By ROBERT HOUDESHELL

On January 20, 1961, newly elected president John F. Kennedy implored Americans “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”

Contrast this with a statement from a progressive I know, “I hate conservatives because Ronald Reagan ended a student loan program that would have let me go to college.”  My first two thoughts were:  ”Hey, I worked my way through college and you could have too!”  Secondly, I thought “Ronald Reagan didn’t do this to you specifically.  Trust me, he didn’t say “I’m going to screw this guy out of his college for some hateful conservative reason.”

This reminded me of the notion of “self-interest.”  Please don’t confuse self-interest with selfishness.  They are different.  All of us operate off of self-interest; the self-interest to succeed, stay alive, see our families thrive.  However, unhealthy self-interest is most closely aligned with selfishness.  I submit that anyone, of any political affiliation, that votes for a candidate or party because of what that candidate or party can do for them should be cautious.

(more…)

By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Reminiscent of the fall of Rome, Congressional seats may soon be harder to give away rather than raising a fortune to gain. In fairness it would be hard to prove the Congress has a clue, but the real question is what are they going to do now that the rest of America is starting to get a clue?

The clues are starting to come in at an alarming rate because many Americans are sitting down and actually reading the bills the congress doesn’t seem to have time to study. The stimulus, healthcare, and hate crimes read like a cross between a child’s fairy tale and the dark musings of Jean Paul Sartre. Proposals that bounce between the silly and the frightening may hold our interest but what do they do to preserve the American way of life, our founding principles or the Constitution itself?

(more…)

By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Governor Sarah Palin resigns effective July 26, 2009 after constant media scrutiny and being the butt of endless and tiring jokes, ridicule and intrusions into her family’s privacy what does this mean?

At a time when the media is still sucking news from the big wave of pop star Michael Jackson’s short and fiery life Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announces her resignation. News sources are in a frenzy to define the implications of her resignation all the while ignoring the real question of their own bad behavior.

(more…)