…with respect and humility.

Our grandparents touched evil. Our great-grandparents knew what it meant to have families separated. Their innocence was lost and their reality was threatened by true evil.

Evil so hideous, that it would brainwash a mother to jump to her death with child in her arms, than suffer at the hands of Allied Forces in the Pacific Ocean. Evil so potent that it could convince others a race of humanity was the cause of their misfortune. That the solution to the ills of the economic world would be the total demise of the culture and beliefs, of a People, who brought forth to the world Jesus of Nazareth. And to THAT end, would they not have eventually seen the followers of Jesus himself as part of their ‘solution’?

After defeating the Axis Powers, our Great and Grandparents tried to tell their children of the dangers they knew. They warned them of how this evil rose to power. How the coward is the courter of the devil, and that No Appeasement should be given.

This Far, and No Farther!

That men Of Peace know not of the World War that raged before. Education being the remedy, they taught steadfast courage and adherence to the rights of Humanity were the ONLY solution, come what may.

Men of Courage were born of that war. Bush, Reagan, Kennedy… Eisenhower knew that war was not the weapon of choice. And we know it solves nothing. It only eliminates our Brothers, as sure as our enemies tried to kill theirs.

But, would we trade, if offered in a genuine sense, this that we know, for the past to be changed and war to be avoided? At first thought, I want to say Yes. Of course the avoidance of a World War as all-encompassing as the second was would be amazing! Just in the scores of families that would not have been destroyed. the countless souls who died because of the beliefs of others. The inhumane losses born by citizens neglected in times of crisis.

But I hesitate. Only because I realize the gains humanity has enjoyed because we stood for the liberty of others. The Civil Rights Movement may not have taken flight. As soldiers came back to a segregated America, they were inspired to create the freedom they enjoyed abroad, here. The Women’s Movement may not have risen. After enjoying equality in sports, in manufacturing, in Society while the men fought overseas, it was degrading for them to be forced back into servitude as the men came home.

The Technological Revolution we are all a part of NOW, was fully funded and encouraged during the war for counter espionage. breaking codes, tracking ballistic missiles beyond the horizon, aerial photography from the edge of space, knowledge that lie at the heart of the atom itself…

And so many more advances we take for granted today. Open markets across the planet, human rights expanded to countries that oppressed their people, the knowledge and confidence to go to the MOON was born from the horrors of war. The cost of every life lost was paid IN FULL by our grandparents, and it is not given to us today as if it were our inheritance. It was won, hard fought by them, so we could have a CHANCE to fight for it AGAIN. Today. So it is, that EVERY generation must make that choice.

Because the Choice is ALWAYS Ours.

So we balance these questions on a razor’s edge today. As sure as people were in the streets in the 1960s, we see it today. As sure as napalm leveled the jungles of Vietnam, the drones fly high in the cradle of civilization, devoiding the desert of humanity.

The lessons learned are not forgotten. For those with eyes to see, the fight is as fierce as it was then. And the stage is set for a fight today that NO ONE wants to see. That NO ONE wants to start. That is so potent, I fear it may have already started…

But NOW we have a choice. The choice has always been with Us. It is NOT the in the leaders’ hands. It is NOT in our enemies’ hands. It is in OUR HANDS. The Liberty to choose our own destiny is NOT ours alone, we are a small part of a LONG line that stood before us, and the line that stretches off into the unknown infinite, but we are given the righteous responsibility to defend it NOW, as it has, and will be given again.

NOW, our war is rhetoric. Our injustice is only an injustice of Words. NOW, we see how powerful the pen can be, because the Words of ONE MAN have put back into motion the mechanisms that enabled evils, now only remembered. NOW, the words produced by a leader and his men, have started down a path we ALL know too well.

And we will ALL OWN IT…. come what may.

DO NOT spark the powder kegs! DO NOT injure like they would encourage. But NEVER BE SILENT. ALWAYS stand firm and SPEAK LOUDLY. Proclaim where you stand NOW, for when they try to take that freedom from you, and they ask you “Where do YOU stand?” we will ALL know. The people around you, the people behind you, and the people you didn’t even know could hear how LOUD your voice was… can hear you, too.

If NO ONE stands SILENT then the MINORITY BELIEFS will not corrupt the Truth. Fear cannot silence TRUTH when we stand United. We speak out when Law is subverted because without Law, we cannot find TRUTH.

Equal protection Under Law.

When enforcement of the Law is detrimental to the citizens that established it, The LAW MUST CHANGE. Seeking to craft Legislation that reflects the values that ALL Americans share, those that are taught to every generation in the ancient texts of every caring religion on Earth, is why people established Our Government in the first place- it is the “Just Patriotism” George Washington spoke of in his Farewell Address. Our Constitution isn’t celebrated because it is OUR Constitution, it is celebrated because it is a document worth celebrating!

