So far, while I do not see much that I agree (at least in regards to his approach) with the president about, on domestic policies, I am very pleased that he is taking a strong stance on terrorism.

As I understand it, he is going to “responsibly” wean the troops out of Iraq, and build up the military presence in Afghanistan.

Another thing that I have “always” been against was the idea of nation building, and they seem to be moving away from nation building, and getting back to basics, which is to fight these terrorists that perpetuated the attacks of 911.

Listen, not many people (that I know of) like war; war is very ugly, and I wish we did not have to be wrapped up in “any” foreign affairs, however, we did not ask for two airplanes to come flying into two skyscrapers in NYC, killing over 2000 people, and we should not send a message to countries that we are weak, and  that they can get away with such horrific acts.

The war in Afghanistan may not be a war that can officially be won, in the traditional sense, however, it is our duty to see that these terrorists are brought to their knees, and brought to justice.

I hope that other countries will continue to join us on our original “war on terrorism”, against Al Queada, and other radical groups (in Afghanistan) that seek to harm innocent people with their cowardly acts.

Many countries, including India, Spain and England have been attacked by these terrorists, and free people should not be held captive by these cowards.

So for this stance on terrorism, I say Kudos to President Obama; on this policy, I am behind him 150%.

Mark

Daniel Hannan is a British politician, and Member of The European Parliament (MEP), who represents South East England for the Conservative Party, laid into Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his enormous amount of government spending during this economic downturn in England.

I think that his direct speech to the prime minister was absolutely brilliant. I believe that someone needs be as frank with our president, as their unbelievable spending in D.C., as of late, can very well put us on a similar path, if the spending brakes are not put on soon.

In my opinion, Daniel Hannan is an English patriot.

Mark

In 1765, The British enacted The Stamp Act, which would require all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other documents issued in the colonies, to use a stamp.

The British would then collect tax revenues for these stamps, and use these revenues for the defense of the colonies. Being that the tax was used for their defense, wouldn’t one conclude that this tax was well-intended?  Why then were the colonists so outraged?  So outraged that movements such as The Sons of Liberty were started; as well as the convening of Congress, in Oct. of 1765, in New York City, where The Declaration of Rights and Grievances were written.

Most of us know that the colonies were being taxed, but did not have representation in Parliament, back in England. Is it possible that the people of the colonies felt disenfranchised?

Perhaps we can get into their heads for a moment…

I believe it is a moral injustice to force something on people, that through a great majority, did not agree with the end result; clearly they were tired of Britain controlling their way of life, and of doing business.

The American Revolution did not take place until eleven years later; and the rest is certainly history. However, if we look back, perhaps the whole revolution could have been avoided “if” The British government would have listened to the pleas of the colonies. It is really hard to imagine it working out that way, because we would not have The United States today, and we would quite possibly still be part of England, but that is not the case, and today, we all know why.

So, here we are in modern times, saying, this is not the most prudent use of our tax dollars, and it is totally affecting our lives, our businesses etc….and we want change! If you read The Declaration of Independence, in its entirety, they listed a whole host of grievances against Britain; so surely Britain must have known that the pot was boiling over, however, they did not want to make the necessary changes, and the rest is history.

I do pray that our government will see that the people are getting very weary of the normal course of doing business in D.C., and begin to come back to the grass roots, and get down to the level of the every day person; otherwise, it is not too hard to imagine that the people will eventually need a party that will represent them again, and not the special interests of a few; and policies that will encompass the needs and concerns of the entire country, and not “just” a constituency of people.

In The Declaration of Independence, our founding fathers declared, that we have three very basic rights; and they are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I pray that we never lose these rights.

Mark

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

adjective
1.Belonging to a thing by its very nature: the intrinsic value of a gold ring.
2.Inherent
   Dictionary.com

Let’s share the word, and live in peace. 

In all of my life, as an United States citizen, 911 is definitely one of the most profound, and saddest times that I can recall. As sad as it was, I can still recall the solidarity of The American people, shortly after 911.

All of a sudden, your political affiliations did not seem to matter; your career, your past and present situations also did not seem to matter; all that mattered was that we were fellow Americans and this radical terrorist group just took down two large buildings in a major United States city, in which nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed; not to mention, the many rescue personnel that came to the call, and gave their lives, as well.

Like many others, I desperately wanted time to move quickly, as the pain, grief and anger that I felt was so intense. Still, I often think back, and recall how united we (as a country) were.

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I will never forget watching The President on TV, and feeling really touched by his words, and his call for Americans to stay united; he also seemed just as in shock as we were; he shared in our grief, fear and anger; undoubtedly, he was not the same man that he was prior to 911.

That day, our country could very well had been brought to its knees; however, there was a call for Americans to get back out there and live. We were directed “not” to let these hateful terrorists to cause us to live in fear, and we heard the call. I recall people coming out, and vocalizing their anger at these people, and publicly declaring that we were not going to stop living The American life because of their despicable acts.

I can still recall the president quoting Psalms 23, and having tears fill my eyes while listening. Yes, that day, we walked in the shadow of the valley of death, however, we were able to rise out from behind that shadow. 

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In retrospect, I truly do believe that most Americans were united in the fact that we had to go after the terrorists who perpetuated these acts; we now knew that the attacks were planned and implemented by Al-Quaeda who were operating primarily in Afghanistan. So, within a month, American troops were deployed, with much of the free world behind us. Shortly thereafter, we were told that Iraq was somehow involved; to the surprise of many, we reluctantly went along with this premise;and sadly, the war in Iraq seems to have been the factor that has divided many Americans, and caused many fractured relationships between ourselves and other countries; leaving many Americans very skeptical our own government.

That being said, we were attacked on 911, by some very extreme individuals who wanted nothing more then to bring The United States, as we know it, to its knees. I must admit, as much as I longed for it, I never went back to a pre-911 mindset. My thoughts on politics, military, and national security were forever changed. Thousands and thousands of brave Americans left the comfort of home and went to war for the rest of us; many of them are no longer with us. Our military personnel are truly brave people who have made tremendous sacrifices while the rest of us moved on and tried to forget that horrific day.

No matter what your thoughts on politics are, no matter how you feel about the post 911 strategy, I, for one, say, we must never forget that day and the brave people that came to our call; and the tremendous solidarity that we shared. We should always remember the lesson learned that day: we are all Americans first, and no matter what any one tells me, I do believe, deep in our hearts, we do care tremendously for each other.

I pray that it will not take another cataclysmic event for us to all be reminded of these lessons.

I truly do believe that we are a blessed country, that was brought into existence by great men, with divine intervention. The American dream will never die, as long as “we“ never let it die.

God Bless our great nation…

Mark 

John Paul Jones and Paul Gilbert, playing an instrumental version of Going to California.

This is really nice!

This is a totally rocking version of Trampled Underfoot, live, in 1975, at Earl’s Court Arena in London.

“Come to me for service every hundred miles; baby, let me check your points, fix your overdrive.”

Enjoy!

This is a really nice version of Over The Hills And Far Way, live in 1977.

“Many dreams come true and some have silver linings; I live for my dreams and a pocket full of gold.” 

Enjoy!