There was a time, not so very long ago, when it was understood that politics stopped at the water’s edge.  What this meant was that, although we would fight tooth and nail over any domestic political issue, when the security of the United States was at stake, we would cease to be Democrats or Republicans,  and just be “Americans.”  This philosophy saw us through World War II.   After being soundly trounced by F.D.R. in 1940, Wendell Wilkie became F.D.R.’s ally in the fight against Fascism, and he traveled the globe for F.D.R.during the war.  Sadly, today’s politicians no longer are Americans first.  Today, we don’t even have a President who puts American security ahead of politics.  In his zeal to “fundamentally transform” America, Obama has shunned our traditional allies, in favor of the type of leader with which he most closely identifies; the totalitarian dictator.  How else to explain why he pushes away our Israeli allies, our Saudi Allies, our British allies, and cozy’s up to a dictator in Cuba and the Iranians.  We are, for some reason, about to pay Iran $140 billion as part of a deal in which Iran can sell all the oil it wants, continue to work toward producing nuclear weapons, and continue to be the world’s leader in State-sponsored terrorism.  I don’t know what we are supposed to get from this deal.  We won’t be getting back our four hostages because, Obama says, “that’s nonsense.”  When politics stopped at the water’s edge, members of Congress, from either party, would not stand still for any President, from any Party, whose actions were likely to compromise American security.  The President would be stopped.  Not anymore.  The chief problem with this situation is that, when politics stopped at the water’s edge, all we had to worry about was an amphibious invasion.  Nowadays, the edge extends into space, from which an Iranian ICBM may emerge at any moment.  Hope and change?  My foot. (and I cleaned that up).

When George Washington defeated General Cornwallis at Yorktown, the American Revolution effectively was over, and we are told that a band played a song called The World Turned Upside Down. I get that same feeling, that the world is upside down, whenever I contemplate doings in such leftist bastions as the City of Baltimore. You see, in the leftist world, facts don’t matter and the truth is whatever they tell you it is. Very clean, very simple, and fundamentally illogical. That put me in mind of Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland 150 years ago. That supposed nonsense story has been reprinted many times and immortalized in numerous films. What does Alice in Wonderland have to do with life in 2015? Well, Lewis Carroll’s fantasy world is alive and well in Baltimore. Then again, maybe not “well.” Lewis Carroll defined logic in a manner that would do American leftists proud, “If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.” Simple right? I’m talking about the Baltimore Mayor’s recent decision to fire the Police Commissioner. Let’s recap. In late April, there was an unpleasantness in Baltimore after a man died in police custody. This unpleasantness is commonly referred to as rioting and looting. It also involves theft, arson and occasional aggravated assault, but leftists don’t like to be bothered by the facts. Now, it seems that some people in Baltimore were unhappy with the police department, which had this unfortunate habit of arresting people who committed crimes. They expressed their displeasure by assaulting cops and generally setting the City on fire. Baltimore’s Mayor, a true visionary, was quick to announce that provisions would be made for those who chose to destroy the City. In other words, we have to give the looters and arsonists a chance to loot and burn; the First Amendment don’t you know. But there was a problem. Apparently, following the riots, there has been an unacceptable increase in homicides in Baltimore. Of course, this presumes that there is some acceptable number of killings, but no matter. The Mayor threw the police department under the bus in April. She didn’t want the police to arrest criminals at that time. Then, crime went up, so in July, she has fired the Police Commissioner due to an increase in violence. To quote Lewis Carroll, “It would be so nice if something would make sense for a change.” It doesn’t, because, you see, “We’re all mad here.” In Baltimore, picture the Mayor as the Queen of Hearts. She immediately found the police guilty. “Sentence first – verdict afterwards.” And then, “off with his head.” So, let’s review, the police were wrong to arrest people for committing crimes. The police were wrong for opposing the Mayor’s decision to permit people to commit crimes in April and May. But, because this decision led to an increase in violence, which the police did not prevent, the Police Commissioner must go. “Curiouser and curiouser.” At least Alice only went down a rabbit hole. Baltimore is going down a rat hole, and common sense has ceased to exist. “I have an excellent idea, lets change the subject.”

