Bump's Stump

The Geezers At our next meeting George Elsey asked that we each say a word about a poor decision. Something we personally thought was awful. Apparently we are free to choose from history, current events or whatever. Following these directions I made a list but way too many possibilities. Perhaps more criteria would be helpful?    If our choice involved  Money , we might suggest a decision that resulted in the largest loss.  However, since money is less important than  human life  a decision that eliminated the most lives seems appropriate.  The Chinese leader MaoZeTung forced a CULTURAL REVOLUTION on  the entire population of China. He decided it was time for China to be industrialized. Peasants were forced to lay down their farm implements and industrialize the entire country. Farms were neglected. Citizens starved. People died.  Mao had (mistakenly) insisted that the entire society of rural China be indu...

This really bothers me.  I have a few friends that say they will be voting for Mr. Obama and I honestly can't figure out why. His record before he was elected is not impressive and mostly unknown. The record after his 2008 election has been a disaster by any measurement. Our government was designed to permit it's citizens the most freedom possible within the bounds of common-sense. Mr. Obama wants to change all that. He wants to increase government control and reduce our traditional freedoms. He  is a brilliant and charismatic speaker an excellent advocate for his point of view.  He is wrong. For over 200 years the federal government  has collected taxes, defended  the states, supervised the postal system, maintained the intrastate highway system, and provided diplomatic contact with other countries. These functions are not LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE , they are common sense and are logical national responsibilities.  Our founding fathers develop...

This election year gives us a prime example of stupid politics. We (you and I) have allowed elected political  thieves to get away with stealing our nation's money supply - and we don't even whimper!  We let them do it. They collect our taxes,  put them go into a large pot, and then spend it all and borrow more. This is crazy economics! Why can't we identify a few honest souls in the government (assuming they are not all crooks) and insist that they make  the dishonest guys STOP: 1. Setting their own pay and perks  2. Voting every which way but the way you prefer  3. Purchasing entitlement contracts to be paid by our children           and generations thereafter  4. Stealing millions every four years to spend on an useless  political election circus.   How in the hell did THIS get started - and how can we end it? .

Libya has been in the news since old King Idris formed the "Kingdom of Libya" in 1952.  It was my good fortune to be stationed there off and on during 1955-58.  My official assignment location was listed as  Wheelus Air Force Base, a large airbase on the edge of town. Actually we spent very little time there. We flew in on C-119 "Flying Boxcars" with our guided missiles, launch equipment, Radar communications gear, guidance electronics, and vehicles of all descriptions. We landed at Wheelus and quickly made ready to go into the desert. Between Tripoli and Bengazi, the only large towns in the entire country, there was a smaller town named Miserata.  South of Miserata is a scrub and sand desert all the way to the Atlas Mountains. This  vast area was taken over by the USAF and became the "European Guided Missile Test Range". Why "European"?  We presumed because the USAF had no guided missiles stationed in North Africa. My unit fielded the Mar...

Woke this morning with a headache. I realized during the night that the Republicans haven't a clue. They really don't know what most of America wants.  They may  understand that America doesn't want Obama and his miserable crew, but that's about it.  The RNC made a huge goof when they all but ignored the TEA Party and the Ron Paul Libertarians. Not  one mention at the convention or in their plank. Stupid is as stupid does.  Gov. Romney is a bright guy without solid, fundamental positions on anything. Sure he says that he will support policies that will put our workers back on the job but he doesn't want to talk about "HOW". That, in a nutshell, is the important, the absolutely necessary point in most of Romney's rhetoric. He sounds more like Obama and less like a conservative politician every day and the voters are not going to buy it.  The Romney camp fits the RNC mold. THAT WILL LOSE THE ELECTION. Every day they drive more serious peop...

All  religions ask a  person to look beyond logic and  common sense. Christianity is the religion  I am most familiar with. The next is Judaism , and the last is Islam . These are the  big three in my world. There are many others of course, but I know much less about them - so I want to confine this  discussion to Christianity and start with the "soul".   Christianity asks a believer to accept that all  human beings have a "soul", an  imperishable part that lives beyond death and will never, ever,  die.   This is, for me,  hard to grasp. And it is just one example. There are many others.  Think, for a moment, of the virgin birth of Jesus? And  the  triad of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost - all one?   And how about the notion that the Holy Bible is a collection  of the actua l words of God? We know better.  All of these foundational thoughts defy logic, bu...

Isn't it a stretch to blame the President, no matter which one, for taxing and spending. He's not to blame. Let's get the responsibility in the right place and forget all of this political posturing. Every politician is pointing fingers at the Presidents - and they are all wrong. The 1st clause of Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution reads thus: ALL REVENUE SHALL ORIGINATE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, BUT THE SENATE MAY PROPOSE OR CONCUR WITH AMENDMENTS AS ON OTHER BILLS. The HOUSE has the exclusive responsibility to originate bills to appropriate money and raise revenues. The PRESIDENT is permitted to propose tax and spending measures - or veto them. The CONGRESS can ignore the President's proposals and override his vetoes. It's a simple as that. Why do so many in politics or the media get away with statements like "Reagan's budget deficits," "Clinton's budget surpluses," "Bushe's tax cuts," and ...