Why I support B. J. Lawson for Congress

I'm a Republican. I come from a family of "yellow dog" Democrats, who I'm sure have looked upon me with contempt at times, and if I am to be honest, I've looked at them in a similar light. From my perspective, I believe my occasional contempt toward my Democrat family is somewhat deserved, as we share many of the same values, and the party I have supported is the one which most closely, or at least at one time, supports these values, where as the one they have long supported seems to favor much legislation which is in opposition to their values and morals. Go figure why people vote the way they do. Why did I become a Republican? Truly, I don't know. I can remember being in elementary school and we, the class, participated in a mock election. I voted for Nixon. In hindsight, maybe not the best choice, but it shows that I had this conservative frame of mind early on. My first real election, I voted for Ronald Reagan, one of the greater Presidents in modern history, and this has been followed by Republicans who were far from being good Presidents, but still likely better than the alternatives. It does show that their has been a very bad decline in the quality of candidates though, and this in large part due to the party itself, and in whom they, the leadership of the party, have supported. For several election cycles, it has seemed that the choice is this bad candidate or the other worse candidate. Some choice. There have been, and are good candidates for both Executive and Legislative offices, but for many years these individuals have been overlooked, and the worst of the worst are the ones who receive the nomination. So, I still say I am a Republican, and I am still registered as such, but my disillusion has steadily grown, in direct relation to my self education, and today I am a different type of Republican. In fact, I'm sure I would most accurately be described as a Libertarian, but I'm not ready to make that an official status. I still have hope that the Republican Party can evolve to a more constitutional and liberty minded platform, and there are quality candidates campaigning under the Republican umbrella, but time will tell whether they will receive support from the powers that be, or will be overshadowed by the party's had picked choices, who follow the status quo, meaning the continuation of federal growth. Today's Republican Party, is in fact conservative, at least it is if your definition of conservative is moderation, as they do tend to desire the growth of government, at a somewhat slower, or more moderate pace than the Democrat Party, but desire of growth they have none the less.

I believe in a Constitutional federal government, meaning the federal government described and intended in the Constitution of the United States. All of the mystical interpretations of various clauses, and selected quotations supporting a more active role of the federal government are in my opinion, clearly not what was intended by the founders of this nation. Isn't it more logical to assume that the equally valid quotations supporting the type of government set forth clearly within the wording of the Constitution, without any abstract interpretation, but instead relying on the words as written, is the intended function and more importantly, limitation of the federal government? An even superficial study of the American Revolution, and the founding of the Nation, will show that the colonists had a deep mistrust of government abuse, and much of the writing of the time, especially that which motivated the American colonists, involved the philosophy of liberty and natural law, which is the most compelling evidence that the intended federal government was to be limited in scope and function, with a defined number of functions allotted to it, and those being the ones that only a "federal" government could accomplish. Article 1: Section 8, clearly spells out the powers delegated to the US Congress, and Article 1: Section 10, clearly states the powers prohibited of the states, therefore it follows that those powers not specifically delegated to Congress, nor prohibited of the States, in fact belong solely to the states or the people. In fact, to be clear that there was no misunderstanding, The 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution, say this very same thing. How is that so hard to comprehend?

So, this brings us to the subject of this post, Dr. B. J. Lawson. If we were to design a candidate, with a primary consideration in their makeup, being a honest and faithful interpretation and a real expectation of having them follow the US Constitution as the supreme law, we would come up with someone very much like, if not in fact, B. J. Lawson. He, is known, both during this election and the prior one in 2008, for handing out pocket sized copies of the US Constitution. If we were to select another quality; What about a true understanding and deep love of liberty? I'm all for that, and once more, B. J. Lawson would fit the description perfectly. There is for sure, a general lack of understanding of the philosophical and political concept of liberty, in this nation. Sure people understand the general meaning of the word, but have never really thought about it in depth, to really understand the concept on a more philosophical level. The Libertarian Party itself, is often criticized on grounds which true supporters of liberty would accept as the the only correct position. That is the thing with the concept of liberty; You can't pick and choose which aspect of liberty is acceptable and which one isn't. Either you are pro liberty or anti liberty. Of course some liberty must be restricted, or else there is anarchy, and that is the reason that governments are instituted in the first place, to protect the individual and society from lawlessness which would occur with unlimited liberty. A certain amount of liberty is surrendered for the sake of society, but only enough for society to remain cohesive and for the protection of an individual's rights and that of their property. Other than this minimum, liberty should remain an individuals right, just as any other natural right. Too many people erroneously believe that their expectation of morality, of right and wrong, allows them and society to infringe on another individual's right to liberty, but in doing so, liberty is lost, and every little piece of liberty wrongly taken, makes the next usurpation that much easier to perpetrate, and the loss that much easier to accept, until liberty becomes a difficult to understand concept. That, unfortunately is where we have been heading for a long time.

