utter political brilliance. When Reagan left office, America held unprecedented prestige and strength.

"The victories won by a master of war gain him neither reputation for wisdom nor merit for courage. How subtle and insubstantial, that the expert leaves no trace.How divinely mysterious, that he is inaudible. Thus, he is master of his enemy's fate."-Sun Tzu

George Bush versus Saddam Hussein 1990-1992

"A speedy victory is the main object in war."-Sun Tzu

Sometimes, diplomacy is as delicate as gossamer. Sometimes diplomacy is a sledgehammer. And sometimes, it's both. The first serious challenge to George Bush's "New World Order" was issued by Saddam Hussein. Everyone knew Reagan didn't take any crap from anyone. Like all bullies, Hussein was anxious to test the mettle of this new president the press labeled as "Wimp." Big mistake. Every worldleader should know better than to believe the American press. Not only did Bush have iron balls, he had brilliant diplomatic skills. He actually knitted the wholeworld into a blanket of agreement against Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. This political accomplishment was like herding a hundred cats. Except cats with nuclearclaws, bad attitudes, and who often hated one another.

"While we have heard of stupid haste in war, we have not yet seen a clever operation that was prolonged."-Sun Tzu

The armed forces Reagan had built were ready, and this coalition was armed with American equipment and training. When Hussein's army was crushed in 100 hours, the world collectively took notice. Few challenges followed. American liberals whined that this was a war over oil. No kidding. And who suffers most from high oil prices? We can guess Ross Perot isn't starving when his oil bill goes up 50 cents a gallon. But poor people do. Thus American liberals-as always-were willing to sacrifice their constituents as political pawns, proving once again that stupidity, arrogance and power lust are the backbone of the Democratic party. Unfortunately, that represents about half the nation. When the Gulf War was over, the United States enjoyed its peak influence in the world. Nobody doubted any facet of our nation whatsoever. In less than ten years, Reagan and Bush took America from laughingstock to absolute respect. Say what you want about Bush. He was uncomfortable. Boring. And he didn't discuss his underwear on MTV. But diplomatically, he was brilliant, perhaps better than Reagan. He knew what had to be done. He knew it was a monumental task. He knew how to do it. And he did it. Bush left office with America unquestionably the only world superpower, allies all over the globe, and very few enemies.

"The general who in advancing does not seek personalfame, and in withdrawing is not concerned withavoiding punishment, but whose only purpose is toprotect the people and promote the best interests of hissovereign is like a precious jewel to the state."-Sun Tzu

Bill Clinton versus China"Appraise war in terms of the fundamental factors. The first of these factors is moral influence."-Sun TzuBefuddled Americans think Bill Clinton's major war is in Yugoslavia. Actually, Clinton's war is with China. And he already lost. Under Clinton's watch, China hassuccessfully stolen, bought, or was simply given the blueprints for every modern American nuclear weapon-and the guidance systems to accurately deliver them. Like Reagan's brilliant victory over the Soviet Union, China never fired a shot. They simply waited until we had a corruptible president, and simply corrupted him
.
"One who is not acquainted with the designs of his neighbors should not enter into alliances with them." -Sun Tzu

Bill Clinton's political prostitution has never been questioned. It's always been a matter of price. Wise world leaders have long recognized Clinton as an egotistical political charlatan, capable of being elected in a nation enamored with personality and ignorant of wisdom. Such leaders aren't spun by James Carville and Dan Rather. Instead, they laugh at Clinton's bumbling and self-aggrandizement. Then takeadvantage of him. No wonder the Chinese wanted Clinton to be president.

"All warfare is based on deception. There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him."-Sun Tzu

The political greed of Clinton and his Democrats drove them directly into the Chinese espionage trap. Like all nations, China has been snooping around for years,picking up a snippet here, a spoonful there. But under Clinton's watch, China got the entire bag of goodies. It wasn't even expensive. For a few million dollars to the DNC, China gained complete access and even protection via Janet Reno's Justice Department. When Clinton's people discovered the damage, they did nothing. When the damage came to light, Clinton's administration tried to blame everyone else. What could they do? Admit their treason?

"Those who excel in war first cultivate their own humanity and justice and maintain their laws and institutions. By these means they make their governments invincible."-Sun Tzu

Led by his pathological ego, Clinton breaks rules and laws at his leisure, victimizing friends and foes alike. In the meantime, he stumbles from one manufactured crisis to another, all designed to cover his tracks. He distracts the nation by flinging bombs across the world, converting sleeping dogs into resentful enemies. Meanwhile, China picked our pockets and built coalitions against us while Clinton parades around, a team of flakes shilling for him. Clinton inherited a world that respected America, and like a drunken gambler, parlayed American prestige into the gutter.
He managed to destroy the careful coalition of nations aligned against Iraq. He ruined world confidence in NATO. He managed to weaken Russia as a state, yetstrengthen their diplomatic presence. He strengthened China's hand unimaginably, creating instability in the region. He simultaneously stoked the nuclear firesbetween India and Pakistan, two wary but previously contented enemies. Now, rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran are stretching their claws, armed withChinese missiles which can reach America. And Taiwan is just a bit edgier today. When Clinton leaves office, America will have less friends than his first day as President. Thanks to Reagan and Bush, the United States isn't on her knees. But Clinton proved America is willing to turn a few tricks for the right price.

"When the leader is morally weak and his discipline not strict, when his instructions and guidance are not enlightened, when there are no consistent rules. Neighboring rulers will take advantage of this." -Sun Tzu

Every nation is perpetually at war. For a president, every move, every word, every action has consequences to the entire nation from that moment well into the future. The concepts behind successfully leading a nation are not new, but the arrogant and power-hungry seem to create endless varieties of how to commit the same mistakes. The less we pay attention, the greater damage each mistake creates. On our Memorial Day, remember those who fought for our nation, especially those who gave their lives so we may be free. Consider how easily their sacrifice can besquandered. And how often it has happened. And whether you will ever let that happen to another American son or daughter.

"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; a matter of life or death, the road either to survival or to ruin." -Sun Tzu

Dead Man Voting

The Democrats, through their heavily subsidized subsidiary, Acorn, has apparently eliminated the constitutional requirement of citizenship to vote and, in some areas, have eliminated the requirement to be alive to vote as well.
---William Fortner 2008---

Fanciful and Predictable News

Many news departments are cutting back on reporters by as much as half. It is not surprising since MSM news has become so fanciful and predictable it does not require reporters to sniff out, investigate and verify news items. "News" is now created in house from scratch.
---William Fortner 2008---

Cult of Conquest

Is Islam really a religion or is it merely a cult of conquest and oppression ruled by cutthroats and only masquerading as a religion?
---William Fortner 2008---

World Engineering

Have you noticed the "ONLY" answers to "global warming" destroy capitalism and individualism while promoting socialism? There is no thought or mention of using the great engineering base of the world to eliminate any undesirable effects.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

World Court

The Hague, Netherlands - Fearing an unfavorable verdict in the US Supreme Court, two battalions of lawyers for the Obama Campaign filed 75 tons of briefs as a premptive measure with The World Court citing the inability of the American Judicial System to properly interpret United States Law.
---William Fortner 2008---

Wonderful Women

It never ceases to utterly amaze me that the most wonderful women on earth are completely unaware of it and won't believe you when you tell them. The women who smile and nod knowingly when you tell them they are wonderful aren't.
--- William Fortner 2004 ---

Withdraw From Iraq

Withdraw from Iraq? I am for it if we withdraw through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and camp on the Saudi border.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Winds of War

There are no moderate Muslims, only those sitting on the fence waiting to be blown to one side or the other by the winds of war.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Lure of Graft

