Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter is running for the United States Senate. His primary challenger is Blanche Lincoln, the current Senator who has become highly unpopular in her home state because of consistently waffling or not favoring issues of importance to her constituents.

Bill Halter can win. He was instrumental in helping set up a free health clinic for Arkansans in association with the initiative begun by Keith Olbermann. He led the fight for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery which is the only lottery in the United States that provides 100% of its funds to college scholarships.

Arkansas students with a 2.5 GPA who attend an Arkansas college can apply for $5,000 per year in scholarship funds.

Since his announcement on March 1, support has flowed to him from many directions, not the least of which are Arkansas supporters who have given an average $30 contribution. The number of these contributions generated over $1 million dollars in a short amount of time. The national media has taken notice (see below).

The Ed Show Interview

The Rachel Maddow Interview

Arkansas Free Health Care Clinic

Bill Halter Announcement

Learn More About Bill Halter

Bill Halter on Facebook

Bill Halter on Twitter

Bill Halter on MySpace

See more about the Arkansas Senate Election in 2010

Willard Mitt Romney is a Mormon who may very well be the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in 2012. What does it mean to be a Mormon, and what does Mitt Romney believe?

Former President George W. Bush is but one example of how a political official’s religious beliefs influence how he or she acts to carry out reponsibilities. Can there be anything more revealing about a person than his or her religion? It is, perhaps, the most personal decision a person will make during this life.

A vast majority of Americans say they are religious, and the greatest number of that majority profess to be Christians, a religion based on what is commonly called The Holy Bible. There are several versions of that Bible, the most common being the Catholic version and the King James Version. The Mormons seem to make use of the King James Version (based on scripture quotations found on their website) in addition to their own Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon – Introduction

(Source: The Official Scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © 2006 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/introduction)

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the hill Cumorah around the year 421 A.D. About 1,400 years later, on September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language. Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

The Story of Jesus Christ Continued

Basically, the Book of Mormon continues the story of Jesus Christ, and it’s a story that was not known by the Apostles and Writers of the New Testament. Nor was it known by Writers of the Old Testament even though the major events occurred during that time. You may remember the Tower of Babel account in the Bible. According to the Book of Mormon, a group of people known as the Jaredites came to America at that time. Then, about six hundred years before Jesus was born another civilization came to America comprised of the Nephites and Lamanites. Only one group remained after thousands of years, the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

According to the Third Book of Nephi, chapters 11 through 26, Jesus Christ visited the Nephites in America. He chose twelve of the Nephites and gave them authority. (And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, [now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve] and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am. – Chapter 12, Verse 1).

The chosen twelve were Nephi, Timothy, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Kumen, Kumenonhi, Jeremiah, Shemnon, Jonas, Zedekiah, and Isaiah.

A New Priesthood

On May 15, 1829 John the Baptist visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and said "that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second."

How the Book of Mormon was Interpreted

Emma Hale Smith, Joseph Smith’s wife told her son, Joseph Smith III, how his father translated the Book of Mormon, "In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us."

David Whitmer was one of the Three Witnesses, and much of the translating happened in his home. He said, "I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man."

Conclusions

It is not for me to claim whether or not there was a spiritual guide from heaven who came to America to establish a new church. I wasn’t there. I have no more firsthand knowledge of how the Book of Mormon came into existence as I do how the first five books of the Old Testament of the Bible were written. I’m talking about the first five books as approved by the Council of Laodicea in 364 A. D. There were many other scriptures but the Council approved five: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The question to be answered is this: Is Mitt Romney too far out of the mainstream in his religious belief? Does it matter?

Uncle Brice Supporters

Say Hey to the Good Folks that make this blog possible:

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Health care insurance premiums are rising again, and the health insurance gurus are blaming it on rising health care costs. Well, it’s true. Health care costs in America. It really, really costs.

Regular readers of this blog may remember my wife’s $2,500 sprained, and possibly broken, ankle. That was just the visit to the emergency room and did not include the followup visit to our primary care physician and the $143 boot for her foot.

2009 is behind us now, and I can report to you that our health insurance paid absolutely nothing for our medical care last year. Nothing. Nada. Not one cent. Why? Our deductible was $2,300, and our $2,000 in bills didn’t quite make it. But we got close. This year our deductible is $100 more. And, yes, our premium went up, too. Now, our premium didn’t go up because of our health care costs to the insurance company – they didn’t pay anything last year!

