How the Young can change America!

Some of my favorite days were when I was in college. I loved learning about history, I loved learning about political science, and I loved being able to share a different point of view. I attended Western State College right here in Gunnison, CO. and it is a very liberal school. But I don't have a problem with that. As a matter of fact, I loved that too.





But, here is the rub. I was amazed at the lack of knowledge and sense in the people professing the left so loudly. I remember a fellow student in my class who said "Hunters destroy the environment..." and I almost fell out of my chair. I kept quiet, allowing him to continue. He also said "Republicans do not care about the environment...", "Four wheel drive vehicles should be banned and destroyed...", and my favorite "All guns should be seized and destroyed!". At this point I asked the teacher if I could respond. She smiled and said "Sure".





I asked the other student if he had heard of Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, or other sportsman's clubs. He said "Sure" and I posed the question to him "Who are those people?". He was unable to answer. I explained to him they were hunters. Not just hunters, but hunters who do more to maintain the environment and natural habitat then almost all environmentalists on the left. He rolled his eyes at me until I reminded him he said that hunters destroy the environment. At this he just stared at me. To his disgust, another student spoke up about how she hunted and she also was a member of Ducks Unlimited. She told us all about the projects they had done. His response was " Maybe more hunters need to be like you and donate to the environment.". Again, I had to respond. "Have you ever heard of a habitat stamp?" and he said "No.". At this point me and another student explained what these were, and what they went for. He finally gave up on this statement of his.





So, I had to address something else he said. I started by asking him "Who started the National Parks?" He couldn't answer. I told him Ulysses S. Grant was the president who signed into law Yellowstone National Park. I also explained a republican named Theodore Roosevelt added greatly to the National Parks. I then asked him his question again. Do you really think republicans do not care about the environment? To this I got no answer.

Ted Nugent speaks on Townhall.com

Check Out this speech given by Ted Nugent at Townhall.com.

Fred Thompson for President

As I have said before, when I was younger I was a democrat. This goes way back, and I remember crying when Jimmy Carter lost his bid for re-election. Once I could vote at age 18, I voted for Bill Clinton, and again I voted to re-elect him. But things changed, I changed, and the world changed.

I changed when I watched what the Democrats and Bill Clinton did when we were attacked overseas by Radical Islamics. Our embassies were bombed, nothing happened. The World Trade Center was bombed (the first time, not 9-11) and again, nothing happened. We were attacked in Saudi Arabia, again, nothing happened. The USS Cole was attacked, and as with all others, nothing happened. I find it interesting all of these things happened prior to 9-11 but many like to say we caused this, and its our fault, and we cause this to continue by being in Iraq and Afghanistan. These people must have slept through history. We have been attacked by Radical Islamics since the birth of our country. I was just listening to Dennis Miller while he was interviewing Alan Dershowitz speaking about Thomas Jefferson, and why Jefferson signed on to the Constitution, and how that was influenced by our ships being attacked by the Barbary Pirates in 1776. The pirates just happened to be Radical Islamics. So, since our beginning we have had this issue rise again and again. 225 years of Islamic attacks.

Now, I hear people say things since Desert Storm that we keep fighting with Iraq over oil. I think this is interesting due to the fact I thought we went to war with Iraq to kick them out of Kuwait? Maybe my mind is getting old and foggy in my early thirties, but I seem to remember Saddam Hussein invaded a country that didn't want him there. I also seem to remember after giving his military the boot, we helped repair the oil rigs, but I do not remember Kuwait becoming a state of the US. I don't remember their government being ousted by us and flying our flag over their lands, and especially do not remember our gas prices falling dramatically because of our taking over of another countries oil. So now we have been in Iraq for a couple of years, and we are trying to help them control their own country. Let me repeat that, we are there helping them control their own homeland. I do know that our military is powerful enough that if we wanted Iraq as a new state, and if we wanted to keep it for ourselves, we would have done it by now. We are not dictators, nor has the United States ever taken over other countries for the soul goal of making it ours. Instead my friends are overseas fighting insurgents that are from places OTHER THEN IRAQ!!!!! I do not know if you get to chat with any of our boys in the armed forces, but I do. I asked them point blank, who is it you are fighting and are they Iraqis? Guess what, the answer was that they were not Iraqis, and that they were from other countries. My guys even added that things are getting much better over there, and that where they were, the Iraqi Military and Police were in control. They said their main mission was to assist and support the Iraqis. Does this sound like we are taking over their country to steal their oil? I think not.