America needs a fresh deck and a new deal. Politicians should never be left in office long enough to learn how to steal to stay there. Two terms is about the maximum of human endurance to the lure of graft.
---William Fortner 2008---

Willing Sacrifice

Take a moment and thank those who willingly sacrifice their lives for your freedom.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Who Pays The Bills

Congress has forgotten who pays the bills. It revels in controlling the purse strings and the great power that entails, but forgets an empty purse is powerless. The legislature should carefully contemplate that. So should we.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Who Owns The Media

If the media has the power to arbitrarily make or break candidates as it appears to have, then whoever owns the media owns America. Just who does own the media? Who has controlling blocks of stock?
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Well Armed Sheep

Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.Liberty is two wolves attempting to have a sheep for dinner and finding a well-informed, well-armed sheep.
-- Unknown --

Welfare Utopia

The welfare mentality exists because government "entitles" some to live off the labor of others. If some are entitled to the wealth of others, then why not their property? If they are entitled to the wealth and property of others, then why not their lives as well to get it? The logical progression of the welfare "utopia" was seen in New Orleans after Katrina.
---William Fortner 2005---

National Strife

When people born in this country swear allegiance to a politician and not the Constitution of the United States, they lose the right to be called Americans and national strife follows on swift wings.
---William Fortner 2008---

Welfare State

Generational welfare robs people of essential survival skills. People who have never had to take care of themselves won't and will wait until death for someone else to save them.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

War

War is an unfortunate necessity for human beings as they cannot, or will not, on their own volition limit their numbers to that which the earth can support.
--- William Fortner 2000---

Weak, Twisted, Malevolent

Any religion that uses its young as explosive instruments of vengeance against innocents and has to enforce its beliefs with terror at the point of a gun worships a weak, twisted and malevolent god.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

Way of the Warrior

The Way of the Warrior is to protect freedom, defend the helpless innocent, subdue evil and establish peace. Any other use of force is thuggery.
---William Fortner 2008---

Warner Brothers

After listening to the current crop of political endorsements coming from Hollywood I am inclined to agree with Hollywood's own H.M. Warner of Warner Brothers who said in 1927, "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
---William Fortner 2000---

Global Cooling

Aggravated Press---WASHINGTON DC.

October 8, 2008, 3:30 P.M. CT

With the earth continuing to cool since 2001, Al Gore is urging the administration to place stiff penalties and surcharges on electric, alternative fuel and fuel efficient cars starting in 2010. Those vehicles do not do their part to increase carbon and greenhouse gasses in the air necessary to keep the Earth from racing headlong into another ice age. He also calls for a mandatory shutdown of so called clean nuclear and natural gas power generation sites as well as all solar and wind facilities and the return to sensible coal. Global cooling is being blamed on George Bush and his radical position on global warming. Mr. Gore said that Mr. Bush's insane push to remove every particle of CO2 and other Earth friendly aerosol matter from the atmosphere has placed the human race and all other life on the planet at the very brink of extinction by freezing.

Mr. Gore says that the current Republican administration is ignoring the inconvient truth that an ice age is bearing down on Earth like a freight train and America can expect to be covered by an ice layer two miles thick in 10 years unless enough warming additives are released into the atmosphere. These warming gasses and particulate matter, formerly called smog by the uninformed, will keep the Earth from excessive cooling, but adds that we must act now. The added threat of land bridges opening between Russia and Alaska as well as North America and northern Europe will further exacerbate the illegal immigration problem as well as make America vulnerable to land attack from those venues.

Environmentalists are joining a class action suit against the Bush administration for failure to take seriously their concerted warnings about global cooling and their demands to burn off old growth forrests to save the world with smoke.

Barney Frank claims the Bush administration has sentenced the poor to death by not providing them adequate housing whether they could afford it or not. Frank claims the right to a free home and all the amenities are a constitutional right that has been trodden underfoot by the vicious administration. Bureaucrats are frantically printing money and storing it away to be used as a fuel in fireplaces.

Since the Bush administration has failed to develop America's extensive natural oil and gas reserves home heating fuel and gasoline are expected to be nonexistant. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid joined in a resolution to impeach George Bush for not drilling everywhere possible to get America's vast storehouse of oil and natural gas to the people. They claimed his repeated vetos of their legislation to make this possible destroyed all hope of survival for all but the Democrats in Congress who are necessary to rebuild government when the crisis is over.

---William Fortner 2008---

Adolescent Demonstrations

I am sick of what passes for intelligent dissent on issues. Adolescent 1960s demonstrations by mindless, ignorant automatons waving signs emblazoned with someone else's thoughts and shouting someone else's words just doesn't cut it. They are spoiled brats living in a fantasyland and of no use to society.
---William Fortner 2008---

No Right To Vote

People who do not own property or pay taxes should not be permitted to vote as they can vote to take away the property of others and become a source of political pandering. Voting is not a right.
---William Fortner 2008---

Cheap Citizenship

Anyone can be an American citizens by simply taking their first breath here. Full citizenship should mean more than that. Many in this country spit on the title and are undeserving. Perhaps it should be earned by honorable public or military service marked by displays of honesty, faithfullness, selflessness and patriotism. Perhaps these should be declared full citizens and permitted to vote.
---William Fortner 2008---

Subprime Fiasco

The fathers of the subprime lending fiasco are denying paternity, abandoning Mother Taxpayer to bear the brunt of their sins. It is a good thing that video tape is as certain as DNA in identifying the political deadbeat dads. I think an emergency "Bonus Recall" and a confiscation of all assets is in order.
---William Fortner 2008---

Federal Land Business

I understand how the federal government got into the land owning business before the states were settled, but by what right does the federal government now claim and control land other than the twenty-five square miles of the District of Columbia ceded it by the Constitution?
---William Fortner 2008---

Vote Buying

The inmates are loose and running the asylum! Senators and Representatives are buying votes on legislation FROM EACH OTHER with public funds. Are you stupid enough to reelect these people?
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Bailout Debacle

Dear Senator Sessions, (Senator Shelby, Congressman Aderholt)
I heartily and sincerely commend you for your courageous stand against the scare tactics and political maneuvering by the Senate and House democrats. I am deeply grateful.

Just over 4 days ago, the House and Senate told the overwhelming majority of American citizens who strongly opposed the bailout bill to go take a whiz up a rope and that they would do as they damn well pleased. That sir, is an abomination. By count, 263 members of the House and 75 members of the Senate took a dump on the Constitution of the United States and rubbed the nose of America in it.

To say I am angry is the epitome of the nadir of understatement. I am running around, jumping up and down, screaming, snot flinging, hair on fire PISSED! Who are these people who carelessly trample on the will of the people without fear?

I WANT WIDE OPEN HEARINGS ON THIS LEGISLATION. I WANT A LOT OF THEM. I WANT THEM NOW! I WANT A TRAINLOAD OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS, NONE OF WHICH HAVE EVER VOTED DEMOCRAT TO LOOK UNDER EVERY SLIMY ROCK AND ROTTEN TWIG FOR PERJURY, FRAUD, MISFEASANCE AND MALFEASANCE IN OFFICE. I WANT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO GET WRITER'S CRAMP FROM PREPARING INDICTMENTS. I WANT EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY INVESTIGATED AND I WANT ENTIRE BONUSES FROM FANNY MAE AND FREDDY MACK AS WELL AS ALL PAY AND ALLOWANCES RETURNED AND I WANT JAIL CELLS FILLED. I WANT THE HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERSHIP TO PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE FOR THEIR HAUGHTY BEHAVIOR THEN I WANT THEM SENT HOME IN SHAME AS THEY RICHLY DESERVE.

