Thanks and Farewell?

I realize to any that follow this blog that posts in the last year have become much more sporadic. I do appreciate that folks are still taking a look and responding, but I have to be honest that this is no longer one of my priorities in life.

We are at a stage, I believe, where it's too late to talk. Even if it wasn't, I don't really have much to add to the conversations that I see taking place around the web that others aren't already adding. Add to that that life is getting more and more interesting, and trying to get things in place to protect my family for what I view as the inevitable collapse of our society, whether financial or political (either way it won't be pretty), and I honestly just have better things to do most of the time, not to mention no home internet access.

I don't believe the elections will change anything but the speed of collapse, and I am not willing to sacrifice my principles to vote for someone (Romney) who will only take his foot off the gas a bit. I know there are some who will poo-poo me for this decision, saying principles are fine but sometimes you have to compromise. Oh well, not the first time I've been derided for being stubborn and "unreasonable". When the choices presented are Satan or a Demon, you select neither and instead petition God for mercy and grace. That's where I stand, anyway.

So, with that, I thank you all for reading. I'm not saying this will be my last post for eternity, but I am saying not to get upset if you don't see anything new here.

Stay safe, get yourselves ready for whatever is coming, and if you want good reading material, check out the blogs in my sidebar. They are often full of good thoughts.

Military Conversations

I have recently met someone who formerly served active duty military, and we have been able to have some interesting, if not frightening, conversations. One thing he told me was somewhat funny, even if a little disheartening. He was working on an airplane, had one of the wings off of it, and the pilot (keep in mind, this means college educated and an officer) climbed into the plane and was starting it up getting ready to fly. The pilot did not notice he was missing a wing. Boy, would that have been a short flight.

The other two things he told me were more disheartening. We had a carrier, one of the newer ones, over in the area of China. Radar and sonar were running, and helos were doing ASW searches. Undetected, a Chinese sub surfaced behind the carrier, then dove again. They got pictures when it surfaced. Does that scare anyone besides me?

Then he told me that there is a Marine who is currently facing an other than honorable discharge for starting a Tea Party Facebook group and posting anti-Obama comments. Now keep in mind, this Marine has done tours overseas, as I understand it, and is at risk of losing all of his military benefits as a result of this. I did a quick search and found several stories. Here are two of them:
WLTX
CBS

Let me share three of the most important paragraphs from the CBS article to highlight the issue.

"He said it was in that context that he said he would refuse to follow orders from the president if those orders included detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights.“I’m completely shocked that this is happening,” Stein told the Associated Press. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve only stated what our oath states that I will defend the constitution and that I will not follow unlawful orders. If that’s a crime, what is America coming to?”""Solis said that despite the free speech question, the issue ultimately boils down to preserving the chain of command.“We can’t allow individual soldiers or Marines to be deciding for themselves what orders are constitutional or what national policies are supported by the Constitution,” he said."

Does anyone else see what I see in this? This Marine has simply taken his oath seriously, and now is in trouble for it! And as far as what this Solis guy says, what is the purpose of taking the oath to the Constitution and that oath resting on your conscience if someone else tells you what your conscience should think? I wish every single one of the men and women serving in our military and law enforcement took their oaths as seriously as this Marine. He has convictions and a conscience, and we should stand behind him. These people are trying now to stop any dissent that is starting to form in the ranks, any inkling of duty that the troops have as a result of their oaths. They are doing this for a reason. I no longer think things like this happen by chance or in isolated incidents. I have seen enough the past few years to know that all of this is orchestrated. While we are busy looking at the tactics used by our government, and dissecting them, they are thinking strategy, the end game. Well, their end game is tyranny, via a gradual shift so it's not too obvious. It's like trying to catch an animal - if you just run after it, it knows you are trying to catch it. If you sneak up, one little step at a time, acting as innocuous as possible, you are right next to it before it knows your intent. People, this is another one of their little steps. Let's not waste any more time dissecting these moves to see exactly what their motives are. We know their motives, even if they are trying to conceal them. Let's fight them at every turn so that they cannot get any closer to our liberties through their constant deceit and incremental-ism.

Act Free.

