Personal Responsibility. What happened to it?

The LA Times article I was going to link to is now dead. So I'll just report. This woman (I shudder to call her that... more like 2 year old child caught in a woman's body), Arelia Margarita Taveras, a well known attorney and media comentator, lost a fortune sitting her dumb ass in a casino gambling away here savings. 1 Million dollars at a craps table! She says it's the casino's fault! They should have stopped her! This blows my mind. I'd like to think she hasn't a chance in hell of winning this ridiculous law suit but I can't put such misguided confidence in our screwed up judicial system. It's happened before. We sue gun manufacturers because a predator used their product to kill someone. We sue Mc Donald's for making us fat. We sue cigarette manufacturers because we smoked their products till our lungs turned black. We sue car manufacturers because we drove reckless and killed our loved one. Where does it end?

We have become a pathetic society of slackers. How did we get here? No one is responsible for their actions anymore. A person can murder someone in cold blood and somehow, inevitably wind up usurping their prey and becoming the victim. It's never the perpetrator's fault. They're just "products of their environment", or "victims of circumstance". "The deck was stacked against them", or "they didn't get a fair shake". "They were poor" or "they were abused". Anything to shift the blame from the person who's screwed up to anyone/everyone else. The bleeding hearts say things like, "We failed them as a society", or "We should have noticed something was wrong and gotten them help...we missed the signs". Well guess what? IT AIN'T MY FRIGGIN' JOB TO GET YOU HELP!

We have moved from a respectable country of hard working people who loved liberty enough to embrace it wholesale and be responsible for their own successes, their own failures and their own destinies to a nation of whining, spineless, finger pointing ingrates who don't know the meaning of honor or integrity, the concept of pride in a hard days work, stuffing money in a sock drawer for a rainy day or, God forbid, earning what we have and being just a little bit embarrassed to sit with our hand out waiting to get fed! Instead we have evolved into a self destructive group of lemmings willing to continue to write ourselves generous checks from the public coffers until we're damned near bankrupt for various "social programs" that serve to encourage people from earning their keep rather than providing them with an incentive to do so.

Personal Responsibility. How did that become a bad idea? Stop the planet... I'd like to exit now.

Preach on, playa!

Found this over at FIU. Rob raised the point: "....imagine what would happen if a white man had said it. Any of it." Indeed. He would be lynched. Ooops! Sharpton says that's a "racist" word..."lynched". Sorry. He'd be mobbed and hanged. Hmmm... sounds like the same thing. Anyway, I kinda like the guy. I think trashin' the ol' "Obama Momma" was way outta line though but there's a lot of truth here too.

A preacher, cussing... in a pulpit? Who'd have thunk it. Obviously, the man's a bigot too 'cause it sounds like he's got no love for white women but all that aside...he's preaching accountability, and that...I like! Falls right in with my post below. So I can deal with a little bigoted madness. To each his own. Preach on preecha man, preach on!

On a stump, ranting about something or another...

I count myself fortunate to have a profession which reminds me daily how blessed I am. I think it is human nature to take certain things for granted and were it not for my job, I'd stand guilty of that very sin. But I often reflect on what life would be like if I were dealt someone else's hand. I pray that I never lose that empathetic ability. It makes me good at what I do and it makes me thankful for what I have. Bad stuff happens, and not just on Television.

Everyday, working middle class Americans go about their daily grinds oblivious to life outside of their bubbles. With bills piled on the kitchen table, we peer over our cups of morning joe and bat nary an eye at the sadness that blankets our world. How is it we've become so jaded? I work in an average middle sized population on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Its a "destination" for many. People actually come here to relax and vacation. It's beautiful here. For others, its not so much a destination so much as just a place where they've landed. Economic woes are painfully evident here. Wages are low and unemployment is high. This is the Southland. Social services are sucked up by 4th and 5th generation recipients of government handouts as fast as they can be conjured.

