The Times Are A Changin' For Me In The Way I Choose To Live

Never in my life have I been so disillusioned with the political scene in our nation and state. And what is most shocking is the occasional letter to the editor in our local paper or status update on facebook, especially one this evening.

People are ecstatic at their move "to stop the spread of communism in America."

Never in my life have I seen people so wrapped in ignorance. When I read the statement this evening on facebook, I wasn't shocked, because I've been reading things like that for at least nine months: threats against our current President, accusations and allegations of a number of conspiracy theories, unfounded and unsupported statements that question the service of individuals serving our country in various political offices.

This comes from a state that forgave one politician from the 80's for being dishonest with campaign finances. That man served time, and some in Idaho wanted him to return to DC, even though a felon can't function as a public servant. I comes from a state, that forgave another one for enormous amounts of money he spent to attract the attention of President Bush. That governor wanted to become a Homeland Security Secretary. He eventually settled for Interior Secretary, and although he had previously returned to Idaho to run for governor, after saying that he didn't like DC, he returned to the East Coast as quickly as he could. He didn't finish his last term of office. He now works for Insurance interests and makes at least six figures, giving money to those who vote like Big Insurance likes. Idaho voters opted to forgive yet another one for picking up dates in the men's restroom in the Minneapolis airport. Weeks later, our current governor placed this man in Idaho's Hall of Fame, explaining he did it quickly for his past service. Waiting, the governor had explained, might make it impossible to enshrine him.

What defines a person worthy of the Idaho Hall of Fame?

I won't mention our current governor. I guess you can make mistakes, if you're a Republican. Men like this run on "personal values," but when they compromise those same ideals and their actions reveal their hypocrisy, the Idaho electorate "absolves" them. I

'm a Christian with very firm religious beliefs and values; however, I can't abide politicians, who run on values, without any type of political agenda. Men like this collect their wage, make connections with powerful special interest groups, and they eventually retire with extremely large salaries. If you don't believe me, do the research on Steve Symms and Kirk Kempthorne. Start there. Then continue to look at others.

In the words of Mel Brooks from his movie History of the World, Pat II, "it's great to be king."

There are other situations too. I refuse to think about it anymore, because no one cares in Idaho. It's like the tree in the woods. If no one is there to hear it fall, did it really make a sound? They put their heads in the sand, refuse to look at "real" news and research, and opt to vote for people who pander them. These are slick oliticians, who get out their speeches, dust them off and read to the populace about the Constitution before their reelection.

Some Idahoans think our Constitution will eventually "hang by a thread." That comes from a lot of people who quote this material, even though their church reminds them it is not accepted doctrine.

Here's a taste of reality. What puts our country at risk is the connection of our political leaders with powerful people who have power and and who have a lot of money.

Look at Senator Crapo. He is careful now not to take as many free trips like he once did. The "little" golf trip in Georgia cost him a lot of media attention a number of years ago, but no one here seemed to care in Idaho.

Idahoans didn't care, when he gave people from a U.S. Territory tax breaks after their $100,000- $200,000 contribution, and this year, a lobbyist for an insurance interest bragged to friends of ours about Crapo's taking a check for $50,000 after a 15 minute conversation over lunch. And that's a fact not some silly pipe dream scrawled on a chalkboard on FOX Network.

I supported Mr. Crapo when he served in the Idaho Legislature. He was honest. His voice was one of reason and common sense, but his "stint" in DC has been nothing but partisan politics and self-indulgence. He continues to rake in enormous amounts of money to do the same political campaign he runs every year. Why would you need the cash, when he wins with a 70 percent majority. It's sad, considering what is happening in this situation.

His commercial this year went like this: It's not too late to protect our nation and our Constitution. I don't remember the exact words, but that's what he said. Ironically, what threatens our Constitution is his lip service to Idahoans and service to big money and powerful interests. His connection to money and lobbyists disenfranchises his constituents. Does anyone see this? It's not about liberals and conservatives. It's about money buying influence.

Old school journalists, who once took the time to present news in an unbiased fashion, and who sought to inform Americans about what was happening in our country, seemed shocked early this year at some of the attitudes that dominate our culture. They couldn't believe the impatience at our current state of the economy, and even more difficult to believe was how they blame economic failure on the current administration.

First, no one--certainly not our current President--believed that our economic difficulty would mend itself before midterm elections. He knew that when he campaigned, and he mentioned it during debates. He reminded Americans, that whoever had to deal with the economic problems had a long battle ahead.

And ironically, things are slowly improving--even with the negative news reports that persist, which discourages investment and stirs up angry voters, who have no idea how economics really works.

