I never thought I’d see the day that I would actually place value on anything ex-NBAer and current sports pundit Charles Barkley has to say, but here goes  —  “I’m gonna try to do good things in the world.  I’m not gonna waste my time screaming at a neo-Nazi who’s gonna hate me no matter what, and I’m not gonna waste my time worrying about these statues that they’ve got all over the country.  I’ve always ignored them.  I’ve never thought about these statues a day in my life.  I think if you asked most black people to be honest, they ain’t thought a day in their lives about those stupid statues.  What we as black people need to do: We need to worry about getting our education, we need to stop killing each other, we need to try to find a way to have more economic opportunity, and things like that.  Those things are significant and important.  I’m wasting time and energy screaming at a neo-Nazi, or saying, man you’ve got to take this statue down.”                        WHAT THE HECK !

I have a family member who has referred to me as homophobic, which first of all is a stupid moniker, because why in the world would I be afraid of people with homosexual tendencies. But worse, as it’s intended, suggests that I am not permitted to have my own opinions, or worse express those opinions that are solidly backed up by my value system.   Morality by majority, which I suspect drives that family member’s views on the topic, is of no interest to me.   However, I respect their right to express their viewpoint privately and publicly.

But not Martina Navratilova, famed Eastern European retired tennis star.  She is now out there witch-hunting another famous retired Australian women’s tennis star, Margaret Court.     Court, by the way, is the only player with more Grand Slam titles than Serena Williams, so she’s quite a big deal in the tennis world.    What is Ms. Court’s grave offense ?  Well, in the past few years, as she has become a spokesman for her value system (and mine) as a pastor, she has spoken out against gay marriage and the adoption of children by gay couples, as well as publicly and personally banning usage of certain products/services sold by companies supportive of gay marriage.   Sounds like a pretty plain exercise of free speech to me.  By the way, not that it matters, but gay marriage is not the law of the land in Australia.  For this offense, Ms. Navratilova wants the upcoming Australian Open to strip the main stadium court of its name since 2003 -Margaret Court Arena.

We should closely guard the freedom of expression and speech, and it should be closely guarded for everyone, not just for those with a proglibocrat leaning.   Some students on some of our college campuses need to learn this lesson, and soon, before they run off and pollute their own children’s minds.   I call Navratilova’s liberal crusade simply hate speech.  Oh, and for the politically correct pro tennis players who have hinted that they will not play on a court named after Margaret Court in January, 2018 (Andy Murray,……), let’s see if any of them give up one precious dollar for Navratilova’s crusade.                     WHAT THE HECK !

If you ever have had the pleasure of befriending, or are related to,  an English speaking Canadian, you quickly notice that many sentences end with the phrase, eh !      Evidently this verbal habit  is taught at an early age, and cannot be shed easily.   It becomes even more embedded if the topic of conversation involves ice hockey or hunting.   Why is this relevant ?     My personal universe of proglibocrat friends has dwindled over the years, as it simply becomes easier with age to interact with people possessing at least half a brain.   Those that remain tend to be old college friends, as I hold out the possibility that some of their educational lessons will be restored.   

These few remaining proglibocrats now remind me of the Canadians I teased above.     When speaking about a topic of importance,  or responding to a question about an important topic of the day (usually political), they normally end the communication with some derisive comment about Trump, or conservatives, or Christians, or any remaining “heartless” groups I’ve omitted.   A few examples might help clarify my rambling.     On Facebook, one of these sorry characters will be commenting on the recent flexing of America’s military muscle, and will conclude with, ” and I wish Trump would spend more time helping the poor”.   Or,  following a rant about how Bernie Sanders got hosed by the Clinton campaign last year, the writer will conclude with, “and aren’t the Conservatives such heartless so-and sos”.     Rickie Maddow on MSNBC last week ended one of her tirades about the abuse of Palestinians with, “if only George Bush had……….”                      WHAT THE HECK, EH ! 

I had planned to write a technical, detailed analysis of the first hundred days of the Trump administration, but I have better things to do.   Suffice it to say that we don’t have Hillary, and we do have a new conservative-leaning Supreme Court justice.   Anything more will just be gravy !        WHAT THE HECK !

On Sunday, Mexican presidential candidate,  Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, held a large campaign rally on public grounds in Los Angeles.  For those from Birdsboro, that’s Los Angeles, California, not Los Angeles, Mexico.  The tone was strictly anti-Trump.  noting that our President is “stirring up” American antagonism toward Mexico and Mexicans.  Easy for him to say as his country offloads legions of troublemakers in addition to much needed and appreciated   seasonal workers. Degrading Trump’s campaign theme, Obrador noted that Make American Great Again (no typo) runs against his own personal psycho babble, ” neither the United States nor the American continent come first.   What comes first is to build here on earth a kingdom of justice and universal brotherhood”.     Against our President !   On our soil ! Probably not in English !                                    WHAT THE HECK !

