I told her how excited I was to get my first on-line marriage proposal. She rolled her eyes, pfawed and said that you can have me.

So apparently I will shortly be very broke but available.

Where do I need to buy my Greyhound bus ticket to ......... honey.

JJOC.

Best regards,

Success is rarely final. Failure is rarely fatal. It is character, courage and consistency of effort that count. Vince Lombardi (with some minor Rags modifications) To each according to their performance, screw Karl Marx. (Rags)

and I do not believe that we are all that far off. I want everyone to have the opportunities that I (WE, that is the bigger WE) have had and the rights that I (WE) have been able to prosper under.

I purposely did not go in to anything more in my original post other than my basic Fiscally Hyper Conservative perspective and my Strong Social Libertarian perspective.

Having lived or worked internationally for more than 20yrs of my life I appreciate people as people and have value for every culture I have interfaced with at all socio-economic levels. The ingenuity of a person who can build a small house out of scrap lumber and flattened NIDO powdered milk cans is inspiring to me. Just as is the Arab Desert Goat Herder boy who walks out of the desert, trains as a mechanic and ends up being the extremely wealthy owner of the largest volume Dodge dealership in the world.

I believe that the American People are the most benevolent and charitable people in the history of the planet. As is evidenced by how much is given in foreign aid at the national level as well as the nearly countless $Billions that we donate privately to charitable causes.

That said, I also believe that it is no accident that in most cases in most cultures that fishermen and farmers rarely starve and they rarely need help feeding their families or communities. They work to provide for themselves for the most part.

In my opinion the sooner all on the planet realize that the most effective and consistent help they will ever receive is in the mirror the sooner we can all (that is the Global All) get past differences in philosophical opinion and get on with the business of life.

As I said in my original post, I believe that the truly help-worthy who are either physically or psychologically unable to help themselves should receive the help they need. The weak, meek and lazy should get what they earn by their own efforts. And all able bodied/minded people should take responsibility for providing for themselves. If they refuse then laws are in place to ensure that they are held accountable for their own behaviors and actions and that they are not permitted to take what is not freely given by those who actually produced it.

I also believe that forced benevolence is not benevolence at all. It is theft.

My "Political Diversion" post was intended to divert our community from the beatings that were being thrown back and forth on parenting, spousing and venting styles.

Someone ribbed me for opening this can of worms. Maybe I should have considered it a bit more before I threw this topic out there. But worms can be so soft, slick and fun to play with. At least they were when I was a kid.

On Gov. Palen: I agree that she is not the most polished speaker but I do appreciate her dedication to family, state, country and the rights as protected by the Constitution.

On President Obama: His personal story and journey to the White House is inspiring. It is a testament to him and to our country. The environment of being able to benefit by personal effort that our Country represents is in large part why he is where he is IMHO. My comment on my belief that he is dangerous is that I believe that his platforms and political perspective will drive decisions that will tear down the environment provided by our Constitution where by We The People are best able to decide what the fruits of our efforts are spent on. Americans care deeply for the down trodden but the Gov't should not be able to forcibly take what the American People willingly give. After all, the Gov't of our Country is "of the people, by the people, for the people" and not of the Gov't by the Gov't for the Gov't.

The premise of our very existence as a nation is to build and protect a Country where Citizens can live their lives in an environment where there is equal opportunity for everyone. Not equal outcome, equal opportunity. Outcome is determined where personal preparation and effort meet that environment of opportunity.

On the Conservative pundits: I absolutely agree that they tend to be over the top in their delivery of their perspective. However, the root of their message has merit at least occassionally.

IMHO freedom can not be gained when it is taken from those that earn it and given to those who expect it to be given to them but do not earn it for themselves. And ....... wealth cannot be multiplied by dividing it.

Just my very humble ( ;)) opinion of course.

Great discourse. Thanks for your, as always, passionate and well expressed perspective.

Lets go build a Habitat for Humanity house together some time. Helping people who are helping themselves is a cause that I can get behind, in front of and bleed for. Since ....... every time I do anything with tools it does not work until I shed a little blood. The odd part of this is that I actually enjoy building, disassembling, fixing and putting things together. I bleed nearly every time but I rarely end up with any extra parts.

Best regards,

Success is rarely final. Failure is rarely fatal. It is character, courage and consistency of effort that count. Vince Lombardi (with some minor Rags modifications) To each according to their performance, screw Karl Marx. (Rags)