From this debacle, I expect to see legislation to include the House and Senate under the provisions of the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution. It is clear that the current ruling class has none. America does not need, nor can it survive even a semi permanent governing authority.

William Fortner

Banking Institutions

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."Written two hundred years ago, by no less than a founding father of the American republic, Thomas Jefferson.

Living For Themselves

Muslims have mastered the art of killing themselves for Mohammed, but can't seem to grasp the concept of living for themselves.
---William Fortner 2008---

Longevity

The most beautiful things that take our breath away are with us but for an instant, less than a cosmic heartbeat. Only the mountains and the sea have any measure of longevity and they are but a blink in eternity.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

Vampire Democrats

Truth appears to be a real danger to Democrats. I was told one just overheard a word of truth in passing last week and burst into flame, instantly turning into ashes just like a vampire caught in sunlight...
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Utopia

The northeast and west coasts of America appears, in large part, to be populated by socialists and communists who are just too lazy to make the swim to their idea of utopia.
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

Usama Burqua

I hear reports that Usama Bin Laden has cut his hair and shaved off his beard to make it more difficult to identify him. Does this mean he finally took off that burqua and veil?
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

A New Christmas

I have problems with the liberal, secular humanist theft of Christmas by converting it to a bright light "winter holiday" buying binge and extended "happy hour" instead of the time of worship and reflection it should be. I cannot fathom how gifts by ancient wise men could be turned into the spending frenzy we see today. Perhaps, as a nation, we have taken an unwise detour towards multiculturalism somewhere along the way and forgotten the importance of the occasion and to whom the gifts were given. What I observe each year is not a Christian Christmas. It is a second-rate secular knock-off of something quite extraordinary. Many seem to have forgotten what Christmas really means. Eighty-some-odd percent of Americans profess a belief in God and the vast majority of those are Christians; odds are that most of the forgetful ones are Christians. However, the tradition of giving gifts on Christmas goes back over 2,000 years and to criticize Christians for continuing that tradition is unkind at best. Actually, I much prefer Christians to just keep quiet and shop only at the few stores that recognize without prodding the meaning of this season to most Americans. I think that will speak much louder than any talking head. I would let the department store chains figure it out on their own as they count their dwindling sales. They might learn a lasting lesson and many easily led people will not be dreading the bills come the first of January.

I can remember when nativity scenes were prevalent on public grounds and in public buildings and no one got their panties in a wad. No one got incensed over a menorah at the courthouse. I do not recall anyone forced off their horse to bow down to either. People were tolerant and respectful of religious beliefs and custom back in the 50s. That is not true today is it? To say that Christmas has no place on public grounds is to say that the rest of the Judeo-Christian ethic doesn’t either. If anyone really believes that, I think they have wandered a tad to far too the left and are in danger of falling off the edge of the earth. Public buildings built before most Americans were out of three-cornered pants proudly display the Judeo-Christian heritage of this country as well as does our currency. As I read the Constitution, and I do often, as well as the Federalist Papers and a host of other documents and books concerning the American Constitution, the act of placing a nativity scene on public property hardly constitutes "congress making any law regarding establishing a religion", liberal court decisions notwithstanding. When the government requires public servants (other than the IRS) to pass the offering plate, actively proselytize the public, or demand a baptismal certificate before providing services then I will think liberals have a case. That clause was written for a specific purpose and that was to avoid situations as occurred between Henry VIII and Pope Clement VII and the ensuing spiteful and almost total eradication of Catholicism from England.

Regarding the founding father's understanding of God, I know of not one of our founding fathers who was a Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian, Rastafarian, Zoroastrian, or worshiped Molech, Aphrodite, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Aries, Bacchus, Boreas, Baldr, Freyr, Tyr, Bragi, Hiemdall, Loki Laufreyiarson, Uranus, Morpheus, Nemesis, Eros, Gaea, Dionysus, Athena, Ares, Hermes, Siofn, Vor, Lord and Rind, Wakea, Pele, Marduk, Ptah, Ahura Mazdah, Ahriman, Khnum, Prometheus, Enki, Ymir, Isis, Coatlicue, Osiris, Rig Veda, or any of the pantheon of gods popular with those in Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, South America, or Europe throughout history. To my knowledge all worshiped the Christian God and recognized Jesus Christ as his Son, even Jefferson who some falsely claim was a Deist. To think their reference to God in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution meant just any god is ludicrous. America was born a Christian country. If the left has its way, it will die a secular cesspool, but not on my watch. There are at least 89 days during the winter season. Let the godless have it all. Perhaps Christians should celebrate Christmas the first two weeks in September when Christ was likely born and not corrupt the celebration as is now done.
William Fortner

Buy The National Debt

Perhaps the only way out of this mess of non constitutional government of greedy, dishonest politicians is for Americans to ante up, purchase the national debt, immediately foreclose and hold elections to restore a constitutional government that includes term limits to prevent a permanent political caste. Communism, socialism and violent religious cults are not welcome and adherents of all three will be banished.
---William Fortner 2008---

Deafening Silence

The single, absolutely certain, way to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a Democrat is guilty of fraud, malfeasance, misfeasance, treason, theft, perversion, Logan Act violations or breaches of national security is the total absence of any investigation, probe or hearing into personal conduct or the federal program obviously misused or mismanaged and the deafening silence of the media.
---William Fortner 2008---

US Military

The United States Military is doing far, far better in Iraq than the MSM is doing in America.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Unworthy

God calls me son, but I am unworthy. Jesus calls me brother, but I am unworthy. Father God, let not your mercy and forgiveness depart from me lest I fall by the wayside.
---William Fortner 2005 ---

Unrealistic Dreamers

In this country there are a few unrealistic, but vocal, dreamers whose world view drifts like a leaf in an autumn breeze jostled by the feeling d' jour who accomplish nothing. There are many more in America who are doers. I'll cast my lot with the doers.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

Unmarked Graves

In her ignorant arrogance Pelosi may preside over the death of the fossil fuels industry and the collapse of the US economy as garage inventors spurred on by unreasonable gasoline prices make incredible daily advances in systems that make hydrogen from water on the fly to power cars. Unlike their predecessors, these inventors are making their discoveries open source to the world via the internet, invulnerable to buyout by oil or auto companies.Nancy, they will have to bury you and Harry in unmarked graves to prevent desecration.
---William Fortner 2008---

Personal Responsibility

These comments do not refer to defective consumer items, but items that are willfully or fatuously misused. I have watched the current furor over OxyContinfirst with amazement, then astonishment, then great sadness because it is a prime indicator of the lack of personal responsibility and accountability that has become rampant in America in the last 50 years. The fact that OxyContin, or any other drug, device, implement, tool, or human contrivance can be misused by incredibly dense members of our society is a given. This is also true of natural things like rocks, sticks, dirt clods, and snowballs I might add. To hold companies responsible for the irresponsibility of consumers is ludicrous and shows that a great weakness, a cancer, is firmly ensconced in our society.

We have public education that teaches, or should teach, every citizen to read and we have minds with which to absorb directions, warning labels, and the like as well as reason the relationship between cause and effect. Parents are also obligated to teach little Johnny not to stick his tongue in a light socket and little Susie not to pour boiling beans on her head. Why then is it the drug manufacturer's fault when a drug is willfully misused by some fool? Why is it the hair dryer manufacturer's fault when some dolt decides to dry their hair in the bathtub? Why is it the gun manufacturer's fault when some criminal or citizen with the IQ of a turnip shoots someone or themselves? I wonder when personal responsibility vanished from the American character and when the concept of having to suffer the consequences of ill-conceived and willful actions went out of vogue in this country. What next? Will carpenters begin suing Stanley because they smacked their thumb with a Stanley hammer, or a mechanic sue the jack company when he lowers the car onto his own foot?

