The Grasshopper And The Piss-Ant

The earliest time of my life I can remember is when we lived out in the far east side of Fort Worth, an area of town known as Stop 6. The name of the area came about from the fact that it was stop number 6 on the old Fort Worth to Dallas Interurban train. I don't really remember too much about anything of stop 6 except for the immediate area around our house. There was a service station of some kind next door to the west, and a nursery just east. Across the street was Amanda Street, with a small shopping center on one corner. In that shopping center there was a barber shop, and the only reason I can remember that is because there was a shooting one night where the proprietor was shot in the wrist during a robbery. I also remember the huge twin power plants about 5 miles east of our house, known as the Hanley power station. They were probably ten stories high and had a rather large neon "Reddy Kilowatt" on the side of one of the towers.

The neighborhood was somewhat rough from what I can remember. In fact, every area I grew up in down in Texas was rough to one degree or another. Back in the 70's most of the east side of Fort Worth was predominantly black, or as the folks back then called it, "Colored" When my twin brother and I were 5, we moved from Stop 6 to Poly, just up the road to the west. Living in Poly later on probably defined my personality and character more that anything else.

The house we lived in was an older house, with a full-length front porch and an enclosed back, in the style of a Florida room. My family would spend many days and evenings on that back porch. We had no air conditioning, so the porch was a natural gathering place during the hot Texas summers. I can remember having small get-togethers at the house, with everyone congregating on the back porch . My dad would have a beer and sit out there and made hot sauce, wearing rubber gloves to protect his hands from the heat of the Habenaro peppers he would cut. I can also remember the yard we had. It was rather large, especially in the back, with a field of Johnson grass at the very back which led to the train tracks a few hundred yards away.

My dad was a truck driver, working for Foremost Ice Cream and my mom was what is referred to now as a stay at home mom. Now, being good Texas boys, my brother and I would find nine ways to hell to create havoc around the house. We always knew somehow that whatever hell we raised would be punished by mom in the short term, but paid back ten-fold when daddy got home. As this story unfolds, keep in mind that what we consider child abuse nowadays was normal punishment in the 70's down in Texas. To this day, Texas leads the nation in the carrying out of the death penalty, and I truly believe this is no coincidence. Punishment usually consisted of just being yelled at all the way up to the switch.

The switch is a simple device, designed by God and used by mortals, to instill fear in boys all across the Lonestar state. It was an ingenious invention by the Almighty, consisting of one very green thin branch from a bush or tree, thinner that a pencil and as long as a yardstick. It was very flexible, which in the world of physics is a design that ensures maximum velocity at the point of impact. It whistled as it approached your backside, giving you a nanosecond of warning before the blinding pain let you know that God really does believe in "An eye for and eye...".

As a four year old, you want to show that you can carry adult responsibilities and perform tasks that would prove your worthiness to your parents. I don't remember too much of any responsibilities I may have had at that age, but there was one task that I was very fond of, and that was getting the mail from the mailman at the end of the driveway. I relished performing this task, to the point of being obsessive-compulsive. I would use the position of the midday sun as my clock, and would dutifully go to the driveway and await the postman. Day after day I was the Sentinel of the Driveway. Yes, I will take credit for being the creator of OCD.

One day, in the scorching hot Texas sun, my brother and I was out in the back of the yard finding new ways to wreak havoc on our little corner of Stop 6 when I realized that it was past time, according to my sun-clock, to pick up the mail. Now, mom usually would yell for me to let me know that the mailman was coming up the driveway so I could meet him and get my daily parcels. As I walked to a good vantage point in the back yard where I was able to see the driveway, I froze. The mail truck was already turned around and headed back towards Rosedale. I ran to the front of the house, checked the box only to find it empty, and then went inside. I must have had quite a look on my face, because the first thing out of mom's mouth was, "Honey, I yelled for you but you didn't answer".

What happened next will be embedded in my mind until the day that I die.

As I welled up in tears, I blurted out "You Piss-ant!" This was a favorite expression of my mom's, a derogatory phrase usually used in place of 'You sonofabitch'. As the words left my mouth I realized that I was in some deep shit, another one of my moms favorite expressions. At least I didn't compound my predicament by blurting that out too.

