Ed McMahon died last week. He was a great entertainer, but prior to his stage accomplishments he was a distinguished Marine Corps fighter pilot in WWII earning six Air Medals and attaining the rank of Colonel. He was discharged in 1946 and was later promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard.

Farrah Fawcett died last week after a long career in Hollywood as an actress. After she was diagnosed with cancer, she became an activist for cancer treatment and devoted her last remaining years encouraging people to seek treatment. She documented her plight on film and used it to encourage others to stay positive and upbeat despite their diagnosis and suffering.

Michael Jackson died last week. He was perhaps o ne of the greatest singers of modern time. He will also be remembered for his eccentric lifestyle that included sleeping with a chimpanzee, living in a carnival-like atmosphere at Neverland, his fascination with Peter Pan, and his numerous masks and costumes. He also admitted to finding pleasure sleeping with young boys and paying out millions of dollars in settlements to the families of these boys despite being acquitted by a court on one allegation of sexual molestation.

QUESTION - Which of the above did the House of Representatives declare a moment of silence for today? (Hint - It wasn't the first two.)

QUESTION - Which of the above's family received a personal note of condolence from President Obama? (Hint - It wasn't the first two.)

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

The Founding Fathers came up with something quite new in the history of the world – the idea of self-governance. They did something unique in the history of the world. They not only threw off the yoke of foreign domination, but they invented a political system that took the shackles off the people and placed them where they belong – on central government.

That's what needs to be done, again, today.

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.

Liberals look at most people as stupid and needing of help.

Hence, the reason for so many social programs.

Don't give people a handout. Give them a hand up.

On the other hand, I believe God puts in people the ability and desire to succeed. Man is a goal striving being.

Goals. Dreams. Desire. Wanting to make a difference. It all comes from God.

So I believe everyone can be successful. Didn't say it would be easy. Didn't say it would be an overnight success. I said I believe it can happen. (And the definition of success varies.)

But when you give handouts and all these social programs, you take away incentive. You take away desire. You make people dependent.

You also make people resentful.

That is why I don't like most politicians, especially ones like Obama. He doesn't inspire people to believe in themselves, to look inward and to God for their success.

Instead, he tells people to look to Obama, to look to government for their supply, for their need. The exchange or medium is their vote.

In the end, all you have are people in despair, who LEARN dependency.

There are too many people that we can point to who have overcome the odds to in order to be successful. One of my favorites is Chris Gardner, a black man who was homeless, and is now a multimillionaire. (Don't just watch the movie about him. Read his book.)

It is stories like these that make this country great.

Happy Independence Day.

P.S. Read, "The Americans Who Risked Everything."

---

© 2008 Thanks for taking the time to read PoliticalConservativesBlog.com. Please feel free to peruse our blog for more great content.