The unwillingness of banks and financial organizations to loan money to people for business expansion or other things to stimulate the economy also has had an effect. Ironically, the same greedy people who contributed to the mess, continue to dominate our culture. They don't want any changes that might prevent the same thing from happening. But they have the power and money to influence voters, and they have done that very thing in the last year.

Secondly, our nation fought a war that cost Americans close to a billion dollars a week for eight years. To believe that this had no effect on our economy or the world's economy is amazing to me. Actually, it's more than just ignorance that refuses to look at this.

Last, fuel costs are close to $2.00 per gallon less than they were when the last administration allowed Big Oil to operate freely. The oil companies made triple digit profit gains during that administration, yet small businesses selling gas closed their doors because of how Big Oil did business.

There was no profit realized by many, and they lost their stations as a result. The Big Boys earned the big bucks here.

Given what happened, I am so shocked that voters want to return to the status quo: a time when the majority party not only declared war on Iraq, but they also threatened China, North Korea, Iran.

They also successfully alienated Russia. Some conservatives believe this to be a positive move. It isn't. We don't need any more wars. Nor do we need the negative relations with foreign countries.

Given infrastructural needs, a few things actually changed in the last few years in a positive light, enabling our economy to benefit. Roads, bridges, cities received money for much needed improvements. There were even attempts by George Bush to bolster and rebuild our power grid. It was a start. The current administration tried to do more.

Given our current debt, those winning this current election have promised to lower taxes at a time when we have domestic problems, which could signal disastrous consequences.

What bothers me and what angers me, is that they want to return to failed economic policies that not only cost Republicans the White House, but those same ideas cost "W's" father in the early 90's too. Trickle down economics has never worked.

No one wants their money to go downward to anyone else. They don't want taxes. They don't want infrastructural needs dealt with in a positive way. They don't want to do anything for our youth, who fight in the military. They want profits from wars.

I believe the danger of returning to failed policies will return us to a deeper economic downturn that we experienced before, but Republicans will "spin" their way out of that too. It will be the "liberals," who are at fault.

I made a decision tonight. There is no more room in my life for politics. This will be the last blog about this whole mess. It will also be my last election, where I take an active role, where I even vote.

I felt this way after the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. It's maybe difficult for a reader to understand me, because it's not that I am unpatriotic. I just can't stand to see leaders in office, who refuse to lead America and its citizens. These are the people who seem to be rising to power. Many of them do not have any intelligence, at least not enough to lead a major industrial nation. Their dedication is to Big Business and Special Interest Groups. This is what threatens our country. This is what threatens our form of government.

So for me, my insignificant vote, that I have cast uninterrupted since 1972, is officially at an end. I am finished with the whole mess. It angers my wife at my saying this, but I just don't have any more pain to give. I don't have any more patience for poor leadership. I don't have any more tolerance for people who promote an agenda of empty promises to the people they represent. I don't have any willingness to public servants with one goal: eventually to collect millions of dollars from those, who seek to control them and employ them as future lobbyists.

My decision is about me and my family. It's all about what I seek to do with my life.

So, to the facebook contributor, who believes he stopped communism with his vote tonight, and who obviously believes that all Democrats are communists, I have this to say: "have you ever really met one?"

I have. I spoke to a class of 35 sixteen-year-old Polish nationals in Berlin during an exchange I did during the early 80's. They asked me what I thought about communism, and I answered honestly, and it's what I still believe today.

I hate that form of government: one that fences their people into a system without recourse or escape, one that refuses to allow people personal freedoms, one that causes so much pain and frustration to those very citizens it should be serving.

After I made my comment, I also told them how much I respected the people, who suffered under those political conditions.

The class stood up and gave me a standing ovation. It took five minutes to get them to quiet down, and then they asked me about America. And I told them what a great nation it was, a country that tolerated people with different ideas and welcomed people from across the world. It held out open arms for human beings who needed a "leg up" in life, as they sought to escape tyrants and bad governments.

Here's another communist I met.

I talked with a man in Meissen, within former East Germany. And I met him just months after his government ceased to be a communist nation. He and his friends were disillusioned, sad, depressed. We talked. He knew I was an American. I knew he was a communist.

This was apparent to me during our talk: he knew I didn't like his preferred form of government. We left after shaking hands, and I told him something in German that made him smile: "One thing about it--you can be a communist within a free, democratic society, but you can't promote democracy within a communist nation."

He smiled. He wasn't suggesting that he was going to lead a coup in the near future. Nor was he gloating at the thought of helping communism rise again. The man just grinned after realizing what it meant to be free. Maybe it made him smile that I was so open about expressing that idea. I was frank, and we were honest with each other during our conversation.