Now, the best way to finish this story is to tell it from my brothers point of view.

According to Jerry, he was by now on the back porch playing when he heard my blunder. He immediately heard the front door fly open as my mom yelled "What the hell did you say?". In a about ten seconds he dutifully observed me running around the back side of the house, with my mom about fifty paces behind me. As I left his field of view, my mom would go by. About another thirty seconds and here I came again. Then mom. Terry, mom, Terry, mom, etc. This went on for about ten laps or so until it was just me, no more mom. Although she was no longer behind me, I kept making laps. For Christ's sake, I was running for my life!

In the grand scheme of life, the old saying is oh so true. Age and wisdom will always overcome youth and treachery. Mom knew she couldn't keep pace with me for long because of her advanced age. She also knew that I had to eat sometime. I eventually broke down and, hoping she had cooled down enough to discuss this issue like an adult, went in the house. Now, remember the way cool invention by God designed to instill fear and blinding pain? Well, I sure do.

Luckily, it wasn't paid back ten-fold at 5:oo

Scouting Makes A Difference

If you read some "alternative" news, you have probably seen the Boy Scouts of America come under fire more than once, usually by the ACLU. They have been accused of being everything from homophobic to Christian Extremists (No kidding!).

The ACLU seems like they just drool when they have a chance to represent a person or organization who is against scouting. When parents wanted their daughters to join scouting, probably to make a PC point, and the BSA said no, the ACLU came rushing in saying "You can't discriminate against Females". Why would you want your daughter in "Boy" scouts anyway? The have an organization for girls, and its called Campfire Girls (Brownies included).

I am a scout leader. I have been to a lot of functions where I have met other leaders, and I haven't yet had one spew off about their hate of anyone - including gays. We are just normal people who see scouting as a way for our kids to learn and build character.

Some of the greatest people in history are Eagle Scouts. Earning your Eagle is such a high accomplishment that it is recognized by the President Of The United States as an outstanding achievement. This is because earning your Eagle Scout is no easy accomplishment. I'm not sure what the statistics are, but it's something like only one in ten Boy Scouts earn the rank of Eagle. I currently have two nephews who are Eagles and one who is about to earn his rank. That is a high accomplishment for all three boys in the same family to earn this rank.

My pack, Pack 227, Millersport, Ohio, is one of the most highly decorated Cub Scout packs in the Chief Tarhe District of the Simon Kenton Council. This isn't because we push them to just earn awards. We teach them to serve others in our community with special projects. Even though the leaders are in charge, we let the boys decide what they want to do and how they want to do it.

On January 4, 2006, deputy Ethan Collins of the Fairfield County Ohio Sheriff's Office was killed in the line of duty. The first meeting we had after Ethan's death, we had most of our parents tell us that their boy wanted to do something for him, but they didn't know what. They wanted to raise money for Ethan's family, but I told them that although the money would be nice, we needed to honor his memory and his sacrifice for our community. After several meetings and brainstorming the Scouts found out that I was planning to attend the Fallen Officers Memorial Ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following year where Ethan would be honored. Well, that sealed the deal: Pack 227 was going to Washington for the Memorial.

What followed this decision was mind boggling. For the next year or so, we took on so many fundraising events that I wasn't sure my sanity would be in check afterwards. We did car washes, doughnut sales, rock-a-thons, pancake breakfasts - you name it we did it. And we probably invented a few fund raisers along the way. What we didn't make in fund raising, we had donated to us from prominent and not-so-prominent people in the community. In that year and a half, the Scouts raised enough money to charter a bus, obtain hotel accommodations, and a few site seeing tours for 50 people for three days.

When the time came for the ceremony and memorial, the scouts were outstanding. They were almost held in esteem by officers from various departments throughout the country - and world. Officers saluted them, media adored them, and they were given preferential treatment almost everywhere they went.

One of my favorite memories was when we went to the candlelight vigil the night before the ceremony, and there were so many officers, family, and citizens there that the scouts couldn't see what was going on. Then, a Lieutenant from the Seattle Police Department saw one of the scouts and picked him up and put him high so he could see. Then other officers saw that and before you knew it the scouts were being hoisted up, high in the air, right where they belonged.