We still have "Dixiecrats" here, though they are increasingly rare. Those "Southern Democrats" are people with conservative values wrapped up in a liberal social spending package. God fearing men in overalls with calloused hands and sore backs. No, I'm not a "Southern Democrat", but despite our differences in fiscal and economic philosophies, I respect the hell out of them. Honest folks with a home they worked hard to get and work harder to keep. Kids with fresh haircuts and bibles with creases in the spine. People who say "yes ma'am" and "thank you" as a matter of course. A bounty on the table at the expense of a name brand label on their jeans or a car that was built in the past two decades. Priorities that fall neatly in order with what is important in life. Does that guy deserve a break? Yeah, probably. Is it my responsibility to ensure that he gets it? No, I don't believe it is, but I'll bitch a heck of a lot less at the prospect of dropping money in his pockets than in the pockets of the new recipients of social services that have supplanted him.

He's being systematically replaced by people whose kids go without while they drive Lexus' and Cadillacs with rims and stereo systems that cost more than my whole car. Wearing expensive name brand clothes, women with new elaborate purple and red hairdo's, gold and platinum jewelry and ridiculous manicures swipe EBT cards at the register then shuttle their truant kids back to their poverty stricken, crime ridden government subsidized housing. Dysfunctional violent households in dilapidated trailers give shelter to those who would ignore a help wanted sign in favor of cooking methamphetamine. Priorities entirely out of whack and no intent to get better.

Meanwhile, Obama runs for the highest office in the land on a campaign of magnanimous generalities describing "new hope" and "change"... empty promises of prosperity with no specific plan and no pocketbook to pay for it. Hilary peddles her socialized medicine package to a roaring crowd of hapless sheep who actually believe that she can pluck them from their plights by giving them something for nothing. Modern day "Robin Hoods", they take from the "haves" and give indiscriminately to the "have nots". Seemingly striving to increase the "crush factor" of social equality while tearing apart any notion of the "American Dream", and like freewill busting juggernauts they remain bent on providing for people instead of teaching them how to provide for themselves and more importantly, holding them accountable for the responsibility of doing so. I think that's really where we miss the boat as a society. We can have all of the subsidies and handouts our imaginations can fathom to try to ease the pain of the downtrodden but unless people are held accountable for what they do with the opportunities afforded them, we will continue to see one generation begetting to another a sense of "entitlement" for those handouts.

I'm thankful for what I have. I'm thankful that my parents instilled in me a sense of pride in a days work. I've hoed some hard rows. There have been days in my past when I honestly didn't know how I would pay for my next meal. But God has provided for my family and I and not a day goes by that I don't value the comforts we've accrued. I remember those days as a young adult when I didn't have a nickel to my name fantasizing about how great it would be to just press the fast forward button to a day when I could just go to work and come home, pay my bills and live my life. I'd imagine having a famly, a house and a car, food on the table and gas in the tank... a normal life. Now that I have those things, I've come to realize that my "American Dream" exists on a sliding scale. The more I have, the more I want. I struggle against the tide to go from financial equilibrium to financial independence. That is my natural tendency. To be farsighted. To lose the present in the haze of the future.

But by a firm hand, God has given me a flush valve for all of those selfish tendencies because just as soon as I lose sight of all that is important to me, along comes my job everyday to remind me that I AM living the American Dream. That's what it's all about... the struggle. Reaping the benefits of my own labor. Knowing that nothing is certain, my successes are all the more satisfying having earned them myself. I am not rich nor is it likely that I will ever be. I am not meant to be. I wouldn't be very good at it. I wouldn't be a better man for it. This I know of myself. So it is with a generous portion of humility that I have learned to be happy with what I have. Slightly more than a meager existence, we have some of the things that we want, but we have all of the things that we need. So, what's so wrong with that? I may have to plan and budget for every dollar I spend but I'll not soon complain about it, not so long as I am fortunate enough to work in Public Safety and be confronted daily with the stark reality that life is so very short yet so very sweet. It gives me pause. And pause is all I need reflect on what I have. So chew your food slowly so as to savor the flavor. Take the scenic route home every now and again and hug your kids every chance you get. Take a look around your house and love the junk you've accumulated. It's yours. Smile and be happy with today because today is all you have. Tomorrow might not come. I see sadness everyday, and I am a happier man for it.

