Community Journal 119
By: Lloyd Eckberg
August 30, 2010
2012 Looms Ahead
Football teams heading for the finish line many times have a
tendency to take the current week’s game for granted because the big prize
lies just a week away.
More times than not their failure to keep an eye
on the situation at hand costs them a championship.
Politics: a like scenario.
Presently the Republicans are in a similar
situation. The November elections look very promising and with two months
to go a certain euphoria has taken hold of the party faithful.
The big prize, a shot at the
White House, awaits
for 2012 but unless a major incursion into the Democrat majorities in the
House and Senate occurs in November, 2012 won’t much matter.
Looking toward November the horses in the stables
are getting restless.
Republican wannabees are lurking in many corners
of the country just waiting for the start of the 2012 campaign which is
sure to bring out many new faces in the party who want to make a run for
the presidency.
Who are some of these people?
You get some indication of the interest that so
many have shown by taking their vacations in
Iowa.
Iowa just happens to be the first state caucus
for 2012 and as history would show Iowa is a state not to be ignored. If
you do you better have a pretty good excuse why you can’t particiapate in
their taffy pull.
Not being a party hack I am not privileged to
know who will be the front runners in the next presidential campaign.
I tend to drive my friends and detractors alike
crazy with my admiration and support for
Sarah Palin. She is a
dynamic Twenty-First Century revolutionary and is very adept at motivating
the best inner thoughts of the average American citizen.
I do not believe Palin will run for the
Presidency but as I
have said from her beginning with
Senator McCain she
will be the catalyst that will ultimately determine who does offer for the
position.
Many thought it was a disaster for her to resign
as Governor of Alaska but I felt it was a master stroke.
Had she remained as Governor she would not have
had the national platform and influence on the general electorate that she
has and is having during this important year of the Republican surge.
Palin must be credited with unhinging the
independents from the Obama camp although President Obama has given her
much upon which to base her message and energy.
Her sensitivity and compassion for everyday
working citizens who have strong core values and a powerful loyalty to
American culture give her a leg up on many who may seek the presidency.
Palin is serving America well. She has given the
Tea Party movement
the energy it needed to arouse the American voter which has given ordinary
citizens a reason to hit the streets and enter the
voting booth with a
purpose not seen before until now in American politics.
While it may not be Palin in 2012, I do expect to
see a woman on the ticket. I particularly like
Governor Mitch Daniels
of Indiana and U.S.
Representative Michelle Bachmann of
Minnesota but then
they are just two of a large stable of good candidates waiting in the
wings to make their move.
Community Journal 118By: Lloyd
Eckberg
August 23, 2010
Through a Gnat’s Eye
I remember that Sunday afternoon,
December 7,
1941. I was 12 years old and was listening to my new Sonora radio
when the announcer came on and said, "We interrupt this program -
The Japanese have attacked
Pearl Harbor."
I ran into the parlor and announced the news to my parents and
to some company we had on that dreary afternoon and from that
moment on, our lives changed forever.
Other than the dropping of the
Atom Bomb on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, the sequel to Pearl Harbor did not
occur until September 11, 2001.
On those two eventful dates in just a few hours of horror and
mayhem we lost about the same number of Americans
I have never forgotten that event of 1941 and I don’t expect
those who witnessed or were impacted by 9/ll to forget either, me
included.
You might say, in our time, these two events are galvanized in
our psyche and nothing can remove them from our memories.
After the attack
on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese became "Japs" and Germans
became "Nazis" and one would not think about giving those two
aggressors any slack. You never joked about being a "Jap or a
Nazi" because patriotism and loyalty to the United States were
sacrosanct.
In the backdrop of what I have just recalled I can understand
quite clearly why the "Mosque"diversion has risen to the intensity
of a national issue.
America is a nation of laws rather than men it is true but
empathy for the citizens has always been taken into consideration
when issues both big and little, constitutional or
non-constitutional are discussed and acted upon.
I don’t know where
President Obama’s
mind was when he attempted to enter the
Mosque fray.
In the context of the
Presidency it
was another occasion of his narrow vision as seen through a gnat/s
eye that trapped him.
Locating a Mosque at the site of
Ground Zero
has many tentacles to it.
First, it smacks of the
Constitution
only if Mosques
in general are prohibited.
Second, it is not a local issue as its location impacts the
feelings of not only New Yorkers but people all over the country
and yes, the world.
President Obama could have steered clear of the controversy
but he got caught fishing in the wrong pond and he is now
tarnished for it.
Third, the Mosque would become the star in the crown of the
Islamic revolution going on around the world today. It would
overshadow the
Ground Zero memorial and would be a slap in the face of all
the survivors of 9/ll in particular.
Fourth, it could conceivably become the worldwide headquarters
of the Islamic
Jihad which would not bother those of the Progressive
movement going on in the United States at this moment.
Fifth, its very existence next to Ground Zero would be so
divisive because of the lack of respect and dignity that the
progenitors of the project have for the feelings of everyday
Americans.
Sixth: 9/ll and Pearl Harbor will always live in the minds of
Americans even after all of those living today are deceased.
Selecting an alternate location for a mosque in the name of
dignity and respect ought to be considered to protect that
heritage.
