OPTIMISM

Let's face it, ol' H.C. can be a tad on the dark side sometimes. My world is full of apocalyptic notions. I believe people are inherently evil (You have to convince yourself to do the right thing and talk yourself out of doing the wrong thing. Right?) I believe that a nuclear weapon will go off somewhere in the world before the end of this century. I believe that people are more narcissistic then they have ever been in history, and that as a result our families are falling apart along with our morals. But, there is another side to my personality that a lot of you don't get to see. Believe it or not, I'm basically a very happy person. In fact, my nickname in high school was "Smiley". In order to maintain my sanity, I look for the good things in life. Believe me when I tell you, if you look for only the bad things in life, you will end up one miserable person. Whenever I read the newspapers, I always read the comics last. After a long night of CNN or FOX, I always try to watch a comedy or some comedian. And instead of continuously searching for whatever is wrong with this world, sometimes I look for what is right. So, to help you through these trying times, I'm going to show you the better side of humanity. I really believe this goes on more than you know, it's just that it doesn't bleed....so it doesn't lead.

*Business Man Gives Away Toys*

In Longway , Texas, businessman Don Talley gathers up toys in the months before Christmas to give to needy families in his community. Don and his "Darlings" (helpers) gave away a ton of toys but that wasn't enough. They even reached into their own pockets to buy even more toys so that in their words, "every child in the community would get a Christmas present." Way-to-go Don and his Darlings.

*Secret Santa*

Even though he died this year of cancer, Larry Stewart led a life that should be an inspiration to all of us. During the course of his life Larry gave away $1.3 million dollars as a "Secret Santa" to people in need he found through social agencies or word-of-mouth. He kept his identity a secret up until he realized he was dying and then only reveiled it because he wanted to inspire others to be more generous. RIP Larry, think of all the people you made happy, if only for a moment.

*Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet*

I know it's far more popular to view anyone with wealth as evil bastards who got where they are by crooked means or by stepping on labor. I guess I'll never be able to convince the 30% of you that are always hating anyone with success. But, for the rest of you, consider that Warren Buffet gave away $37 billion to various charities, nearly 85% of his total wealth. The lion's share of that went to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, a foundation that last year gave more medicine and food to people in Africa than any country in the European Union. So much for the kinder, gentler Socialistic notion.

*Salvation for the Salvation Army*

One of my favorite organizations, The Salvation Army, received 31 $100 dollar bills from a person known only as "Leo". The person left a note saying he wanted to outdo a previous donation of 30 $100 dollar bills. Now that's a war I can stand behind. The money will go to helping poor people heat their homes. I find that a little more important than whether or not the Salvation Army will enlist openly gay people, the big issue on the left.

*America the Charitable*

Even the left-leaning MSN has to admit it; "The United States leads the world in levels of charitable activity." The rest of the world tends to forget the wonderful things the U.S. does around the world. From supplying medicine to feeding the hungry, both in our country and outside, no one can deny the U.S. shows her passionate side. With hardly any effort, you can find dozens of barely reported stories of American generosity. Sure, it's true that the U.S. also does bad things, but focusing only on that side doesn't do her justice. Would you want to be judged only on what you did wrong? I thought not.

Now, go forth my children. Take this renewed faith in humanity and smile a little and laugh a little. Watch a comedian or read the comics. Watch a sunrise or just spend a few moments appreciating what you have. While it's true there are a lot of things to be concerned with, your life will be far happier if you spend at least some time searching for what's good...instead of only what's bad. H.C. :)

MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

If I only could, I would wish these blessings on all of you (and me!) for the Holidays;

*Peace*

Peace in all it's forms. Peace of mind, Peace of spirit, Peace among mankind, Peace between ourselves and the Environment, Piece of.......well, you get the idea.

*Clarity of Thought*

This one may sound odd at first, but don't throw it in the "return" pile just yet, clarity of thought is very important. It's so hard to make good decisions if your mind is burdened with stress, emotion, or irrational thought. To truly clear your mind up is to see things as they really are, untainted by prejudice, preconceptions, or outside influence. Of all the gifts I would give you, this is the one I would love for myself.

*Foresight instead of Hindsight*

Wouldn't it be great if we knew how things were going to turn out BEFORE they happened. (like lottery numbers!) If I could only count the number of times that I thought to myself, "If only I knew it was going to turn out like this." Hindsight's only attribute is that it teaches and humbles us. A good thing I suppose, but Foresight, it seems, would make hindsight unnecessary.