I think what summed everything up most to me was when a correspondent from, I think USA Today, asked one of our scouts why they were here, they told her that "We're here for Ethan, because he was here for us". So Simple, so poignant.

Because of their actions in 2006 and 2007, the scouts of pack 227 were allowed to do something that, to my knowledge, has not been allowed in scouting before: they were allowed by the national council of the Boy Scouts Of America to affix a "End Of Watch" pin for Deputy Ethan Collins to their uniforms permanently - a pin unique to pack 227 only that no other pack or troop can wear.

It is because of accomplishments like this that Scouting makes a difference.

Our Tax Dollars At Work

Utah Woman Ordered to Enroll Kids or Lose Custody

Denise Mafi was recently ordered by Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen to stop homeschooling and place her children in public school. The penalty? Arrest.

She has now fled Utah to an undisclosed location to avoid being incarcerated.

Let's face it, our public schools are failing our kids. There are some good districts still out there, but for the most part public schools are a mess. They are too worried about political correctness, zero tolerance, and making sure God doesn't offend someone.

Run Denise, run!

Hey, Stop Stealing My Rain!

Now this is one strange story. Basically in a nutshell, some Colorado residents are being told that they are stealing someone else's water, even if it is coming from their own wells. Pay particular attention to the part about the gentleman that wanted to collect rainwater in a cistern...Un freakin' believable!

DC Firefighter Faces Disciplinary Action For Fighting Fire

I won't even comment on this, except to say that in our nation's capital going by the book is more important than life and property. read the story HERE.

Putin...Man of the Year?

Well, well, well...In accordance to their socialist, left-leaning ways, Time magazine has voted Vladimir Putin as Time's "Man Of The Year". In these times of the lefties who want to destroy America, it only seems appropriate to anoint a person who has alluded to a desire to nuke the United States as their man. And, in the age of imminent destruction by global warming, Al Gore was the runner-up. A bully and a fraud...Now that's just peachy. Oh, and by the way, General David Petraeus was also a runner-up, but not before J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. Only in American "Journalism" would an inventor of an imaginary wizard finish as a person of the year in front of a General who has taken a war we were losing and turned it around. God Bless the U.S.S.A.!

Feeding The World...

Global wheat prices are skyrocketing, and the U.N. says it is depleting the supply. Of course, it is all tied back to global warming. That's funny. According to the Washington Times, low temperature records are being set globally. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Congress Bans incandescent Light Bulbs...

Yep, Congress is at it again. It seems the hair-brained schemes they've pulled aren't enough. While they were busy this past year re-naming 250 or so Post Offices and opening over 300 investigations into the Bush administration's White House, someone on the left side of the aisle realized that they were bringing mother earth closer to burning up by not being green in the way they illuminate the chambers. And the way Americans light their way.

This piece of work will ban all incandescent light bulbs by 2014. The bill, signed by President Bush, calls for all light bulbs to use 30 percent less energy by 2014 and - get this - 70 percent by 2020. The bill also calls for auto efficiency to be raised by 40 percent. And who gets screwed in the end? US!

With Fluorescent bulbs costing 7 to 10 times more, and vehicle prices climbing every year due to over regulation, this is going to make it very difficult on the average American's budget.

I have a better Idea for our Congress: Lets try to get the budget balanced, find a short term solution to energy prices (Anwar...hint hint) and cut our taxes.

Balancing the Budget, Cal-ee-forn-eea Style

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he will have to declare a 'Fiscal Emergency" due to a $14 billion budget shortfall. Meanwhile, the State Assembly just passed the first phase of a resolution giving all of it's residents medical insurance...to the tune of $14 billion worth. Geez, I wish I could run my house with such fiscal responsibility.

CAIR and the Bullying of America

Well, The Council on American-Islamic Relations is back at it again, this time making the news three times in the same week. Boy are they staying busy!

The FBI recently released their Hate Crime Statistics for 2006, and it seems to be at odds with CAIR's report of the same time frame. In fact it appears that CAIR's report is greatly exaggerated. They probably take into account every time a Non-Muslim looks at them cross-eyed.