Oh, but what does this have to do with my party change, and my change of mind? Really simple, but something which took time to get to. I saw Bush 1 help people retake their homes from a bully, but then saw Bubba Clinton let us be attacked again and again with token cruise missiles aimed at worthless targets. Even Jimmy Carter called him on it when he bombed a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. Wow, Jimmy Carter told the world the Bill Clinton bombed a target which had nothing to do with the people killing our people. Add this to all of the other attacks where he and his party did nothing and I became angry. Quite honestly, if anyone ever made our country look like a WEAK HORSE, it was him. I blame the Clinton's for not doing something sooner which then cost us more American lives. What kind of an American does that? Not a good one! Do your own research and tell me that Bubba didn't leave the door open for all that lead up to 9-11. The terrorists were in our country planning attacks while he was in office. If you think they showed up the day after George Bush 2 took office, you are dead wrong. So, what did Bush 2 do different? He sent out our troops and got payback! We hurt them. We hunted them, and we still are hunting them. Over 2000 days have passed since 9-11 and we have not had an attack on our homeland because he is doing something about it. Is this because the terrorists gave up? No. We have caught them preparing for more attacks but because someone in charge isn't screwing his intern in the Oval Office.

Now I listen to all of the debates. I watch them and read the follow ups. I do my research and learn more about what is being said. I do not let my emotion take control, but my logic. Heck, my logic has sent me to supporting someone not even officially in the race. Fred Thompson is who I support. No one else on the Right or Left is making anywhere close to as much sense as he is, and he isn't even in the race, yet! Check out his site, read his writings, and come back here and tell me if I am wrong, and why you think I am wrong. He is prepared to act, he doesn't flip and flop, and he doesn't believe he started the Internet or blame humans for Global Warming.

Check out Fred people, he is the one who should be running our country!

No Rudy Giuliani for me!

OK, if you are someone who believes in the 2nd Amendment, we cannot allow Rudy into office. He was one of the original people involved in suing gun manufactures and was mayor of one of the most anti-gun cities in the United States.

Let me show you something.

Here is something else to see.


Rudy, let me share something with you. Why don't you open up concealed weapons permits to a Shall Issue basis and also let law abiding people to defend themselves. Check out Packing.org to learn more about concealed weapons and people who carry them. Do you think Rudy wouldn't carry on these attacks as president? I can't see him changing.

If you think I am crazy for supporting the idea of people being able to carry guns, then let me explain. People who have undergone training, background checks, and testing to receive their concealed weapons permits are not the people who commit crimes. There is a book by an excellent author named John Lott called "More Guns, Less Crime". Read it and get the complete story about gun control. I do not want to arm everyone in the USA, nor do I want to force gun ownership on anyone. I just believe we should allow those who passed the tests and qualified to carry a gun should be allowed to do so.

So I have to say, NO to Rudy Giuliani!

Fairness Doctrine

OK, if you have not heard about this, the Democrats want to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. This was a law enforced by the FCC to ensure that every opinion was countered by a differing opinion. This deals mainly with talk radio, and is stupid. The Democrats are upset that truly, their radio shows are not getting the ratings that conservative radio shows are getting. Ah, its the free market stupid! If people do not want to listen to you, do not force us to. If people like what they hear, they listen.

So, Air America is bankrupt? Hmmm, think that the majority of people didn't want to hear what they said? Honestly, if I agreed with their program, or if any of you did in mass, they would be there and doing very well. Lets take Dennis Miller for example. He as many of us used to be Democrats, and I will sadly admit I voted for Bill Clinton twice, BUT I cannot stand the Democrats party anymore because they flip and flop, they lie, and they are hateful to anyone who disagrees. I will listen to anyone, and even when I disagree, I do not slam you, I do not say you are wrong. As a matter of fact I will seek out information on what you said and get the whole story. Let me get deeper into this....

Global Warming: Is it happening? Yes! Is it our fault? No! Why do I say this? Well, in college I took a geology course in which our professor, a PHD., told us that climate changes and has done so throughout the entire history of the world. He showed us great climbs and falls in temps that happened EVEN BEFORE HUMANS EXISTED!!!!!! So, nature is going to do whatever it wants to do. Oh, and this was years before Al Gore came out with his movie.

What happened to all of us looking for pollution and doing something to clean it up? I do not disagree we all need to reduce our footprint. I practice Leave No Trace, I am working towards building a completely solar powered house with only renewable resources. I want an electric car, but only because I do not want any of my money going to people who blow up our buildings. Are you confused? You shouldn't be. I spent 90 plus days camping each year for about ten years, and I love nature. Does this make me want to burn Ford's? No.

So, back to being an environmentalist, do I have to be anti-meat and a leftist? No. Is there people working towards cleaning things up. Yes. People still do this, but some do not want to know that plenty of this is done by hunters trying to maintain or repair habitat that was damaged by big business and ignored by big government. I want to bring up something about history. Who started National Parks? It was President Grant, a radical republican. Isn't it interesting that a conservative started conserving land for all of us to enjoy? Now I know the response to this as I have heard it before, today's Republicans are not those of the past. I agree, and guess what? We are the ones to change that by voting.