Pride in our Law, in Our Constitution is expressed clearly when we speak in unison, and demand an unjust law be repealed immediately.

Long Live The Constitution!

Long Live the OFFICE of the President of the United States!

Keep your head UP!!

A Scout is Brave.

WHY are you so angry? Process it. Root it out. WHY are we triggered to anger when we’re told “others” are coming to take our jobs, our safety, our LIVES.

One answer: we are all crazy. Seriously, the way mental health is portrayed in most people’s lives, as a personal weakness if you have to go to a shrink. Some of us walk around in our daily lives wondering if we can find the inner strength to make it through one more day, and somehow seem to struggle through. And all the while, passing on the street, people coming and going without a passing glance, souls who have seen horrors we could not even imagine existed… and not quite as strong as ourselves. And but for the random chance of a passing stranger’s caring glance, or the stray alley cat with one ear missing rubbing against a leg. Maybe, not so bad…

Another answer- we’re being manipulated. Not just straight lying. That’s too easy to spot. You have to convince people to change their views, or they won’t be deeply held. Make an emotional connection with people’s inner soul, what makes ’em tick. Gotta hit ’em right where they live. Something they can relate to, from their past. An ever present ‘us vs. them’ feeling, keeping you on edge and maybe lose some sleep.

BREAKING NEWS: ‘They’ are just over the border, off the coast of the State, coming in boats like landing craft on D-Day. Are YOU safe?? Watch the “buy my crap” news team, tonite!

How many generations are we talking about here? How many different ‘others’ have their been in the last 17 years… 40 years… 60, 80 years… All being fed fears of ‘us against them’, to the benefit of only those who profit from fear and hate. The people who profit from constructing walls. Who profit when we fear a someone and need to protect our something. So we RUSH RIGHT OUT and BUY a thing that will stop a them. Because we are designed to. Intentionally.

The science of mental health is successful because we have learned what makes the mind work the way it does. After all, it is a science. We know how to treat diseases of the mind because we find their origins, and follow the evolution of a mind from childhood to adulthood. In order to treat the disease successfully, we must know what causes it… This means we must know, necesarily, how to destroy a mind as well as how to heal it.

Through the scientific method, with determination the size of the American Spirit, anything is possible.

So, stop and attempt to understand the origin of your rage. If these groups of people are so dangerous and such a threat that we must spend millions to stop them, but they will keep coming, and more walls need to be built… People say we have to secure the borders to stop terrorists. Stop terrorists? From WITHOUT? I have two words to say to that- Timothy McVeigh. The people from abroad who seek to do our country harm are nothing compared to the homegrown version we cultivate currently. America First.

The natural emotional responses of the human mind are studied by commercial industries to sell brands. To make you remember who has the best fries in America. So you will remember what car maker is “going places”. To drill into your head what meat Bigfoot likes to eat. You should enjoy this meat product because you relate to some thing or person that situation and outcome…

Once we understand the triggers, the emotional response that is desired, and the action implied, we will see who stands on the side of The People. We have to come together and see we’re all on the same side of the street. We are all standing waiting for a bus, wishing for a better life for ourselves and our family, not wanting to be standing here waiting for the bus! We are all striving to be heard and being yelled down by someone who knows better than ourselves.

Alan Vargas at a March for Our Lives event. @TheAlanvargas

We are all just trying to make a buck and get closer to the goals we set in our lives.

We are all human, born imperfect and striving for perfection, and everyone should remember that, and show compassion because we’ve all been there, or will be someday…

This officer tased this suspect while he was submissive and attempting to comply.

What makes you mad? Why are you so mad that you could scream?

I promise the solution to this is SPEAKING OUT. Silence is what brought us here, and silence will bring us more of the same. Share ideas, share feelings, share the joy we find when we give a hand to others, and lend an ear to gain knowledge. No one grows as a person, through war. War breaks people down. War grinds strong people to dust slowly over decades. You wanna find answers on a spiritual level? Listen to the heartache of another human being and give emotional support. You might find answers to problems in your life by helping someone else with their’s.

…at least that’s how I see it.

Keep your head up!

The Sword

The idea of coming together and turning our swords into plow shares is both a beautiful aspiration for peace and a statement of blissful ignorance. The Liberty we enjoy today is not given freely as a gift, but OWNED by each successive generation.

We enjoy the CHOICE at all times.

And throughout time, the sword has always been sought as a last resort by those of patients and thought. In this new battlefield, in this war of 1’s and 0’s, the pen is now the sword. In a world where TRUTH is being hawked as LIES, and men of HONOR are stoned for speaking truth, of course the allegorical is now literal!