*Patience and Conviction*

This is one I've learned from hunting. When your out in the cold woods waiting for something to show up that has no schedules, you begin to doubt. Doubt creeps into your soul and starts eating away at your faith in your decisions. Soon you begin to second guess yourself. "Maybe I should have sat by the corn, or up on the ridge." You tell yourself. Finally, doubt wins and you stand up.........just in time to watch a big buck bound off. Making your best decisions work sometimes requires patience. Without conviction to your idea, patience waits alone.

*Love*

What kind of Wish list would this be without love? Fortunately, I'm very lucky in this department. I have wonderful children, adorable grandchildren, and a wife who love me and supports all my endeavors, no matter how strange (like Professional Bass Fisherman or Writer) I can't imagine a world without love and I believe it's part of the human condition to need it. So as my final wish to all of you, I wish all the love you give to be returned to you double, and that you use that love to make someone else's life here a little better. (Utopian I know, but this is a Wish List )

I hope all of you have the best Christmas, Hanuka, Kwanzaa, or (Enter your choice of Winter Holiday) ever! H.C.

WHO IS A. Q. KAHN AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE

Saddam Hussein, it turns out, got his revenge on the U.S. in the end. When the United States and our allies in the Iraq War could not produce the Weapons of Mass Destruction that we claimed were in Iraq, something happened around the world that would leave it's imprint to this day. The world became far more sceptical of foreign intelligence by anyone, but particularly any by the U.S. or Britain. All and all, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Before we go jumping into War we should be 100% sure (or damn near it) that our reasons are just and accurate. But having said that, I would also warn people not to go too far the other way. Just because our intelligence isn't always accurate doesn't mean it's always wrong either. I would equate that logic to releasing all criminals because we discovered that some of them were innocent. With that in mind, I want to take a look at the dangers we all face in this "War on Terror" and help you decide if any of this should be feared or if it's all the result of propaganda by people with other agendas. First on my list of things to consider is a Pakistani scientist by the name of A. Q. Kahn.

Abdul Qadeer Kahn was born April 1, 1936 into a middle-class Mohajir/Pashtun Muslim family which migrated from British India to Pakistan in 1952. He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1960 from the University of Karachi, majoring in physical metallurgy. He then obtained the degree of Master of Science (Technology) in 1967 from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in metallurgical engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium in 1972. Dr. Kahn then spent several years working on enriching uranium for the Netherlands. The Netherlands (home of Liberal thought) then supplied enriched uranium for the ill-fated idea of spreading nuclear energy to countries around the world. Every since Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower started his "Atoms for Peace" project, the world had, (for some stupid reason) begun educating less advanced countries on how to start their own nuclear ambitions. That spreading this uranium around the world along with enrichment procedures may cause some problems in the future apparently never even occurred to them. Once educated, Dr. Kahn left the Netherlands to return to Pakistan (along with his new-found knowledge) with the goal of creating nuclear weapons for Muslim countries. Starting with Pakistan.

At this point I would like to address the idea that we have nuclear weapons, so who are we to tell other countries that they can not have them. This, to me, is like saying, "What's the difference between giving Gandhi an automatic weapon and giving one to Charles Manson?" Honestly, this is one of the dumbest (and I don't use that word often) arguments I have ever heard. If your a person who believes in back-ground checks for buying guns I'm not sure how you could open your mouth and let something so mindless fall out. Certainly there is a difference in who has a weapon. Sheesh. Now back to the point.

Every since India (Pakistan's Nemesis) announced in 1974 that it had created a nuclear weapon, Pakistan had been trying to create one of it's own. Now, with the knowledge supplied by A. Q. Kahn, Pakistan began it's clandestine nuclear weapons project. After denying for years that it even had a program (Gee, that sounds familiar), in 1987 Kahn announced in a British newspaper that Pakistan had indeed created a nuclear weapon. That Pakistan now has several nuclear weapons is no longer even disputed. More disturbing to the world than this revelation was the fact that it appears A.Q. Kahn had set up a network with Libya, Iran, and North Korea to help them with their nuclear ambitions too. Even Time magazine (not exactly a right-wing publication) ran a cover article calling Kahn a "The Merchant of Menace" detailing his involvement in providing Muslim nations with nuclear technology.

