A Season Gone But Not Lost

The first frosty breaths of fall are spilling down from the frigid north and filling our high desert valleys with cool sparkling air. And as they do, brightly colored leaves, one by one, or in wind-driven throngs, plaintively release their grip and tumble to the ground. They are yielding to the implacable cycles of nature; they are letting go of summer. And just as the leaves have no choice but to let go, so too are we compelled to do likewise. We must release the past, savoring our warm memories of a golden summer, a once-in-a-lifetime summer that never will return, and enter the future. But before we brace ourselves for the onslaught of winter, let us pause to enjoy the splendors of autumn, for it too holds rich promise. It is a time of crisp, clear days, days made for wearing comfortable old shoes and frayed sweatshirts while out walking with a loved one. It is a time to curl up in a warm blanket on a blustery afternoon for a well-deserved nap. It is a time to lovingly preserve the things harvested from a scrupulously maintained garden. And if we make good use of those precious autumn days, we will leave them behind with tender recollections of a season gone but not lost. And it will be time to begin making the most of what is certain to be a special winter.

Where Does The Buck Stop?

It is a frightening thing to contemplate, but it has become apparent in recent years that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have the foresight, skill or courage to lead America. For quite sometime members of the two “contending” political parties, once elected, have failed to offer substantially different solutions to the problems facing our great nation. They are, to quote a homely old phrase, peas in a pod. They pretend to be different, but in reality their management styles, strategies, and ultimate goals are strikingly similar. What this leaves us with is essentially a one-party system masquerading as a two-party system. This unfortunate pretense is kept up for only one purpose, so that those running for office will have someone to sling mud at. The political sideshow is faithfully and carefully acted out during election years and the periods between to convince voters that there are still courageous fighters out there willing to wrestle with the forces of evil; namely, the other party. Unfortunately, when our “leaders” want only to while away their time producing and starring in senseless political dramas rather than assuming the role of statesman or stateswoman, bad things happen while they are thus engaged. For example, both Republicans and Democrats in congress sat by and watched as greedy and unscrupulous banks and mortgage companies created the worst economic catastrophe since the Wall Street Crash of 1929, even though both houses of congress have banking and financial services committees to monitor and oversee the activities of such institutions. Furthermore, our Republican President and his economic advisors, along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board did the same thing. No one apparently saw this huge financial tidal wave approaching. No one apparently even had a hunch. Or if they did, no one possessed the economic savvy or political courage to step forward and do something about it before it evolved into a calamity. How could it be that a mounting financial debacle of this magnitude went unnoticed? Not surprisingly, there is not a single person in Washington willing to admit guilt. Rather, everyone there is scrambling around pointing fingers at each other. A tragic and costly economic misfortune has fallen upon the American people while our political “leaders” either slept or were intentionally looking away. And what is their response to all this now that it has happened? Arrogate to themselves vast powers not granted to them by the Constitution, and in the process replace, step by step, limited government with an all-reaching, all-powerful government. Only two conclusions can be drawn from such behavior. Either these people are a bunch of incompetent bunglers who don’t give a damn about principles, or they are a very crafty band of revolutionaries. Whatever the case may be, we can only guess where this latest ill-advised departure from sound political and economic principles will take us? Surely it will set another dangerous precedent, but will it save us? Temporarily, perhaps it will. But in the long run permitting the federal government to become heavily engaged in every aspect of our daily lives will prove unwise, just as our Founders knew and warned. The only real solution, as painful and inconvenient as it may seem, is for the people to wake up and gain control over themselves and their government, for although it apparently is not a widely known fact at this time, it must be remembered that in our unique and wisely formulated political system, the buck stops with us.