As we prepare to celebrate another Independence Day, we need to stop and think about what the holiday is supposed to represent.  Freedom.  Remember freedom?  Not the freedom to do anything you please.  That’s not freedom.  That’s called license.  From that word we get the word “licentious,” which now commonly means promiscuous, but which used to mean the disregard of accepted rules and conventions.  It derives from the Latin “licentia” which meant “freedom.”  “Disregard for accepted rules and conventions” …  sounds an awful lot like a recent Supreme Court decision, doesn’t it?  But, no, the freedom that the Fourth of July represents; the freedom that our Founding Fathers sought, and to whose cause they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor; is freedom from a tyrannical government.  We once had that, but not anymore.

You see, the Founders have been replaced.  It has taken a long time, almost 100 years.  The Founders freed us from our colonial master and established a Constitution to keep us free.  The Founders believed the Constitution was the rock upon which our freedom was based.  Their replacements, the Transformers, see the Constitution as an obstruction, to be broken up and removed, piece by piece.  The Transformers have had many names: Wilson, Roosevelt, Obama, but the same purpose – to chip away at the inconvenient Constitution, to impose their will on America because, you see, they know better than those old white men from so long ago.  And as the Transformers have worked tirelessly year after year, our freedom has steadily declined.

Do you doubt me?  Webster defines “freedom” as the power to speak or think as one wants.  We can’t.  The Transformers have installed a leftist orthodoxy, complete with speech and thought police in the media to enforce the notion that there’s only one side to any issue; their side.  You disagree, and we’ll ruin you.  In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson complained that King George “sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.”  Has it gotten any better under Transformer Obama?  Try dealing with the EPA or the IRS.  It’s a wonder we have any substance left.  Thomas Jefferson also told us that, when the government fears the people there is liberty, and when the people fear the government there is tyranny.  This government fears nothing, and it gets bolder every day.

When you only are “free” to do what you’re told to do, think what you’re told to think, eat what you’re told to eat and buy what you’re told to buy, that’s not “freedom” by anyone’s definition.  So this Independence Day, remind your loved ones of the freedoms for which the Founders sacrificed so much.  The Founders understood that our rights come from God, not from any government.  The Transformers reject this “self-evident truth.”  I’ll make this simple.  The Founders were chiseled into a rock, and the Transformers came out from under one.

Last week an odd-looking maniac with race hatred in his heart killed 9 innocent people in a church in South Carolina.  In a world beset by senseless tragedies, this one was perhaps the most senseless and tragic of them all.  Reactions to this despicable crime were varied, and sadly, predictable.  Most reasonable people were shocked, angered and called for justice to be done.  Members of the church in South Carolina, to their everlasting credit, called for healing and forgiveness.  And, of course, the rabid Leftists, heeding Rahm Emanuel’s advice that no crisis should be wasted, called for censorship.

Fear-mongering is a powerful tool of the Left, which misses no opportunity to turn any tragedy to its advantage.   Somehow, 9 murders by a reprehensible punk transformed into an attack on “conservative media,” “conservative talk radio,” and, of all things, the Confederate flag.  Now, there is precious little conservative media, and there is no evidence that this half-wit killer was even able to operate a radio, but that doesn’t matter.  As always, form triumphs over substance.  As a consequence, let’s have more gun laws, even though criminals, by definition, don’t obey the law.  Let’s use this terrible crime to ban the Confederate flag.  Now folks, I have no love for that flag.  The Civil War ended 150 years ago and the Confederates lost, so, I think taking the flag down from public buildings is long overdue.  But a Government ban on the image?  Do we really want the Government to restrict what can and cannot be seen?