Some people in America today don't understand this very important principle. It's almost like a number of fanatics want to force their own opinion down someone's throat every second during the day.

There is no tolerance. There is no compromise. There is no civility.

For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of people and how they react. I'm ashamed at how they treat others, how they embrace their own self-indulgence, how they confuse arrogance with patriotism.

I believed I taught students to help prevent future adults from making ignorant choices. I was naive, maybe even foolish, but it's actually worse than that. I was stupid. Being educated does not guarantee anything. History teaches that. I should have recognized it long ago.

The people I see react so ignorantly are educated people, intelligent people, passionate people. They just don't really honor what the Founding Fathers intended--a man's right to choose political and religious beliefs without intimidation. That's why people came to the New World.

So how do I exist for the rest of my life without becoming involved in what I view as a colossal waste of time. I will enjoy my grandchildren, regardless of what happens around our family. I will even help educate them, in the event that schools fail to do certain things I find important.

And in some time in the future, when people finally see the truth behind the deceptive rhetoric that exists, I will begin voting. But I will do it only if my vote counts.

I refuse to participate, because as a nation, we have become disenfranchised by politicians, who allow their votes to be purchased. We have a large number of them in Idaho, where one-party politics is alive and well.

Tonight I am finally free of the heartache I felt in the past. I refuse to let ignorant people affect my attitude about life. I will enjoy what matters most, and nothing else will consume any more of my time.

I learned this long ago: two reasons exist for not teaching a pig how to sing: 1) it's a waste of time, and 2) it irritates the pig.

For others who read this, I came from a Republican family. They voted that way for generations. I began that way, and suddenly, I saw what this party did to hurt education on the state level.

So do I ever vote for a Republican? Yes, there were two incredible men who served the Bonneville County area: Reed and John Hansen. They both eventually retired, and now they--according to what I know--passed away. They were good men, honorable men. But they died without a six or seven figure salary in DC and without many of the benefits of accepting money from powerful people. They were good men, who recognized the need for strong schools for our children. They were honorable men, who served like men did in the very beginnings of this great country.

Favorite Halloween Pictures

Halloween was simpler when Ann and I were small. Parents didn't have to worry about much. We always tried to walk in groups, but sometimes I would become impatient.

I knew it was getting late, and I would walk ahead--trying to get to Bannock Street. When I think of it now, that's a long walk for a small child from South Main where we lived. It's a distance of at least two miles one way, and when you consider that you're stopping along the way, it is not something you finish very quickly.

I remember Johnny Frederickson gave out whole candy bars. When he asked who I was, he always told me that he knew the Wards. Our family paid our bills during the difficult times during The Great Depression.

Ann told me how he respected her dad too. The times that I remember from Ann's picture are those simple times. We never had to worry about pedaphiles. The only one I remember in town was this weird man, who delivered newspapers or something and gave out free penny suckers to children.

"Don't ever let me catch you talking to that man." My dad was adamant about that, and I knew the consequences if I did, even when I had no idea, why my father was so nervous about it.

We lived in simple times. Costumes were things we created ourselves, unless we bought a special mask. You used a large worn white pillow sheet with holes cut for eyes, or you designed something out of a large box. It was about creativity. Actually, it was about getting the most candy without spending a lot of money or time inventing something fabulous.

Most of us gathered our candy in pillow sheets too. Even when my own children were doing the candy thing in my hometown, it was still relatively simple, although we suddenly drove them around.

Costumes were still simple, because we were so damned poor. Cles was The Creature From The Black Lagoon. Kristin was Minny Mouse. Lydia was a witch. But it didn't matter if you didn't spend a lot on a costume, because my children liked the candy. It was the focus.

Years passed. Suddenly, grandchildren came on the scene. It was interesting how things changed over the years.

This first costume was one the neighbors no longer had use for, because their children were too big for it. The picture here is one of my favorites.

Halloween is fun when children are small. They don't understand the whole thing. It's confusing, especially when adults occasionally wear costumes too. We had friends knock on our door, and I remember the shock and horror on Jack's face when he saw an adult for the first time dressed strangely.

When children are small, it's not a challenge to find the "right" costume. It's not even a challenge finding "one" costume, because as they get older, they suddenly find fun in having multiple things. Star Wars costumes are the ones that Jack liked the most. Dark Vader, Luke, a Storm Trooper--he did all of those. Some he did the same year. Then Batman and other heros like Power Rangers came into demand.

But before then, it was fun to have Tommy and Jack at a point in time, where you could say, "Let's have you be a Teddy Bear or a Frog."

That would lead to screaming and kicking and biting and overall remorse for any child being forced to be "cute."

