The Sandbox

Remember in elementary school, K and 1st graders could play in the sandbox, some 2nd graders could, but by the third grade, you were too sophisticated to play in the sandbox. It was a time to play on the swings, monkey bars, jungle gym, or play Dodgeball. If you were a guy, girls had cuddies, and to the girls, boys played in the dirt all the time. I can still remember parts of the third grade. We were very sophisticated ourselves and called each other ‘duddie head’ and ‘dummy’ and other very adult names like poo poo face and sing things like ‘Julie and Mark sitting in a tree, K . I . S . S . I . N . G . If someone insulted you, a come back might be something like ‘I am rubber and you are glue. Bounces off me and sticks on you’. Or, the ever popular habit of adding ‘infinity’ to an insult like …’You are ugly. No! You are uglier! No! You are ugliest… No! You are ugliest times infinity, to which one could reply ‘You are ugliest times infinity plus one’. Hopefully, you have outgrown such sillyness. But it seems that some people never did outgrow it.

Did you happen to watch the Republican National Convention 2016 held in Cleveland, Ohio? As an observer and interested Republican myself, who likens myself as a Constitutional Conservative member of the Tea Party, let me share my observations. Yup, you guessed it, a bunch of elementary children playing in the sandbox. Now, there were some highlites, like Scott Baio’s speech (https://youtu.be/YYNxL7Rqd6U), yes, the same Scott Baio of ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Jonie loves Chachi’, and Willie Robertson of the hit T.V. reality series ‘Duck Dynasty’ (https://youtu.be/3Gg2dTFu2sc) who both gave heartfelt speeches on why it is important to vote for Donald Trump and not Hillary Clinton. And I agree that between the two candidates, Donald Trump is the clear choice for President. But then there there were the childish, elementary school sandbox moments that show immaturity and do not inspire me, like my choice for President Ted Cruz (https://youtu.be/XDhqM9ZnVmI) who’s speech was 85% brilliant and 15% schoolyard crap. He can not get over Donald Trump making fun of his wife or accusing his father of being involved with the John F. Kennedy assasination. Then, there is the even bigger schoolyard sandbox immaturity of Donald Trump himself, who said he does not want or need Ted Cruz’ endorsement (https://youtu.be/CSnHum7ybeQ) going so far as to say he not only does not need his endorsement and would not accept it if given, but can and will win without it. It tears me up realizing that the man that I MUST vote for is a man that is so full of himself that he truely thinks he can win by making fun of people, putting them down and then telling others that he or she is not worthy of anything but pitty. Think about it, in order to secure the Republican nomination for candidate for the highest office of service in the United States of America, he had to make fun of Ted Cruz’s wife and her looks AND spread an ubsubstantiated lie that somewhere, there is a picture of Ted Cruz’s father and Lee Harvey Oswald in the same vacinity which begs the question, what did they have in common? How undignified is it to lower yourself to do such childish, schoolyard thuggery and not expect some resentment from the man you lied about, all while calling HIM lying Ted? Who’s the liar?

But the thing that most people neglect is that Donald Trump believes that he can win the nomination without the vote of conservatives like me. If you remember just 4 years ago, Mitt Romney lost the nomination because a small number of conservatives just simply stayed home instead of voting. A mear 4 million conservatives could not bring themselves to vote for Mitt Romney so they stayed home as a form of protest to the lackluster Republican leaders. Think of it, Donald Trump must have the support of those very 4 million conservatives that he claims he does not need. Talk about egotism, the Trumpster is literally ‘full of it’, and yet he is still the better choice that the woman that has taken millions of dollars, probably tens of millions of dollars from foreign entities like Saudia Arabia and other countries that treat women as property. The same Hillary that protected her filandering husband and tried to bury the fact that he raped several women while governor and President. The same Hillary that has had many friends and aquantances that end up dead. The same Hillary that sounds like an angry chimpanzee screaming at every speech. And the same Hillary whos nickname is Killary rob ’em Clinton.

That also begs more investigation into who this man is. Donald Trump is NOT a conservative. He is not an idealog. He is not a small government person. Some of his policies will not be to shrink government. He will not be another Ronald Reagan. This November, I will vote against Hillary Clinton by voting for Donald Trump. But do not be confused, I am voting, yet again AGAINST a candidate and not FOR a candidate. But that puts Donald Trump in a position of weakness because ‘he will win without the support of conservatives’, or so he thinks.

But to an observer like me, it reminds me of elementary school sandbox bull schtick. Donald Trump vs Killary rob ’em Clinton. It is time to get on your knees and pray for Gods grace on America again.

Remember math class? In school, the fundamentals were readin, writen, and rithmetic. In math class, the four basic fundamental signs were add (+), subtract (-), multiply (×) and divide (÷).  The subtract was the opposite of add and divide was the opposite of multiply. But take a closer look at the subtract sign.

