Believe it or Not.

Are honesty and truth obsolete in America?  Has there ever been such dishonesty and duplicity in American government prior to this President?  There has always been corruption in government, but never to this degree in America. 

            The way our country is being run provides numerous topics for discussion.  But I want to focus on honesty, integrity, and what has been referred to as the “big lie.”  Actually, the many big lies.  

            We are fed an almost daily dose of untruths, without qualification or apology.  False statements are made by the President, the Attorney General, Secretary of State, head of the IRS, Reid, Pelosi, and others.   

            A compliant lap-dog media never questions, but reinforces policies and statements to the point that, with the exception of FOX News, talk radio, and voices on the internet, the media is nothing more than a public relations arm of the Obama administration.

            Take Obama’s health care program.  This monstrosity was passed by the Democrats in the Senate with not a single Republican vote. Not one.  And none of those obsequious Democrats had even read the bill.  It was marketed to deceive the public, as was revealed recently.  We heard lies from our President, spoken emphatically and repeatedly.   

            “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.  Period!”  

            “If you like your insurance you can keep your insurance.” 

            “Your insurance cost will go down over $2000 per year.”

 These are just three of the many lies the President used to sell Obamacare to the public.

            Recently the so-called architect of Obama’s health care system, Jonathan Gruber admitted that the public had to be fooled to accept the health care plan due to the people’s stupidity.  But now Obama, Pelosi, and others say they don’t even know this guy Gruber, yet he visited the White House 21 times and met with Obama in the Oval Office.   

             And the IRS dishonesty:

            “The IRS doesn’t target Conservative groups and individuals.” 

            “The documents needed for the investigation can’t be found.” 

            “The IRS computer hard drives all burned up at the same time.”  

            The attack on our embassy in Bengasi was caused by an internet video that no one has ever seen.  This myth was stated five times on national television by National Security advisor Susan Rice and confirmed by Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State, and even the President.  These people knew this was not true, but that didn’t stop them from lying to the public even after the truth had finally come out.

            Obama says that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam, despite the fact that the acronym “ISIS” stands for “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.”  Why would he say something so obviously untrue?  His affinity with the Muslim religion has been confirmed by Obama himself many times. 

            These are just a few examples of the continuing series of lies emanating from this government, primarily the office of the President. 

            So what’s the motivation?  Why is the deception so pervasive, so loud, so repetitious, so “in your face?”  This technique of control has historical precedence, particularly in dictatorships.

            Joseph Goebbels was Adolf Hitler’s Propaganda Minister.  He is remembered as saying that the bigger the lie and the more often it is repeated the more it will sink in with the public and be believed.  Goebbels said, “The principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it.  It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion.”

            Goebbels’ use of propaganda is based on the idea that the bigger the lie and the more often it is repeated, the more likely it will be accepted as truth by the public.  He and his boss believed that it was government’s job to control the minds of their people, since the people were too ignorant to run their own lives. Gruber’s selling job was based on a similar perception of the stupidity of the American public.

            Adolf  Hitler said, “The lie must be so ‘colossal’ that the public would be confident that no national leader could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”  

            Hitler also said, "In the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature . . . and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victim to the big lie than the small lie.”

            Hitler shared the belief of both Communism and Islam that a lie is acceptable if it leads to the desired end. This is something to seriously consider when you hear the next lie.

Skeleton Soup and Thanksgiving Residue

Now that Thanksgiving is over, there are packages of sliced turkey, frozen turkey soup, home-made cranberry orange relish, and all kinds of things to munch on for a week or so.  Gayle says she doesn’t like to cook, but when pressed into it, she does a great job. 

            I always add some personal embellishments, like my world-famous turkey skeleton soup and my mother’s cranberry orange relish, which is fantastic.  The problem with Thanksgiving dinner is that you get full before you want to stop eating. I hate that.  Now that it’s over, I’ve vowed to never eat again.  I think I may have said that before . . .

            I’m always hesitant to “get in touch with my feminine side,” which Gayle doesn’t think exists.  I doubt that I could change her mind even if I rode a horse side saddle or spent time blow-drying my hair or getting a pedicure.  Estrogen looks good on women and that’s where it should stay.

            Despite all of that, my wife is better at some home repairs than I am.  I’ve mentioned I melted a screwdriver while changing an electrical outlet with the power on.  I think that’s when she lost confidence in me.  And no matter how I hang the Christmas lights or load the dishwasher, it’s never right.  I shouldn’t be loading the dishwasher anyway.  As my Indian friend, Rajinder Singh would say, “That woman job.”   The lines in Indian culture are clearly defined.