To think that the government can isolate and insulate us from our own stupidity or willful disregard for directions, safety precautions, and warnings plainly stated on labels or even plain common sense is the height of irresponsibility at best and the nadir of imbecility at worst. I think those concerned with juris prudence in our society need to concern themselves more with prudence than juris in these cases of misuse, misapplication, and willful disregard. Trying to find loopholes in warnings provided by manufacturers has become a legal blood sport.

God gave us free will and with it came the responsibility for actions takenbecause of that free will. It would appear that most of us adamantly demand theright, but cravenly shirk the responsibility that goes with it. For those of youthat do not believe in God, then the foregoing also flies in the face of Darwin's theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest. We have apparently interfered with natural selection in this country far too long and have raised several generations of dull-witted twits unfit to survive without governmental intervention and a perpetual nanny.

Mahler Species

I wish Bill Mahler would get a DNA test. I would like to know his species.
---William Fortner 2008---

Department of Energy

When did the Department of Energy's mission change from lessening our dependence on foreign oil to lessening our dependence on our OWN oil and "depending on the flexibility of the oil market to meet our needs?"
---William Fortner 2008---

Mulatto

Politics is magical. It convinced a mulatto and his followers he is a full-blooded Negro...and they all believe it. Now that is remarkable.
---William Fortner 2008---

Uniform Misery of the Masses

The elite say socialism is the answer for the poor and middle class, but the elite, who would be their masters, station themselves above the uniform misery of the masses comfortably insulated from their suffering.
--- William Fortner 2007 --

Undersea Mines

We no longer possess the naval capability to fight everywhere at once as we did at the end of WW II, but the use of undersea mines will disrupt enemy supply lines, isolate their combatants in their ports, and give us the ability to choose the time, place and method to deal with them.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

The UN

If the US got out of the UN, the UN would get out of the US.
---William Fortner 2006 ---

Letter To The Editor

Colorado and New Mexico burned last year and California this year. I think it is time to gather up and place on the leading edge of the fire lines the eco-idiots and legislators that demanded, supported, and pushed through the incredibly naive environmental laws that prevented the removal of dead wood and banned controlled burns to clear underbrush from forests. It is they who made this latest disaster possible. They should be given the opportunity to experience first hand the pain and suffering their feel good legislation has caused. They must learn that the Jurassic is long over and mindless dinosaurs are no longer king no matter how cutesy Hollywood makes reviving that age appear. This is the age of man and man must wisely manage all natural resources. Making it possible for millions of acres to burn uncontrollably with the resultant pollution and the loss of valuable property, natural resources and life, both human and animal, is not wise. It is criminal.

William Fortner

Money Is Power

Money is power. That is why the government wants all of yours.
---William Fortner 2008---

Two-front War

Until a radical Islamic jihadist publicly beheads a Democrat legislator or a mainstream media news anchor America will always be fighting a two-front war against terrorism.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

True Age

The true age of a woman is an enigma. The younger ones fib to make themselves older, the older ones fib to make themselves younger. A considerate gentleman will not inquire and force them to lie.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Tribal Leaders

In antiquity, African tribal leaders sold their countrymen into slavery to white men for money and power. To date, nothing has changed except the method and the locale.
--- William Fortner 2000 ---

Treason Thrives

Freedom of speech does not extend to treason. Good people have done nothing so traitors still live and treason thrives.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Malfeasance

Since there does not seem to be any federal statutes Congress will obey and none the Administration will enforce regarding congressional criminality, perhaps the legislative and executive branches ofgovernment should be dismissed for malfeasance and new elections held to form a government,subservient to the people, as specified in the Constitution of the United States.
---William Fortner 2008---

Do Not Call List

Sirs,
I have been victimized by a persistent telemarketer and the Do Not Call statute has proven woefully inadequate to prevent it. The statute, as written, apparently targets idiots. It does absolutely nothing to stop persistent calls from dishonest businesses or illegal phishing expeditions by criminals.

Professional criminals are not so stupid as to provide a victim with a legitimate phone number or company name when asked. The originating number does not appear on call screening devices. My telephone company, TDS Telcom, will not provide me phone records, actually a single number, from MY OWN TELEPHONE ACCOUNT WITHOUT A SUBPOENA. Now, how can the Do Not Call List be effective against criminals? For me it is just an industry protected government cash cow that collects fines from the idiots, but avoids the hard cases requiring investigative work. To put the onus on the victim to investigate a violation without the power to get the required information is ludicrous. Did the writers of the original legislation think scofflaws would line up in droves and take numbers to pay $11,000.00 fines?

The telecommunications industry must be required by law to provide complete information on demand to the victimized subscriber for illegal incoming calls on his or her private telephone line. That information must be the actual phone number and account information and not just “unlisted, private or blocked”. If my privacy has been invaded by some criminal, I see no reason why that criminal should enjoy the privacy to continue illegal activities.

I await your responses detailing remedial action to fix this oversight in the Do No Call Registry.

Sincerely,

Contempt of America

In their endless hearings and useless investigations, our pompous solons consider "Contempt of Congress" to be the most egregious crime. I beg to differ. Congress, with an approval rate lower than whale dookey, is in Contempt of America.
---William Fortner 2008---

Camel Crap

Terrorism drains a society, it doesn't feed it. Perhaps this is why many in the Middle East still cook with camel crap.
---William Fortner 2008---

Tort Lawsuits

Tort lawsuits are a well established path to incredible wealth in America...and the plaintiffs get a little too after the lawyers finish deducting their fees.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Tongue of Treason

It is dangerous to this nation that liberal politicians cannot distinguish between the voice of reason and the tongue of treason. They appear utterly illiterate in the former and totally fluent in the latter.
--- William Fortner 2004 ---

Theocratic Thugs

Is there truly any such thing as a devout Muslim when they are born into it and cannot choose to be something else on pain of death? It would seem that Islam consists of captives of theocratic enforcers.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Today's Sleaze

In America, today's sleaze is tomorrow's norm. America ought to be better than that.
--- William Fortner 2004 ---

Instant Gratification

We Americans demand instant gratification. Our hectic lifestyle crowds everything except satisfaction and time to think for ourselves into our lives. We want 20 second sound bites, 3 minute hamburgers, 30 minute sitcoms, 1 hour books, 2 hour movies and 6 month wars. We have become shallow and out of contact with the reality that exists in the rest of the world.

None of the wars in which this country has engaged lasted 6 months. WWII lasted 7 years. We still have troops in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and Japan 60 years after that war. We have troops stationed in South Korea 50 years after the Korean "Police Action". More recently was Kosovo and there are still American troops there after 7 years.

Now there is Iraq which is a totally different kind of war with a totally different kind of peace. We whine because there is no instant answer to the thorny problem of uniting a country with deeply divided religious allegiances simultaneously beset by a committed enemy determined to enslave it again. We forget the Iraqis have compressed the first 100 years of American history into less than 5. Freed from tyranny, they have fought among themselves to define that freedom for themselves, they have elected leaders, learned to compromise politically, suffered through a civil war and are now uniting against the common enemy, al Qaeda.

Many Democrats and some Republicans are crying for the removal of our troops from Iraq at a critical time. That is an action which few who have been in country for more than 3 months agree. They who daily battle al Qaeda and rub shoulders with the Iraqi men, women and children in the street are the resident experts. If our fighting men and women see progress, feel the need to continue and are willing to shoulder the burden, then Congress should move on to something useful like sealing our southern border and removing millions of illegal immigrants who are draining our strength and resources and threatening our unity.