Health insurance costs in California almost made me feel ashamed of complaining about my personal situation. The Los Angeles Times published a story, "Anthem Blue Cross dramatically raising rates for Californians with individual health policies" that told of exhorbitant increases of up to 39%. One couple reported their new premium will be $27,336, up from $20,184. The new amount exceeds the poverty level in California for a family of five.

Now, let’s just assume this family of two earned $4,000 per month, prior to getting laid off. They would qualify for California’s maximum unemployment benefit of $450 per week, or about $1,800 per month. To keep their health insurance would cost $2,278 per month. You don’t even need Jethro Bodine to tell you that you can’t pay $2,278 with $1,800. You could come close if you moved out of your house and ate out of garbage cans.

Is this the health care we want in America?

Health Insurance Profits

The situation with Anthem Blue Cross in California is being investigated to make certain at least 70% of the premium is being paid out in benefits. In other words, 27.3% of that 39% increase must be paid out in benefits. That leaves 11.7% for employee pay raises and profit. And exactly how much do you expect the employees are getting in pay raises? 1%, 2% if they’re good?

But that’s not all. Anthem Blue Cross of California was fined $1 million by the state. Anthem was rejecting 20% of claims and canceling policies of pregnant women and chronically ill patients. Only in California? Not on your life. In Nevada, Anthem was able to negotiate a settlement with the state for about $1 million. In Kentucky, Anthem was ordered to refund $23.7 million to seniors and disabled patients because of inaccurately processed Medicare claims. And Colorado got a $5.7 million refund for its Anthem customers.

Is this what Republicans are trying to protect?

Health care is not okay in America. Health insurance is not okay in America. The ONLY way to fix the problem is with Medicare for All, but we are running from it as hard as we can. Well, at least the politicians are running from it, and those who are blindly following the lies being paid for by the health care and health insurance industry.

Think about it. Get the facts, and tell your friends. America must do something! Oh, and you might want to read about our new American Beer Party.

Sites We Like

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

Senator Blanche Lincoln is currently the only candidate from the Democratic Party (and probably will stay that way) for the United States Senate in the 2010 Election, but she has drawn opponents from across the wide spectrum of the Natural State’s Wannabe Population.

It sorta reminds me of roadkill on a hot Texas highway with an entire army of buzzards circling. This feast appears that it will also feature a fruitcake or two. One of her opponents has a history of two statewide races, but he lost both of them. One of those races featured him as the Republican nominee against the good Senator Lincoln the last time she ran.

Apparently, this is the year of the soldier. There are two colonels and a Green Beret that served in Afghanistan in the race. There is a Green Party candidate who favors Medicare for All. There are two guys calling themselves Independents, though one of them spoke at a Tea Party rally where the other person on the stage was Michelle Malkin, a Fox News contributor.

Those of you who have followed my opinions about Senator Lincoln know that I think she really let America down on the health care issue, sort of like might near every other dude and dudette in the United States Senate. You know that rather than 1,700 or 17,000 pages of junk, I’d have preferred just a few short words, "Medicare is available to everyone who wants it." That way, the folks who think their current health insurance is the bee knees could have continued on like nobody’s business. And those who don’t live amidst delusion could have chosen Medicare. The Medicaid program could have been blended in like folding eggs into a cake recipe, and all those administrative costs eliminated. And ol’ Ben Nelson would not be guilty of extortion. But, alas and alack…

Arkansas Political Retirements

United States Congressmen from Arkansas, Vic Snyder and Marion Berry, have announced their retirement. I’ve been a long time supporter of Vic, ever since he ran the first time and walked up to me while I was mowing the yard and asked for my vote. For those who don’t know, Vic’s wife surprised him with triplets not too long ago. And I’m kinda thinking she told him to come home and help take care of ‘em. My wife woulda shot me if she’d had triplets, so I’m thinking Vic is making the right move.