Look at me… I’m off to fight a “Giant”, the “leader” of the United States.

And all of us are “in the streets” on social media, calling on leaders to DO something, and Our leaders are TALKING about their past accomplishments. The actions our elected officials engage in are obstruction and grandstanding, and they go to great lengths to do so! All while individuals sit on the couch, networking with people in Florida, and New York, and Kansas City, and Mobile, working hard to make a revolution happen. But don’t believe everything you see on TV.

“Live! From Kansas City, it’s a Political REVOLUTION!!”

How amazing is it that grown men are taking their cues from teenagers in a Florida high school?

How shameful is it that the President of the United States of America befriends murders and dictators while spitting in the face of our closest allies?

Right now, Our government has taken children from their parents and holds them prisoner, subcontracting the resposibility of the well being and care of these kids to religious organizations… And the most ordained solution I can envision is rallying every single biker and Harley owner in the country to ride for THIER freedom.

Bikers for Babies? You Damned Straight.

When we stand for the Rule of Law, it cannot be selective. It is for EVERYONE, or it is for NO ONE. If we deny a despot the right to a trial, then we condemn to death the Liberty of our own children. We cannot think ourselves immune to the trampling of our basic human rights because they are carried out in “another land”. If we turn away, knowing these things are happening, it is as if I hold the chains that imprison them, myself.

The surest path to victory in a War of Words is to disarm your opponent.

Through CENSORSHIP, you achieve the appearance of victory, because when silence is what you practice, you won’t see your defeat coming. If LIES are the weapon you choose, your downfall was decided long before you even began… In our country, we have defeated the liar many, MANY times before! The surest way to defeat the LIAR is to unite on the side of TRUTH. The TRUTH must reside in a sacred repository.

We are ALL standing TOGETHER on the side of TRUTH when we stand for the Rule of Law.

Equal Protection Under Law.

With Liberty and Justice for ALL, not the “all” that I decide. Not the “all” that “they” decide. ALL. The piecemeal destruction of our TRUST in the Law is intentional. And it is done through deception. Our Govenment is made to look IMPOTENT in the face of obstacles, in order to rally cries of smaller government. If Our government were truly inept, I would rally to that cry! As we all should.

Due to the method of our Congressional Elections, each and every member of both the House AND the Senate, MUST have money to run for office. Without money, their voice will not be heard, even if they have the BEST ideas.

Elected officials do the legislating of the DONORS who support their election bid. Who donates to candidates? Who does NOT?… or, in many cases cannot because of a lack of disposable income due to paying for two kids, a mortgage, a car payment, increasing health care costs, rising gas prices…

People who would benifit the MOST from ‘good’ legislation have no voice in the legislative process. No regulations and no legislation is profitable. Protections and safety cost money. It is as simple as return on investment. If it was not profitable to fund a candidate, it would not be done.

THE GRIDLOCK IS INTENTIONAL.

IT IS KILLING PEOPLE.

And we must own it, or we are ALL doomed to repeat it.

It’s All Connected…

I wanted to speak about Wilson Montenegro and his cousin Jerrell Frazier. I graduated from Olathe North High School class of 1998. On September 14, 1995, Wilson and Jerrell were shot and killed in a drive by shooting while playing football with some friends on school grounds.

It was Homecoming weekend. I remember on Friday, the football game was the first time I got to dress out and play live with the marching band. It was the beginning of a new year at a new school for me with new friends. Then, later that weekend…

I never got to meet Wilson. We didn’t have the same classes. I saw him only in passing between class. But his life touched all of us. The Monday after, as we walled the halls… silence. No one spoke. No one knew what to say. And we all understood the danger was real.

The things we do make a difference in other people’s lives. It’s a ripple effect. As words leave our lips and reverberate through air, like rocks cast into still waters, what we do touches more than we can see. What we do each day, matters.

Have you ever taken a dandelion gone to seed and blown the seeds into the wind? Have you ever taken a dandelion gone to seed and blown the seeds off up wind of someone with seasonal allergies?

What we do matters and effects people around us.

Like an intricate placement of dominoes, a single motion creates havoc long after you influence the system. And whether done by accident or with intent, once started the result is almost certain.

I have decided to share with you memories of a young man I have never met. Motivated to do so, by a bunch of children from Florida who know the horrors of war. Those children who mourn the loss of friends and family, seek legislation through OPEN and HONEST debate, to ensure this doesn’t happen again, and GROWN MEN say “leave the governing to the adults.”

