I receivd this in my email this morning from Tea Party Nation and I thought you would like to read it:

Dear Patriot:

We need your help!

The check from the Koch Brothers bounced.

Okay, we are kidding.

I doubt seriously the Koch Brothers bounce any of their checks but since they don’t send us any money, we would not know.

The left loves to scream that the Koch Brothers fund the Tea Party movement. While liberal billionaires like George Soros funds the left, we are not so fortunate. The average donation to Tea Party Nation is about $20.

We are getting ready to unveil our programs for 2014 but we need your help to keep going and put us over the top so we can fund these programs.

Your generous contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or what ever you can do helps us launch our programs for 2014.

We depend on you to stay in this fight. We are going to do some incredible things in 2014. Stay turned for the details but take a moment to help us out.

Let’s go out and win this year for America.

So much for the Tea Party being bankrolled by the Koch Brothers! It's just like the Left - throw enough crap out there in hopes some of it sticks.

Have a fabulous week! :D

I am in the camp as you, eMarine with a little twist to it all. Although I am on the Executive Committee of the local Republican Party, I do NOT v**e party - never have and never will. I am a guy who does his homework and encourages others to do the same. After all, many of the people you meet could care less about you or your family as they only care about themselves. This applies to unions as well. They all say, Screw you!" just like, "Trust me." Frankly, I don't. I have said many times our Founders wanted an active, informed and moral people because that is the only way the Republic will survive. This was important enough the Framers put redress of government and free speech in the First Amendment.

I had a guy who had aspirations of moving up the union ladder tell me about six months after I gave one of my "civics lectures", "You know, at first I thought you were crazy, but I found out you're right on the money."

I replied, "How can I miss? I asked you to do your homework and make up your own mind. In the end, should you disagree with me, it doesn't matter. The sun will still come up tomorrow and I certainly won't h**e you. I will feel good that you actually took the time to do your homework, but you came up with a different result. Okay. I can live with that."

While I don't like RINOs and won't v**e for them, I do research where the DEMs stand on the issues. To be completely honest, I have not found ONE DEM worth my v**e. If there was one, I would v**e for him/her, but they all sing out of the same Democrat songbook on taxes, income re-distribution, weak foreign policy, most are pro-a******n without limits, class envy, pandering to minorities, pro-amnesty, environmental N**ism, and refer to Patriots who stand for the Rule of Law and the Constitution as "extremists". It is NOT your daddy's Democrat Party any more as honor is nowhere to be found.

I am not a Big Government guy as far as business goes. Yes, some regulation is necessary to keep things honest and fair as possible. There should not ever be a cap on earnings whether it is corporate or individuals - it's none of the government's business to tell anyone how much money they are allowed to earn. Since government is often the biggest customer of businesses, it has a stake in how business is conducted. I am a free market capitalist with a light hand of government mentioned above. Money is not the root of all evil, but the lust of it is. There are some who will do ANYTHING for money and on Judgement Day they will have to answer for it.

One thing the government does which is deceitful is tax businesses and capital gains. How is this deceitful? Businesses never pay tax - individuals do. If government levies a tax on a business, large or small, all their customers pay their tax. If you owned a hot dog stand and sold them for $1 a piece and the government imposed a 25 cent tax on every hot dog, the next day your customers would be buying them for $1.25 each. The only thing that would cost you is the lost business from people who won't pay the $1.25. Taxes are high enough and to remain competitive, business looks for lower tax environments such as Mexico and China (can you believe a c*******t country has lower taxes than ours?).

As far as capital gains, investors risked their money in hopes of a return. The government wants you to pay the regular income rate on short terms and 20% on long term investments. The trouble is the government already taxed the proceeds from the investment before your check was cut. Bernie Madoff would be proud of such a scheme!

Lastly, since you stated you do your homework on the issues and v**e accordingly, I have NO problem with that at all. I wish there were 100 guys like you for every mind-numbed, know-nothing, indoctrinated i***t who blindly v**es for reprobates like Obama, et al. Chances are we would agree quite a bit whereas I have nearly a 0% chance of agreeing with a DNC mouthpiece.

Have a great evening.

I think a Rockerfeller Republican is a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. If they are vying for an elected position or currently hold one, they are called RINOs by people like me who want Republicans to stand for established core principles.