I remember John Wayne reciting something about the hyphen. (https://youtu.be/_fuzLTrwVbc) A poem that was right then and even more so now. Take a moment and listen to John Wayne recite that poem. That hyphen separates. Irish-American, Black-American, Italian-American and so on. That hyphen separates instead of adds to. Just like in math, the hyphen is used to separate or subtract from.

Now, we all have heard that America is the melting pot of the world. All other countries try to boast of their purity in ancestry where America boasts of purity in freedom. Why else would almost everyone, still today, sacrifice everything to get to America? What is an American but supposedly a ‘free person’. Free to persue happiness. Free to raise a family with the fruits of your labor. America, the only place in the world where an immigrant can come with only a few dollars, a dream and the tenacity to fulfill that dream thru hard work. So why separate yourself from the American dream? By saying you are an Italian-American, you have put your Italian ancestry first and disrespected what America is, and could be. My ancestors are from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Ausralia, Holland and England. Yet I call myself an American with no hyphen. I don’t separate myself from other Americans. Whether your skin color is white, black, brown, or olive, if you are a citizen, you are American. Whether you worship God as a Jew or a Christian, whether you are Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or you do not believe in God, but you are a citizen of America, you are an American. That hyphen acts to seperate, divide and subtract yourself from the very melting pot you chose to become part of.

America still has the potential to be the melting pot, the place of dreams, where you are free to try to make the better mouse trap and build the business that becomes great. But we can’t build this country if people continue to seperate themselves from America. If people add themselves to the greatness instead of seperating themselves from it, we could live up to the potential that our forefathers dreamt of. However, if people instead want to be seperate instead, we become smaller. Like the cliques in High School, that served to seperate.

It is clear that the hyphen, in this case, subtracts a persons uniqueness from the American dream. In essence, you are declaring that you do not want to be American but instead Italian-american (small a) instead of American, or Black-american.

Our current country leaders grew up seperating themselves from America, so it is no suprise that they continue to seperate this country with minus signs, they thrive and get richer on the chaos seperation creates. It is up to you, the individual to eliminate the minus sign and become American. Don’t be a dumb-ass, ignorant, inbread socialist loving moron, bent on destroying the very country that you live in. Subtract the subtraction sign from who you are and become ….. an American.

The ring

Like most Americans, I am a ‘Heinz 57’. I have ancestors from Scotland, Ireland, Holland, England, Canada, Australia and a smattering of native American indian, Osage Nation I am told. Sometime back, I wanted to find out who I am by finding out where I came from. So I contacted the Osage Nation and was promptly snubbed. They claim that since I am not full blooded Osage, that they have no time for me. They promptly hung up on me. But when I wanted to know more about my Scotish heritage, I was given whatever information I wanted. They wanted me to know all about my Scotish lineage. My grand mother, on my fathers side, had done alot of research and it turns out that I can trace my roots to 1717 in Philadelphia and beyond into Scotland, earlier than the 1500’s.

So, being proud of my lineage, I researched more to find my ancestors were trusted to be the most trusted guards, guarding not only the King, but the Queen and Kings family. Kind of like the most trusted of the Secret Service protecting the President and his family. And since I was mostly of Scot/Irish decent, I decided to buy a ring with my family crest engraved directly from Scotland. The crest proudly bears the clan motto ‘Virtutis Gloria merces’ which means ‘Glory is the reward of Valor’.

I could not wait to put on the ring bearing my families crest, which made me think ‘What does the motto really mean and do I measure up to my ancestors’? Loosely translated, Glory means to be held in high regard. And Valor loosely translated means to live a life of courage. So I had to ponder whether I was living a life of courage. As a child of Christ, we are told to live a life that would please God himself, so I fail in that regard. (Not perfect, just forgiven). But I still thought that the blood of my ancestors is coarsing thru my veins. Am I living a virtuous and courageous life, meaning a life of courage and high morals? Could I be trusted like my ancestors were? When I was in High School, I was trusted to be in charge of the materials room in wood shop. I would measure twice and cut one making sure when a student paid for four board feet of mohagany, they got four board feet of mohagany. All through my life, I was trusted in one way or another to do the right thing and I like to think I passed that test, but what about courage?

My father taught me love of God, love of family, love of country through his love of God, his love and dedication to family and his love of country through his many years of service. My mother, likewise taught me love of God, family and country. Then I had to think of all my family members that taught me love, honor and trustworthiness. All elements of virtue. But life lessons also include failure and pain, and I had my share of both. And when I thought that, I became very sad.