It matters, not so much what we've done, as what we're going to do

No cowardly moonbat at the traitorous, Soros funded "MoveOn.org" possesses the honor required to look a man like General David Petraeus in the eye, much less spit in it as they did by taking out a despicable ad in their puppet newspaper, The New York Times accusing him of betrayal. Where Hilary gets the gall to damn near accuse the man of lying, replying to his report by saying : "I think that the reports you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief." I'll never know. One thing is for certain, though. The left is willing to do ANYTHING to derail any plan for victory in Iraq, because they see it as a victory for Republicans. The typical "smoke and mirrors"/"distraction" tactics apply, as usual, when they debate the issue, choosing to concentrate on the pointless position that invading Iraq was wrong to begin with. Well let's assume, for the sake of argument, that they are right, that the entire invasion was an ill conceived idea by an idiot President.....So the hell what?

Life is not a series of perfect decisions, made with perfect interpretations and carried out by perfect execution. Hypothetically speaking, (and I do mean HYPOTHETICALLY) if you or I made a mistake, then upon realization of that mistake we would reasonably be expected to make the best decisions we could to rectify (if possible) or at least minimize its immediate and long term impacts. It's what responsible people do. It's commonly referred to as "Damage Control". Why is this concept so difficult to grasp for the Democratic elitists in Washington, so many of whom conveniently forget that they too voted in confidence for the plan to invade Iraq? Why are they so hell bent on the absolute defeat of American forces in the Middle East? Why would they accept such an absurd notion as retreat, and thus defeat?

Save your answer to that question and consider the following. Though I believe that calling the invasion of Iraq a "mistake" is in itself a "mistake", if it allows the Democrats to save face, why can't we all just agree to disagree on that fact and move the hell on? Why wouldn't they take the responsible, patriotic route of insuring that any subsequent moves by the United States wouldn't jeopardize it further (such as tucking tail and running)? Why do they steadfastly refuse to concede the very factual and obvious point that retreating now would, negate and nullify any sacrifice made by our armed forces thus far, contribute to the rapid destabilization of the entire region, create a safe haven environment for terrorist organizations and, at the same time, embolden, encourage, and empower our enemy even further, thus endangering American lives and interests both at home and abroad? We can disagree all day long whether the invasion of Iraq was right or wrong. Historians will be debating that issue long after we're gone, but at the same time, it is ludicrous to suggest that, accepting that disagreement as a given, we cannot still adopt a common goal of the best route to achieving peace and stability through victory. How we got on this particular square in the first place is a moot point, but one the Democrats continue to harp on at the expense of ignoring the obvious and very valid question, "How are we going to proceed with the plan for victory, NOW?", that is unless the opposition doesn't like the concept of victory, preferring instead our subservience to our victors, in which case retreat would be the logical course of action.

Are there any patriots left among Democrats? Are there any who wouldn't sell out this Country and its brave servicemen and women for a few points on the latest political poll? Is making our Republican President into a buffoon that damned important? If there are any true Americans left among you, for the sake of our posterity, SPEAK THE HELL UP! Otherwise, go ahead and buy your Burqas, Qurans, cheap sandals and prayer mats now, because if our nation follows your lead, THAT will be its reward. First, we'll all speak Spanish, and then we'll all speak Arabic.

For those of you who believe that, despite any hypothetical mistake we may or may not have made in our decision to invade Iraq, VICTORY is the only acceptable outcome to this war, then click the link on the pic below and sign the petition so that your voice might be heard over the deafening flapping of the white Democratic flag of surrender.

(link lifted from the beautiful and talented Michelle Malkin.)

Guns are dangerous? Yeah, so is electricity!