to be continued.......

Let's call it a wish list!

Brittany


Pharaoh Hound


Basenji


Whippet


Italian Greyhound


English Foxhound


American Foxhound


Carolina Dog


German Shorthaired Pointer


Akita


Golden Retriever


Rhodesian Ridgeback




Rat Terrier/Feist

About A Dog (Part 7)

It's amazing how your position on things can change and evolve. As I said, fourteen years ago, we decided to get an outside dog that went from a full time outside dog, to a part time inside, most time outside dog, to a most time inside part time outside dog, to a day outside, night inside dog, to a mostly indoor dog today. More so, I went from believing that a dog doesn't belong inside with the humans to feeling that this is the most normal thing in the world.

Having this extraordinary dog in our life required another accommodation on our part. When my wife and I married, we lived in the manufactured home that she owned at the time, planning to eventually build our own home. The photo in part 5 of About A Dog is that abode. Having these plans, we decided to not take vacations during this period and save for the house we hoped to build. Marrying later in life, I had saved up a little money, and living below our means allowed us to save fairly quickly, and we began construction in '99, moving in in 2000. Now that the major saving was done, vacations began entering our thought process. By 2000, we had adjusted in many ways to Sydney's quirks, and the accommodations we had to make in our lives to have her be a part of the family. Vacations were going to be one of these accommodations. I believe we did take a long weekend vacation to the mountains early on, and left her in her fenced in lot, and everyone survived, but by 2000, we knew the reality that she either had to be kenneled, stay with someone we knew or simply go with us. We chose the latter, and all of our vacations are planned for dog friendly locations, with dog friendly accommodations. I imagine it has been less than ideal at times for the rest of the family, but it has been important to include our special needs family member, so that is what we've done. No we haven't been to any exotic locations, and part of me regrets that we were unable, but we have enjoyed a fair variety of locations. We've visited Norfolk, VA and Williamsburg, We've visited North Myrtle Beach, Oak Island, Duck, and this year will be vacationing in Kitty Hawk. We have vacationed in the Smoky Mountains also several times, with many places to explore for young boys and a dog. In reality, the biggest disadvantage has been mealtime. Obviously, everyone can't pile into the car and head to a restaurant to eat, so we typically get takeout to bring back to where we are staying, or in later years, take turns staying with the dog. Myself, I think it's been the correct thing to do, and have no regrets. Sure, things could have been different, perhaps even better, but then again, perhaps not. All of those precious moments shared with the last member who was added to our family... I think she needed to be included, and we had adventures we likely wouldn't have had if she weren't included. Maybe it's best to just look at this journey, as choices made. We made the choice to get a dog. We made the choice to let this dog enter our hearts in a special way and become a true member of the family. We chose to accept this dog grudgingly for all of her faults, but looking back, it's clear she accepted a lot of faults in us too, unquestioningly and loved us without reservation. Did we make accommodations in our lives to allow this? Sure. Was it worth it? Without a doubt. Sydney has been, and is a part of my family, and more important, the friend I could always depend on. I wouldn't change a thing. The good in this relationship between man and dog, has far exceeded the bad.

About A Dog (Part 6)

Yes she is accurately and affectionately known as Houdini. There were more escapes, more destruction and more frustrations, but time and growing love made every problem seem smaller and every success more rewarding. We went back to underground fencing, several different variations, but we succeeded in keeping her safe from harm, with a little luck on the few escapes which occurred later.