For selfish reasons, some in Congress would have us believe all is lost in Iraq. They are dishonest and do not deserve the trust given them. They are also amoral and do not care what the electorate thinks. The recent amnesty battle with Congress and the Administration speaks reams of the low esteem those who consider themselves our betters hold us. Having their backsides handed to them on a platter came as a shock.

The blood of some patriots has been spilled in Iraq, but the blood of tyrants runs knee deep nourishing freedom. Many say our loss is too great yet drunk drivers kill more of our fighting men and women in a year than terrorists and there is no outcry. Some say our country has no business interfering with foreign nations and count the cost unbearable. If that is so, let us bring our military home. Let us start with Kosovo which was only going to last a year, then Korea, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Greece and Japan. The billions we save will provide a bottomless pit of men, material and money to deal with Iran, Syria, North Korea and other irritants.

Reintroducing the Administration and the Congress to their employers was long overdue. We, the electorate, must continue to educate ourselves from several sources to know the truth. It is our responsibility to be informed and supervise the help. We may have to rise up again and insist Congress continue to support freedom in Iraq which may ultimately break the harsh, radical religious dominance in the Middle East.

Wizard of Ob

The more I find out about this man Obama, the more I believe someone else, perhaps many others, are behind the curtain pulling the strings and levers that make the Great and Terrible Wizard of Ob move and speak. Those hidden others hate America.
---William Fortner 2008---

Balance of Power

The difference between a moderate and a militant Muslim is their perception of the balance of power.
---William Fortner 2008---

Illegal Extortion

If the federal government is extorting enough money to provide unconstitutional earmarks then it is overtaxing the people illegally.
---William Fortner 2008---

Blaming Mankind

Blaming mankind for climate change is like a flea making love to an elephant. When the elephant grunts for some unrelated reason, the egotistical flea says, "Did I hurt you baby?" Mankind is that flea.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

The 60s

In looking back on the Sixties, I find no honor in those that tried to attach nobility to cowardly self preservation. History has shown that they grew up to be men bereft of character, devoid of conscience, destitute of integrity and slaves totheir basest desires.
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

Justice Stephen J. Field

"The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but a stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich." Justice Stephen J. Field quoted in The United States Since 1865

A Pox On Both Their Houses

I grow very weary of the political assassination that passes for political discussion these days. The yellow journalistic media mentality has not changed in over 100 years, nor has pork barrel politics at the expense of the people. Most politicians and the media are not America serving or America loving, they are self serving and self loving. A friend has said, with ample justification, that half of the politicians and all of the media hate America. I believe he is right.

Those kinds of people cannot be trusted to lead or inform this nation. They cannot even be trusted to discipline themselves to resist treason for the dollar or political gain. To them, truth is unimportant and ethics passé. They are neither patriots nor our best and brightest. They are our shame.

The best of America are selflessly tracking our enemies through the sights of a rifle, delivering food and medicine to needy people and repairing decades of decay in the infrastructure of another country trying to give them a taste of the freedoms we so unthinkingly take for granted. In one day, the US military does more good for humanity than the media and politicians have ever done, or will ever do until the next American Revolution. A pox on both their houses.

Back To Her Broom

Considering what Sarah Palin did with the Governor's plane, if McCain wins, it will be back to her broom for Pelosi.
---William Fortner 2008---

Antiquated Concepts

It is becoming apparent that the rule of law only applies to Republicans, Independents and conservatives in general. Democrats consider themselves exempt from the Constitution, Bill of Rights and other statutes enacted by Congress as well as above the antiquated concepts of courtesy, decency and honesty.
---William Fortner 2008---

Terrorists

To the terrorist cowards: Every fallen brick, every shard of glass,every mote of dust, every drop of blood, every shattered dream, every broken heart, every tear drop shed because of your heinous act will be meticulously catalogued and weighed. You will be recompensed fullmeasure, heaped up and tamped down, in the currency you understand.
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

Taxes

Taxes: The method the government uses to take from the rich, the not so rich,the middle class, and those barely eking out a living and giving it to the poor while skimming off 90 percent for administration.
--- William Fortner 2000---

Tax Error

The IRS is not an unbiased entity. Have you EVER heard of ANYONE getting a letter from The IRS stating that an audit of their tax return had an error and that they had paid too much tax and advised them to submit an amended return to get THEIR money back?
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

Tarradiddles

Democrats can't help lying. They open their mouths and the tarradiddles just tumble off of their tongues, one right after another, into a pile at their feet likesmart pills out of a rabbit's behind...and the MSM feeds on the pile for news.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

No Excuse for Sorry Leadership.

I refuse to give Democrats or Republicans an inch. Just because the current crop is the sorriest example America has to offer in decades does not mean we should just say, “Oh well they are Democrats (or Republicans), what do you expect?” I expect every (expletive deleted) in the House, the Senate, and the administration to be honest, honorable, faithful and, above all, statesmen. I do not expect ANY to lie, cheat, steal or abuse the authority and trust given them in any way. I will not tolerate it. I expect them to abide by the letter and spirit of the law and enforce it.

They have taken a serious oath that by its very nature and wording excludes partisanship. Those who cannot abide by the oath they took must be recalled or not reelected. They are not honorable enough to serve. The American people DO NOT have to live with third world leadership. Those we elect must listen and they must do what the majority of us reasonably demand or we are OBLIGATED to ensure they look for other employment. A government that ignores its electorate is by definition a tyranny. Those that govern ignore the reasonable will of the people at their peril. King George made that mistake once. The result was the American Revolution.

Cavalier Contempt For Life

Sarah Palin will never be accepted by liberal women and NOW. She is the mother of 5 and has not received the obligatory abortion. Her commitment to motherhood is a scathing indictment of the left's cavalier contempt for life.
---William Fortner 2008---

Two Inept Politicians

It is criminal that America is held hostage by two arrogant, inept politicians. The haughty disdain for the will of the people displayed by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid since taking office makes it crystal clear their confirmation as Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader was a horrible mistake and a crushing disaster. The filling of those positions is proving far too important to be left to congress.
---William Fortner 2008---

Child In Utero

Laci Laws make it a double murder if a pregnant woman is killed and her child in utero dies. Abortion is not considered murder if the woman has her child in utero killed. Is it still a double murder if the woman was on her way to get an abortion when she was killed and the child in utero died?
---William Fortner 2008---

Targeted Tax

"Targeted tax cut recipients" are those taxpayers who can successfully jump through their own anus with a 12' 2x4 strapped to their feet."
--- William Fortner 2000 ---

Talking Points

The only things I can find so far that do not incite Islamic rage is beheading infidels, abusing women and Democrat talking points.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Taken Alive

The news today reported that bin Laden boasted that he WOULD NOT be taken alive. For once he may be right. I don't think he was taken very far alive at all.
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

No Honor

There is no honor or decency among the left. To them, freedom of speech means the absolute right to degrade, vilify, besmirch and destroy anyone they chose using any lie, derogatory intimation or fairytale that comes to mind. Truth is not in them because truth cannot abide a putrefying host.

It is so sad that the left can't compete honestly and deal in facts and not fantasy. Sarah Palin is so far above them morally, spiritually and intelligently they have to try to bring her down to their size. I don't think she can be reduced to something as small and sullen as the average Kos kid, as nebulous as a breath of Huffpo hot air or a Mooooooooove On bovine herd follower. The lack of even the most basic decency, sense of civility, courtesy or manners among liberal democrats is a national embarrassment. They should be ashamed, but they are so focused on their pathological hatred they cannot sense the scope and blackness of the disgrace and dishonor that encompasses them like a grave. They exist on hate, lies and innuendo. I take comfort that ethical people with moral compasses are immune to their malicious and hateful rantings and know the filth they spew is from the feculent excrement on which they feed.