No normal child wants to look like that, regardless how cute it is, so it is vital that a parent take advantage of those moments while they can.

Time moves too quickly. Years pass. Children become sophisticated in their tastes.

But before that horrific moment to occur, it's time to savor the moment when a child can be a frog or a bear or a monkey. Sometimes, like Anna, you can even be a pumpkin.

Yes, that won't happen again. Although the Greeks noticed how life goes full circle. You begin life crawling and immobile. At the end of life it happens too.

I've been in old folks homes, and sometimes, there is at least one person in charge with either a bizarre sense of humor or a need for adults to be cute too, because you see old people dressed like that too.

There is, however, a difference. Rarely do you see a four or five-year-old give you the finger.

And old people in nursing homes might be in wheel chairs or balancing precariously in walkers, but they still live life on the edge.

Giving someone the finger is something that happens. It happens because you have an excuse--either legitimate or not. Maybe it's must a way to show the world what you think about someone forcing you to be cute.

But that early phase changed quickly. Suddenly Jack decided to become Mr. Incredible one year.

At one point, he even flexed those muscles and showed the camera a "six pack," purchased for the price of a costume. Some people spend hundreds of dollars in athletic clubs for that sort of thing.

There are stair masters, treadmills. For every bit of flab, there is a unique machine to give you confidence.

I could never see the value in it. Few people look good naked. And most of those don feathers, paint, spears. National Geographic always featured those souls, whose bodies were hard from running for their lives from "lions and tigers and bears, oh my."

A treadmill doesn't give you enough incentive. There's nothing like being part of something's food chain to give you a burst of adrenaline.

But the charge of a rhino or elephant does the same thing I'm sure. I'm just glad that I never had to worry about that. We did in our high school, however, run to lunch every day. You have to be hungry or really competitive to feel the need to run swiftly to school lunch.

So as a parent, it's vital to enjoy the moment. A time when a child smiles at something so simple as being cute and adorable, because change happens.

First costumes become a must, and then instead of dressing like a small monster, a child becomes a teen.

Then the world really changes. You decide costumes weren't really all that bad.

When I experienced the teenage phenomenon as a parent, I always thought of the Frankenstein film. At breakfast in the mornings, I felt the need to pinch a line from the infamous doctor: "It's alive!"

I didn't. My teenage children would never have thought it funny. They would have rolled their eyes.

It's scary to see a teen roll their eyes, because you always think there is the chance their eyes will roll back, showing only the whites; their heads will spin 360 degrees, as they make this horrific yacking sound and spew pea soup on the rug.

Exorcism doesn't work with teens. It's like a disease. They get it. They keep it for five or six years, and then if you're lucky, they'll become an adult--if you're lucky.

However, even writing this, I realize how your perspective changes with age. I was not only a teen, but I was also a horrible teen.

But one thing about it, my cameras are a great thing. They record moments in time for me. Brief but unforgettable experiences of when a "little one" was cute is something every parent and grandparent must have.

It's those moments that get a person through the teenage years. They get you through other tough times too. There's always a hope that some day, things will be alright, and a child will possibly remember how much you loved them, and how much they loved you.

It happens, because life is mostly a good thing, but sometimes things don't happen like you expect. John Lennon said this: "Life is what happens when you least expect it."

Enjoying the moment is what I do now. I wait. I absorb every instant. Yes, I hate the smell of raw pumpkin, and I worry about cutting myself when we carve them, but the satisfaction that spreads across a child's face is something you can't resist. I'm just glad my Annie will make those fun things for my grandchildren.

Life is to be savored to be enjoyed.

When you smile back at even dark moments, it smiles back at you--sometimes.

I decided some time ago, that I will imagine that life happens that way, even if it really doesn't.

Being happy is contagious.

You never know what happens on any given Halloween, but the moments in these pictures are ones that are my favorites. Time spent with grandchildren is what I live for every day.

And if it takes a costume to do it, I'll buy it. Yes, you hope that things don't become more dramatic in the future, but for the cost of $20, a child lives in a world that soon passes away like dew before the rising sun. Those creative years pass. Children become "almost adults." People inhibited by what other people think. For now, I'll enjoy the moments.

And I choose to savor every day and hope that things remain simple and serene. It might be too much to ask, but I'll do everything I can to ensure that things stay that way.

Halloween 2010--Lot's of Fun Things To Do

In our family, I leave it to my Annie to do the carving of pumpkins. First, given the fact that I am on blood thinner, I would scare the entire neighborhood in a major way if I mistakenly cut myself while cutting through the thick orange skin.

Cooking isn't a problem, as long as I'm careful, but on occasion I catch a finger a bit, and that is not a good thing.