Now, Sydney is a senior. At fourteen plus years, who knows how much more time she has with us. I'll never be prepared for that day, but I believe that she has had a great life, and will go knowing she was loved. Some time back, her behavior was totally bizarre, more bizarre than normal. She was up at all hours of the night, restless, and seemed frightened. We didn't know what to do, and didn't seek veterinarian advice. In fact, I don't honestly believe that the vet. always has the right answers. Sydney has had a problem with fatty deposits and some growths for several years now. The vet. has been less than helpful in this, other than confirming that they were almost surely benign, and this has almost surely been true as she has survived for this long. Being a sight hound (again our best guess, Whippet), she doesn't tolerate anesthesia well, so even when young and healthy it is a risk, but at her age, any surgery involving anesthesia could be a death sentence, so I have ruled that out as an option. We will never know for sure, but believe that Sydney's odd behavior was brought on because she was losing her hearing. What, if anything she hears now, is questionably. She is easy to startle, can't roam freely because she doesn't respond when called, but she is now a much more settled dog. For the last year or more, Sydney has been left inside all day. She sleeps much, but often she can be found looking out of the window, apparently content just viewing the world without as much interaction. The fear of thunder has apparently left with the ability to hear it, and other than the increased barking, there is nothing to complain of, other than the inevitable which approaches too fast.

About A Dog (Part 5)

Houdini. After the frightening event of the escape and disappearance, we needed to try something new. My wife's brother had a crate, one of the plastic ones, probably for a large dog, but it was available to borrow, and this we did. We decided to leave her inside the house, contained within the crate while we were gone for the day. Sydney had obviously never been housebroken. I suppose another confession is due though, regarding that. I said that Sydney was an outside dog. In reality, she was able to come into our home. I'm not sure how early this occurred, and it really wasn't my intention at the beginning, but she was able to come inside while we were at home. She went outside to eat, and still spent the days and nights outside, but she did spend time inside with us. So, she wasn't fully housebroken, but she had been inside enough to understand than she needed to go out to do what was necessary. Add to this the fact that she was probably six months old when we got her and even older at this point, so in reality, housebreaking wasn't much of an issue. There were a couple of early accidents, but she quickly learned, and it was really an easy process. Like the underground fence, the crating worked well at first. Off to work and school each day, arrive home, let the dog out of the crate, for the happy greeting and outside to do what was needed. All was well again, and the worry was gone. However, like everything with this unusual animal, who by the way, we later learned, has separation anxiety and as we always knew, a desperate fear of thunder, things didn't go well for too long. Little by little, there was evidence of chewing on the crate. Minor, for sure, but not a promising sign. No, she didn't eventually chew her way free, she managed to force her way through the door. So off I go to find a better crate. I purchased an all wire metal model, collapsible for storage and transport, which turned out, once again, not to be the smartest move on my part. The new crate worked well, no way to chew out of this one, and the door latched more securely, but it's amazing what a smart, determined dog can do. Somehow, Houdini managed to get leverage inside this crate and collapse it enough to create a space at the door to escape from.

Was it during the crating period? I'm not sure. Maybe it was after and we decided that she was fine inside the house during the day without the crate. Whenever it happened, one day I arrived home to quite a surprise. The door to our bedroom was shut, but a nice hole was chewed in the carpet on the outside, and into the floor below it. I was livid! But of course this wasn't the full extent. There was a closet door open, the closet which contained my one and only suit, and the floor of this closet was covered with the remains of clothing, including this only suit. I'm not proud. I was angry. I grabbed a rifle. Grabbed the evil dog, and carried her into the field behind our home. My saving grace, was my wife, driving up at that very moment. I don't know for sure how I would feel at this moment if that travesty had not been prevented, but I do now know that I would have missed so much love from my friend, whom I would protect at any cost today. As background, let me explain. I grew up the son of a beef farmer, with a brother-in-law who occasionally took me hunting. So, I have always been comfortable with guns, and killing animals used to not be an issue with me. In fact, when I was in my mid teens, we had a severe problem with feral dogs chasing the cows, some of these cows worth a thousand dollars or more, so my cousin and I were tasked with killing off as many of these dogs as possible, which we did, effectively in fact. Enough said. Now, I eat meat, purchased meat, but if I was hungry enough, I would go out and kill something to provide food for my family, but I don't hunt neither for sport nor food. I have developed this affinity for animals, and the thought of killing anything is not something I would relish. I don't meant to disparage hunters, those who make clean effective kills, but those who wound an animal who suffers in agony before eventually subcombing to death, do not garner a lot of respect.