I have no use for soulless, rotting heaps of sullage that are incapable of contributing to the betterment of society. They are beyond contempt by all decent people. When I hear a leftist prattling some exaggerated and untrue twaddle, I feel a need to scrape it off my shoes and take a bath. Their hateful rantings make fetid even the electrons used to transmit their filth.

America would be a more genteel and gracious place if these repugnant dung heaps of enmity were completely ignored, shunned by decent society and left to decompose from their own internal corruption. But I will pray for them. I am told that praying for those who despitefully use you heaps coals of fire upon their heads, I will pray hard and perhaps countless cases of spontaneous combustion will begin to purify what they have sullied.
---Bill Fortner 2008---

Hope, Change and Unity

With Palin added to the mix, it looks like it looks like the Democrats are reverting to business as usual with the tried and true Lie, Cheat and Steal. So much for Hope, Change and Unity.
---Bill Fortner 2008---

Suicide Is Illegal

By making suicide illegal, the government affirms that you do not have the right to take your own life. It then stands to reason that you have the duty to protect your life. Since the government did not give you life, it must have been endowed by the Creator mentioned in the Constitution, therefore, self defense is a God given right.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Sucking The Public Teat

Americans fought the mightiest nation in the world over taxation without representation. Now it is time to curtail representation without taxation. Those who have not served in the Armed Forces, do not own real property or pay income taxes should have no say in governing this country. Their vested interest is sucking the public teat while others feed the sow.
---William Fortner 2008---

Storm Survivability

When it comes to storm survivability, "mobile homes" are essentially organized debris waiting for wind distribution. In tornadoes, they instantly become wingless aircraft then UFOs (Unassembled Flying Objects) a split second later.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Stay out Of Jail

The Democrat strategy to stay out of jail is to rain frivolous subpoenas on the Administration hoping to keep it inundated. Gonzales should reply with a firestorm of grand jury indictments. Feinstein, Reid and Pelosi are perfect candidates having provided public proof of guilt.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Spies

Isn't it refreshing to see foreign spies expelled from the country instead of invited to spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom?
--- William Fortner 2002---

Beware Of Labels

There are many political labels being bandied about in the media these days and most, if not all, of these labels are grossly misused. This inaccuracy is not accidental. It is purposely done to fool and mislead the American public.

To fully understand and appreciate the depth and scope of this fraudulent misrepresentation you must get your dictionary. Go ahead, get it! I'll wait! Your ignorance, laziness, and laxness is what has contributed to the success of this dishonest scam.

Got it? Good! Now look up the following words: conservatism, capitalism, liberalism, environmentalism, socialism and communism. Yes, of course you need to actually read the definitions!

By definition, a conservative is unlikely to make any rapid and sweeping changes in government. This is diametrically opposed to what is broadcast daily by the mainstream media and espoused by many public figures. Those two sources loudly and incessantly wail that rapid, sweeping, and catastrophic changes to government programs are imminent with a conservative administration, but neither history nor the record bears this out. No proof is offered by these people, only innuendo. Who then is lying and why?

A capitalist is a businessman or woman, period. Contrary to political rhetoric and media hype, no connotations of environmental rape, animal cruelty or industrialized slavery is attached by definition to that title. These less desirable attributes that do occur on occasion are dishonestly attributed to ALL capitalists by the media and some self serving public figures in an effort to support an agenda that demands more governmental control of everything. Who is being dishonest here?

As defined by Merriam-Webster, a liberal exactly describes those categorized by the media and some public figures as the "Religious Right." Who, then, are the self professed liberals and liberal institutions and those the media characterize as liberals? Those people and institutions the media describe as liberal are decidedly not liberals at all. This goes for the "liberal" media as well. Neither the "liberal" media nor "liberal" public figures profess or display any tenets of liberalism. Quite the contrary. They are at best socialists and, at worst, communists. The "liberal" label fits the vast majority of the American public. Is that why the term is misused? Is it to misrepresent the truth and hide a more sinister agenda.

An environmentalist is one who wants to protect or improve the environment. Nowhere does the definition preclude capitalists, liberals or anyother political persuasion from supporting those views nor does it place environmental issues paramount to the needs of humans or indicate that humans are of less intrinsic value than the flora and fauna. Who, or what, then are the people that espouse that principal? They can't be labeled environmentalists as the media and others do. Perhaps new terms recently emerging in the "electronic fringe media" are more descriptive. Those terms are "eco-extremists" and"eco-terrorists."

A socialist is one that demands massive governmental intervention in business and private matters to the point that the government either owns or controls the entire productive capacity of a nation and all property. A socialist recognizes that those who produce more for the state deserve more from the state, though certainly nowhere near all that they produce, however, that which is given to them by the state still belongs to the state. "State benevolence" is essentially a conditional short term loan that is extended and can be recalled at a moment's notice and does not become private property when given. Is this the people who are improperly identified as liberals? It seems so by definition. Why doesn't the media properly identify those with a socialist agenda as socialists? Is it because the vast majority of the American people rebel at the thought of socialism and correctly identify it as an intermediate step to communism, but have been dumbed down enough through leftist educational policies to gradually accept it under another less offensive, but totally false, term? I think so and the evidence to support this available everyday to anyone willing to think for themselves.

Communism need not be discussed here. It is the antithesis of the American system of self government and has historically been a dismal failure, but you already knew that didn't you? Do not pay too close attention to what the media and public figures say about people and institutions in the limelight. Watch what they really do and find out ALL of the facts before you decide the label. That goes double for those making the assertions.
---William Fortner 2008---

The Buck Stops Here

Harry Truman was wrong. The buck doesn't stop at the desk of the President. The buck stops at the kitchen tables and living rooms of his employers.
---William Fortner 2008---

Raw Courage

Taking off and landing on a carrier is bad enough, but to load up with bombs, rockets and bullets and intentionally fly to a place where everyone wants a piece of your backside...and has the means to get it...takes raw courage.
---William Fortner 2008---

South Of The Border

If the Republican administration had any leadership and backbone, half of the House and Senate as well as much of the media would be in jail waiting trial for treason, fraud, malfeasance and various other crimes and Mexicans illegally in this country would be stampeding to get south of the border before they starved.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

Socialism and Poverty

Socialism does not end poverty. It perpetuates it by robbing an ever growing segment of the population until all are equally poor.
--- William Fortner 2002 ---

Social Engineering

Social Engineering: (Noun) The liberal engine of political power acquisition which, at the expense of the active and industrious, provides far less for the lazy and lethargic than they could provide for themselves with minimal effort.
--- William Fortner 2005 ---

Slide Into Socialism

For America's slide into socialism, we have no one to blame but ourselves for letting television with questionable moral content do our babysitting for us, schools without local accountability educate our children for us and dishonest"news" anchormen with questionable political agendas do our thinking for us.
--- William Fortner 2004 ---

Ltr To The Editor

Many have heard quoted the first two lines of Alexander Tyler's statement. Here is the rest of it.

The Fall Of A Republic

While the thirteen American colonies were still under British control, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote the following:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage. Professor Alexander Tyler

And where is America on the progression scale now?

I think it is past time for the good people of this nation to rise up and loudly proclaim that enough is enough and work to set this country back on course if that is possible. There is absolutely no logical reason why America should go the way of past great civilizations if we can restore honor and integrity in ourgovernment and a sense of patriotism in our people. There is no reason why the"Gimmemores" and the "Mefirsts" should prevail in our society.