            Gayle can scamper up and down a ladder and hit a nail without including her thumb, so maybe I should trade jobs and spend more time in the kitchen.  Gayle doesn’t like to cook anyway and I love to eat, which is the primary reason that “buffed” weightlifter from yesteryear is buried so deep inside of me that I can no longer hear him screaming to be let out.   

            Don’t get the wrong impression here.  I’m not pulling a Bruce Jenner.  I’m just trying to rationalize the fact that I’m about to give you a recipe for my famous “Turkey Skeleton Soup” and “Cranberry Orange Relish” when only women share recipes. But I’m doing this without wearing an apron or having my nails done. In any event, don’t tell anyone.  That would destroy my image.

            Neither of these formulas is unique and I’m sure you can find identical recipes online, but, unfortunately, these were my only contribution to our annual Thanksgiving dinner.  I will admit to brutally carving the dead turkey like a rabid Cossack while holding a turkey leg in my teeth. During this type of radical surgery my dog is always by my feet, snatching flying pieces of meat and membrane right out of thin air.  

            Here’s the deal – After the turkey has be decimated - torn limb from limb and ravished by carnivores - you take the skeleton, clean off the usable turkey, break up the bones in sections, and put the bones in a huge pot with plenty of water.  As the cook, you’re free to chomp down on tempting leftover flesh, but do so in moderation or you won’t have any soup. 

            Boil that sucker until the remaining meat falls off the bones.  Using those “clamper deals” reach in the boiling water and pull out individual bones and scrape off the remaining meat. Chop up the meat in small pieces.  When all the bones are squeaky clean, put the meat back in the pot and toss the bones in the garbage.  (Never give a dog turkey or chicken bones.)  Check to be sure that there are no bones or pieces of bone in the water.

            Add seasoning “to taste,” as they say.  I add chicken or turkey broth and a few other things, but don’t over-season.  Chop up raw vegetables, like celery, including the leafy part, carrots, mushrooms, and other stuff and toss it all in the pot.  Add a small package of barley then boil the hell out of it for a few hours.  That’s all there is to it.  Behold!  Skeleton soup.

            Now to my mother’s old cranberry orange relish, which goes great with turkey.  You need one of those “food chopper” things, because you have to chop up a lot of stuff.  Start with a package of fresh cranberries.  Chop those suckers in the “food chopper” and dump them in a bowl.  Quarter a couple of oranges, take out the seeds, decimate the oranges in the chopper thing, and dump them in with the berries.  Oh yeah…don’t peel the oranges.  That’s what gives it the “kick.”  Chop up a handful of walnuts and toss ‘em in the bowl too. The next step is sinful, but after thanksgiving a lot of people pray for forgiveness anyway.  Add two cups of sugar then mix it all up real good.

            Don’t cook it. It has to be raw and fresh. Chill this concoction for several hours in the ice box…oops, the refrigerator and it’s ready to go.  You’ll love it.

            I know those two recipes are nothing new.  I also know you can find similar things online, but I just wanted to demonstrate my sincere attempts at reaching deep inside me to “get in touch,” as it were, with the “feminine” in me in order to prove that I’m “well rounded”. . .wrong word.  A Thanksgiving dinner can make an anorexic “well rounded.” How about “well balanced.”  Wait a minute - Aren’t the best chefs men?  Wow. I feel better already.

Gayle's art

      I've received many emails complimenting Gayle's pencil sketch of me, so I've decided to brag a little on my wife's artistic talent. Since my personal talent as an artist never got past the stick-figure level, I'm always impressed by Gayle's talent and ability to capture the "personality" of the subjects in her paintings or sketches, giving them life.

          I'm posting a "mini" art gallery of a few of her creations.  Most are pencil sketches, but some are water colors or gouache, which is an opaque type of water colors. Some of the horses depicted and the two Australian Shepherds were ours.  The first portrait is our Thoroughbred, Tanny, with Gayle jumping, which was her "thing." Gayle is sometimes commissioned for her art work on a variety of subjects.

The end of a Chisholm Trail cattle drive.

                              

                                                                              

                                                                  



                                                                      

                                                                                        

Granddaughter Emily after she rode the pinto depicted above.

Glen Dennee

                                                                                                                             

The Man by the Window

     Fall is my favorite season.  Here in the mountains, the colors are magnificent, but the chill in the air reminds me that snow is on its way.  The horses at the ranch seem to enjoy the season as much as I do.  Temperatures between 15 degrees and 60 degrees are within the comfort zone for horses.  The view of the mountains with a dusting of snow rising above green valleys filled with grazing horses and colorful trees remind me that life is good.

            There is always new information on the political scene in the U.S., with duplicitous politicians, government corruption, and the dictatorial behavior of Obama, who seems bent on destroying America.  But I want to look beyond that today.   