I also applaud Mr. Berry for his decision. Now, I know a lot of folks might think a 67-year old is a young man when it comes to Washington. That, of course, is one of the problems. But Congressman Berry is a 67-year old lifelong farmer. Farmer’s ain’t like other people. They work their butts off. Well, maybe not those corporate farmers drawing huge subsidies from the government. If you ain’t never been up in northeast Arkansas where Mr. Berry hails from, you ain’t seen what farming can do to a body. There was a time in my life when my backyard was a soybean field and just across the road from my front yard was a cotton field that stretched as far as the eye could see. Now, while a lot of things might be modernized, I’ve seen a lot of folks walking that cotton field with a hoe (the tool with a cutting edge) chopping cotton.

I wouldn’t make too much of the fact the McCain carried Berry’s district in 2008. It wasn’t because people liked his politics. And I fully expect the Democrats to come up with somebody that will keep the Republicans out. They been a might testy in that area of Arkansas since 1861. Y’all remember how Arkansas voted to NOT join the Confederacy. A few weeks later, President Abe Lincoln told the Arkansas governmor to send 700 troops to fight against the folks in South Carolina and Georgia – you know, where the Arkansans had moved from and still had tons of kinfolks there. A few weeks after that Arkansas took a vote to rethink their allegiance to Abe. For you historical-buff types, the army of Mr. Lincoln never captured the Arkansas government and folks up in northeast Arkansas know full well in their hearts that Arkansas never surrendered. Add on the reconstructionists and those called carpetbaggers that came after the war, and there just ain’t much taste for Republicans in Berry’s district.

Anyway, things ought to be sizzlin’ in Arkansas during this political season. The folks at Online Little Rock have an Arkansas Elections 2010 section that grows and grows as more folks throw their hats into more rings. You might also be interested in the American Beer Party Movement – don’t be messin’ with Sweet Tea in Arkansas.

Other Websites that Support Uncle Brice

Online Little Rock.com is where Uncle Brice got his start. There’s a ton of information on this site about Arkansas, Little Rock, dining, dancing, shopping (and shopping online). It’s also a high-trafficked Civil War information site. You can even find out stuff about all the colleges and universities of Arkansas.

Home Business Opportunities is a site that has never been more in demand. You can find legitimate ways to earn money from home as well as a lot of information about Internet marketing, writing, building traffic for your website, and more.

The owners of Online Little Rock have a mission in life to teach everyone about brain injury. They have two websites that have hundreds of pages of information, including visitor-submitted Brain Injury Stories. The sites are Brain Injury Online and Brain Injury Guide.

Beth’s Brain Injury Blog is a favorite in the brain injury community. She writes about the good, the bad and the ugly of brain injury and how you must maintain a sense of humor to live successfully whether you are the victim or a caregiver.

January 21, 2010 is a day that just might live in infamy, to use Pres. Franklin Roosevelt’s words, and may become as important in American history as the day to which he referred: December 7, 1941. The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, effectively changed America’s type of government from a Republic to an Aristocracy.

It really should come as no surprise to those who follow politics and governing on a regular basis. America has been headed in this direction for quite some time, and the Supreme Court has played a part, especially since 2000 when they chose the President of the United States. For those who didn’t pay attention in Civics class, an aristocracy is a government run by the wealthiest people.

The significance of the January 21 ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission is that corporations now have the same free speech rights as an American citizen and that those rights include being able to make unlimited campaign contributions for both candidates and issues.

As pointed out in a previous article, Americans are a diverse people who have been forced into two economic classes: those with lots of money, and those with little or no money. Those with little money reared their heads in the 2008 Presidential Election with hundreds of thousands contributing both money and time to help Barack Obama win the presidency. Corporations were limited by campaign finance laws from squashing "the people" – but, now – the limit is gone.

How SCOTUS Voted

SCOTUS, for those who don’t know, stands for Supreme Court of the United States. Four justices voted on the side of the big corporations: Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy. Four justices voted on the side of the people: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Bryer and John Paul Stephens. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the corporations.

If ever there was solid evidence what the Supreme Court decision to make George W. Bush president in 2000 did to America, this is it. Imagine two appointees by the candidate who got the most votes that year, Al Gore, instead of those two Bushies. The decision on January 21 would probably never have happened. Aristocracy might have been held in check a little longer. It’s time to turn America back to the people, and that’s exactly what The American Beer Party is all about.

If ever there was a reason to elect moderate Democrats and Independents, and to keep Republicans away from the presidency for as long as possible, yesterday’s display of party politics on the Supreme Court is it.

What Others Are Saying

Justice John Paul Stephens, in his dissent, said, "The court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation."