We must remember that our country has a spirit unprecedented in the affairs of man. Many past civilizations were mighty and victorious in war,conquering and exploiting millions, but I can think of none that have been as magnanimous as America towards those it once counted as enemies. What past great civilization reached out and helped those it had vanquished as America has done for Germany, Japan, and Russia? What other nation has stepped aside so graciously when previously vanquished foes and victims of their foe's conquests petitioned for a return to self government? Of all the real estate captured by American fighting men and paid for with their blood, America has only two very small territories remaining, American Samoa and Guam, and they will be granted independence the moment they decide to go it on their own. Neither seem willing to break the bonds with America at the moment. Though not the only point of uniqueness, this particular one speaks reams about the heart and soul of America. It is only recently that America's power has been cowardly misused for nefarious purpose, but there is no reason for this to continue if we elect honest, ethical and courageous men and women to represent and lead us. If we do not do this, we will rapidly become yet another self inflicted social failure.

The people of America need to teach themselves to discern the difference between politicians and statesmen and the difference is great. A politician is: a person engaged in party politics as a profession; a person primarily interested inpolitical office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons. Astatesman is: one versed in the principles or art of government; especially one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government or in shaping its policies; one who exercises political leadership wisely and without narrow partisanship. America is cursed with far too many politicians and far too few statesmen in my opinion. While we may have become a nation of blind adherence to political rhetoric due to our laziness and unwillingness to get the facts and think on our own, there is no reason we cannot become a nation of wise, informed citizens choosing those that display the highest standards of honor, integrity,and moral courage to lead us.

Nowhere in any of the many founding documents of our country do I find any idea among the framers of our nation that there would rise up an exalted chaste of professional politicians who exhibit the very worst of the definition and who would, by hook or crook, build and maintain a power base by redistributing the wealth of others. That concept would be absolutely abhorrent to them. They were the ones willing to go to war with England and risk everything over unfair and burdensome taxation issues. I think they had in mind a republic led by statesmen selflessly dedicated to the good of the nation. Perhaps the best thing Americacan do to save itself is to break the power base of the "professionals" by termlimits. The "professionals" have not taken us up upward, but downward.

I do not say the constitutional guarantee of electing anyone we choose to represent us should be done away with. I am saying that perhaps a mandatory break of 4 to 6 years between two consecutive terms in any national elected office is good for the people in general and the nation in particular. It gives those that have led a break from the rigors of government and an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with what it is like to earn a living or make a payroll as most of us have to do. Legislating term limits would not violate the spirit or intent of the Constitution any more than prohibiting the false crying of "fire" in a crowded theater violates the Constitutional guarantee of free speech. Surely there exists among us sufficient quantities of wise, honest, ethical men and women able to be cycled in and out of positions of power rather than the less than 600"professional politicians" seemingly concreted in those positions of power now. To believe otherwise speaks poorly of the quality of the American people and damns us to extinction.

Sleeping Pill

The Marines have discovered a .223 sleeping pill appears to cure radical Islamic hostility and that terrorists will only listen to reason when covered with enough dirt to remove all distractions.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

Single Marine

The flatulence of a single Marine in combat defending freedom is a sound sweeter by far than the voice of a million Streisands in concert fattening a personal bank account.
--- William Fortner 2004 ---

Simple Men

Men have to be simple so women can operate them.
--- William Fortner 2002 ---

Shipwreck Is Certain

If the current crop of presidential hopefuls is the very best America can find to steer the ship of state then we must prepare ourselves for salvage operations. Whether a sandbar in calm seas or a reef in a storm, shipwreck looks certain.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Shariah Law

An American man has a family who have individual rights guaranteed by law. A Muslim owns some women and children over which, by Shariah Law, he essentially has the power of life and death.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

The Buck Stops Here

A cancer started in the sixties that America still refuses to recognize as such so the painful treatment required to eliminate it has never been performed. That cancer has metastasized into every walk of life. America has not fared well on the moral decay that began in the sixties and permeates national leadership and the bureaucracy that supports it. I wonder if America will ever be as we seniors once knew it. What is the cure for unconstitutional government bloat, mismanagement of the public purse and cavalier indifference to the electorate? What laxative will flush from the body politic dishonest politicians infected with haughtiness, avarice, incompetence and the thirst for power? What antibiotic will kill the deadly germs of political correctness, political narrow-mindedness and political ignorance? What poultice will remove the greed many have that extends to demanding the wealth earned by others as their just entitlement? What elixir will restore respect for others, personal property and those in authority? What potion will regenerate self reliance, pride in accomplishment and the will to excel? What nostrum will reinduce patriotism and pride in America? What scalpel will sever the federal bonds that ensnare our children in a web of misinformation, socialist indoctrination and institutionalized mediocrity? What psychological breakthrough will restore God to the position of leadership in our lives He enjoyed when we were children? What miracle drug will restore America as we knew it just a few decades ago and reestablish the family as the national unit? Perhaps it isn't a pill, potion, nostrum or elixir we need. Perhaps what we need is to give government a swift kick in the backside at the voting booth and further refuse to contribute to the delinquency of Congress by paying for any legislation the government cannot show is specifically required by the US Constitution. Harry Truman was wrong. The buck stops here.
---William Fortner 2008---

Shrinking Target (Ltr to the Ed)

I am a retired Limited Duty Officer in the US Navy. I started out as a boot seaman and worked my way up the enlisted and officer ranks for over 30 years to Lieutenant Commander so I have at least a vague idea about military matters. I have grave concerns regarding the seemingly insatiable desire to close military facilities, most particularly naval facilities, worldwide. Enough is by God enough!

Pearl Harbor was wiped out in two hours crippling the Pacific Fleet for months. By the grace of God, the carriers were out. Had they been in port, the disaster would have been magnified many times over. We are putting our defense eggs in fewer and fewer baskets making us vulnerable again. Is there no one in this administration who has read the history of this nation? Who are the brilliant strategists who are making it possible for a few radical terrorists with dirty bombs to critically cripple or even destroy the entire Navy's surface fighting and resupply capability in seconds? This is stupidity at the esoteric level and an invitation to disaster. Take out San Francisco, San Diego, Norfolk, and Jacksonville and our naval capabilities would be grievously harmed. Add Charleston, SC, Kings Bay, GA, and Seattle, WA and the situation becomes critical. That is just seven terrorists and seven weapons.

To think that terrorists will not have this type of weapon in the near future and will not use them is ludicrous. To hope that they could not smuggle in and deploy something as small as those things could be is shear folly. We seemingly can't even prevent ten million illegal aliens from entering the country. To believe that the terror organizations can not and do not think on a scale that grand is dangerous to this nation. Most anyone with average intelligence knows they are cunning, calculating, capable, driven by intense hatred for this country, and, above all, they are patient. They are also vulnerable to manipulation by our strongest potential adversaries.

To believe our self inflicted naval support vulnerabilities are minimized by the fact that other civilian ports are available does in no way take into account the incredibly monumental logistics problems associated with moving millions of tons of material and ammunition to ports not normally used by our Navy, or equipped to handle their peculiar needs. We should be disbursing our forces more to be a harder target, not consolidating and becoming easy pickings for any rogue nation with a pair of tramp steamers and a few cruise missiles available from a number of unfriendly sources.

China effectively owns significant real estate at both ends of the Panama Canal. I think that makes Jacksonville, Kings Bay, and San Diego easy targets today. Who, with any degree of certainty, knows China's capability or their national disposition tomorrow? This continued consolidation, downsizing, and underfunding of the military is an insanity that opens the door for a less peaceful country instead of our own citizens to decide who will rule this nation and have dominion over our future generations. Ronald Reagan said it best when he said that America has never been attacked when it was strong. He was right then and he is right now.

I know that the Department of Defense is a costly branch, but I also know that the second best defense is unacceptable to the American people. I wonder how much more national safety our tax dollars would have bought had not 27 billion dollars been spent on pork barrel projects, a closed border perhaps? I wonder how many soldiers and Marines would be alive today if they had been equipped with body armor and armored Hum Vs that money could have funded? Civilian organizations are taking up donations to properly equip our fighting men! To me, this smacks of malfeasance laid right at the feet of those in the House and Senate.

