Remember your childhood?  Some of you are asking… why?  Come on. Work with me here.  Remember standing before the Judge in the tense courtroom of your own personal benevolent dictator desperately trying to come up with a legitimate excuse to why you neglected to obey the clear and multiplied declarations of Law decreed from the self-same lips of that self-same benevolent dictator?  After all the work you put into perfecting a story that would divert blame onto the inexplicable cretins who lived next door, the defense is barely out of your mouth when your parents fold their arms.  This bears all the finality of a Judge’s gavel and you realize…you’re toast….burnt toast.  Some of you are still asking why?

Here’s why.  Good parents will not tolerate the notion that some other influence can validate a child’s violation of established edicts within the set walls of their family kingdom.  It’s not an option.  Each child is responsible for its own behavior.  Each child must answer to their mother and father on their own merit for the ways in which they implement the training and direction they have received in that family structure.  Every time leadership allows for the interjection of an external force as an excuse for disobedience, the less effective the teaching discipline becomes.

There have been times this columnist, whether in printed or verbal debate, has, perhaps, been over the top and been reined in by those I make myself accountable to.  Conversely, there are those who have said some pretty hateful things about my family and I.  None of these words or behaviors validates violence.  Let me explain myself.

In the heat of the debate, my opponent may call me a fascist.   I would never conceive that the heated words of a misinformed debater are the catalyst for a violent act against my person.  It is incumbent upon me to prove the title wrong.  With evidence presented, it is imperative that my opponent concedes his folly and it is most important that a civilized society observe to form its own judgment.

By the time this column goes to print, it may be nearly two weeks removed from the horror of this past weekend.   Many have decried the shallow hypocrisy of those who quickly jumped at a perceived opportunity to curtail free speech, score political points against hated opponents and attempt to save pet political projects.  I too am appalled at vicious, callous exploitation of an incomparable tragedy, but there is a fundamental flaw in our approach to this debate.

Violence was elevated to a level and platform it did not deserve in this massacre.  Violence is not a valid expression in the theatre of civilized debate.  To try and prove, in some remote fashion, that a violent act is the result of heated or elevated rhetoric is, in itself, a validation of violence.  This Nation was birthed through the labor pains of heated debate.  It is vital to the continued healthy growth of this Nation to maintain the tension of spirited discourse in the struggle thereof.

Most civilized Americans have watched with disbelief as insanity raised its ugly head and then with further disgust as leaders degraded the situation into political mud wrestling.  Once again, we ask….why?

I can recall those years that I worked for my Father in the woods logging.  I can’t say that I necessarily can reflect upon that portion of my life pilgrimage with fondness but I can remember it.  I say this because I recently, like many of my fellow contractors, have had to put together a resume in an attempt to find work.  The President, along with his local ally former Governor Baldacci, have deemed independent contractors unnecessary to a functioning economy and have decided to shut them down.

So the slow and painful process of trying to attach appropriate dates to faded memories, prying open the lids, encrusted over with the corrosion of neglect, that cover the trunks and boxes of mental history stored away in a simple man’s intellectual attic and trying to piece together the job history of a young man who was somewhat nomadic has begun.  Yeah, I know, it’s easier to say resumes are a pain in the royal caboose, but where is the entertainment value in that.

In one of those faded old memories, I found some interesting analogies. These could be applied to recent events.  One morning before heading up the trail to start cutting my first twitch, I met a new logger who had moved into the area from the New Jersey/New York area.  He was going to try his hand at logging and set up shop a few twitch yards down from us.  This guy was huge!  He looked like he could play defensive end for the New York Giants.  He had muscles bulging out of places I didn’t realize muscles could bulge.   As a teenage boy, I couldn’t help but compare his physique to my lack thereof and wondered what I, with my hobbit-like frame, was doing working in the woods.

Much to my surprise, it soon became apparent that his amazing physical profile would be his worst enemy.  He couldn’t keep his balance to pull the cable from the winch to the tree.  He couldn’t bend over far enough to notch and cut his tree low enough.  His arms were too big to get the choker around the tree.

I learned a valuable lesson.  God designed the muscular structure of our bodies to adapt to the demands you place on it.  He was built for the gym and show.  What little bit of teenage muscle I possessed had been formed by the very job duties this man could not perform.  A few months later, he was out of the work force with debilitating muscle injuries.  My father and other adult men that I worked with said he was too big, too much muscle.  Really?  Hmmmm…that sounds like our Government.

Darrell Issa has correctly described the many stimulus dollars and other funds running through our government as food that feeds a beast covered with the bulging muscles of corruption.  He wants this government to slim down, lean down and lighten up.  He wants answers to why this administration has given most of the stimulus projects to unions and other nagging questions.  Of course an upstanding crusader for truth like our President would applaud a fellow crusader like Mr. Issa and encourage…him…oh, no wait, they are lawyering up.   Wow, that sounds a lot like Chicago gangster tactics.  I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.

It looks to me like Darrell Issa is just the diet the government beast needs.  He understands what many doctors would describe as a skeletal structure overstressed by muscles too large for the frame that carries them.  Yes, this is a common problem amongst bodybuilders.  When strained, the massive muscles begin to tear apart the bone structure.   This is what happened to my logger friend.  These massive muscle heads seem more equipped for standing in front of a mirror or stage to be gawked at than working a day to day job that requires everyday strength and brawn.

Our government is too massive and it’s structure strains to keep the muscles of corruption from tearing it apart.  Those in power have been convinced that their primary purpose was to be on display for the American people’s viewing pleasure, while those same American people, would prefer government worked.  In the months to come, the IssaToner Diet may be just what the Doctor ordered

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/10/arizona-massacre-prompts-political-cheap-shots/

A spokesman for Markey, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee — which has jurisdiction over both public lands and energy development on them — told FoxNews.com that drilling in the refuge is not just an Alaskan issue.

“The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is public land, part of our national natural heritage that all Americans share – belonging as much to the people of Massachusetts as it does to the people of Texas or California or Alaska,” Markey spokesman Eben Burnham-Snyder said in an e-mail.

The intraparty spat comes as motorists are besieged by rising oil prices. Oil prices rose 22 percent from Labor Day through the end of the year. The national average price for gas is about $3.08 per gallon, the highest since January 2008 when the price was around $3.11 a gallon. Oil prices fell below $88 Friday, but analysts expect price of a barrel to surpass $100 this year. And gas prices generally rise between the start of the year and Memorial Day.

Begich says Congress specifically set aside 1.5 million acres along the coastal plain for oil and gas exploration. He says the area has enormous potential and should be part of the nation’s energy plan.

“I agree that we need to do more to develop alternative energy forms as part of our national plan, but to put ANWR off limits is shortsighted,” he said. “ANWR will not be locked up

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/07/democrats-lock-horns-proposal-protect-wildlife-refuge-drilling/#ixzz1AOL3XFJK