Bump's Stump

All religions raise questions and attempt to answer them.  They ask us to leave logic behind and accept their answers.  For example; our logic tells us if something ends, it must have started .   Most religions avoid the issue by telling us that "GOD" is the beginning and the end of everything. How do they happen to know that  ?   Could it be that a long time ago a guy was sitting on a hillside watching the grass grow and wondering how and why he was there? Not finding a quick answer, he invented GOD.  If he couldn't figure something out he could then just say"GOD did it. Then he wrote down his questions and answers - and called them the Holy Bible . Everything written there he called his theology.   All of the nonsense about idols, statues, planets, stars, animals and whatever else people worshiped would be retired and replaced by the one GOD.  The overall belief system he would call  religion ...

Add caption The 2012 election process is finally over and done once again.  The President was re-elected after years of campaigning. He's tired of the exhausting effort and so are the voters. Apparently I am one of the few that cast a ballot for the lesser of two evils. My guy lost. A good man, staunch, loyal, honest, and ready to change his opinion on anything at any time. But the GOP is more responsible for his loss than the candidate. The Republican Party chose NOT to provide a clear and solid platform, and they also refused to listen to their conservative base. No wonder they lost.  No plan.  No principles.  No integrity.  Yuck!

At first look it appears that another respected American leader has trouble keeping his zipper up. Is there more to it than that? Maybe, but unlikely. Is the timing related in any way to the monumental failure in Benghazi? That seems too large a stretch, but possible.  The Obama Administration has a proven record of sleazy political plotting. So many fence sitting issues   have been  decided in the dead of night by incompetent and dishonest people.  Perhaps there has never been a Presidential Team as devious when deciding right and wrong for us. Most Americans agree that our representatives don't actually REPRESENT.  The horrible Benghazi incident may or may not have been handled correctly. It is hard to tell but it now appears that it was not. It is beginning to look like President Obama  may have personally ordered the "lack of support". He may have known about it and kept it secret. If true, and ANYONE sat on the information to pr...

We've elected Mr. Obama again. The blogs will be flying this morning. America is big and powerful and will survive. The Obama Administration essentially "bought"the election. That's not sour grapes, it's what happened.  The black and hispanic communities voted for Mr. Obama for several reasons.  To support labor unions,  To insist on universal healthcare (Obamacare), and most important;  To continue and enlarge entitlements and welfare.  Mr. Obama wisely concentrated his campaign on these constituents and it worked well for him. In the other camp Mitt Romney made several questionable decisions during the campaign. Foremost was his rejection of the exceptional Conservative wing of his party. That alone probably cost him the election. The other serious element of Mr. Romney's campaign was his inability to shed his "flip-flopper" political image.   I am not convinced that voting Americans realized that their vote reverses the philo...

America is exceptional. The only democracy that tries to avoid socialism.  Americans, at least those not looking for a free lunch, want the smallest and most efficient  government able to provide the nation's protection and the traditional freedoms for it's citizens. Natural disasters generally can't be foreseen and are impossible to avoid.  When did the national government become responsible for them?   When was it decided that our Federal Taxes must be used to insure the fewer number of citizens affected by the disaster?  At what point does a natural disaster within a state become a Federal responsibility?  Over the period of years since 1930 or so, private insurance companies have gradually lost influence. The Federal Government has put them out of business. Why? Individuals used to be proud of their independence and self reliance. Today MOST Americans look to the Federal Government for welfare and entitlements. Private PROPERTY INSURA...

During the last 50 years or so Americans have learned to welcome welfare. Your parents probably will remember that not too many years ago there was a stigma attached. Something like a loss of respectability. Welfare was a very last resort. It was there for the disabled, handicapped, and chronically ill. It was to be avoided by fit and able and respectable workers. Not any more. Those born recently don't have any concept of some of the old fashioned virtues. Things like character, integrity, and why it's important to be proud of your independence. We are standing by as families disintegrate.  Maintaining family standards and family reputations have become a tradition of the past. We don't think about these things very often despite media overexposure. Just pay attention to your daily newspaper for example. If it is like mine there is a definite bias toward violence. The first page headlines shout about wars and catastrophes. There are horrible pictures of accidents...

Now and then something really beautiful lights up the  internet.   This video was both unexpected  and wonderful.   Certainly m y over-reaction  is influenced by  the misery of recent events in the middle east     and snippets of  the black history of  the area.   When I think about the area my mind sees:                     .            The continuing middle east violence.   The evil agenda of the al Quaeda terrorists.    The evil and unreasonable Palestinians.   The Ultra-Orthodox Jews that I simply don't always understand.   My knowledge of the Degania Bet kibbutz from long ago.   And my military assignment in the Libyan desert for months at a time.  With these things combined with the reports of dysfunction from the area -  there is a tendency to forget the beauty that is also...