I think the $1.2 million in federal grant funds spent on a fertilizer center in this state alone could have prevented a lot of needless bloodshed. How could elected federal representatives from this state have signed off on a budget that included something like that while men and women are dying in battle to protect our freedoms? Pork may be an ancient and venerated method of buying the allegiance of the electorate with their own money, but it is self serving politics and I think it beneath the dignity of an American statesman if there are any left.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States specifically mentions "providing for the common defense," and Section 8, Clause 13 requires Congress to "Provide and maintain a Navy." I do not think for one instant the founding fathers of this nation meant the Navy to be anything short of the best we could afford and I think the constitutional terminology includes the shore infrastructure to maintain it. I think Congress has failed miserably the American people and our fighting men and women from all branches of the military in this respect. I think it is almost criminal that we have to muster the reserves to put a couple of hundred thousand pairs of ill equipped boots on the ground in Iraq. To me, that is a failure to provide for the defense and a disgrace to this nation. You should all be ashamed, $27 billion dollars worth.

I admit I am far, far removed from the conference rooms where intelligence reports are read and strategy is formulated, but I do know that even the dumbest corporal will not let his men group together so they can all be taken out easily.

Bill Fortner

Shame

Shame is utterly devastating to a statesman. Politicians are immune to it.
--- William Fortner 2007 ---

End Slavery

Apparently the only possible way to end slavery in Africa and Muslim brutality against women world wide is to find a way to blame it on George W. Bush so it will get media attention.
---William Fortner 2008---

Settled Science

Global warming is "settled science"...just as sure as the sun revolves around the earth and Bill Clinton didn't inhale.
---William Fortner 2007 ---

Seed Corn

What "the people want" is not necessarily what they need or what is best for them or America. Unfortunately, the government has lost the courage to say no. Left to their own devices, "the people" will eat the seed corn.
--- William Fortner 2008 ---

Secrets

Apparently the way to guarantee widespread dissemination of secrets no longer necessarily includes women. Now the methods seem to be "telephone, telegraph, and tell a congressional representative." See "Leaky Leahy".
--- William Fortner 2001 ---

Seatbelts

The same states that cite you for not wearing a seatbelt in a car with 6 airbags think nothing of putting children in school buses protected only by their jockey shorts and training bras.
--- William Fortner 2006 ---

The Effects of Unlimited Congressional Service

It is ironic that Franklin D. Roosevelt, after serving almost three full terms as President, was wise enough to realize that term limitations for the Presidency were necessary to prevent a popular President from becoming powerful enough to set in motion those things that would guarantee his reelection. Yet the Congress in session at that time was unable to realize that the same situation could and did exist among themselves. Limiting the Presidential term required a change to the Constitution, ratified by three fourths of the states within seven years, so there was ample time for the light to dawn on the Congress. I think the light did dawn, but Congress was, and still is, reluctant to place any limitations on itself. The lack of term limitations for members of Congress has caused three major problems with government today. These problems are that Congressional members have become politicians rather than statesmen, they have become too distant from those whom they represent, and they have become addicted to the power Congressional position provides.

The first problem is one best explained by definition. There is a subtle difference between a politician and a statesman. While both are involved in the business of government, a politician is described by Webster's Dictionary as "a person seeking or holding a political office with implications of seeking personal or partisan gain, scheming opportunism;" while a statesman is described as "a person who shows wisdom, skill, and vision in conducting state affairs and treating public issues." I think anyone in touch with national affairs is aware that the vast majority of Congressmen are not fit to wear the title of statesman. The daily news is rampant with petty partisan political battles being waged on the floor of the House and Senate while major issues like the annual budget, the budget deficit, and the current recession (with its resulting loss of jobs) await consideration. Congress cannot point fingers anywhere but at themselves since Congress, and Congress alone, controls the purse strings of this nation. It has been years since a budget was passed prior to the end of the fiscal year as required by law. The balanced budget law enacted by Congress itself is virtually ignored, and the first response by Congress to solve the problems facing this nation today is to throw more money at the problem. Politicians do not have the stomach for taking a public stand on sensitive issues that can affect their continued access to power and the public trough. Statesmen do have the wisdom and courage to make the hard decisions as they do not serve for personal gain and are not seeking reelection. The bottom line is that a politician is engaged in a profession and professionals seek personal gain, whether money or power or both. A statesman is engaged in a noble endeavor and seeks only that which is good and best for all. Governing this country is a responsibility to be shouldered, not a profession to be practiced. We have elected too few statesmen.

The second problem is that, by its very nature, Congressional service isolates its members from the everyday problems and struggles of the common people. After ten years of public service, it is easy to forget how difficult it is to earn a living in business, on the farm, or in the labor force. After fifteen or twenty years, it is impossible for that public official to be in close touch with the grass roots of our society. The common practice of visits to the big cities and speeches designed to ensure reelection have done absolutely nothing to re-acquaint Congressional members with the concerns and problems of their constituents. Even letters to members of Congress receive no personal attention. Replies are written by staff members many layers removed from the Congressional member. When is the last time you saw your Representative or Senator face-to-face? When was the last time they visited your town for an open forum on any issue? This was not so at the beginning of this nation. Members of the Continental Congress were engaged in private businesses and trades and were living at the grass-roots level accessible to those whom they represented. Our founding fathers did not intend that Congress be populated by professional representatives. They intended that the members would be from all walks of life and bring that aggregate knowledge and wisdom to bear in governing this nation. They did not foresee a Congress made up of so many from the same professional background and education. We, as a people, fear that government has gotten too big and too complex for the average person to be an effective legislator, or to even comprehend, for that matter. One of the most frequent charges leveled by an incumbent against an opponent is that he or she has no experience in government and will be eaten by the wolves. Perhaps it is so, but if it is, then the government is not as it should be and we must change it.

Last, there is a clause in the Declaration of Independence of which most Americans are unaware. That clause states, "and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." That is human nature, pure and simple. Our founding fathers knew about this human frailty, and you can rest assured that every member of Congress is well aware of it. Congressional members have become too comfortable and less responsive to the voters because they know that American voters are most likely to reelect someone they know, no matter what their track record is, rather than to elect someone they don't know. It should come as no surprise that recent newspaper articles and news commentaries on this subject report that 98% of Congressmen in office today are incumbents. Many are veterans of more than four terms and virtually unbeatable in their home states. They have become powerful and have set in motion those things that will assure reelection; they have made the deals that guarantee status-preservation. Congressional power is immense, awesome, and heady. It is also insidious since it induces a desire for more. It has rendered Congressmen and Congresswomen too vulnerable to the influence of political action committees. We have, by neglect, left good men too long in the corrupting embrace of power and many have become corrupted by it.

As you can see by the results, the lack of term limits for Congressional members detracts from the ability of the governed to govern and often subverts those we elect if left in office too long. A regular, periodic infusion of new members to Congress, fresh with new ideas and energy, can do much to resolve many of the thorny issues that plague this country. If limits are properly set, they will not permit enough time for a statesman to become a politician, nor will they permit the building of a power base. It will also eliminate the need to become part of the "good-old-boy" system to get things done and destroy the disproportionate power of some exceptionally well funded political action committees. Coming fresh from the real world, the new people will be in tune with the grass roots of society and have a better feel for the problems. As a final thought, it strikes me that the ultimate and most damaging effect of not limiting terms for members of Congress is that we have come to hold those members too much in awe and, as a result, have permitted ourselves to become servants of the government rather than the government servants to us.