For Grandpa

It's been a rough week. I got a call Sunday morning saying that my grandpa, my last remaining grandparent, and certainly the one I was closest to, was not doing well at all. He'd had cancer, kidney, lung, and heart problems for a good while. He had apparently nose-dived in less than 48 hours. A few hours after the first call, I got another one saying to come home. After packing and a few hours rest, I got in the truck at 1:38 AM Monday morning and made the 600-mile drive. Ten and a half hours later, I arrived to see a man who had always been strong laying in a hospital bed in the living room, barely able to communicate or move, and barely hanging on to life. At 11:40 PM, February 6, 2012, Alden Ray Heichel's soul returned to God.

I sadly am not able to stay for the calling hours or funeral, but that was not nearly as important as getting to see him one last time while there was still breath in his lungs, and tell him that I love him. In my absence, my father is going to read the following at the funeral. I post it here as a memorial to a man that has greatly influenced my life.

Time would fail me to share all the things I learned from Grandpa, and all the memories we shared. Most of the time he was teaching, I don’t even think he realized it. You couldn’t keep him down, even if he was sick. He would go outside and keep working. You would seldom find him sitting down unless it was for a meal or time for coffee, or watching the sun set and the rabbits run around in the twilight. If there was work to be done, we did it. He always told the truth as he knew it. He tried to get along with everyone. For some reason, I never liked my middle name, until I found out it was mine because it was his. I now consider it an honor.

Looking back now and thinking about what I now hold as dear memories, I wouldn’t have believed at the time that these were the things I would remember most. There is the time he tried teaching me how to bush hog for the first time – in the middle of a wooded path. Yes, it ended as poorly as one might imagine. Then there was all the time we spent baling hay and straw, and then selling it. There was also all the time we spent in the corn crib bagging up sacks of corn to sell at the feed mill, which of course meant all the time learning to tie the bag properly. Or you could count the time we spent cutting firewood, me trimming small stuff, him cutting the logs, then me taking the splitting maul to them. He bought that maul just because he knew I liked hand-splitting the wood. Of course there is all the time we spent trying to get those pesky groundhogs, coons, and possums. And getting yelled at about how to properly drive the tractor, or back up trailers. Turns out I got pretty good at both.

I guess we did occasionally do things other than work. We did like to fish, whether it was in his pond, or at Mt. Gilead State Park, or Kokosing Reservoir, though we never had much luck at the latter two. And there is absolutely no way I could forget one of our favorite pastimes – drinking coffee. Let’s see, there would be the cup we would try to sneak in the morning without Grandma catching us; then there was the hot water pot and cups he kept in the shop so that she couldn’t catch us; oh, and the cups we would always stop for anytime we had to go to Tractor Supply or anywhere else in town. In recent years, it amounted to getting out to the house early in the morning, or late in the evening, and sitting on the deck talking over a couple cups.

Living 600 miles away from the person you spent most of your childhood and teenage time with gets you thinking about the things you miss long before you realize you have to miss them for good. Few things can bring me to tears the way that thinking about all the things I’ll never get to do again with grandpa can. Every time I plant my garden, or cut firewood, or patch holes in my shed roof, I’ll think about a man who will be missed by me in a way that I can only hope my grandchildren will miss me.

Every day, I’ll have a reminder of a man who was near deaf, stubborn as a mule, a bit of an impatient teacher, and a man that I sorely wish could share with me one more pot of coffee.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa.

My Take on The Republican Race

Well, let's start off by saying that I'm not excited about anyone. I'll also say that when the primary rolls around here, I'll be voting for Santorum, if he's still in the race. (And please spare me the "elect-ability" crap. The only reason people believe that is because they are being fed it by the media. If people actually voted for who they wanted, instead of who is "elect-able", we would see a much different line-up.)  If not, well, I may not be voting Republican. No, I am not one of those people who is crazy about "their" candidate and refuses to vote for anyone else. I just don't know if I could vote for any of the other three due to principle. Allow me to explain.

Ron Paul: I agree with a lot of what he says, but some things just don't add up. I don't think I'll have to worry about him being the nominee, anyway. Something just doesn't sit right, but I can't quite place it. I'll have to look into it more.

Mitt Romney: Okay, the obvious - Romneycare. Too many inconsistencies in what he has said about it and the reality. Shoot, that goes for about everything he says. I think the comic going around with him having a dozen mouths all over his face is pretty accurate. I don't trust him. Then there is the fact that he is on the record publicly supporting abortion while governor of Massachusetts. Sure, he has since said that he changed his position, but see previous statement. Then there is the firearms issue. He believes that at least half of the guns I own, I shouldn't be able to own. To say that you support the Second Amendment, and then say that you don't believe the public needs to have X-type of weapon, shows that you don't truly understand or support the right to keep and bear arms. The abortion issue alone is enough to kill me voting for him. I will never vote for someone who supports abortion. End of story. Toss in guns, and he's a dead as a candidate in my eyes many times over. As Robin Williams said in Patch Adams, "IDGARA" what he believes I should be allowed to own and for what reason.

