Charlie Earl's Blog Posts Tagged 'big' (91)

• The Oath of Allegiance:

"I hereby declare, on oath,



that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;



that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;…

According to data from the World Bank, the 2010 Gross Domestic Product for the United States of America was 14.5824 trillion dollars. By the end of 2011 the national debt for the U.S.A. will roam in the neighborhood of $16.8 trillion. As you probably know, the GDP represents the value of every product and service generated in the country for that year. So, it is obvious that our debt exceeds the value of everything produced in our country by every company and person for an entire…

Eliminating undesirable people and prickly political minorities has been practiced by despotic governments for a long time. Our human history is replete with governments’ eliminating certain sectors of their own populations or slaughtering opponents in their villages and in their beds. Some people may be uncomfortable with this historical perspective and suggest that in our enlightened times, such butchery is no longer accepted. That attitude, Dear Reader, is what is known as a “pipe dream.”…

The main stream media talking heads have consciously and deliberately ignored Congressman Ron Paul’s lofty finish in the Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll. When they do stoop to mention him, it is done derisively based primarily on his response to a Thursday night debate question. He was chided, and then asked about his position regarding the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the Iranian government. Dr. Paul, in essence, responded that we (the United States) should do nothing. He went on to state that…

Secrecy is an elusive concept. Some secrets are housed deep within our individual minds and never shared with others. Actions that involve behavior are often relegated to lockboxes of secrecy because of shame or fear of embarrassment. People who seek to reform their lives and begin anew may jealously guard the secrets of their pasts. Secrets are preserved and exposed. They are devised for a number of reasons and revealed for other compelling purposes. Secrets often cause their possessors to…

For several years I was an umpire for baseball and softball games. We had two clearly defined baselines and two more subjectively defined base paths. To compound the issue, the foul line is in reality a fair line. So, let’s discuss government and clarity of language regarding the term “baseline.” A baseline as defined by the federal government is not as firm or as permanent as a 3” line of white chalk that runs from home plate to first base or from third base to home plate. The government’s…

If you have been on this Earth for any significant time, you have probably and painfully learned that there is a difference between thoughtful consideration and procrastination. Dithering does not qualify as deliberation. Certainly prudence demands that we examine our options to determine which one will yield the most favorable outcome. Undoubtedly you are familiar with the term, “paralysis by analysis,” wherein over-examination of a difficult decision leads to a failure to act or respond.…

Robin Hood dresses oddly, and he’s a thief. That’s not all bad, however, because many of his most blatant thefts involved stealing tax money from the authorities and returning it to the struggling citizens of Nottinghamshire. Robin of Loxley became the nemesis of the Sheriff of Nottingham who represented King John in the shire. Robin’s daring feats drove the sheriff to distraction as Robin and his band of Merry Men accosted nobles, corrupt clergymen and tax collectors in their efforts to…

It has not been a good week for liberty or our nation’s fiscal integrity. For a while I thought I was watching the Rockettes doing the can-can and kicking it a little further with each move. Twenty-two patriots held firm and refused to be bullied and steamrollered. I urge you to contact the stalwarts and thank them for standing tall for our country. Also, I urge each and every patriot, liberty and Tea Party group to send letters of commendation and appreciation. Do not wait until the 2012…

We typically think of assets as hard goods….things, but we

know that some assets may be intangible. For example, your savings in a bank or

your portfolio are not tangible. They are sheets of paper or printouts that

represent to some degree hard assets. Other assets are not typically included

in one’s balance sheet such as education, talent, skills and ambition. I have

included some other descriptors for assets that are not generally included on

the net…

In these perilous times for our nation and several of our

states and communities, it seems as if new fissure points are deepening in our

civil structure. For several decades union membership in the private sector has

been declining as our heavy manufacturing industries have relocated to

right-to-work states, moved offshore or upgraded to highly automated

facilities. The labor unions, thirsting for the constant inflow of dues money,

have shifted their focus…

Last Friday I had the honor of sitting in for Pastor John

Jones on “Eye on Education” ( www.wspd.com  click “podcasts” then “Eye on Toledo” for

6/24/2011). John is a man who understands the jots and tittles, ins and outs

and plusses and minuses of the local school systems. I do not, but as a former

college teacher, I thought that we might explore education from a somewhat

different perspective. We explored the…

This column is not about man-made global warming, Lady Gaga

or other cultural fictions. If you receive as many email threads as I do, you

know there are a myriad of issues confronting our nation…many of them could be

categorized as “critical.” As you glance at your “control panel of life,” you

see an array of “Hot Buttons” demanding your attention. Your fertile fragile

mind goes into critical-issue overload as you consider where to direct your

limited…

A mere 12 generations have passed since the great Irish

satirist, Jonathon Swift, used his pen to entertain and skewer the elites of

his era. Today, we are fortunate to have as our guest his great……great

grandson, Knotso Swift.

“Back in the day (circa 1700) when my ancestor was

sharpening his quill to mock the power structure, there were approximately 600

million inhabitants on this fragile globe. Today, we have nearly 8…

The old saying goes “the only two certain things in life are

death and taxes,” and the clowns in government make it a daily double. The

estate tax represents government’s ultimate indignity. As they lower your cold

dead body into the ground, the greedy clutching hand of government reaches into

your pocket and extracts your wallet. They examine the contents with glee then

tell your heirs to “keep the change.” Your heirs, the products of your loins,

your…

If you haven’t yet realized the painful truth that

government is quick to promise but loathe to perform, then you haven’t been

paying attention. We can cite multitudes of instances where government programs

or initiatives have been implemented to address a real or imaginary need and

has exacerbated the problem. As a rule compared to the private sector or

motivated individuals, government is inefficient, ineffective and incompetent.

One would think that…

Do you ever get frustrated when you are negotiating one of

those automated phone systems and the first command is “Press 1 for English?” Our

nation has been truly blessed by the people who love liberty who have come to

our shores seeking a better life. They have come here from every corner of the

globe and represent many cultures, customs, faiths, languages and dialects.

They all share a thirst for freedom and the desire to work diligently to

achieve…

Many of us stumble through life with our days of joy, months

of the routine and times of despair. Some of us are more reflective than others

as we seek to make sense of it all…or merely a little part of it all. Some

psychologists and business consultants inform us that in many cases recognition

is a greater motivator than increased pay. Most people desire, at some level,

to be significant. During my campaign last year, I encountered several of…

Our federal government has become a huge unworkable

monstrosity while we were napping. There are bureaus, departments, agencies and

offices for every imaginable activity designed in the human imagination. So

what’s the government solution when agencies proliferate faster than rabbits in

heat? Why, add more, of course. Because our government is so bloated and

inefficient, we need oversight agencies and inspector general departments. We

pay thousands of…

They look good, and may smell good. Their responses are

measured and clearly rehearsed. If they encounter a question or a situation

that may reflect poorly on their airs of competence, they ignore it and provide

an unrelated answer to an unasked question. They are experts when “working the

room.” Saying “hello” and “howdy” to every person in attendance as the young

aide whispers names and political standings into their ears, they move about

with…