What is realistically so bad about being a RINO? Since a majority of the e*****rate pays little or no attention to what is going on, they cannot tell the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Factor in the very liberal mainstream media and and the Democrat wins nearly every time. Now when you look at the Congress which is comprised of fringe liberal Democrats and their RINO enablers, it gets approval numbers south of 10% by a right-leaning general public. People want change yet they keep v****g for losers like McCain, Collins, Graham, Reid, Pelosi and Obama. The change will never happen until people wake up!

eMarine, I have to wonder where you really stand on the political spectrum and where you get some of your information.

I have read the exchange with OldSchool and found some of your comments rather odd. However, let me point out my positions are about your statements and not about Koch - I have no knowledge of him or his dealings. Okay, that's off the table.

You mentioned Koch bankrolling and starting the Tea Party. The Tea Parties around the country are all independent and if someone was going to bankroll them, I am sure the local Tea Party I am a member of would like to know where their fair share is of all this money. If there was a big bankroll, we wouldn't have to pass the hat at meetings.

You mentioned you are a conservative and accuse OldSchool of spouting far right wing BS. That statement is contradictory. Additionally, you used the term "far right wing", but I don't think you know what that means. Allow me to explain:

If we used a yardstick and an eraser as a slide on a political scale, the left side as you move more and more left, you would get more and more government and oppression until you wind up with an authoritarian, tyrannical dictator.

As you move the slide right, you get less and less government and more liberty - to a point. When you reach the extreme far right, you have NO government or anarchy. The only law around is what you are willing to defend to the death. In other words, YOU are the law over your property.

Now you mentioned the "far right" as a slam on OldSchool. Are you saying he is advocating anarchy? Unless OldSchool became stupid overnight, I doubt he would even think of wanting that. Maybe the problem is you really can't define what the "far right" is. Careful here! Would you say someone who advocates government should be more responsible fiscally a member of the "far right"? Would you say someone who believes in the Constitution and Rule of Law as someone who is a card-carrying member of the "far right"? I would think someone like you who claims to be a conservative would not have any problem with those issues. Labelling someone as "far right", which the media and liberals do all the time, is inaccurate unless the person calls for the o*******w of the government. I'm sure nuthouses are full of people like this!

I read one of your statements where you think Obama is bad for the country. As a conservative, I find that good, but it doesn't make you a conservative. We do know what a liberal/Progressive wants and can spot one a mile away as they get giddy when talking about more government control and Obama. With the exception of having a teenager in your home, nothing will show you how stupid you are as a liberal/Progressive. If you listen to them, you don't know how to do anything.

Although I don't know you, from what I have read, I would say you are a populist which is all right. This makes you go either way on an issue because your mind is not firmly ensconced in any ideology.

OldSchool is a conservative whether you agree with what he says or not. It doesn't make him a kook or stupid by any stretch. I saw your conversation drop to name-calling which doesn't benefit anyone. Reasonable people can reasonably disagree - it's the conservative thing to do.

Thanks for time and allowing me to get on the soapbox for a bit. Have a great weekend! :D

You are right about the criminals in bars, but that's something I don't have to worry about. I have always said that when it comes to bars, it is a wonderful place for a married man to stay out of. :D

When it comes to carrying concealed, it's obvious you're smart - very smart.

Have an awesome day!

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It's great to be back as now I am feeling much better. I'm pretty much my regular, grouchy old self again after a bout of pneumonia.

Your example is exactly why penalties must be high to discourage asinine behavior which could cost someone their life. I don't want to ruin someone's good time hunting, but if someone got shot and k**led because the h****r was smashed out of their mind, there won't be any good times for the person who was gunned down.

I h**e to think common sense has to be made into a statute, but there are too many who think they can do wh**ever they want and to hell with everyone else. What you and I have discussed is by far more dangerous than someone smoking an occasional joint in the privacy of their home, yet the federal government thinks otherwise. So much for "government intelligence", right?

Have a pleasant evening.

The form in New York will include, "Have you consumed any fountain drink larger than 32 oz in the last six months?" :D

You're right that drugs and guns don't mix, but it doesn't stop some from ignoring common sense. I know in Michigan, if you are a concealed permit holder with a firearm on your person, you are not allowed in a bar.