Eric Lotke, Research Director at the Campaign for America’s Future, said, "Today’s decision, Citizens United v. FEC, comes down decisively on the corporate side. It gives advertisers more power than voters, and tilts the balance of power even farther towards wealthy and corporate interests. The newly composed conservative court upset decades of precedent and settled expectations." Click here to read what else he said.

Miles Mogulescu, entertainment attorney, writer, and political activist, wrote, "in a radical act of judicial activism, five Supreme Court Justices overthrew 103 years of American statutory and judicial law going back to the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt by ruling that corporations have the Constitutional right to make unlimited campaign contributions. This is in effect a bloodless judicial coup which turns the American government over to the biggest corporate interests, to the degree that hadn’t happened already." Click here to read what else he said.

Jason Linkins, writing for the Huffington Post, said, "In one swoop, the court did away with nearly everything in federal campaign finance law, allowing corporations free reign to inject as much money as they jolly well please into federal campaigns." He, in fact, was much more animated in his article, invoking the F-word to describe "concise way of capturing today’s Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission." Click here to read what else he said.

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC likened the ruling to the Dred Scott decision of long, long ago and said, in fact, the January 21 decision put Chief Justice John Roberts in First Place as the worst Chief Justice in history. Click here to read what else he said.

Republican Response to Supreme Court Ruling

As you might imagine, not everyone was displeased with unlimited corporate campaign contributions. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, said that the court had restored proper rights to corporations. House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio called the decision "a big win for the First Amendment. Let the American people decide how much money is enough."

"I am pleased that the Supreme Court has acted to protect the Constitution’s First Amendment rights of free speech and association," said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "These are the bedrock principles that underpin our system of governance and strengthen our democracy."

The President Responds

"With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. This ruling gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington – while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates. That’s why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision. The public interest requires nothing less."

We can only hope.

Learn more about The American Beer Party Movement.

Click here to read American Beer Party – Marriage Equality.

Click here to read about The American Beer Party.

Forget the Tea Partiers. It’s time for real change for real Americans, and that means we need The American Beer Party.

The American Beer Party will support no currently organized or disorganized political party, and that pretty much covers all of them. Current political parties in America consist of the Party of Maybe and the Party of No. It’s time for a Party of Let’s Do It.

We need leaders who will shed their inhibitions and fears and stand up for what is right for all America. Beer is very good at helping one shed those things, and that’s why it’s our guiding force.

Americans are a diverse people who have been forced into two economic classes: those with lots of money, and those with little or no money. Before Ronald Reagan destroyed the "ability to pay" income tax system in America with his trickle down economic theory that pretty much stated we ought to give the money to the rich folks and they’d have enough crumbs falling from their table to sustain the rest of us.

If you’re a beer drinker, that didn’t work out too well for you, did it? After you take a moment or two to buy something from the ads that help pay the bills, I’ll be talking about some truth we ought to be holding self-evident.

We Hold These Truths…

Beer drinkers are the backbone of the American economy. They are American citizens who work locally, if they can find a job, to better provide for themselves, their families and the economy in general. Money earned is converted to stuff bought. Stuff bought helps other people have jobs who buy stuff to help other people have jobs.

Corporate America, led by Microsoft’s Bill Gates, screwed beer drinkers by saying foreigners needed to be brought over here on special visas so they could work. Every person brought over on a visa took a job away from an American citizen. But corporate America wasn’t completely satisfied with that, so they began setting up offices in other countries and shutting down offices where American citizens were working. Just ask yourself this: when was the last time you called Customer Service and got someone you could actually understand.

Now, before you get your drawers in a wad, I’m not against people in other countries bettering themselves. I’m more than happy to take in the tired and poor when we can afford it. We could afford it prior to trickle down economics. Right now, America is sitting on 10% unemployment, actually more than that when you count the folks that have already lost their unemployment money. It’s way too easy to say those folks are not trying very hard to find a job, you know, if you haven’t walked in their shoes. It’s been months since there was positive job numbers. When you have more people looking for fewer jobs, it’s pretty much a given that all of them will not find work.

Universal Health Care for All Americans?