The purpose of me pointing out all this to you is this; With the recent report released by the NIE that Iran had stopped it's Nuclear weapons program back in 2003 (which, by the way it denied it ever had). There has been a rash of reporting designed to further embarrass the Bush Administration and halt our pressures on Iran. While I have no problem with embarrassing Bush, we should be very careful not to confuse this report with thinking that there is no problem or danger out there. We didn't know about A.Q. Kahn or his nuclear adventurism until it was too late. For us to assume that we now know everything that is going on and that there is no danger or clandestine efforts out there is very naive. Nuclear proliferation is going on and with the advent of the Internet it's getting worse. I hate to say it, but I think the world needs to see a nuclear weapon go off to finally come to grips with the danger that we do face. That politicians exaggerate and use fear as a tool to control or manipulate is irrefutable. But please don't ever start thinking that it's all smoke and mirrors. The danger is real and there are more A.Q. Kahns out there that we don't know about yet. I would hate to have a mushroom cloud be our day of awakening and our reaction be one of passion and not logic. The best defense we have is for us to accept that it will happen and to have our reaction well thought out in advance. H.C.

CATCHIN' UP

In order to bring you up to speed on all the crap that went down while I was having my own personal little writer's crisis, I decided to cover some off the major events that I felt were significant over the past two month and tell you what I thought of them ala' Andre. (I love when he does these, and I doubt I can do it as well. But here goes.)

*BUSH VETOES S-CHIP LEGISLATION....TWICE.*

S-Chip is a Federal program that gives medical coverage to children without any other coverage. The Democratic supported legislation has had pork barrel handouts attached to it as well as eligibility requirements that the Bush Administration thinks is too high. Frankly, using sick children as a political tool makes me nauseous and angry at both sides. My advice to Bush; sign the damn thing and point out all the crap the Dems have attached to it. Take the high moral ground and stop falling for the trap of being the evil bastard who won't give coverage to sick children because the Democrats are purposely attaching things to it that you find objectionable.

*NATIONAL DEBT HITS $9.1 TRILLION*

The Dems haven't been pointing this one out near enough. When Clinton left office our National Debt was $5.8 Trillion. Under Bush spending has been completely out of control. The War on Terror can account for a half a trillion and the prescription drug program can account for another half trillion at the top end. This still leaves nearly $2 Trillion unaccounted for and I for one would like to know where the hell it went. Democrats; this is a good stick to beat Republicans with that you haven't been using nearly enough.

*THE SURGE IS SUCCESSFUL (AT LEAST FOR NOW)*

Back in August I stated that my patience with the War had nearly reached an end. I stated that I would give General Petraeus the 6 months that he asked for and I refused to join the Democrats that wanted to throw up the white flag before the results were even in. However, as I said, this would be the last chance for the Iraqis to stand up. Well, the results are in and it looks like (for whatever reason), it was a success. Even reliable Bush critic Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn) has been forced to admit it, The media has tried desperately to downplay this success (which in my eyes borders on treason). To not be happy that things are going better for our troops is disgraceful. The media has shown itself to be as stubborn and closed minded to news that they don't want to hear as they accuse the Bush Administration of being. Give Petraeus another star, the man is achieving something even I thought was impossible.

*MICHIGAN DISENFRANCHISES VOTERS*

This makes me so angry my veins are throbbing and my eyes are spinning. In an attempt to gain more attention in the primary cycle of the 2008 presidential election , our illustrious idiots on the Democratic side of the aisle came up with a scheme that is stupid at the very least and down right criminal at the very most. They decided (along with a few other states) to try to leapfrog over the first few states in the primary season. This resulted in the top four contenders on the Democratic side (minus Hillary) to withdraw from being on the ballot in Michigan in order to gain more favor in Iowa and New Hampshire. This means people in Michigan that wanted to vote for Barack Obama or John Edwards for instance, are now left with only Hillary or one of the low-tier candidates as a choice (you can't write them in as they didn't sign up as write-in candidates). As if that's not bad enough, now the Michigan voter's guide suggests you just vote "uncommitted" and then they (DNC) will decide for you where to put your vote. Apparently the DNC is cool with you submitting blank ballots and they vote for you. I'm thinking of moving to Mexico where their system is less corrupt. (Sarcasm added for flavor.)