So lets cut to the main chase. If you open a business and no one likes your store, you'll go out of business. If people love your store, you'll grow and expand. So why should we pass laws making bad business' stay open when the public has made it's opinion clear? We shouldn't, and if you believe we should, you are taking our freedoms away from us, and even more so, yourself!

Do your research before you think someones an idiot. It will keep you from looking like more of an idiot.

Who am I?

Who am I? Isn't this a question that many of us ask ourselves throughout our lives? If you don't, maybe you need to start.

I am always revisiting this question, and always finding new answers. Are we what others label us? Am I what I label myself? In any case, this is a very important question to ask yourself on a very regular basis.

So, let me focus on myself. Let me build a list of things I have done, and then we can examine it to see if we come to an answer of who I am.

1. 
   
   Boy Scout


2. 
   
   Ski Shop Tuner


3. 
   
   Pizza Cook


4. 
   
   Chef


5. 
   
   Rock Climbing Instructor


6. 
   
   Search and Rescue Team Member


7. 
   
   Security Guard


8. 
   
   Private Investigator


9. 
   
   Process Server


10. 
    
    Bounty Hunter


11. 
    
    Hotel Manager


12. 
    
    Back Country Guide


13. 
    
    Census Worker


14. 
    
    Light and Sound Tech


15. 
    
    Bouncer


16. 
    
    Bodyguard


17. 
    
    Bail bondsman

So, these are not in any order of importance. I also left out jobs that I did for short term employment or quick cash. These are the ones I listed because they meant the most to me, and I learned the most from. Some are way more in depth than what the title explains. Let me explain a couple of examples.

Boy Scout: OK, I was a Scout. I was a Tenderfoot, and I worked through the ranks and had fun at camps like most other scouts. However, when I was fourteen, I went and spent time as a counciler in training, and I became hooked on the whole teaching aspect, and on the brotherhood of camp life. It was fun, it was exciting, and it was a daily adventure. Over time, the Boy Scout motto and the Scout Law became principles of how I still lead my life. It set in stone some of my morals and ethics. I will never say I follow them perfectly, but no matter where of what I am doing, it is something that has been a leading part of my moral compass. What else can I say about this part of my life? Much more. Scouting let me learn how to enjoy being outside in a raging thunderstorm, or spend a day traveling through the woods while black swarms of mosquitoes hovered all around you. Its where I learned that a team of determined people can accomplish impossible goals and tasks all while having fun.

Now I may shine a light on the great moments, but it was also in scouting I learned about human nature, the good and bad of it. I saw and experienced people who would do nothing but take credit for all the work you did. I had works of mine which took months of planning and writing taken from me while another person said it was all theirs. Even in the ranks of those who profess our law and motto the loudest then behind the scenes become the antithesis of the scouting way. Even after seeing this, I realized that it made me stronger, and more determined to do better, and to work harder at being a good person, actually, a great person.

Ski Shop Tuner: Now I am sure you may wonder what life lessons can you learn from waxing skis and working with Ptex. More then you could imagine. Not only did I learn about the ways of fixing a ski, but how to take a ski that most would say are ruined and make them better then the day they were bought. I love skiing. It is a passion for me. Not only the act of skiing, but the whole lifestyle around it. But I digress. I learned that every minor detail most tuners either skip or just ignore makes a major difference while skiing. One skipped detail can make a day of skiing a day in heaven, or a day in hell. I knew that the work I did had an effect on you and your skiing, and my bad work lead to you having a day or week of bad skiing. I never rushed my work, rather, I spent a lot of time making sure that I did the best job I had ever done in my life on your skis. If you asked me which job I did was the best, I couldn't answer you because I made sure that ever ski I worked on was the absolute best work I had ever done. This came from a Taoist story I read once. It was about a craftsman who made furniture. Every thing he did, he worked to make it the best work of his life. No matter how great he did on a work, he would always go back and do everything he could to make the next work better. One day a servant of the king came and asked him if he could buy his best works from him. In return he said "I have not made it yet, and I never will because everything I make is always better then the last." I love this story, and attempt to apply it in my life every day.

Rock Climbing Instructor: Have you ever been climbing? Have you ever felt the rope slide between your fingers while you know someone's life is literally hanging from the other end, and you are the only thing keeping them safe? Have you ever had to well up the energy and power of everything you have in you to attempt a move with the outcome to be a variable, and knowing that when you let it all hang out? Or how about this, have you ever had to convince a child to lower them self backwards from the top of a forty foot tower backwards? These are just some of the challenges my staff and I faced daily at work, sometimes repeating this over three hundred times.