Secondly, Annie is the artist, and if my own children inherits any type of ability in that direction, they definitely get it from her. I can't even draw stick figures. I can, however, write a very good poem. That's not a Halloween thing, unless of course we're taking Edgar Allan Poe.

This one was my personal favorite. The whole skull and crossbones thing was fun. The worst part was trying to get a candle through the small opening.

There was a bit of wind that evening, and it even began to rain around 8:45 p.m., and I noticed that the other pumpkin had stopped flickering.

I take out the candle, light it, and I try to get my hand through the opening, which was too small for my hand. I gripped the small two inch container. But then I simply dropped it into the hole, and it worked well. The only problem was that no one stole pumpkins out of the neighborhood this year, so now both remain on our doorstep for a bit longer. I will light them as long as the candle still has enough wick and wax to do it.

The day began easily. Considering that Jack insisted on watching a movie with me the night before, he was easy to get out of bed. We had been able to find a Star Wars costume he loved on our return from our last road trip in California.

On the morning of this parade, he refused to open his eyes, when I spoke about breakfast. "You've got a big day," I said. "That Halloween Parade is going to be fun."

Suddenly he opened his eyes with a start, sat up, and looked at me. He was excited--very excited.

Jack's friend's loved his costume. And given the sudden movement just as I snapped the picture, it blurred. It actually works, if you think the friend at his left is a ghost instead of a Zombie, but if Hollywood can take liberties like they do with history, I officially do the same thing. Zombies are phantom-like today.

Jack loved having his picture taken, and the plastic helmet was OK, but he looked forward to the evening, when he would be wearing the fancier one we found in Target. Did I mention that he had a laser blaster to go with the whole "get-up?"

We left Jack at school to enjoy the class party they had planned, and then in the afternoon, we picked him up at the closing bell: just as the class was on their way to go to the bus.

Idaho Falls had something special planned for children that evening. At the river, a large number of business vendors took places within trailers, and each one gave out candy. It sounded great. The reality was it was a long wait.

The line stretched at least 800 meters, if not longer, and it took about one hour to arrive at this point. It was here where suddenly you turned left and began stopping at trailers. Z 103 had speakers there, and someone was doing voices and playing music from the last five decades. The Purple People Eater and a few things like that were songs from the radio in the late 50's. I remember my mother listening to it, before we had a TV on the ranch.

They had gymnasts, who did some routines there. There were also small businesses that do martial arts in town. They all had displays, demonstrations or cards to introduce themselves--besides the candy of course.

I found park benches along the way to sit for a bit. We were there for at least two hours or more, so my legs started bothering me. Just standing is sometimes more difficult that moving. I took this picture when my Annie and Jack approached. Jack is sporting his new helmet and laser rifle.

The worst part was waiting in line with people who seemed to enjoy the moment of standing in line with mobs of people. They wouldn't push their strollers. Their children wandered about ahead and behind them, and to make matters worse, people and their children behind us began crowding ahead of us.

This place at the river is beautiful, and I marveled at it, until I noticed who was there. Banks, investors and one particular politician, who created the whole educational mess when he briefly served after Dirk Kempthorne's appointment to something better and more profitable.

No one else seems to be able to afford the rent to open a business there.

This is the view of the vendors, handing out candy. It was an incredible gesture. They spent extra time, when they didn't have to do it. It combined for an incredible time for children and families.

My Computer Room

My computer room features one thing from my ancestry, a Welsh flag. Growing up in a community, where our family talked about those roots often probably is why I think so much about it. Besides, I always loved the whole thing about "dragons."

It was our high school mascot, another connection with those Welsh "roots."

Now one man had something to say about such a preoccupation with ancestors and things in the past: "The man who has nothing to boast of but his illustrious ancestry is like the potato - the best part under ground." Thomas Overbury (1581-1613)

However, the way adults taught us about the past was different than what Thomas Overbury spoke of in his quote. Adults took a different approach. It encouraged young people, persuading the youth to pursue music, poetry sports. But more importantly, they emphasized the need to excel in whatever we did.

And even though no one thought about ancient Druids when it came to talking to youth about Welsh roots, furthering an education was also something that was in the minds and hearts of most young people, who went to my high school. It was what we did.

The Druid way was a 30 year plan, a concept

that emphasized that you never stop learning. We never really accepted that, at least I didn't think we did. However, I still feel the need to educate myself through travel, books, enrichment.

The connection remains. I continue to hope to learn the language and travel there. I want to see the grass-covered mountains in early spring, to hear the sounds of streams, to taste the food.

It's all part of getting in touch with those ancient roots.