The More Things Change...

...the more they stay the same. Isn't that what you've always been told? Well, it's true. I just heard a portion of this song on the Glenn Beck Program and was amazed at how true the words to the song are even today.  The song, I'm No Communist, was written by Carson Robison in 1952 and talks about how out of control the government was then.  Just take a look at these lyrics and you'll see what I mean.

We're living in a country that's the finest place of earth
But some folks don't appreciate this land that gave them birth
I hear that up in Washington they're having an awful fuss
'Cause Communists and spies are making monkeys out of us

The bureaus and departments have been busy night and day
They're figuring out just how we gave our secrets all away
And Congress has appointed a committee so they said
To find out who's American and who's a low-down Red.

They call them up to Washington to speak for Uncle Sam
But when they ask them what they are, they shut up like a clam
I wish they'd take and put me on the witness stand today
I'd yell so loud old Stalin could hear me all the way

Refrain: I'm no Communist, and I'll you that right now
I believe a man should own his own house and car and cow
I like this private ownership, and I want to be left alone
Let the government run its business and let me run my own

Our government is bigger than it ever was today
The more they hire to work for it, the more they have to pay
Our public servants should be proud and honest you would think
Instead of taking bribes and dressing up their wives in mink

The taxes keep on going up of that there is no doubt
But still they just can't take it in as fast as they dish it out
Our national debt is monster size and growin' every day
Our children's children, still unborn are gonna have to pay

Our dollar used be the soundest money on this earth
But now two bucks won't even buy a good old dollar's worth
Unless we stop inflation and take care of what we've got
The Communists may win the fight and never fire a shot

He wrote this song with 1950's dollars in mind.  Just imagine what he'd think if he saw what was going on in the country today.  The government has taken over private industries (GM) and the banking system.  They've worked towards socializing our health care in an effort to remove the insurance industry from the picture all together.  President Obama has said many times that the Bush tax cuts that helped to grow the economy in the early part of the 2000's will not be renewed.  They've outlawed incandescent light bulbs and have mandated that everyone will use compact fluorescent bulbs by 2012. 

The government continues to hire workers and they're setting up new positions all the time.  The IRS is growing in size to help deal with the healthcare issue.  New positions are set up that circumvent the traditional procedures.  The media calls them "czars" but they're not officially called that.  They oversee a department of the government and report directly to the president.  During the term of Ronald Reagan there was one person with that title.  Currently there are 36 people under President Barack Obama referred as such. 

The United States was designed with the rights of the individual in mind.  Private Property, the right to run business as they saw fit.  The right to own that business.  That's all slowly being taken away, and the government is no longer trying to hide the fact that they're socializing everything.  They're out in the open.  The general public in America is starting to wake up to that fact and they're not liking it very much.

So make sure you stay informed.  Keep current with everything going on and make sure you let your representatives know how you feel.  Make sure your neighbors know as well.  God told us to help out our fellow man and the environment.  It's not up to the government to tell us how to do that. 

It's My Birthday

Today’s my birthday. I’m no longer in my 20’s. I’ve hit the big 3-0. My kids say I’m old. I can tell you that I don’t feel old. I feel much like I did yesterday when I was still in my 20’s. I’ve never made a big deal out of my birthday. It’s just another day of the year. I get to add another number to my age, but other than that it’s not any different than any other day. If you know me, then you know I’m a big fan of history. I’ve been interested in history since my days in high school and that’s carried on since then. So I did a bit of research and found out some stuff that’s occurred in the past on the day of my birth and I thought I’d share it with you.

My most favorite point in history, aside from the time of Jesus and his life has been the American Civil War. It’s without a doubt one of the biggest turning points in our history and one I’ve looked back at over the years and my viewpoint has changed from time to time. I’m fascinated with the reasons we went to war then and the things that occurred during that time. On this day in 1863 the SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000. Amazingly exactly 102 years later the wreck of this famous ship was discovered by a teenager and archaeologist E. Lee Spence. The wreck is said to be valued at over $50,000,000 dollars today.

Pluto was photographed for the first time in 1915. At the time it is not recognized as a planet and the poor hunk of rock in space has gone through turmoil throughout it’s years. It has been, but no longer is, classified as a planet.

This past week I’ve talked to people about how much I hate daylight savings time and think it’s pointless in today’s world. At one time it might have been useful, but I don’t feel that way now. But back in 1918 the U.S. Congress established the time zones for the United States and approved the creation of Daylight Saving Time.

Gambling was legalized in Nevada on this day in 1931.

People who know me also know my fascination with World War II. I’m a bit of a military history buff. This date has had some significance to the history of that most famous of wars. Two notorious Nazi leaders were born on this day. Albert Speer, Hitler’s chief architect, was born in 1905. He’s most famously known as the Nazi who said sorry for the crimes of the Nazi regime at the Nuremburg Trials and in his memoirs. The other, Adolf Eichmann, was born in 1906. This man was considered the architect of the Holocaust that resulted in the deaths of millions of Jewish people, as well as millions of others. He was captured by the Israeli Mossad in 1960 and hanged for his crimes in 1962.

Other dates during World War II were on this date in 1941. The Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp were activated. This was a huge moment in the nation for men of color. Towards the end of World War II Nazi forces began the occupation of Hungary in 1944. One of the events that signaled the end of the war in Europe was on this date in 1945 when Hitler issued his “Nero Decree” All industry, military installations, shops, as well as all transport and communications facilities in Germany were ordered to be destroyed.

Another big event in history for our nation’s men of colored occurred in 1966 when Texas Western became the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup.

There were also some very famous people born on the same day I was. Here is a list of a few of them.

1590 – William Bradford, Pilgrim and First Governor of the Plymouth Colony (d. 1657)

1734 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1817)

1848 – Wyatt Earp, American policeman and gunfighter (d. 1929)

1947 – Glenn Close, American actress
1955 – Bruce Willis, American actor
1958 – Andy Reid, NFL Head Coach (Philadelphia Eagles)



Along with birth comes death and there were also a few famous people who died on the day I was born.

1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
1783 – Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1713)
1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
2008 – Sir Arthur C. Clarke, English science fiction author and inventor (b. 1917)

So there you have it. A bit of history to go along with this day that marks another page in my future. It’s been an interesting, exciting 30 years and I look forward to many more to come.