*NEW LIFE CHURCH SHOOTING*

I'm only bringing this one up for one reason. Back in April there was a shooting at Virginia Tech that resulted in 32 innocent deaths. The scenario was similar in that in both incidences the killer shot two people and then left only to continue his rampage somewhere else. At Virginia Tech the response was to issue an E-Mail announcing that there was a shooting and that was that. At the New Life Church their response was to tell their other branches to arm their security people to guard the parishioners. The end result? The disturbed young man was shot by one of the security guards and his rampage was ended before he could kill "all the Christians" who "brought this upon themselves." There is a very disturbing trend of accepted prejudice against Christians, but I'm glad that this was handled correctly by allowing innocent people to defend themselves instead of sticking to the P.C. anti-gun methods that result in situations like Virginia Tech.

*ON A PERSONAL NOTE*

While I've been gone from the blogging scene, I've spent my time working with John and Steve from Studio 1714 on building a studio from which to broadcast our new Internet radio program. We're getting close to having produced our 100th video on Studio 1714's Youtube site so we have some events planned to celebrate. I'll keep all of you posted and I hope you'll join us in our efforts to keep you well informed while having as much fun as possible. I'm glad to be back and hope your glad to have me back. If not, remember, it's all Andre's fault. H.C.

DID CNN SET UP REPUBLICANS IN THE YOUTUBE DEBATES?

Once again the issue of media bias raises it's ugly head. This time in the form of the CNN/YOUTUBE debates. While CNN is celebrating the fact that they hosted the #1 rated Presidential debate of all time, some conservatives are left grumbling that the "Secret Selection Process" CNN used was questionable at the very least. Somehow CNN didn't find it necessary to even 'Google' some of the people who's questions were chosen. This "oversite" on CNN's part meant that Retired General, Keith Kerr, who is on Hillary Clinton's Gay and Lesbian Rights Steering committee got to question Republicans as to why they (Republicans) don't think our military is "professional" enough to handle having openly gay people in their ranks. The question itself should have raised flags, as our military is still operating on the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy set up by none other than Bill Clinton. This "oversite" lead to bloggers such as Conservative Michelle Malkin, jumping all over CNN for allowing political activists for the Democratic Party to handle the questions.

I take a slightly different view of this than most of the right wing columns I have read . Ms Malkin demonstrates in her piece that several "operatives" for the Dems got questions selected. Now, the General, I think, should never have gotten his question through, but to say that someone is in collusion simply because they support Democratic candidates is a bit of a stretch. Michelle points out a Barack supporter, a Edwards supporter, as well as more Hillary supporters. I would assume, in a random sampling, that you would find some people who actively support different candidates including some Democrats. To push it as far as she did diminishes the real point; CNN was not handling the debates fairly.

I think what we're seeing here is simply a left wing dominated media source (CNN) not having a clue as to why they've demonstrated bias. In their world, Democrats should be asking Republicans hard questions. It stands to reason, they believe, that only Democrats would ask the hard questions. So where's the foul? Well the foul is that CNN isn't applying that same principle to the other side of our tired two-party system. CNN uses the same pool of people to pick both the Democratic Youtube Debate questions and the Republican Youtube Debates questions. Now that would be fine if CNN would just come forward and tell use who these people are so we can assess for ourselves if there was a fair sampling from the political spectrum. But CNN doesn't want to come clean and for good reason. The panel was chosen from "Mainstream Media" according to CNN, and since the MM is decidedly left leaning, even according to CNN's own Lou Dobbs, of course the panel would lean left also. Again, CNN sees no foul. All this comes at a time when the Democrats are boycotting FOX News because of their, (you guessed it) ...political bias.

Did CNN purposely slant the questions harshly against the Republicans and softball the Democrats? NO, not purposely. Did one of Hillary's supporters take an opportunity to publicly embarrass Republicans? Yes, definitely. Did Hillary know? I think there are standing orders in the Elect Hillary Camp, she doesn't need to know or approve. Should CNN have been more vigilant in checking out who these people were? Certainly, and the fact that they didn't, speaks volumes. But, in the end, this is just more proof of my chief complaint about the left. They can't see their own prejudices because they're always too busy pointing out someone else's. H.C.

Free Speech Frank

Hello everyone. O.K. , O.K. I know I said I was done. The hardest part about coming back is that I feel like I'm not being "A Man of My Word". I like to be a person you can trust, who says something and stands behind it. Good or Bad. But, I have so much I want to tell you that I'm about to burst at the seams. The elections are coming up and issues of free speech and personal liberties are everywhere and even though I still feel my chances of influencing anyone are slim, I have to try. So, as an opening piece I'm running this old clip of Frank Zappa on "Crossfire". (It don't get any stranger than this!) Frank brings up some great issues on censorship and it falls in line with how I feel. Enjoy and think.