Not having health care for all American citizens is really putting us at an economic disadvantage in the global economy. American employers are paying large amounts of money to assist their employees with health care costs. Their competitors in other parts of the world don’t have that cost, and it is a cost that must be figured into the price of American products and services. Employees are not only paying for health insurance but are also paying out-of-control health care costs with money that could be used for many other things like food, clothing, shelter and beer.

Yes, there should be an excise tax on sugary and fatty products. Yes, there should be a tax on high fat content fast food items. Our government did it to "help" Americans quit smoking. Why not do it to help Americans lose weight? Overweight people are just as much a drain on health care as smokers.

What we don’t need is mandatory health insurance coverage for people who cannot afford it. Simply get rid of Medicaid and expand Medicare to cover everyone. How much would that save in administrative costs alone? Require electronic billing for all claims. That has been proven to reduce costs by up to a dollar or more PER claim. Figure a few hundred thousand claims per day and the savings add up quickly. And I wonder how much the savings would be simply by getting rid of the military health care program?

Curb Your Evangelicalism

America ought not be trying to spread democracy to lands that don’t want it. Nations whose governments are based wholly or in part on religion are not candidates for democracy. Yes, we had a revolution in America to tear ourselves away from the control of another country. That does not mean we can have revolutions in other countries because they cannot do it themselves. Going to war in Iraq was as big a mistake as was going to war in Vietnam. And, come on, let’s admit we blew it in Afghanistan. President Obama, like Richard Nixon, said he wanted to correct the "war situation" and, like Richard Nixon, hasn’t gotten it done yet. It took Nixon into his second term before Vietnam was cleared of American soldiers, if it was ever fully cleared of them. I’m of the mind that Obama might not get that second term if things don’t start happening to help Joseph and Josephine Six Pack.

This is just the first of many rants and raves that will become The American Beer Party Movement.

Click here to read American Beer Party – Marriage Equality.

Click here to read American Beer Party – Supreme Court Debacle.

Time Magazine asked the question in its October 24, 1969 issue: What if we just pull out? Of course the issue at the time was Vietnam. The United States was deeply embroiled in a war it couldn’t win, nor could it afford the cost. The number of soldiers lost in that war was staggering compared to today’s wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else we might be engaged. But the question is the same. What if we just pull out and bring our soldiers home?

The United States and its allies are not fighting to win. Richard Nixon ran for president in 1968 with the campaign promise of ending the war in Vietnam. But once he was elected he decided he did not want to be the first American head of state of lose a war…and on and on and on it went. The military industrial gang needed a war, and they controlled Nixon.

Barack Obama stands today where Nixon stood four decades ago. America cannot afford the wars. America cannot win the wars. The military industrial gang still needs a war. And, we continue to fight. Now the military wants to go into Yemen and Iran and only God knows where else.

I wore olive drab work clothes in 1970, shortly after the Time article appeared. I can still sing about the "life of a mortar man" today as if it was still a part of my daily routine. There is no honor knowing the people whose names are found on the Vietnam Memorial, and there is no honor knowing those who have fallen in the Middle East. Over thirty years before the Time article was written my father, a Marine, was stationed in China. He, too, was a soldier in an "unofficial" war. It was called the Second Sino-Japanese War that began July 7, 1937 after six years of intermittent fighting. Japanese propaganda at the time referred to the invasion of China as seisen, or holy war. It was during those first six years that my father served in China. He was back in the states when war officially began in July 1937.

Now, we are involved in another holy war. You cannot defeat a religious belief. If that was possible, there would be no Christian religion. In contrast, Adolph Hitler wanted to expand the territory under his control. He wanted land. The Allies said no, and took the land away from him. Holy Warriors don’t want land. Jihad is not about land. It’s about religious belief.

Take a trip back in history to the year 1095 when Pope Urban promised remission of sins for all Christians who died in the war against Muslims. That was the beginning of a series of wars known as the Crusades. Well, that didn’t work out as planned. Islam is now the second largest religion in the world and, arguably, the fastest growing. You cannot defeat a religious belief.

What If We Just Pull Out?

What would happen if the United States and its allies simply pulled troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan? What if we dedicated 100% of military planning and resources to removing terrorist cells with no need for "boots on the ground"?

We know the opium fields of Afghanistan provide a huge source of funding for terrorists. Why, then, are those fields still standing? Can it be likened to all those years the government of the United States preached against tobacco use while providing subsidies to tobacco farmers?