Seldom do I have the occasion to express warm and fuzzies toward the milquetoast majority Senate leader from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell.  But I must pause and praise his bold actions eight months ago in throwing his body in the path of former POTUS and Emperor Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland.   Recall that the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia just ten months before the 2016 Presidential election afforded the Emperor the opportunity to elevate one more liberal jurist who views the Constitution as a “living document”, one to be interpreted in a modern day context by proglibocrats hellbent on turning us into an atheist version of Europe.    Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, will experience the typical sharp-tongued divisionist opposition by the proglibocrats in the Senate, but it will be hard to reject a man who seems to put America, and the Constitution as it was written, at the top of his judicial priority list.                               WHAT THE HECK !

                                                                                                                                               Well, it took Emperor Barrack just ten days to weigh in publicly on the actions of President Trump.  Can’t he just slither away, shut up, and behave professionally like every one of his predecessors ? WHAT THE HECK !

Yes, I know that there are more pressing issues as we enter 2017, but this constant debate about the minimum wage in America is just wearing me out.  The catalyst for this thought was yesterday’s demonstrations outside several McDonald’s stores in the Tampa area, one of which held me up for nearly two minutes !  I do understand, and empathize with, those that accurately point out that the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation in my lifetime.  Today’s hourly minimum wage buys 30% fewer goods than it did in 1968.  And only those from Birdsboro try to make the argument that a $15 minimum rate will not reduce overall job opportunities.  Most employers are entrepreneurs (even McDonald’s franchisees) who take a direct shot to income from any increase in direct costs, and will not hesitate to invest in automation.

So why doesn’t everyone just admit that the great debate is just a political football, and just stop it !  Democrats like to talk about how they represent the little guy, even if fewer will actually be employed at $15 an hour.  Conservatives fail to yield even a bit on the reality of household costs in America rising faster than the minimum wage. Please note that at no point in this piece have I used the phrase, “living wage”, as I consider it a Proglibocrat  affront to all those who have invested heavily in their own education and self improvement.

What I propose is the obvious, simple solution – just index the minimum wage to inflation, to the price of a basket of goods that everyone purchases regularly.  Make the change permanent, and take the issue out of the politicians’ hands as a tool to buy votes.  Make them debate and solve real and difficult problems that face us all.    WHAT THE HECK !

I’ve been quiet during the past month because of material overload.   So much of what passes for American culture today absolutely disgusts me such  that the word “heck” in my moniker just does not suffice.   However, from the political realm, I have chosen not to sit this one out.  As a registered Libertarian, I would normally vote for the “L” candidate when the two  mainstream candidates fail to reflect my views on most everything.   Unfortunately, this year’s version of the libertarian candidate is too interested in smoking weed to govern.   So, I’m stuck with Tweedeldee and Tweedeldum !

A few weeks ago, my pastor unknowingly pushed me over the edge in one direction, and this week I cast a ballot for Donald Trump for POTUS.   Yes, I held my nose and coughed up a bit of phlegm, but I did it, giving the Donald a one vote lead.   The words that guided me had to do with our character, and how people view us.    He noted that generally we act/think/reflect/ do/are viewed pretty much as a combination of the  five people we hang out with the most.  In my world, that would be my wife, my kids, some close friends, and a few ministry partners.

When I look at Hillary Clinton, she hangs out a lot with mostly repulsive, self-focused people  —  John Podesta, Harry Reid, her randy husband (watch out White House interns), Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner,  Jayzee,  Al Sharpton,  Barrack Obama, Margaret Sanger (Planned Parenthood), atheists, Bernie Sanders, Saul Alinsky.  Not one of these characters would I desire to dine with, even once.

Now, for all his verbal and narcissistic faux pas, let’s look at who the Donald spends time with.   He seems to have some nice, albeit silver-spooned, accomplished kids.  He stays away from the DC establishment, including many in his own party.   Traveling with him during this entire campaign are Rudy Giulianni and Ben Carson, men of accomplishment, integrity and faith.   And I cannot think of an individual of higher character than Mike Pence that Trump could have picked as his partner and running mate.   His list of  suggested Supreme Court nominees seem like a solid bunch.   And finally, he seems to have a history of hiring capable, deserving women in managerial roles at his companies.

So, in following my pastor’s wise words, the task at hand became easier.    Make America great again, I hope !     WHAT THE HECK !

Not he most original thought I’ve presented, but it bears a reminder just how moronic the purveyors of politics, also called staffers or hacks, really are.    Following Jailbird Hillary’s recent bout with dehydration/ exhaustion/loss of balance, her staffers finally settled on a mild case of pneumonia that brought the Jailbird nearly to her knees following the 9/11 memorial service in NYC a few weeks ago.   Funny how someone with pneumonia feels free to mingle with children and the elderly on the campaign trail.   The following week, her proglibocrat staffers thought it cute to serenade her every public appearance with the sound of James Brown’s 1969 hit, I Feel Good.   Odd choice since the Godfather of Soul died of pneumonia in 1996.               WHAT THE HECK !