My wife arrived home at the right time. I didn't do the wrong thing. And Houdini survived to torment, infuriate, inspire and build within me a love that may not have happened, had that moment not occurred.

About A Dog (Part 4)

I tried to remember the sequence of various events, but over a period of fourteen years, and many different occurrences, it's difficult to remember exactly what happened when, and which event preceded another. Let me simply say that Sydney, in her younger years, came to be known as Houdini. Early on it was assumed that she could simply be contained in a simple fenced in enclosure. Digging her way to freedom proved that as a total fallacy in logic.

I remember at some early point, and perhaps immediately following the enclosure idea, I purchased an underground fence system. For any who do not know, this is simply a system with a wire buried in the ground, defining the perimeter of confinement, together with a receiver which broadcasts a radio signal through the wire and a receiver collar which converts this signal to a mild shock. I say mild, but if like me, you have ever had the misfortune to receive a shock from one of these devices, they don't actually feel all that mild. (And this from one who used to be an electrician and frequently received shocks from 110 volt electrical circuits). So, I installed this system, spent a week or so training Sydney to the location of the boundary, and the consequence of trying to cross it. She took to the training pretty well, always was a ready and quick learner. We were set. We had a new system of confinement, Sydney now had the run of the entire yard, and though I was a little worried, the training had looked promising. Great! Things went well, and the system worked as advertised. We went to work and school every day, and Sydney was waiting for us every day when we arrived home, safe and sound. The one problem, was that this dog was simply too smart for her own good. The receiver collar didn't simply deliver a shock, but gave a warning sound a few feet before the area where the shock was delivered. It didn't take Sydney much time at all to discover this fact, so she would get proceed to a location where the collar would beep, and drain the battery, so eventually I was coming home to find a totally drained battery, one which previously had lasted for a week before needing charging. Did I realize what was happening? No. Simply thought the battery was defective, so I replaced the collar, but the problem kept occurring, and it took me some time to discover what was actually going on. I charged the collar every night, and life went on as usual. Then one day we came home, and Sydney was nowhere to be found, She had apparently drained the battery early enough that she realized that she could roam at her leisure. Now we had problems.

I can't remember exactly how early in Sydney's time with us that this event happened, but remember the event pretty clearly. We were at home, life was taking its normal course, and I heard one of the most horrible sounds, a screech of tires, followed by a dog yelping. Fear! Sydney was nowhere to be found, but my wife's family, who live across the road from us, heard this also and saw her running onto their property. So we began the search. The teary, nauseating search for what I knew was an injured and possibly near death loved one. We searched everywhere. Well, I suppose that is absurd, but we did look for a long time, to no avail. Eventually reality set in with the darkness and we were forced to give up. Devastation. By this point, even though this was "just a dog" and simply "an outside dog" Sydney was an important part of our family, and we were distraught. Sleep came slowly and fitfully that night. Sometime during the night, my wife's brother called, Sydney had ended up at his house and was bedded down in his field, so off we go to see how bad the damage was. She appeared unhurt, externally at least, so we brought her back home, She had this odd cough though, and we were worried about internal damage, but it was the middle of the night, and nothing could be done. I say that based on the way I felt at the time. Years later, I would wake the vet at any hour, find an emergency clinic at any distance, and do anything I could to save this friend, but my mind and soul had still not fully evolved at that time. So we babied her, listened and worried through the night, but by morning, you could never guess that anything ever happened.

About A Dog (Part 3)

So we did it. We adopted a dog. A dog which would stay outside, like dogs do. The shelter, not knowing of course what breed she was, told me that they believed that Sydney, her new name, maybe her first and only name, was an Australian Shepherd mix, thus the moniker, Sydney. Yes, aren't I imaginative? We, at the time, didn't have a computer, I didn't even have a clue how to use a computer, so there wasn't this wealth of readily available information at my fingertips to see how accurate this assumption was. I will admit that her coloring did have that Australian Shepherd look.