Is there anyone working in the United States sending money out of the country to be used by terrorist groups? Why haven’t they been located and removed from the workforce?

I’m not talking about leaving the terrorists alone. Find ‘em and dispense with ‘em. Justify the expense of drones and planes and bombs and the CIA. Get the soldiers out of harm’s way. Bring ‘em home.

And, oh yeah, while you’re at it, get rid of the military mindset that the only way to protect America is by going to war against an enemy we cannot defeat.

President Barack Obama visited Japan and met with Japanese Emperor Akihito. It seems that the greeting between these two world leaders has gained more attention than anything else about the visit, especially from conservatives.

Americans, in general, are not very keen on respecting customs in other parts of the world. It is customary in Japan to bow rather than shake hands. A deep bow, as President Obama performed, is one of respect. It’s more than a greeting.

But the president’s bow did not replace a handshake. What this photo shows is mutual respect between two leaders, each respecting the custom of the other.

I have been very fortunate to have travelled abroad on numerous occasions, and I have been embarrassed by my fellow countrymen … and countrywomen, too!!! For example, one evening my wife and I decided to have an early, long, leisurely dinner followed by dancing and a show. We arrived at the restaurant about ten minutes before it opened. The Matre’D stepped up to his desk a few minutes later to check whatever it is they check.

A woman with a definite American accent asked to be seated. She was informed the restaurant was not yet open. Well, Katie bar the door – or, in this case, open the door. The woman went into a rant about having to stand and wait. Now, mind you, my wife and I were seated a few feet away and there were other chairs available for the woman. She simply wanted to rant that her needs were not being met even if those needs were way out of line. (continued below)

The Arrogance of Us

We have a problem in America of thinking the rest of the world should be just like us. We want to set up democracies in places that don’t want a democratic form of government. We want to export capitalism to places that don’t want such an insensitive form of economics and a lifestyle built around corporate greed. However, corporate America does not mind closing down jobs in the U. S. in order to get cheap labor in other countries.

That’s sort of a sticking point with me since one of my former jobs is now being done by someone in Vietnam. Did I mention I was in the military in the early 70’s? Of course I should be over that war by now but – no one else is, either. Anyway, I digress.

A couple hundred years ago or so, there was a country on the other side of the Atlantic that wanted America to be just like them, and pay tribute to them via taxes, etc. A bunch of guys got together and wrote something like, "When in the course of human events you piss us off, we’re gonna kick your ass." I paraphrase.

Sadly, this attitude is not directed at other countries only. We Americans display our arrogance toward one another. I’m right, you’re wrong so we need a law to force you to think like me. I am a white male married to a white female, and we’ve been married since about the time Noah parked his boat. She is my first and only wife. Do I think every marriage should be like ours? Well, I wish everyone would take the marriage relationship as seriously as we do. But I don’t think every marriage needs to be people of the same race or, even, the same sex. It’s none of my business who YOU fall in love with!

Has my wife ever had an abortion? No. We have never found ourselves in a circumstance where that was an option. But some people do find themselves in such a circumstance. It’s none of my business HOW they choose to live and the CHOICES people must make for themselves.

Yes, I am very glad to be an American citizen. I’m extremely thankful that I have the freedom to make the choices I make. Yes, I have made some really rotten decisions from time to time, but I’m glad I have the opportunity and the ability to make ‘em.

President Obama has made a decision to elevate the face of America by showing respect to other countries and other world leaders. I applaud him for that. We all should. But, in his back pocket he has a note that says, "When in the course of human events you piss us off, we’re gonna kick your ass." I paraphrase again.

October 28, 2009: Yahoo shows its most popular searches which, of course, provides a clue about what is of interest to the millions of people visiting the site and peforming Internet searches. Of particular interest is that entertainment comes in ahead of politics and that, of course, should be no surprise. People are fed up with lying, backbiting, one-for-all-and-all-for-me politicians.

Gas prices ranked high on the list. I don’t know about your neighborhood but in mine it’s almost laughable to see how the prices are changing several times a day, it seems. Being an information collector, I fired up Quicken and searched for my gas expenditures.

