AN OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS

  Okay congress listen up. I am going to say this one more time. To use a little CB jargon "Have you got your ears on"? You are so worried about losing your cushy jobs, retirement benefits, and health insurance that pays 100% of your medical costs. That's not Obamacare by the way. In your minds that is what is at stake if you vote to repeal Obamacare. You are deceived by the false Democratic polls that say the American people do not want an outright repeal of Obamacare. There are only three polls that you need to focus on. The poll taken in November 2010 when the American people threw the Democrats out of the House of Representatives and put your sorry butts in charge to do what? Repeal Obamacare!!! Then there is that other poll taken in November 2014 that threw the Democrats out of the Senate do do what? Repeal Obamacare!!! For the third time a poll was taken in November 2016 that elected a president who wanted to do what? Are you getting the picture now? Am I finally getting through your thick skulls? To repeal Obamacare!!! Not to repeal and replace. Not to save something that is hopelessly doomed from the start, but to get rid of it. If you do this you will never have to worry about losing your jobs again. That is unless you are caught molesting a child or in a hotel room with a tranny prostitute. When this heavy anchor of Obamacare is removed from around the neck of the American economy you will be loved for your decision. Heck, I might even vote for Corker and Alexander if they vote to repeal Obamacare. Now don't let success go to your heads. The three polls taken in November, 2010, 14 and 16 also make it plain that you still have a lot of work to do after the repeal of Obamacare. Like securing our borders, cutting taxes, and protecting the 2nd Amendment, just to name a few. The choice is yours. Follow my advice or the American people will speak again in November 2018. I guarantee that you will not like what they have to say.

A House Divided

Theodore( Thee ) Roosevelt Sr.  

Martha  Stewart ( Mittie ) Bulloch Roosevelt

  Thousands of families were divided by the Civil War. The most famous was the family of Abraham Lincoln. Mary Lincoln was from Kentucky and Mary's brother George R.C. Todd fought for the Confederacy. Her half-brothers David Todd, Samuel Todd and Alexander Todd, all fought in the Confederate Army. Samuel Todd was killed in the Battle of Shiloh. Alexander Todd was killed at Baton Rouge and David Todd was wounded at Vicksburg. Her brother-in-law Benjamin Hardin Helm was a Confederate general killed at Chickamauga. Helm was married to Mary's half sister Emilie Todd Helm. The husbands of her half-sisters, Martha White and Elodie Dawson were ardent supporters of the Confederacy. Another famous family that was divided by the war was the Roosevelt's. Theodore Roosevelt's parents were Theodore ( Thee ) Roosevelt Sr. and Martha ( Mittie ) Bulloch Roosevelt. Mittie grew up on a large Southern plantation called Bulloch Hall attended by a dozen house slaves in Roswell Georgia. Thee fell deeply in love with Mittie when he met her at the tender age of 15. Thee, the Yankee New Yorker, was 21 when he married 17 year old Mittie in 1853 at Bulloch Hall. She was beautiful with a quick mind and a playful sense of humor. Thee moved to New York City with his lovely young bride settling into a home on 20th street. Four children were born to the couple over the next 8 years. Anna, Theodore, Elliott, the father of Eleanor Roosevelt, and Corinne. The onset of the Civil War put a huge strain on the Roosevelt marriage that they never really recovered from. Thee was a passionate supporter of the Union cause. Mittie was loyal to the South and had a brother and two step brothers fighting for the Confederacy as well as all of her male friends that she had known in Georgia before the war. Thee wanted to join the Union Army but because of his deep love for Mittie he could not bring himself to enlist. Like many wealthy Northerners he hired a substitute to take his place in the ranks. He was too worried about Mittie. Her health suffered as a result of the war. She developed palpitations, migraines, and stomach trouble. Thee donated much money to the Union cause and was a great philanthropist. Theodore Roosevelt was very close to his father and he loved and respected him deeply. However he could never reconcile the fact that his father refused to fight in the war. This is the big reason that Theodore clamored to fight in the Spanish American War and became a war hero. After Bulloch Hall fell into Union hands toward the end of the war Mittie wrote, " If I may judge at all of the embittered feeling of the South against the North by myself I would say they would rather be buried in one common grave than ever again live under the same government. I am confident I should".  

The Power Of Virtuous Women

Proverbs 31:10

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Occasionally I see bumper stickers or tee shirts that say well behaved women seldom make history. My problem with the so-called feminist movement is that it teaches that bad behavior is something to be admired and honored. Just like the counterculture has taught us that rebellion for the sake of rebellion or disrespecting authority is a good thing. If it feels good do it. Thus the entitled generation.There is even a book titled (Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History) by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I am familiar with four of the six women in the above picture and I don't think these four women are necessarily known for their bad behavior. Marie Curie did pioneering research on radioactivity. Joan of Arc was martyred for being obedient to God. At least in her own mind. Maria Montessori was an educator who started the Montessori school system and tried to help mentally disabled children and juvenile delinquents among others. The fourth woman in the picture I am familiar with is Rosa Parks. Many think that Rosa Parks was tired after a long day at work and just on a whim she decided to violate Montgomery's segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat. There is some truth to this. She was tired after a long day at work. However the Montgomery civic leaders had been planning a Rosa Parks moment for months. They wanted a test case where they could challenge Montgomery's unjust segregation laws. Rosa Parks was picked to do this because of her normally good behavior and respected image in the community. On the other hand very few people have ever heard of Claudette Colvin. 

