Ron Paul's Farewell Speech

Gettysburg Address

47% statement in a Word Cloud.

You didn't build that in a Word Cloud

The tragedy of this election has been the use of out of context statements by both candidates as a foundation for the POTUS Campaign.

Waxing Poetic on Southern Style

Welcome to the land of grits. It is a place of considerable warmth,
character and profound simplicity. A simplicity that values common sense
and hands-on life experiences. Intellectualism is valued but always
tempered by the reality of circumstance.

It is a land where signs that read "Do Not Feed Or Harass Alligators"
mean exactly that. It is a place where a local will watch in amusement
as a genius actually tries to catch an alligator with their child's Disney
Princess fishing pole. Smiling to himself with the understanding that
the genius has not thought about what happens if the alligator actually
takes the bait, dumb ass.

It is a place where Summer thunder storms reveal amazing cloud
formations. Formations that reveal Mother Nature and provoke a
contemplation of the meaning of the time, space, our place in both, and
the revelations of religion.

Accents are slow, talk is measured and the fluidity of honey dictates
daily life. A pace that picks up under pressure and slows when in
balance. A pace that doesn't often hit like a cold shower, but
rather ebbs like high tide in the warm Atlantic.

Fiscal vs. Social Conservatism

Have a seat, I’m gettin’ out my stump and climbing up. Today’s rant, defining conservatism. Let me put forward two definitions of conservatism, although there are many derivations, to capture the political realities of today, fiscal conservatism and social conservatism. These terms are often used interchangeably in political debates and lead to misguided or misunderstood followings.

Fiscal conservatism is economic in nature. It calls for fiscal prudence in the governance of the economy. The preference of fiscal conservatives is to allow the free market to provide goods and services to the polity. Republicans use this form of fiscal conservative ideology to label their Democratic counterparts as “tax and spend” fanatics.

Social conservatism is social-cultural in nature. It seeks to influence society by implementing policies that conform to a “desirable” social-cultural norm. A “return to traditional” values or “moral ideals” are sought to get the polity back on the “right” track. Political issues such as marriage and sex education fall under the rubric of social conservatism and rally particularly vocal factions.

Now for the stump part…Tennessee Republicans stop being hypocritical. Stop blaming Democrats for deficits and then using this smoke screen to implement your social agenda. Here are a couple of examples of note:

SB2580 Welfare Drug Testing, a Republican sponsored bill that allows for selective drug screening of welfare recipients passed this year.

HB2411 Lawmaker Drug Testing, a Democrat sponsored bill that allows for the drug testing of state lawmakers failed this year.

So how do we interpret this seeming contradiction? Is it OK to do drugs if you are earning a living wage? Or, if you aren’t making a living wage it is because you are doing drugs? Perhaps it is too costly to pay for the drug testing of state legislatures? Here is an option: if you receive public monies then you must submit to a drug test.

Here is a no brainer for fiscal conservatism, SB1372 Per Diem Freeze. SB1372 was a Democrat sponsored piece of legislation that would freeze the per diem expense allowance for state legislators. SB1372 would not eliminate the reimbursement, just put a cap on the allowance amount for specific activities. Surely this is something that fiscal conservatives could rally behind, but it failed to pass the Republican controlled state legislature.

What happened to the fiscal conservatives? Have social conservatives usurped them? Have we entered a new phase of politics where social conservatism is an easier agenda to push than fiscal conservatism? If we have, then let’s stop the hypocritical posturing and call a duck a duck.

Life on the Point

On top of Signal Mountain is an area, well let’s just call it the Point, that has pockets where time has stopped. Folks live within their means and generally keep to themselves in these pockets of the past. Bologna, beer, friends, family and long standing feuds embroil the day to day residents of the Point. Once in a while modern day conveniences make an appearance on the Point, and this is a story of such an instance.

February, 1989, was witnessing a typical winter in Tennessee, highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s. Cletus, name changed to protect the innocent and me from being hurt, was living in a single wide trailer on some family land on the Point. Cletus supported his Miller Lite habit by taking on various construction jobs when they could be had. He siphoned water from his parents well and was used to taking cold showers, a rare occurrence in the winter.

The sun did shine on Cletus once in a while, however, and that day occurred when Horace helped him install an old hot water heater they retrieved from a job site. Horace was a local stone mason that employed Cletus from time to time when he needed an extra pair of hands. The timing couldn’t be better, for a hot shower warms the soul during Southern winters.

The next morning Horace pulled down the aluminum can drive that leads to Cletus’ trailer and noticed smoke pouring out the windows and door. Horace entered the trailer expecting to find a grease fire on the stove, but was treated to Cletus jumping in and out of his bathroom wearing nothing but his birthday suit. Cletus had the hot water on full blast, his skin red, and was trying to rinse soap out of his hair. Horace asked him what he was doing, and Cletus replied: “That water is hot as hell.” Horace reached in and gated the hot water back so that Cletus could finish his shower without risking 1^st degree burns.

During the lunch break at the jobsite Horace overheard Cletus telling the other extra hands that “Horace is a genius. He can turn hot water to cold.”

From a friend at work....

The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, making obscene gestures at the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do?' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally ... I assumed you had stolen the car."