The Ideology of Hate

I was watching  Geraldo Rivera at Large tonight on FOX News. The topic tonight was hate groups in America. He had a white supremest and a Neo-Nazi on to give their views. Ironically both felt they were not hate groups. Both men felt that this country was founded by white men for white men; and that everyone else should go back from where their ancestors came from.I thought it was unbelievable that people in the 21st century could still be that stupid. First of all they all get an F in U.S. History; the American Indians were here before us. I'm sure some of them feel we should go back to our ancestral countries.

Why are these groups so dangerous? These two men may think that they are using their right of free speech, and unfortunately they do have that right; they are harmful because they go to areas that are economically depressed and tell anyone that will listen that the minority group is to blame for their predicament. We need to remember that Adolf Hitler used that same strategy to convince the people in Germany that all their financial and social issues were caused by Jews. It's hard to believe that he actually accomplished his message of hate. Yet if you look back at history you will see that at that time all of Europe and the United States were in an economic depression. When people are desperate for relief from their pain, they will believe and do anything; even if it defies logic.

Since these two men feel that they are not part of a hate group; it leads to the question; how do we define hate? It is my belief that hate is anything we do intentionally to hurt someone physically, mentally, or morally.If you deliberately seek to hurt another person, that is hate.

So how can we as ordinary people stop the hate? Well as I said above, these people have the right to say their garbage, but we can keep the hate and the violence from their message away from our communities by first teaching our children that this sort of ideology is false, and teach them as our fore fathers wrote in the constitution, "All men are created equal". We need to start with our children because they are our future. After our children we discuss among ourselves how detrimental their message really is and how it is in direct conflict with our constitution. Most important we must turn to God for guidance and strength, not just for our own, but that God may enlighten these misguided souls that nothing is ever  gained by preaching the lack of tolerance for those who live among us.

WHO WILL WIN THE POPULAR VOTE?

I love Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer. Bob always has good questions and I love to hear the answers that his guests give. One topic came up this morning that I thought was thought provoking. One of the guests said that Romney wasn't popular but would win the election. Bob asked, well how can he win the popular vote if he isn't popular?

I don't remember what the guests reply was. Being a Romney fan I was a little upset. There is a lot of truth to that statement.

I got to thinking though about the last election and Baack Obama's "Yes we can" campaign. The economy was in the toilet and people wanted a change. He talked such a pretty picture of change that people voted for him, I believe, out of wishful thinking that he could  pull it off. After all it is no secret that Obama is a great orator. This time though is different. "Yes we can" has become no you didn't. I believe that there are people, even among republicans, that are not impressed with Romney; yet I believe Romney can and will win.

My thought is that many of the people who voted for Obama will not vote for anyone this year. Most of Baarack Obama's support from 2008 are now disillusioned with him, and because they don't care for Romney, they won't vote at all.

All the negative adds out there for both candidates are full of half truths, unless the voter really checks the facts on there own, will not know what either candidate's platform really is.

Checking out the facts and voting for the best candidate is so important to our freedom. We all should vote and vote wisely.

It give me gas!

Sunday I was driving to pick up some supper at the local fast food place. It is about three miles from my house. I passed six gas station in that short drive. Two of the stations had a price of $3.29. Three stations had a price of $3.39. One station had a price of $3.49. Ridiculous!

I don't play the stock market, but trying to find out where and when to buy gas, I can tell you I have some idea of what if might be like. I know I am not the only one frustrated. Everything is so expensive! High fuel prices make it expensive, and from the variety of gas prices, I can guess that it doesn't need to be this high. Come on people! Let's be reasonable. Lower the prices. Lets really get our economy moving again!

Aurora Colorado Shootings

I was outside earlier this evening and I heard a couple of firecrackers go off. It was a bit unnerving with the events of this past Friday. When I woke up on Friday morning I checked out my phone for the latest news. It is something I do every morning, it's quicker than TV and there are no commercial. As I looked at the Tweets from WTOL I was shocked by what I read. Once again massive violence has scarred our nation. Ironically and actually truly sad is the death of two soldiers. How horrible it is when you think they should have been safe here, at home, away from the ravages of war.