Claudette Colvin

  Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, fifteen year old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on March 2, 1955. Colvin had been studying Black history during what was then called Negro History month that February in her segregated school. She was inspired by Black heroines like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. When two White police officers showed up to force her to move she declared that it was her constitutional right and she wasn't moving. She was arrested, removed from the bus, and jailed. Her protest was a completely heroic and spontaneous act. Unlike Rosa Parks it had not been planned in advance. Colvin wanted to fight her arrest in court but the NAACP, ACLU and the Black civic leaders wanted someone older than Colvin . A lighter skinned black person and a good example from the black Middle class. Colvin was shunned by parts of the black community after her arrest. Her ultimate fate was sealed when she became pregnant out of wedlock. Good girls, black or white, did not do this in the 1950's. Rosa Parks was a hero but this girls action deserves even greater recognition in my opinion. Claudette Colvin's name is lost to history.

 I am a real feminist and always have been. In my opinion, women should be able to go as far as their talents can take them. Just like a man should be able to do. Women have made strong leaders. Queen Elizabeth 1, Queen Victoria, Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir, just to name a few. It surprises me sometimes how many women do not agree with me. Many women think that they are not strong enough to be leaders. I would vote for a woman for president in a heartbeat if the right one came along. Carly Fiorina was my first pick, even before Ted Cruz in 2016 but she wasn't able to gain any traction. If a woman can perform as well as a man in any job, physically, mentally and emotionally they should be hired for that job. However physical standards should not be lowered to accommodate women. Nor do I believe that women should serve in combat units. Mainly to maintain combat effectiveness and unit cohesion. Sexual tension, and physical strength differences, have no place in combat units. Exceptions to this rule could be Russia in WW2. It was fighting for it's very survival and Israel, which is in a similar situation, most of the time. Although there are women in the Israeli Army, even the Israeli's don't like to use them in combat. I am all for women serving in support units however.

The pseudo feminist movement in this country insists that women worship at the alter of abortion, or pro-choice, which is no choice at all. A woman choosing to keep her baby is not their first choice. They only support women whose choice is to be a Democrat. A women who chooses to be a Republican or a Conservative is not much better than a whore. They definitely do not celebrate the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:10 or the millions of virtuous women like my wife who have raised 5 virtuous people including 3 virtuous women. Nor the impact women like my wife have had on their grandchildren that she had a hand in raising. The hand that rocks the cradle truly rules the world. Why should a woman have to misbehave in order to go down in history? Men are not required to do that. Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks were good women placed in an intolerable situation. Why should I believe that my wife or daughters wouldn't do the same thing in a similar situation? No one would even know who U.S.Grant was had there not been a Civil War. More than likely he would have died in obscurity. The feminist movement has done it's fair share to destroy the family and denigrate the American male. Modern feminism, like liberalism itself, encourages bad and destructive behavior. It is character that makes great people and great leaders. In that category I put my money on the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31:10.

The Twilight Zone

Imagine a world where Democratic presidents are placed under a media scrutiny 24/7. Where their every word is blown out of proportion. Scandals are investigated  and remain newsworthy for weeks and months on end. Calls for special prosecutors and impeachment are made not only by the opposing political party but their own political party. They are viciously belittled by late night comedians on a nightly basis and Republican presidents are viewed as brilliant while Democrat presidents become idiotic, bigoted, bumbling fools. You, my friend, would be traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Your next stop, the Twilight Zone!

Providential Punishment

When a person dies they will be either be rewarded with eternal life or eternal damnation at some point in the future. When a nation dies it is dead and will never rise again. George Mason, a Founding Father and the Father of the Bill of Rights explains that a nation will also answer to God. Not in the afterlife but in this life. " As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities".