• January 17 – $1.739
• February 20 – $1.639
• March 5 – $1.689
• April 11 – $1.899
• May 15 $2.089
• June 1 – $2.399
• July 6 – $2.409
• August 8 – $2.399
• September 14 – $2.219
• October 15 – $2.299

Forget all the fluctuations. Let’s look at where we were in January ($1.739) and where we were on October 15 ($2.299). Ol’ Jethro ciphered that out to $0.56 cents more for each gallon. Based on the January figure of $1.739, that’s an increase of over 32%. (continued below)

Jobs, Jobs, Where are the Jobs?

Is it any wonder that unemployment benefits rank high on Internet searches? If you’re fortunate enough to still have a job, you have an interest in what the future might hold for you. Trust me on this: it ain’t much. Last year, an acquaintance of mine was nearing her 25th anniversary with her company when she was laid off. Her unemployment benefit was less than half of her salary. It took about 50% of her unemployment benefit to pay for COBRA insurance continuation. The bottom line is that she was trying to live on less than 25% of her previous salary. Could you do that?

And then there are millions of unemployed workers trying to see when their benefits will run out.

The pundits are telling us that jobs are a trailing indicator and that we’re still 12 to 18 months away from seeing job growth. Well, what about the millions of Americans that are waiting for those jobs. Can they hold out 12 to 18 months? Could you?

Senator Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas) joined a Republican coalition to defeat public option amendments offered in the Senate Finance Committee. Having long been considered by the main media as a fence-sitter on offering a public option to Americans suffering under the current health care system, she finally showed her colors on the issue, and the color is green.

A few weeks ago the Huffington Post reported that Senator Lincoln was the top recipient of campaign contributions from the health care industry this year among senators. Blue Cross Blue Shield, the dominant health care insurer in Arkansas, is among her top contributors.

Responses posted on the Green Party Watch website are indicative of why Lincoln may lost her Senate race in 2010. Susan wrote, "That almost makes me want to move to Arkansas to vote against Blanche Lincoln. What a sellout to the insurance industry." Dave said, "Wow, if I lived in Arkansas I’d totally start a ‘move to Arkansas to vote against Blanche Lincoln’ campaign. And Lynn said, "I AM from Arkansas and WON’T be voting for her next election."

In February of 2009 Michael D. Tanner, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, testified before the Arkansas House Insurance and Commerce Committee. He said, "I understand the frustration that Arkansans feel with the problems facing our health care system. In particular, Arkansans are worried about cost and access. Simply put, health care and health insurance cost too much, and too many people, including roughly 486,000 Arkansans, 17 percent of your state’s population, lack health insurance. And the two problems are deeply entwined; cost is the number one reason why people go without health insurance."

Tanner also stated, "…the average cost of a family insurance plan in Arkansas tops $9,900…" According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2001, Arkansas had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $22,750 which ranked 50th in the United States (including the District of Columbia) and was 75% of the national average, $30,413. According to data released by the US Census Bureau, in 2000, the median household income was $30,293 compared to the national average of $42,148. In 2001, the median income for a family of four was $47,838 compared to the national average of $63,278. For the period 1999 to 2001, the average poverty rate was 16.3% which placed it 48th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia ranked lowest to highest.

With a median income of $30,293, is there any question why Arkansans cannot afford the average cost of a family health insurance plan of $9,900? That’s at the median level. What about the 49+% of Arkansans whose income is below the median.

At a time when Arkansas needs a Senator to stand up for them, Blanche Lincoln chose to support her contributors rather than her constituents.

More About Senator Blanche Lincoln

Blanche Lincoln Opposes Public Option

Blanche Lincoln Feet to the Fire

Sen. Blanche Lincoln Co-sponsors SHOP

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas Republican?!

Blanche Lincoln Rakes in Health Care Dollars – Huffington Post 09/04/2009 – The senior Arkansas senator is also the top recipient of campaign contributions from the health industry among senators this year. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Lincoln has received $325,350 in contributions from the health industry, as of June 30. The large amount in contributions underlies a constantly shifting position by the senator on health care reform.

Monopoly Money: "Our good friend Senator Blanche Lincoln thinks it’s very dangerous for the insurance companies to have to compete with a public plan option: ‘One of our biggest concerns is that it doesn’t need to be a government plan that usurps that ability to compete in the marketplace, which I’m concerned that a totally government-run option would do,’ she said."

For more information about her political contributions, you can visit the Federal Election Commission Blanche Lincoln Page.