Inside the Fascinating Mind of OldCorpBLT1/3

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eginning a new endeavor can, at times, cause anyone a little anxiety. Like introducing yourself to a beautiful woman, a prospective employer, or future in-laws – you want to make sure that you make a good first impression, because the success, or the lack thereof, of that first meeting will set the tone of that relationship. If you don’t do well, there may very well be NO relationship at all.

So let me begin our relationship by telling you a little about myself. A former U.S. Marine, I have made a living for most of my adult life as a journalist and photographer. I have written for Tribune and Scripps Howard newspapers, worked as a reporter for the CBS Radio Network, and worked behind the scenes as a technical director and producer for the CBS Television Network.

I am also a Christian, and much of what I write will be influenced by that. However, I AM NOT a bigot, or a racist. I do not condemn anyone’s religion – especially the three “Abrahamic” religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – and that includes you Catholics (LOL). All three monotheistic religions purport to worship the God of Abraham, and in my view, as long as Abraham’s God is Loved, Feared, and Worshiped, The Almighty will take that into account on Judgment Day.

Last year, I felt that if I were to write about religious issues as they pertain to radical Islam, then it just might be important to know a little about them. So I read “The Idiots Guide to Islam.” I know, I know, it sounds stupid, but just think of it like Cliff’s Notes for the religiously challenged. No matter the source, I found out some very interesting things about Islam.

Did you know, for instance, that Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was actually the Jewish Messiah just as Christians do? Yeah, it freaked me out too, so I can’t be too hard on them (the sane ones anyway.) Their habit of praying five times daily is something we can all take a lesson from. Nor can I sit in judgment of the Jews because I believe what the Bible says – that they are the chosen people of The Almighty, and that we should not judge, lest we be judged ourselves – besides, The Lord will be doing A LOT of judging Himself. The Bible also says that God will bless those who stand up in defense of the Children of Israel, and smite those who wrong them. Just between you and me, I’d rather not be smitten.

I also believe in prophecy, and that we are living in the last days. The verses penned by St. John and the Old Testament prophets could only come to pass with today’s knowledge, and the technology that enables instant, world-wide communication of sounds and images. Only now can every human being on the planet and their purchases be tracked with computers.

The “RealID” system in the United States will be implemented this year (2008); you will not be able to board a plane or drive your car without a RealID Identity Card. Your unique identification number will be linked to a federal database cataloging Lord knows what about you, your movements, and your purchases. You didn’t think your grocery store “Convenience Card” was being used only to provide loyal customers with discounts did you? Every purchase you make is recorded and tracked in order to target you with specific advertising, and figure out how to squeeze every possible penny out of your pocket. If you think the government has no access to this database, then you are naive.

Implantable RFID chips that have been used for years to return pets to their owners are now being used in human volunteers. Some call it “Trendy” and use the chips implanted under their skin to gain admission to nightclubs, and use the financial information stored on the chip to pay for drinks. Some users also have their medical records stored on the chip in case they are in an accident and can’t speak. Some might call it a convenience – that it’s a lot harder to misplace your hand than your pocketbook. I call it Horrifying.

With a single stroke of a pen, these chips could be made mandatory – world-wide – reducing unique human beings to nothing more than inventory that is easily stored, cataloged, and cross referenced. Never before in history could all of these prophecies be fulfilled. So when The Messiah comes (the first time for Jews, and the second time for Christians and Muslims,) and He asks me what I did with my life, I want to be able to tell Him:

I have accepted Christ as my Lord, and personal Savior.

I have lived my life according to the Ten Commandments.

I have told others what I believe to be true about God.

I have done what I can to ease the suffering of others.

I have stood in defense of the defenseless.

I have lived my life with Honor, Fidelity, and Valor.

I do not consider myself a Republican or Democrat, although I have voted Republican more often than not. I tend to chose those I vote for on their stands on individual issues, rather than ingest the pabulum spewed by the leadership of EITHER party. I suppose, if I must have a label, I’m an independent free-thinker. This is one reason I will vote for Ron Paul in November (yes, he’s still in the race.) I am especially impressed with his views concerning the U.S. Constitution, as they are identical to my own.