I would also like to see h****rs nailed to a wall for boozing it up (or getting stoned) and then going out in the field with their rifles and shotguns. I recall many years ago being with a bunch of guys deer hunting. I got up early to make coffee and to my surprise I found my friend's uncle sitting in the dark drinking several shots of whiskey. He said, "It gets the blood flowing." That can be taken two ways if you consider high powered rifles in the hands of someone who is all "liquored up". Personally, I don't care if he wanted to have a few drinks AFTER he unloaded his gun and put it away at the end of the day. I suppose common sense isn't as common as we would all like it to be.

I am all for having the right to defend yourself with guns, but the penalty for not using the sense God gave you should be stiff. Shooting someone unintentionally while intoxicated is no accident at all and should be prosecuted as such. Additionally, those caught carrying firearms while intoxicated on pot or alcohol should prosecuted as well.

As for not being able to buy a gun if you have ever smoked pot is ridiculous. My point is you can get into trouble if you are high and carrying. Next thing you know the gun control crowd would include language asking, "Have you ever been drunk on beer, wine or liquor?" only to deny you your rights under the Second Amendment.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

One side of me says this is a bad idea. Finding leaders with honor and character in Washington is as common as finding chicken lips and turtle feathers. With approval ratings south of 10%, who in their right mind would trust them to do the right thing? Opening up the Constitution via convention may be one big Pandora's box we should leave alone.

The other side of me says, "Go for it!" How else can any serious person imagine reining in a grossly over-burdensome federal government? Expecting those reprobates and losers to do it is like asking Al Capone to curb criminal activity - there's no chance that will ever happen.

Can you understand I love my country, but have little or no faith in the leadership of our government. Additionally, I have no faith 2/3 of the e*****rate can elect decent, principled and honorable officials because they have none of those traits themselves. It flies in the face of common sense to expect the clueless, indoctrinated and apathetic to elect responsible leaders. I may sound cynical, but watch the video below and you will see exactly what I'm talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0he0cqHH20

These politicians say, "Screw you!' just like, "Trust me."

Suggestion: Since he is your son, keep the lines of communication open. If you want to give him something to think about, get him a copy of The 5000 Year Leap which goes into the godly principles and history of our country - something which would make any liberal-minded head of mush cringe. :-)

We used to homeschool our boys and when they got into the latter grades, we would talk about the issues of the day. One thing I always told them was, "Don't tell me what you think I want to hear - I want to know what you think. Who knows? Maybe I could learn something from you!" This did something for my boys which is lacking in too many schools today:

1. It encourages them to be aware of what is going on
2. It validates the notion they are entitled to their own opinions
3. In the give and take of a discussion, no one is required to agree on anything. However, during this discussion, passion is all right as long as respect doesn't take a back seat to it.
4. It piques interest of various topics in which they would do more research.

My one son, a college grad now, backed Ron Paul and tried to get me on his bandwagon. Oh, I can tell you the discussions were going pretty heavy (I am a solid conservative Republican and a member of the Executive Committee of the local party), but neither of us let things get out of hand. I was extremely proud, although I disagreed with some of the things he claimed, that he did his own research, formed his own opinions and was willing to stand up for them.

My youngest son is in the USAF and a rock solid conservative who is willing to stand toe-to-toe with any liberal twit. He, too, does his homework and speaks his mind.

Do you think our country could stand if people started thinking for themselves? It would be refreshing, wouldn't it?

Agreed. While there would be a chance for some very good changes to reduce the scope and size of the federal government to intrusion on our liberties, it also opens a Pandora's box to people without honor, decency and common sense.

The greatest chance of making this happen without a constitutional convention is to wake people up to the t***h. Educate them. Show them what is happening to their way of life through asinine regulations (such as toilet design, incandescent light bulbs, higher taxes, etc.). Show them how government should be the servant of the people, not the master. I say this because the Left has worked so hard to dumb people down and indoctrinate them with Progressive B.S. The only way this tide will turn is to patiently teach people why being an engaged American citizen matters. If we can't do this, then someday the rest of America will look like their Utopian icon, Detroit - bankrupt, high unemployment, deplorable schools, high illegitimacy, drugs, gangs, shootings, blight, government dependence (the Democrat Plantation), corruption, misery and more.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/07/haunting-ayn-rand-described-detroits-collapse-60-years-ago