Newt Gingrich: Let's start this one off by saying that I don't trust him any more than I trust Romney. Also, hearing him talk on the Glenn Beck Show, I'm pretty sure Glenn is right that Gingrich is a collectivist in conservative clothing. Now I'm going to go into something that many will disagree with me on, but I believe what I believe, so it is an issue to me. Marriage. Adultery. The man made a vow to two different women, and if it is anything like the one I made to my wife, it includes fidelity and "till death do us part". Twice, he broke his vows. Vows made before God. If he doesn't take a vow seriously to remain faithful to a woman until death, how can I trust him to remain faithful in the oath he would take to be President?

Yes, I know, some people would ask me if I'm willing to "allow" Obama to win re-election by not promising to get behind the nominee. No, I'm not. I have a duty to remain true to myself and to God when I press the button in the voting booth. Romans 1:32 says that approving of something or someone that is sinful puts you in the same position as the one practicing it, in God's eyes. I will not bear their guilt.

To be completely honest, I'm not sure the country/world will survive in it's current form until November. Even if it does, the only thing that will change as a result of electing a Republican will likely be the rate of decay. The end will be the same, simply delayed. Call me a cynic or a pessimist, whatever. Truth doesn't lie. That's where the truth points. "Have a little faith. Trust God." I do. I don't trust politicians or governments which has proven themselves corrupt time and again. Sometimes God's plan is destruction to set the stage for rebuilding. So be it. Prepare yourselves, no matter the politics. It will be a bumpy ride.

Keep your powder dry.

Act Free.

Response to "A Declaration"

Recently, I posted "A Declaration". As I said I would, I sent copies of it to all of my "representatives" in Congress. Senator Bob Corker responded to me today. The text follows, and then I will have some more comments.

Thank you for contacting my office regarding provisions related to the disposition of detainees in the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.  Like you, I believe that protecting our constitutional rights is one of the most significant responsibilities of the U.S. Senate.  I understand the concerns presented in your letter, but I think it is important to note that there is a significant amount of misinformation being circulated with regard to the provisions of the  NDAA which recently passed in the Senate.   I want to assure you that there is nothing in this bill that changes current law or practice in any way as it relates to the rights or treatment of U.S. citizens or the military's ability to operate within the United States. In an effort to clear up any misconceptions about the impact of the bill on the rights of citizens, an amendment was adopted by the Senate and was included in the final version of the bill, which reads:  "Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities, relating to the detention of US citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States." This amendment passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 99 to 1. The final bill passed by a vote of 86 to 13, and includes authorization for a number of essential programs and benefits to support our troops, including a 1.6% pay raise for all members of the military. Our country's fight against al Qaeda and associated organizations is a struggle that continues to pose significant and diverse challenges for our country. I want you to know that protecting American citizens is a solemn responsibility, and I therefore believe we must have legal methods in place to remove combatants from the battlefield, obtain critical intelligence, and detain those that are a threat to the American people.  However, I understand the important balance that must be met between protecting our nation from future attacks and preserving our civil liberties.  As we work to strike that critical balance, I can assure you I will continue to uphold my oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me throughout the course of my term.  

Sincerely, 
Bob CorkerUnited States Senator

Now yes, the amendment that was passed does help - barely. Go take a look at Arctic Patriot's post that fits well as a response to this e-mail. He cites a bill that is in the house and would allow citizenship to be stripped from any deemed to be a "terrorist" or to be aiding them. Keep in mind that we are each just a few keystrokes away from being determined to be "terrorists" by the .gov. Politicians, including everyone in our current presidential administration, have already said they believe Tea Partiers, and of course that means also those of us who are further to the right than the Tea Party, are terrorists. Just for our beliefs. We have a president who is openly defying the Constitution and Congress by making recess appointments while Congress is still in session. Federal agencies are running rampant with treating normal citizens like criminals without just cause. They are even mobile now (VIPR). Go ahead and try to tell me again that this amendment makes you feel safe.

To me, it looks more like theater.

Act Free.