Adults, who on one hand say ALL LIVES MATTER, but then they don’t raise a finger to seek justice for the family of a child, shot and killed, by a man with a badge and a gun. Or they teach Pro-Life concepts to a teenaged girl carrying her abuser’s child.

Our country, seemingly, is NOT as it once was. Our country, STARVED of leadership, now finds it in the words of children not old enough to be elected to office. We currently have a leader who seeks to protect our country from, FAMILIES, who have humbly asked for assistance and protection. Women and children with nothing, asking for a chance at NOT DYING… for their children’s sake at the very least. Yet, our current elected officials cannot even do that without causing harm.

So we now see what springs from the seeds of dishonesty sown… More of the same.

As a father of two young boys, I write these words with nothing in my pockets, but asking for everyone to lend me your ear. These words may not seem to have much effect here, today, but they will certainly shake the cornerstones of buildings miles away, tomorrow.

Great wealth does NOT a good leader make, but a great leader is more precious than gold. Right now our Country knows what a great President looks like because we have seen what a cheap, morally bankrupt President looks like. Presenting LIES as TRUTH. Protecting GUNS more than CHILDREN. Celebrating the wealth of Our nation as his accomplishment, and unable to spend time nor treasure to save 5,000 lives in Puerto Rico.

“Heck of a job there,” Sir.

But from this dark corner of our Shared history, I want to offer hope. Its currency diminished, its appeal not quite “universal” anymore… but that “… and a prayer” are all I carry on-hand nowadays.

No matter our political affiliations. No matter the State we live in. We ALL bleed for one flag, and that flag stands as a symbol, and ONLY that. What it symbolizes as it flies, is more than what makes it fly. Just as it is with the scripture, it is the “Word” of god, and because it is by the hand of Man, it is NOT god, though it may be OF god.

Our flag symbolizes our commitment to Liberty and Justice, and our dedication to the protection thereof. Up to and including the destruction of that very symbol!

Yes… THAT is worthy of taking a knee, and showing HUMILITY for, our Constitution, OF the People.

Keep your head UP!!

OTD

I shut out the shooting at MSDHS. On valentines Day, I intentionally shut it out. I did not watch Morning joe. I did not watch Rachel that night. I could not. I knew it was gonna be bad, and I did not want to face it.

So I didn’t. For two whole days. All while I was deciding if I could or should run for President. At that time, I had decided to wait until after I met with my tax advisor, to answer some basic questions. So I…

So I couldn’t NOT watch news programs. As a person learning about a field as expansive as Presidential Candidate, its unavoidable. And it is the Commander in Chief’s place to direct and advise, and act when called upon. So I drove home after dropping the boys off at school and watched. And cried. And cried some more. And saw something new. MOTIVATION. The ‘spark’. The flighting of Muse that poet and musician alike chase to no end.

Never Again.

And to that flighting chase, their cause, too, might come to no avail, but for the aid of wise counsel, who had seen these times before. A Senator spoke on the morning of February 17 that sparked a decision in my mind. Because that Senator enunciated the phrase I had been waiting to hear. One that I had not heard in such a long time. I had realized it was not discarded… it was subverted.

The Hastert Rule

And watching the times unfolding in every sphere, in every corner of our society, I could not help but question if it was mere coincidence? That the issues we deal with today are being caused by a concept conceived by a ‘serial child molester’? As per Dennis Hastert’s judge, when sentencing the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, of the United States of America to prison….

So by the end of the day, I composed what would be the script for my first campaign video-

That was the “kick in the ass”. The point where I made the connection. I was motivated by the actions of a bunch of kids with no voice in our government, screaming to be heard by our government, and being told NO. And if those kids are to be successful, as any parent should want for their kids…. I knew they would need to know this. Because it seems no one knows this.

I had not realized how intertwined my campaign is with the students of MSD until this evening. They had their memorials just a couple days ago, and I didn’t even… It was not intentional. It seems as though my mind brushed it aside. At this moment I feel sickened by it. But, I realize now. I will remember now, in the future.

During this time, I have come to see the connection between all of these issues. The idea that a small percentage, of the majority, of the members of the House can dictate what legislation will or will NOT be introduced in the House? A group of men, who are all of the same party, numbers smaller than the entirety of the group calling for action?

“Only if it pleases the King’s Men.”

And it is the thread that runs through ALL of our ills. Discrimination, sexual harassment, gun safety laws, civil forfeiture, mandatory minimums, sexual identity, banking practices, mortgage lending, student loans, retirement funds, nursing care, stock market stability with our retirement funds, international cooperation, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile treaties, contracts with friend and foe alike… We are all being led by a duplicitous system, where control lies in the hands of people who hold others down.

And these kids stood up and said “NEVER AGAIN”

And I agree. End The Hastert Rule now.