My wife, in her infinite wisdom, thought that having a kitten, again, readily available from irresponsible owners, would be a good idea also, so we had a kitten to go along with our approximate six month old puppy. Things started out well, or as well as I reasonably expected. A simple, chicken wire enclosure was hastily constructed to contain the dog at night and while we were away, and other than the whining at night, things went fairly well, with the few expected escapes. Sadly, the kitten didn't fare very well. Sydney from the beginning treated the cat much like a play toy, and one Sunday morning while my wife and the kids were at church, I found the play had gotten a bit too rough, and the poor kitten had suffered an early demise. The body was quickly removed, before everyone returned home, and the story of the runaway kitten was born.

When Sydney was first seen by her veterinarian, the vet. commented that she believed that Sydney was predominately a Whippet, and as I was grudgingly dragged into the computer age, this seemed likely to me also, not just because of appearance, but later comparison of know behavior. Whippet's, by the way, are sight hounds which were bred to catch small prey, so the kitten incident was something to be expected, had we been more aware. Many other small animals have suffered similar fates in our yard over the years, one of the most amazing, a rabbit which was chased down on a fresh two foot snowfall. Yes, Whippet indeed.
(Continued)

About A Dog (Part 2)

Yes, I admit it. I lied. When I adopted Sydney, they asked and required that she be allowed access to our home, especially when it was particularly hot or cold, and I said she would, but never intended to live up to that agreement. She was a dog, and a dog belonged outside, just look at nature and the ancestor, the wolf.



Back to my story. As I worked every day in Chapel Hill, I decided to stop at the animal shelter and see what dogs they might have available for adoption. I think all of the dogs I had growing up were mutts, either strays that appeared and stayed, or those given away from irresponsible owners who let their un-spayed dogs breed at will, and always had a new litter roaming around. So, I stopped by the shelter, and looked at what was available. Plenty were available unfortunately, and I know that many who were there likely died soon after I had made my choice. I came upon this very beautiful merle blue colored dog, who was desperate for attention (this should have been a warning), and spent several minutes with her in her enclosure. I wasn't completely sold, but was certainly interested. As I tried to leave, this poor little creature whined and whimpered, so I immediately re-entered and calmed her down. The clues were certainly staring me in the face, but I was too ignorant to realize what was in store. Eventually, I was able to tear myself away, but the decision had been made. I knew this dog was coming home with me, it was simply a matter of letting the rest of the family know, and completing the legal arrangement for adoption.
(Continued)

About A Dog

Sydney. That is her name; The dog who stars in the above video. To the uninformed, Sidney is nothing special, just another mixed breed who was saved from an early death at the animal shelter. But to me, she is far more. She is family.

Sydney's story, at least as far as our family is concerned, began many years ago, and it hurts me to think how long ago, because it is a reminder of how little time she has remaining with us. It all began in 1996. As far as we know she was born at the beginning of that year, and for whatever reason, ended up at the Orange Co., animal shelter in July of '96 when I had decided that a dog would go well with our new family. New to me at least; The children were from the previous marriage of my wife, but as of February of '95, we, the four of us, were family. The thought of a dog for the kids to grow up with was something natural, for one who had grown up with and had them for pets most of his life. Of course, this was a different philosophy of dog and man, than has evolved with Sydney. My intention was to have a dog, you know the typical country outside dog, who greets you when you arrive home, and is there to play with when you are spending time outdoors, and this was the role Sydney was to fulfill in our family. A pet. Little did I know how wrong this would be. Continued......

First Attempt

So, being the trend setter that I am, I'm going to, well perhaps I will, Blog a bit, letting all of these random thoughts which flow through my mind, find their way to yours. Of course, that is if anyone finds their way here and reads this, which isn't very likely in all honesty. So I'll just talk to myself here and find a likeminded audience. I imagine I'll talk a lot about politics, followed closely by dogs. Considering how I feel about the average politician, the dogs will be in the posts with the more happy tone as they are the more intelligent and worthwhile creature. Later...