Think of it, as recent of the 1940’s, we had men and women lying about their age to serve our country in fighting evil, storming the beaches at Normandy, learning to fly bombers and fighters and being part of the forces fighting fascism and imperialism and several other types of ‘isms’. These young men and women knew it would be hard and that they might not survive, yet were still courageous. Compare them to the young men and women of today. Would todays young men and women be willing to fight for something bigger than their own personal interest? I fear the answer is a resounding ‘NO’. But how does todays America have to do with my ring? ‘Glory is the reward for Valor’.

Glory…to be held in high regard. Valor…living a life of courage and high moral standards. Loosely translated…If you live a brave life and high moral standards your reward will be to be remembered in high regard. One of the people running for President of the United States of America, the highest position of service to the country, is saying that she should be elected because she can be trusted with the deepest secrets of our country. Who is a spy, what information do we have on ISIS, where do we keep our nuclear stockpile? Can we trust Hillary to do what is right for the country even if it is wrong for her personally? Has Hillary lead a life of virtue? Will she be remembered in high regard? In a survey, even Hillary supporters agree she is untrustworthy. And what about the numerous people that mysteriously died just before they were to testify against one of the Clintons? I am fearful that the person that could be sitting in the most powerful position in the world could not measure up to a life of virtue nor be brave enough to tell the truth. Do you think Hillary should occupy the seat in the Oval Office?

I can’t explane socialism or how it became so accepted in America, that would require years of research and volumes of books. But I can only control myself. I can only aspire to live up to the memory of my ancestors. I can only make changes in my life to do what is right and live a life to make God, my family and friends remember me in high regard. It is up to me to start each day and live a courageous and honorable life and live up to the clan motto AND LIVE A LIFE PLEASING TO GOD. And you…?

I like Peter Falk. He is a good actor. He played Columbo like no one else could. One of my dads favorite movies with Peter Falk is the In-Laws with Alan Arkin. Gut busting funny movie as Peter Falks character takes Alan Arkins character through progressively crazy situations. In one part, they had just landed at an airstrip to meet a crooked politician and inept snipers start shooting. I can’t do the scene justice, but if you get a chance to watch it, remember to ‘serpentine’.

They were in a South American country which was a Banana Republic. Now, the definition of a Banana Republic is somewhat derogatory refering usually a South American country ruled by an unstable government consisting of a small oligarcy and dictator and the majority of its citizens are powerless against it because of the corrupt nature of its politicians and military.

Sound familiar? Today, America learned that Hillary Clinton, who did in fact break no less than 8 laws concerning Top Secret information numerous times will not be indited for her crimes. The FBI did admit that she had a private email server which Hillary used to recieve confidential and Top Secret national security data and relay or send the same information. She also knowingly destroyed, or attemped to destroy evidence of her crimes. Now, just one single violation is punishable by no less that 10 years in a federal prison. Just ask Henry Otto Spade, a former Naval radio operator who was convicted in 1988 for possessing Top Secret information or David Flemming, a former photographer for the Navy who was found with Top Secret information. Seems he had very little room for developing his photos on a Navy submarine, so he thought he could develope them at home and take them back to work. He, too was convicted. So why not Hillary?

In politics and business, there is a saying that goes ‘It is not who you know, it is who you blow’. Crude I know and I do appologize for it but it does start to explane why Hillary was never going to be indited for those crimes. She is part of a secret shadow government. The political elite so to speak. If you research it a little further, you will read that when Bill Clinton first became president, Hillary had files, Top Secret files of key political leaders. These files were found in the possession of Hillary for over six months. Ever hear of a copier? Ever hear of a document scanner? What secrets did she uncover? What information did she dig up on key political figures? We will never know. What information was really discussed in that 30 minutes of privacy on Bill Clintons plane on the tarmac just a week ago with Loretta Lynch? There is an appearance of impropriety. Did you really think they were talking about grandchildren in the privacy of his plane?

The fact that Hillary has not and will not be indited of charges that the FBI knowingly admit she is guilty of prove that the American jurisprudence system is rigged much like that of a Banana republic. But who is the dictator and who are the secret few that are above the law? We know that Barrack Hussein Obama is not above sidestepping the law, and now we see that the upper echelon of the FBI is failing to perform their sworn duty of enforcing the law, a sad commentary because alot of good men and women in the FBI know the truth and would support an inditement.

My grandmother had a saying, ‘a new broom sweeps cleanly’. It is time to replace every member of Congress and every unelected leader of law enforcement with new people. I heard it said before that I trust 100 random people from the phone book than our current crop of liars, er lawyers in Congress.

We have two very bad choices come this November, a lying old communist hag that really belongs behing bars or a bumbling egotistical businessman that plays monopoly for real. It is time to pinch your nose and vote for Trump because Hillary will be another four years of the same bull schtick Obama has given us. And this movie wont have a happy ending like The In-Laws, because there will be nothing to laugh at.