• Hundreds of people die and thousands are injured each year in electrical accidents.
• There are, on average, 500 civilian deaths and 5300 injuries related to electrical fires in and around the home.
• About 150 people are electrocuted while using consumer products each year.
• Nearly ten people are electrocuted in the United States each week.
• Electrocution is now the fifth leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States.
• Over 600 people are electrocuted on the job yearly.
• Nearly 10 people are electrocuted by their lawnmowers every year.
• 20 percent of all electrocutions result in a fatality.
• About 25 people are electrocuted in their bathtubs every year.
• Around 20 people are electrocuted while using hair dryers each year.
• Approximately 17 people are electrocuted by faulty home appliances each year.
• Property damage due to home fires caused by electrical distribution, appliances and equipment and heating and air conditioning systems amounts to nearly $1.6 billion annually.
  

THEREFORE:

• The Federal Government should enact sweeping legislation to protect its citizens from this dangerous element.
• Power Companies should be required to pay punitive damages to victims and their families who are injured or killed by their product.
• All electrical appliances and devices should have to be registered with the Government.
• One must be licensed to operate any device which is powered by electricity.
• All internal combustion engines should be cranked by hand, not by electrical power.
• Anyone who uses electricity within 500 feet of a school should be subject to criminal penalties.
• Anyone who carelessly leaves unguarded electrical devices or appliances in the presence of a minor should be sent to jail.
• All electrically powered products should have a child safety lock installed and stored unplugged.
• Children should never be educated about the proper and safe usage of electricity...only that it is dangerous and therefore evil.
• Anyone caught concealing a battery shall be subject to mandatory prison sentences.

Absurd, right? Well, this is the very mindset and logic behind gun control. One could go on and on and on drawing ridiculous parallels to the warped concept of gun control legislation. Pencils cause misspelled words. Spoons make people fat. Chairs discourage exercise. Clocks make people late. Crowbars cause car thefts. We live in an age where it is acceptable, in fact, fashionable to hold anyone and anything responsible for criminal acts, mistakes and negligence except the people who commit them. It's not the criminals fault, it was someone else's. If you hadn't have left your car there, he would not have been able to steal it. Criminals should not be punished, they should be "rehabilitated" while the people who made the gun he committed the crime with...THEY should be punished! When that drunk plows into your car and puts you in the hospital, why not sue General Motors, Ford or Chrysler? If they hadn't have made the car, then he wouldn't have been able to drive it into your mini-van. They should've installed blood alcohol testers on all of their vehicles...it's THEIR fault, not the drunk's. While you're at it, why not sue Anheuser-Busch, or the Miller Brewing Company or whoever made the products he tanked up on before driving? Because it surely cannot come down to the fault of one poor old drunk and his lack of judgment.

Society will never be able to rid itself of the irresponsible. We will never be able to legislate protection for ourselves from anyone who has made up their mind to do us harm. We can legislate away, all of our freedoms and liberties into the hands of a police state. Or we can remain true to the spirit which built this country from a bunch of King's subjects to a Superpower of Free Citizens. We are not bound to social classes and predetermined standards of living, we are free to create for ourselves our own livelihoods. We are free to build a life for ourselves, but no one owes us a living. We are free to pursue happiness but it is not guaranteed. We are free to take chances but we are responsible for what comes of them. We are given opportunity in this country. What we do with it is our business and our responsibility. We are responsible for our own successes and failures. We are responsible for our own actions. If we screw up, we are to blame. The government has forces in place to protect it's citizens from predators but they cannot be posted on every street corner. We should be responsible for the protection of our families. We should be responsible for the defense of our homes. We should be our own first responders. This is the spirit which freed us from the bonds of tyranny. Let me make my own way. Let me be responsible for myself. Let ME reap the rewards of my own work. Let ME be the King of my castle.

Government has it's place and it should be a very small and well defined place with large fences and hardened borders and it should never be able to relieve me of my own right to self preservation. It should encourage me to be self sufficient and not to consume its social resources. A free people should never have to rely solely on their government for the provision of anything, including the preservation and defense of one's own self and one's own property.