All day long we have heard the details of this tragedy, I found myself praying for the victims off and on many times today and yesterday. There are no words, and there is no comprehension. The twelve fatalities are heart wrenching. It should not have happened. So now we ask ourselves why did it happen and were there any warning signs?

From everything I have heard today, there is one huge warning sign that should have drawn the attention of someone to alert the ATF. Fed X delivered 150 pounds of ammunition to a private individual. Now that is what scares me. Fed X had no way of knowing what was in that package, but the company that sold it to Holmes, should have realized that was a bit extravagant for private use.

Today and every time there is a shooting, people start talking about gun control. Well I don't own a gun or anything, but I can logically tell you that guns don't kill people, people do. To me one person ordering a hundred and fifty pounds of ammunition is a red flag. Many people collect guns, so that would not have really been a red flag, but all that ammunition, really, wasn't anyone even slightly curious as to why someone would need that amount for hunting or target practice. I mean was that company running a midnight special. I don't think so.

We all need to be mindful of our surroundings. this guy wasn't a law breaker, he was an honor student. Yet  he did leave red flags, and if we as a nation are ever going to stop the violence, we need to be mindful of the ridiculous. 150 pounds of ammunition is ridiculous! If the ATF had been notified, maybe they could have kept an eye on him. I can hear some of you saying well that an infringement on a person's rights. Being in a movie theater, you should have the right of believing and trusting that you are safe. That is a citizen's right as well. If someone would have just looked at this one red flag, maybe, just maybe, this tragedy would not have happened.

There were other flags too. This was the creation of a diabolical and evil mind. A young woman who lived below Holmes apartment, went upstairs to tell him to turn down the music that started blaring at midnight. She found the door to be open, but decided not to go in. That saved her life. Had she opened that door this tragedy would have gotten a whole lot worse. The girl has a great guardian Angel!

You know, I was listening to Mike Huckabee tonight, and he said something on his show that we should all remember. Our government has in the last fifty years worked hard to keep God out of our schools and our public buildings, so why should we be surprised when all hell lets loose!

Let us all continue to pray for the victims and the survivors of this horrible event. Let each one of us make it our personal responsibility to be mindful of people doing unusual things. If it doesn't seem right, it very well might be that you could save lives. If someone would have paid attention to the flags here, the ATF maybe could have stopped him before he killed and injured so many innocent people.

DAY IS GONE

The above is a beautiful picture of the sun set off the shore of South Bass Island, near Put-In-Bay, Ohio. I recently spent three wonderful days and two nights at the Resort Hotel in Put-in Bay. The accommodations were wonderful, and the island was heavenly.  Most people associate the tiny town with bar hopping. I'd be lying if I said I didn't patronize the Round House Bar. Admittedly I always stop there with my friends and enjoy a long island ice tea and listen to a band that is usually always playing there.

I only get to Put-In-Bay about once the year. For me it is a little escape from the realities of life. I went with two very close friends, we rented a room and in the evening, the three of us, watched the moon rise on the lake. There are no words to describe that heavenly sight. As the three of us sat there on the patio listening to the sounds of the island, a sound that you can only hear in the off season, we felt one with the beautiful island.  The off season is a favorite for me. You can see everything without having a crowd pushing you on. We felt like we owned the island. We rented a golf cart and toured the whole island. We went to two museums and looked at the grand history of this fascinating place.

Before we left the island, we stopped in the small Catholic church on the island. Mother of Sorrows is a very small church that was started by German settlers in the 1800's I always stop there too an d pay Jesus a small visit. It seamed right to do so. After all we felt like we were touring the Garden of Eden.

I look forward to going there again, hopefully we can spend a couple of days there, we'll see.

Enjoy the sunsets of life, they are too beautiful to miss.