Two memories come to mind when I think of these days. My first one was of a young scout who had never been to camp before. He showed up to my tower on his first day there. He like many other scouts showed up, got equipped by us, and then waited his turn to be belayed up the tower. His turn came, and he tried to climb. He barely made it halfway before you saw him just quit. He tried again and again. Finally, I came over once he was lowered to the ground and saw he was very upset with himself. I asked him what was wrong. He said, "All I wanted to do was just climb this stupid tower, but I suck. I am too weak, and too fat to do this. I hate this place." After hearing this, I questioned him about a couple of things. I asked what had he eaten so far today, to which he answered "Cookies". After that I asked him what had he drank so far today. He answered "Pop". After hearing this, I knew what to do. I told him "Tomorrow, eat a good breakfast, a good lunch, and a good supper. Only drink water, and be here tomorrow night, first in line, and we will get you to the top.". He looked at me and with a questioning look on his face said "OK". At that point he took off his gear and ran off. I really wasn't sure if he'd be back, nor if he would do what I said. When my staff and I walked to the tower for that nights Free Climb, we saw a single figure already standing in line. As we got closer we saw it was the boy from the night before. He watched us approach, and once I was close enough I told him I was glad to see him again, and asked him if he was ready to climb. Instead of a simple yes, he listed every thing he ate that day and informed me that he had drank water all day. My staff laughed as they set up the tower. Once we were ready, we called him into our area, and got him equipped. Once he was done, we tied him into the rope to see what was going to happen. Quickly with a few grunts of effort he climbed non-stop to the top where Dan, my assistant was waiting for him. He got on top, stood up while Dan secured him to the tower. He looked like he just mastered Everest by the look on his face. He was ecstatic. Once Dan was ready, he got on the rappel line and like he had done it a hundred times, bounded to the bottom. He quickly unhooked himself and ran back over to the belay station asking to go again. He did, and he did so until we closed for the night. I didn't see him again. However, Dan and I were sought out by the adults of his troop. When they approached us, we thought we were in trouble, as it was rare for leaders to ever come looking for us. The first thing the boys Scoutmaster asked was "What did you saw to our boy?", slightly afraid and taken aback, I asked "What do you mean?". The adult then explained to Dan and I that after the boy was at our tower he signed up and completed three more merit badges, plus took and passed his swimmers test in which he had not done and was only allowed to wade in the water, and work with his leaders to complete and pass two rank advancements. Dan and I looked at each other and were amazed. Again the leader asked what we had said to cause this. I explained all we told him was to eat well, drink water, and to come back. The leaders not happy with my answer asked again, "What did you say?". As Dan and I said before, we repeated again what we said. The adults thanked us and walked away. I guess they were looking for some magic statement they could use to motivate their boys. I had none. We only treated the boy with respect, and left it with that.

Another story from my time as a climbing instructor involves a very special boy. He was a scout, but very different from the majority of kids you expect as scouts. He was autistic. My memory of him will always be in my mind, and making a point to remember him and his day reminds me about what we all can do if we have a common goal with the common motivation to complete it. One day we had a troop arrive for a private troop climbing session. We did as we always did for a group. We got them all together, explained our equipment and the usage of such along with all other expected operations of our tower. Then the group broke up into small groups to climb. During this time, I wandered around the base looking for people needing more instruction or help. This also gave me a chance to see every one's gear and to ensure safety for all scouts. As the event went on, I saw one scout who was about to climb. He was not as vocal as the others, and seemed scared of the tower. He got tied in with help from one of the staff, and started to climb, however after moving a couple of blocks up, he froze and said loudly "I can't do this!". I was surprised by this as he was only a couple of feet off of the ground. I walked up to where he was on the wall and told him he could do it and not to give up. He looked back up, and moved a couple of feet more but then froze again saying the same thing. At this point one of the scoutmasters explained to me he was autistic. Upon realizing this was going to happen after every few moves, I decided to climb the route next to him. Quickly one of the staff tied into the belay station, and I tied into the rope. After doing this I climbed up to the scout and said I was going to climb with him, and that he could do it. The climb continued with him moving a little bit at a time, stopping with saying he couldn't do it, and me next to him saying he could. After a couple of minutes, he reached the top. He looked down to everyone below with a huge smile and this time exclaimed "I did it!". After being lowered to the ground, he was still beaming proudly with his accomplishment. Now I personally use this story to remind me that sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we believe that we cannot do what we set out to do. Maybe we think it is too hard, or too far, or it will take too long, but, and a big but at that, if we have a helpful voice to keep us going we can do anything. Sometimes the voice is from within, sometimes its from elsewhere, but those voices remind us that we need to keep going.

Now I do not have any stories of how to become rich with money, nor of how to become powerful. My stories usually are of people and the things they did and how it effected me. I write them here hoping that they have an effect on you. Here I explained how I love to take every day and make it better then the last. I share why and how I look through my morals and ethics at others, and a bit of how those things made a difference, even if only small ones.

Coming soon

Here will be my views on the world and things I like to talk about, hope you can stand it.