            Gayle and I were hiking in the forest with Dakota when I was reminded of a great story that you may have heard, but one that deserves repeating.  I don’t know if it’s true, but it provides a profound respite from negativity. 

            

            The story involves two men who were both seriously ill.  They shared a hospital room and one man was allowed to sit up for an hour each day to receive his medical treatments.  His bed was next to the window. The other man was forced to spend all his time flat on his back.  The two men talked for hours on end about their lives, jobs, families and other things.

            The man in the bed by the window would describe the view outside during the hour he was sitting up in bed.  The man in the other bed began to live for that hour when the color and activity of the world outside was described to him.  He could picture the lake with ducks swimming, the flowers, the children playing, and the exquisite details depicted for him by his friend in the bed by the window.

            One morning the nurse found that the man by the window had died peacefully in his sleep and the attendants took his body away.

            A short time later the other man asked to be moved by the window.  He wanted desperately to see the beauty outside that had been described to him is such detail.  He raised himself slowly and painfully on an elbow anticipating the scene outside.

            He was shocked to see that the window faced a brick wall.  He rang for the nurse and asked her why his friend would have described the wonderful things outside when all that was there was a brick wall. 

            The nurse was surprised by the question and replied that the man by the window was blind and couldn’t see anything outside.  She suggested that maybe the man describing the beauty outside meant to encourage his friend and provide something positive, beautiful, and uplifting for his bedridden friend.

            There are several pieces of wisdom that can be gleaned from that story.  The blind man was able to lift the spirit of his roommate by describing beauty that he himself could not see.   Maybe it reminds us to look for beauty and the positive where it may be difficult to see; perhaps in a chaotic world or in a person.  The beauty the blind man saw came from within him and was projected onto something not so beautiful.  It’s a reminder that we should count our blessing; look for the beauty in the world, focus on the things that money can’t buy, and try to bring joy to others.  The brick wall will always be there. 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need to be reminded of these things. 

The Election is Almost Over

     Well, the election is over.  Or almost over.  It was a great night for Republicans from the bottom up.  It was tough on Democrats. From the governor races to the House of Representatives and the Senate, the country turned red.  Red = Republican.

            It seems like I get caught up in every election cycle.  As usual, I watched the reporting to the end and then got up early to see if there were changes.  In addition, I must have been hyped up because I didn’t sleep much at all.  And it’s not over yet.

            I think there should be a warning to anyone with an uncontrollable urge to get involved with an election to check with their doctor to make sure they are healthy enough for political activity.  If the election lasts more that four days, call your doctor.  

            At this point in time it appears that there may be two more Senate seats to go Republican, which gives the Republicans the numbers they need to slow our Dictator down a bit. And it also gets them past the Palace Guard and megalomaniac Harry Reid.  As you know, we hear about the “do-nothing” Congress, but the House has been passing bills left and right.  Reid simply tables them.

            The Senate has received roughly 300 bills from the House of Representatives, but Obama’s chastity belt, Harry Reid, has refused to even allow these bills through the door.  They sit on his desk.  That is unconscionable, since the House members are close to their constituency, reflecting the will of the people. Reid is committed to an ideology.

            To inhibit bills from reaching the floor of the Senate should be grounds to justify firing Reid.  But now the plug has been pulled and maybe something will get done that will reflect the will of the people more than the will of Obama, Dirty Harry and his cohorts.  (I still blame the NRA for backing Reid in his re-election to the Senate.)

            The variable that concerns me is the lack of backbone Republicans have demonstrated so consistently.  With McConnell leading the pack and John Boehner on the verge of tears, I’m not sure The Glorious One’s executive orders can be overcome.  Time will tell.

            I hope you’ll allow for my political bias.  I’m more of a Conservative with Libertarian leanings than a typical Republican or “Republicrat,” as some refer to the Republican Party.

            There is some optimism that we have a few young newcomers in the Senate who may shake the “go along to get along” Republican Senators out of their slumber.  Unfortunately, so much damage has been done to America during the past six years that to reverse the downward trajectory is a challenge at best.  Obama claims that the two thirds of eligible voters that didn’t vote are his voters.  My feeling is that maybe they shouldn’t vote.

            When potential voters can’t read English or vote on skin color alone, how can we expect them to have even the most basic understanding of the issues and the qualifications necessary to pick our leaders?  Watch “man on the street” interviews of random citizens, including college educated young people.  They can’t identify the Vice President, but they can vote.

            Even many Democrats secretly disagree with some of the policies pushed on us by this administration, so maybe securing the borders, energy independence, lower corporate and personal tax rates, a stronger military, and other logical adjustments may have a chance to see the light of day.  We’ll see.