Lyndon B. Johnson - Standing In The Kennedy Shadow

  John Kennedy is a hero to Kennedy worshipers and many Black people for his stance on civil rights. Conservatives admire him for his tax cuts. I admire him for both. He was late putting his money where his mouth was on civil rights. Prior to June 1963 Kennedy was trying to manage the progress of  civil rights while at the same time trying not to politically alienate the South. As it turned out instead of  Kennedy managing civil rights, events were managing him. The Greensboro and Nashville sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the integration of Ole Miss, and the Birmingham Children's march just to name a few. The direct action of the Nashville students like Diane Nash, James Bevel, John Lewis, James Lawson, Marion Barry, and others and then there was Martin Luther King himself. Kings letter from the Birmingham jail condemning the moderates on civil rights had a great impact on Kennedy. On June 11, 1963 Kennedy gave a great speech that boldly proclaimed that civil rights for Black people was a moral issue that could no longer be ignored. Kennedy also announced his intention to pass a civil rights bill with real teeth. The following is a few words from that speech. "If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?" June 11th was also important because the Kennedy administration was working to get two Black students admitted to the University of Alabama and later that night Medgar Evers was brutally murdered in front of his family. No one can doubt that Kennedy intentions's were honorable and he had turned a corner on civil rights. Kennedy however would never have been able to pass civil rights legislation or his tax cut bill if he had lived. Congress had been losing power and influence to the executive branch for years. In 1937 Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court because he was upset that there were too many conservative judges. They had stood in the way of his New Deal programs and had declared them unconstitutional. Congress was so outraged at Roosevelt's blatant grab for power that conservative Republicans formed a powerful coalition with Southern Democrats. Together they would successfully block civil rights legislation until 1957. I believe that conservative Republicans were more concerned with stopping the expansion of Federal power under Roosevelt and the increase in Federal spending rather than stopping civil rights legislation. Roosevelt had always been at odds with Southern Democrats but had tried to woo their support by not rocking the boat on civil rights. This Democrat, Republican coalition would block pretty much everything until Lyndon Johnson became Senate Majority leader in 1955. Because of Johnson's skill and ruthlessness he was able to pass Civil Rights legislation in 1957 and 1960. They were watered down bills but the first civil rights legislation since Lincoln and the Republican Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Johnson was mistrusted by civil rights groups and Northern liberals because of his image as a segregationist. However he had allowed the 1957 and 60 civil rights acts to be watered down because he knew that any progress was better than nothing. Blacks had had nothing for close to one hundred years.

  Lyndon Johnson had missed his last chance at becoming president in 1960 when he lost the nomination to John Kennedy. Luckily for Johnson, Kennedy chose him to be his Vice Presidential candidate. This was a brilliant decision on Kennedy's part. Johnson would help Kennedy win Texas and the South in one of the closest elections in American history. For a man like Johnson the office of the Vice President was like living in hell. He was no longer relevant. The crown jewels of Kennedy's legislative program was a substantial tax cut to spur the economy and civil rights legislation. He had other legislation that he wanted to pass. Because of Johnson's experience in Congress Kennedy asked his advice on the best way to advance his legislative agenda. Johnson told him that if he proposed the civil rights bill first, everything else would be held hostage to civil rights by the Southern Democrats. Kennedy did not take his advice and sent his civil rights bill to congress anyway. In the first few months after Kennedy's death Johnson was able to accomplish more legislatively than Kennedy had accomplished during his three years in office. It was an absolutely amazing accomplishment in my view. Johnson's first priority was passing the tax cut bill. If he could pass it first the tax cut bill could not be held hostage by the civil rights bill. Virginia segregationist senator Harry Byrd, a virolent racist, headed up the Senate Finance committee that controlled the tax cut legislation. Byrd had the power to kill the bill but Johnson knew the way to Byrd's heart. He was for very limited government and was known for his frugality. Johnson met with Byrd and asked what it would take to get the tax bill out of committee. Byrd wanted a Federal budget of no more than 100 billion dollars for 1965. Johnson was able to deliver with a proposed federal budget well under 100 billion. The Revenue Act was passed, with bi-partisan support, on February 26, 1964. It would be responsible for one of the longest periods of economic growth in American history. The Revenue Act would be a model for the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980's that spurred the longest period of economic growth in American history that lasted until the housing collapse of 2008.

  Johnson was able to clear the legislative agenda before his full court press on the civil rights bill. He was able to garner much Democratic support but he realized that he would not be able to pass it without Republican support. Johnson appealed to the Republican legacy of being the Party of Lincoln. The bill passed the House with a vote of 290 for and 130 against. When the bill reached the Senate segregationist Southern senators waged a 75 day filibuster. Modern Democrat hero Robert Byrd, a former KKK member, spoke in the filibuster for 14 consecutive hours. After a hard fight the filibuster was broken and the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed on July 2, 1964. Johnson insisted that this bill would not be watered down like the 57 and 60 civil rights legislation. Amazingly Johnson was able to give Blacks the right to vote just one year later in 1965. This bill brought about more change than anything because White politicians in the South, like George Wallace, now had a new constituency that could not be ignored. That is if they wanted to win elections in the future. Because of these bills the South would become one of the most progressive and economically vibrant areas of the country. For the Kennedy fans that try to give him most of the credit for the Revenue Act and the Civil Rights Act, there is no way that Kennedy could have passed these bills. Richard Russell, the powerful segregationist senator from Georgia, knew Johnson better than anyone. Paraphrasing Russell he essentially said that he never worried about Kennedy in regard to the Civil Rights Act. He knew that the Southern coalition could stop civil rights. Johnson however was a horse of a different color. Russell knew that Johnson would find a way to pass it. Because of Johnson's War on Poverty, and his war in Vietnam, I am not a Johnson fan. On the tax cuts and civil rights he deserves the lions share of the credit.