Do a web search for CAIR and you can see they have quite an illustrious history of fabrication.

Also, CAIR has been at war with radio talk show host Michael Savage, waging a boycott on his show citing "Hate Speech".

Well, Savage is fighting back. He has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court, citing CAIR as a "Vehicle of international terrorism", and for misuse of his copyrighted broadcast material.

And for the hat trick...

CAIR was busted out Friday in regards to planting questioners in the audience of the presidential debates. These plants, one of which was the executive director for the Chicago chapter, are posing as ordinary citizens, and asking questions skewed towards the so-called victimization of Muslims. You can link HERE for the rest of the story from World Net daily.

I thinks it's time that we took CAIR over our collective knees and give them a good old fashioned spanking.

The Politics Of The NIE 2007: Iran

Back in 2004, American defense and intelligence officials were given a bombshell report from General Ihor Smeshko, head of the Ukrainian Secret Service.

Intelligence and Pentagon officials were in London discussing WMD's in Iraq with Britain's MI6 when they were advised by General Smeshko that Iran had been attempting to persuade the Ukraine to give them access to their nuclear technology.

John Shaw, who was at that time the Pentagon's deputy secretary for international technology security, stated that, according to Smeshko, the Iranians weren't interested in the technology for energy purposes.

Now, Intelligence officials are saying that Iran is no longer a threat. According to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), Iran is continuing their enrichment program but they have ceased any weaponizing attempts. The funny thing is that according the NIE report, Iran halted the program in 2003, a year before the meeting in London.

Obviously, something isn't right here. American Intelligence has insisted for the last couple of years, all they way up to just a few months ago, that Iran is determined to enrich Uranium to develop nuclear weapons. All of a sudden, almost overnight, they have done a complete turnaround.

One major fact that anyone who is following this has to realize is that most of the 700 or so page report remains classified. My curiosity wants to know what else is in that report.

Gut instinct tells me that this report on Iran is purely political in nature. President Bush's war on terror started with noble intentions in Afghanistan. When President Bush pleaded his case to go into Iraq, most politicians were on board. The list of those who were for an Iraq invasion included many of the Democrats that have been calling it an unjust war since they took control of congress, including Harry Reid, John Murtha and Hillary Clinton. With the intelligence we had - and it was good solid intelligence - just about everyone from the top down in Washington thought it was a good idea.

We now have senators and representatives who say that we were lied to. They say President Bush manipulated the intelligence community to give him a reason to go to war. We now have an intelligence community who appear unanimous in their estimate that Iran is no longer a threat. This, by all accounts, seems to be perfectly okay with the current Democrat-led Congress.

As long as the information suits their agenda, they will back the Intelligence agencies 110%, and give them what they want. The authors of the latest NIE report need to be looked at with suspicion. Thomas Fingar, Kenneth Brill and Vann Van Diepen, all former State Department officials, have had an ax to grind with President Bush since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. They have also been very vocal about their opposition to Iranian sanctions.

There are currently a handful in congress now who are beholden to the far left ideology of "Take down Bush at all costs". It seems that I remember a lot of moderates who were not on that bandwagon before the last election who have changed their politics. These are the cowards who will side with only the team that is winning, who seek shelter at any change in the wind.

You just simply can't have it both ways. Intelligence in the United States is political in nature. There are agents and officials jockeying for positions in various cabinets and departments. Being shrouded in secrecy, it is easy to manipulate any data or information to suit ones agenda without much outside scrutiny. All too often, the security of the United States and its citizens are what suffers. Anyone can do just a little research on the internet and see the intelligence failures in just the last fifteen or so years, failures that could have prevented tragedy.

All in all, we don't know, and probably won't know, what is in the rest of the NIE on Iran until we are either old and gray or have passed on. We didn't know everything in 2003 and we sure as hell don't know now. Iran is a threat, and this latest blunder in intelligence has emboldened Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his regime. He is gaining friends at an alarming pace, friends that are powerful and can inflict damage on the United States on various fronts.

When all is said and done, who will take responsibility for sacrificing American security for the sake of politics?