Gambling is Serious Business

Contrary to what casino moguls would have you believe, casinos are not built to provide friendly and innocuous amusement to the public; they are designed and built with one goal in mind, to induce the unwary into throwing away precious time and money to enrich those with craftier minds. Be assured that no casino mogul would ever dream of doing with his time and money what he is inviting you to do. He has better things to do. He’s an important man, an executive. In his opinion squandering time and money is only for fools. And that’s where you come in. Casino moguls don’t believe in luck or chance. They're only interested in a sure thing. They have learned that one of the surest ways of becoming rich is not to indulge in hopeless, long-shot gambling themselves but rather to provide that opportunity to someone else. And they also know that while you are mindlessly emptying your pockets, you must be made to believe that you are having the time of your life. That is why their television ads always show young, vibrant, well-dressed couples laughing like kids on a carnival ride. That is also why they have clubs you can join, with members receiving “free” tee shirts bearing the casino’s name, so you will feel like you are part of an elite group, a group that is known, loved and always welcomed by the casino. Of course you’re known, loved and always welcomed by the casino. You’re making its owner/owners wealthy! Of course they’re willing to throw you a few crumbs occasionally. Of course they want you to think you’re someone special. But what they won’t show you are the scores of lonely senior citizens on fixed incomes, oxygen bottles at their sides, disposing of what little cash they have in the vain hope of hitting the big one that will put them on easy street. Or the compulsive gambler who gets his or her adrenaline rush, his or her high, endlessly trying to win that once-in-a-lifetime jackpot that will remove all their money woes, when in fact their money woes are caused by their gambling addiction. No, they won’t show you that seamy, pathetic side of the casino environment. That would be bad for business. And gambling, to a casino executive, is serious business, not mere fun and frivolity, as it is portrayed to you. Make no mistake about it, casino moguls are cold, calculating entrepreneurs who waste neither time nor money in their single-minded pursuit of wealth. So take a lesson from them. Get serious, and don’t waste your time or money either.

The Right To Bear Arms

The first unalien-able right listed by Thomas Jefferson in the Decla-ration of Indepen-dence is the right to life. It is placed first in the hierarchy of man’s rights because no right is more important to mortal man than that one, for certainly when a man is deprived of life, all the other earthly rights he might have possessed are forever lost to him. But even if the right to life is recognized and acknowledged by a government, as our government has done, of what practical benefit is that recognition if the government nonetheless removes from a man’s grasp the very implements necessary to realistically preserve and defend the life he is said to be entitled to? Some might argue that it is enough that the police possess firearms to defend us. But where does a police officer’s right to employ a firearm in the defense of human life actually come from? Who bestows that special privilege upon him? Though it may be surprising to some, in America that privilege comes to a police officer through none other than the people themselves. Many years ago, during the formation of our governments, federal, state and local, we the people empowered our elected officials and representatives to give to any duly appointed police officer the right to use a gun in our behalf to defend the lives of others. At that time, a time that is now all but forgotten, the people granted to government the power to use lethal force to defend human life. They were able to grant that power to government because they possessed it themselves. It naturally resided within them--and always had and always will--by virtue of their unalienable right to life, their unalienable right to save themselves from death at the hands of a violent person or persons. What a great tragedy it would be, if we as citizens, or our government, ever forgot where our government’s just powers come from, if suddenly the government believed it could deny to its citizens their unalienable rights, rights that are not now, nor ever were, theirs to give or take. Remember, dear citizens, God gave you life; the government did not. It was God, your creator, who placed value upon it. So don’t let the government ever tell you that you do not have the right to defend your life by any means whatsoever, or that you must rely solely upon your local police department or other government agencies for your protection. That just isn’t so. If our government, the one created and handed down to us by our freedom-loving ancestors, the one that worked so well until about 60 years ago, can no longer control crime and the proliferation of guns among criminals; if that government cannot ensure and safeguard our right to life, what business does it have denying those of us who are law-abiding citizens the means of defending ourselves on equal terms against criminals? Is it not reasonable to suppose that whenever any government cannot protect its citizens from criminal elements within society that they may revert back to their unalienable right to life as justification for defending themselves? We don’t need the government’s permission to do that. With or without the government’s blessing we possess that right. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, we are “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Those rights, granted to us by God Himself, cannot be withheld, rescinded or nullified by mere human governments. All we need to possess those rights is the courage to claim them and the willingness to defend them.