In essence, Dr. Paul and I believe that if this country is to survive, it needs to return to its constitutional roots, and keep out of unnecessary foreign entanglements, i.e., we should have troops in Afghanistan, but not Iraq (the subject of an upcoming column.) We have strayed too far from the ideals of liberty and personal responsibility upon which this Great Republic was founded.

The Constitution, as originally written, was not intended to give power to the new republic, but to specifically LIMIT its power – and that was the beauty of it. With this document, Americans were given the freedom to live their lives as they saw fit, free of the oppressive British Crown, and with limited interference by the new government. Over the years however, our elected officials have desecrated the Constitution by changing it in order serve their own selfish needs, rather than the needs of the people for whom it was written. Our elected leaders seem to think that remaining in office is the end all, be all, of their purpose in life, when their purpose should be to SERVE the people and carry out their wishes.

American colonists, loyal subjects of the British Crown, were being taxed and smothered by King George, yet their interests were not being represented in Parliament – and that is why they rebelled. All they really wanted was a voice in their own governance. The Declaration of Independence clearly spelled out why they intended to sever their ties to the British Monarchy.

Preamble to The Declaration of Independence

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security…”

Since the terrorist attack on 9/11, President Bush has singlehandedly changed the way we are governed to a point where the Framers could quite possibly feel justified in fomenting a second Revolution. At the very least, they would turn over in their graves if they knew how our individual freedoms have been curtailed, and our personal privacy invaded, in order to protect the citizenry as a whole from the threats posed by Muslim extremists. As Americans, our lives are over-legislated, over-regulated, and over-taxed. We no longer have the freedom to live our lives as the Framers, or God, intended.

Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams and their contemporaries, would be aghast if they saw the state of our union today. The United States was founded on the model of the early Roman Republic. If you doubt that, please take a look at pictures of the monuments and other government buildings in Washington D.C. Remember, Rome was the greatest empire the world had ever seen up to that point in history, but at the height of its power, the empire was laid waste, when Rome was sacked by the Vandals and the Huns – Barbarians at the Gates. Interestingly, these forces were considered at the time to be part of the Roman Empire, but they too were not adequately represented in the Roman Senate.

Granted, we face entirely different challenges, and threats, than any other nation in the history of the world. Therefore, we need to create new defenses to protect ourselves from the deadly, bloodthirsty, and horrific threats facing our nation – indeed, ALL nations – but not at the cost of our civil liberties, which were paid for with the blood of our forefathers, as well as that of the brave men and women, soldiers, airmen, and Marines, who shed blood daily in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today, we face the same dilemma as ancient Rome, but our Barbarians are Islamo-Fascist terrorists who would like nothing better than to see this Great Republic fail, and fall, just like the Romans. Their argument is so weak, that they must resort to the most Demonic forms of terrorism to achieve their aims. They brutally behead any who fall into their clutches, and use suicide bombers to kill innocents whose only crime is going to the market, randomly murdering women and children to advance their bloodthirsty ideology.

These insane bastards even stoop so low as to strap bombs to retarded women, setting off the explosives with a cell phone remote control. Who were the victims in this incident? Families looking for pets in a Baghdad market. Nobody is safe anymore. Muslim extremists respect no boundaries, kill and maim innocents who have never harmed them, and will never stop unless we stop them. And “We” includes sane, moderate Muslims who are tired of these animals twisting the message of the Koran to justify wanton, wholesale murder, and then hide like cowards – finding sanctuary among civilians, and the Muslim communities in western countries. The unfortunate situation in the United States is that we seem to be doing our enemies work for them. The changing face of The Constitution will be the subject of my first column.

As an ardent patriot and a student of history and Enlightenment thought, I feel compelled to share my opinions with as many people as possible. I was absolutely thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to write a column on LiveLeak and have millions of potential readers. I want to thank you all in advance for taking the time to read my column – for some reason, calling it a “Blog” just doesn’t feel right. I will inevitably piss off a few people, but some readers may come to see, and hopefully understand, a viewpoint different than their own – taking away a new understanding of the issues confronting us as individuals, and as citizens of the world in which we live – One mind at a time.

I welcome your comments on my column; who knows, being an open-minded person, perhaps I will learn something new. However, I cannot allow back and forth debates between LiveLeakers, as there is just not enough space and it is not the right place – that is what the forums are for.

So, until next time, I wish you all the best.

OldCorpBLT1/3