Last: I predict the Mosque will never be built on that site.
Community Journal 117
By: Lloyd Eckberg
August 16, 2010
States Rights misunderstood
Last week’s column entitled ‘Clash of Titans’ sparked interest from
North Carolina and
Tennessee but some
closer to home still cling to the thought that somehow capitalism and
socialism can live a happy life together.
The Gulf oil spill proved that water and oil do not mix very well and in
the end one will win out over the other. The argument will go on for a long
time but human nature as well as
natural law is pretty
resolute.
About last week’s commentary I did receive a rather insightful comment
from our son Tim, who is a
defense contractor in
Huntsville, Alabama and serves as vice president of Engineering
Services Directorate for QinetiQ.
He wrote as follows: "While capitalism is under attack, the article
better lent itself to a MORE relevant constitutional issue - an attack on
our form of government.
"What we are experiencing is the transformation of a
democratic form of government
based upon constitutional protections being supplanted by an oligarchy." He
references Wikipedia as
having an extraordinary understanding of this notion.
On the section I wrote about the
Declaration of Independence he said, "Have you ever noticed within
the Declaration of Independence the word "united" is never capitalized?
"I believe this is no accident, given the mistrust of monarchies and
such: thus the strength of "States" rights (States is capitalized
throughout) that enjoyed a nearly 200 year run before the modern day
Democrat Party began shifting power to the Federal Government.
"States
rights are misunderstood by many to be a product of the 1860s Old
South.
"It is true that the South abused the power held by the States to
stonewall
civil liberties for Blacks, but once that wall was breached the rout
was on and continues today."
He concludes by saying, " The only way to restore a democratic form of
government of and by the people with rare exception, is to throw out every
incumbent regardless of party affiliation".
Well I guess by now you have determined that the apple doesn’t fall far
from the tree and while he supports a comprehensive boot at the polls my
thinking lies more along the line of
Term Limits.
Term limits are a little more final than having to vote out incumbents
over a long period of time.
Tim, like millions of Americans throughout the land, has become somewhat
energized and concerned about the turn our country has taken in the last
couple of years especially and has committed to becoming more involved and
active in the country’s course.
As a footnote to his mention of the word "united" not being capitalized
in the Declaration of Independence, I have taken it upon myself to examine
the document in public places.
I noticed one poster copy of the document has been altered somewhat and
in the last paragraph the words UNITED STATES were all capitalized.
This I think is a way that history revisionists operate. When subtle
changes can be made every effort is put forth to do so.
In closing I would challenge everyone interested in the future of this
country to begin looking at the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution of the United
States and other important documents to discover the exciting moments
of history as they were made over 200 years ago.
It goes without saying a better informed citizen is better able to go
into the voting booth
and vote the best interests of all.
Community Journal 116
By: Lloyd Eckberg
August 9, 2010
Clash of Titans
Everybody has a fair idea of what Communism and
Fascism are all about as
they are understood to be in terms of describing systems of government that
are spread around the world among the many nations.
Two other titans of political thought,
Capitalism and Socialism are just as familiar as the aforementioned but
a true basic knowledge about both are as misunderstood by the average citizen
as their knowledge of life itself and how it all came to be.
My wife and I just returned from vacation and one of
the highlights of our trip was a day spent in
Charlottesville, Virginia visiting
Monticello, the home of
our third
President Thomas Jefferson.
The visit was especially interesting to me because
lately I have been spending a good amount of time reading and studying about
our forefathers.
Jefferson, at age 33 with the help of four others,
wrote the
Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in all
of our history.
I don’t know what percentage of Americans have read
the Declaration but it contains the thinking of the best minds that have ever
breathed the fresh air of liberty and freedom for the individual.
For years I looked at the
Declaration of Independence Parchment as just another statement to
justify our existence as a nation.
I never took time to read and study the short,
powerful message.
It is interesting to note that the Declaration’s few
words are broken down into four parts: the
Preamble, a Declaration
of Rights, a Bill of Indictment and a Statement of
Independence.
Therein lies the justification for our independence,
our Constitution and the
reason why our democratic republic has lasted for 224 years.
It’s that simple.
However, what has been occurring in this country for
years and most notably the last couple of years has been a chipping away at
the foundation of our beliefs which
56 signers of the Declaration of Independence gave us in order that we
may be free men and women and stay free men and women for eternity.
When
John Hancock signed the Declaration he meant for the world to sit up
and take notice, more especially the King of England.
It was no idle thought or action and the strong
statement put forth on that July 4, 1776 has been a beacon of hope for
hundreds of millions of souls throughout the world.
While many scoff at what is happening in our country
today some of whom are red blooded Americans, do not realize a socialistic,
welfare state that undermines our free market capitalistic system,
which has provided so much enlightenment throughout the world, is in danger of
being overrun by an all powerful, arrogant federal government that believes
that transforming America into an egalitarian society is the way to go.
Capitalism is under attack. The clash of titans,
Capitalism vs Socialism is at hand.
Our government continues to spend and tax and nourish
an anti-business climate which if not contained and reversed will surely
destroy the foundation laid out by our founders of the
eighteenth century.
America must pull back from the brink and come to its
senses before the witching hour arrives.