If nothing else, our Government is adept at disguising its actions, hence, The Affordable Care Act, which is not affordable and restricts care.  George Orwell had this figured out when he wrote 1984 in the 1940’s.  1984’s Government’s Ministry of Truth actually censored and controlled information.  We are headed in that direction, and that is dangerous.  You see, the Founders were so careful to protect the dissemination of information that some might find objectionable, that they put free speech in the First Amendment.  There are even calls this week to ban Gone With the Wind; “that flag” is in it you see, and it didn’t adequately denounce slavery.  Really?  Once again, the Civil War ended 150 years ago, and slavery ended with it.  I don’t think the Leftists have thought this  Gone With the Wind thing through, however.  You see, the American Film Institute (AFI)  voted Gone With the Wind Number 4 of its 100 Greatest Movies.  AFI is not part of the “conservative media.”  Its Board of Trustees includes Halle Berry, former liberal Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, liberal contributor Steven Spielberg and Ron Meyer, Vice-Chairman of NBC Universal, which runs such racist extremist outlets as MSNBC.  Leftists are nothing if not hypocritical, though, so an Obama Ministry of Truth is entirely capable of burning both flags and GWTW  DVD’s.  Of course, if you burn Gone With the Wind, you also destroy the Academy Award wining performance of Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to be so honored.  So, maybe we don’t burn the whole picture, we just edit it.  Obama can release a new “Big Brother’s Cut” with commentary by Al Sharpton.   See, who says Government can’t get things done?

We have cute nicknames for our currency. The $1 bill is a single. The $5 bill is a fin. The $10 bill is known as a sawbuck. The Secretary of the Treasury announced this week that a new $10 bill will be issued featuring a woman. Senator Jeanne Shaheen says she’s pleased that “young girls all across this country will soon be able to see an inspiring woman on the $10 bill.” Forgive me, but that seems unlikely. Since we don’t teach history anymore, unless the woman is Beyonce, Lady Gaga or one of the Kardashians, young girls probably won’t even recognize her.
We do have some experience with women on our money. We had the Susan B. Anthony dollar.  Martha Washington has been on a $1 bill, Pocahontas once appeared on the back of a $20 bill, and Sacagawea has been on a dollar coin for 15 years. But we need to narrow it down … okay, how about we just say no more First Ladies or Native Americans. That would solve a lot of problems. I’m just not ready for the Obama buck. Those arms wouldn’t fit on the bill anyway, and we should save paper.       A Hillary Clinton buck? No. It would be printed overseas and then just wire transferred into her Foundation account, so that wouldn’t inspire anybody.
What to do? Let’s think – the sawbuck.  A saw is a tool.  So how about Carrie Nation with her hatchet – the chop buck. We could have Julia Child – the cook buck. How about Sandra Day O’Connor – the law buck.         Need I go on? Amelia Earhart (fly buck) Annie Oakley (shot buck)
Juliette Gordon Low (Scout buck) Betsy Ross (flag buck). Wait now, let’s think out of the box.  How about Bruce, uh Caitlyn Jenner on a $3 bill? Better not go there.  I know, how about we go Hollywood.  I’d like to see Marilyn Monroe on a $10 bill.  Not classy enough? How about Grace Kelly? She was a Monegasque you say? No problem.  There’s a precedent.            In 1893, Queen Isabella was the first woman to appear on a U.S. coin.
Whoever the government ultimately chooses, the one thing we can rely on is that it will have something to do with race or slavery, to remind us that America is a terrible country.  Inspiration right? If they choose Rosa Parks, I just pray they don’t put her on the back of the bill.
Okay, all joking aside.  I do have a serious proposal that actually might be inspirational.  My proposal for the new $10 bill is Marian Anderson on the front with the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the bill.  We could call it the Freedom Buck.  Marian Anderson was a better singer than Beyonce, and who knows, somebody actually might be inspired to read a book.