Thinking Out Loud: The Book

By Charles Reynolds

Too often we don't remember what went before and must depend on others to "spin" history for us. Thinking Out Loud is one man's views, as they happened, during a pivotal point in America's recent history. All the passion and events as they unfolded, brought back in convenient blog-styled entries. Including verifiable references.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Reynolds
• Release date: Dec 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466055612

Charles Reynolds

Charles B Reynolds is a freelance writer with over 34 years experience writing. "Behind the Wheel" is his first book of published poetry. "CATHARSIS" is his second eBook, a collection of short-short fiction. His non-fiction book, "Thinking Ou Loud: The Book" is now published.

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Thinking Out Loud - The Book

© Copyright 2011 by Charles B Reynolds

Smashwords Edition

For Barack, Hillary, Harry, Nancy, and all the 2008 players that made life so interesting.

For my mom and dad, as always, who never let me forget the dream.

For Sara (who makes the best turkey and cheese croissant sandwiches ever), Dan (for being an intelligent discussion partner with a liberal viewpoint), Karen, Val, Vika and everyone else at the Broad Street Coffee House, who let me work on this while my coffee got cold.

And for my sister, Deb, who so would have disagreed with much of what I wrote.

Thinking Out Loud – The Book © 2011

This book is copyright 2011 by Charles B Reynolds. Smashwords Edition. All rights and intellectual property belong to Charles B Reynolds. All photographs and artwork is the sole property and owned by Charles B Reynolds. No part or whole of this book shall be copied, transmitted nor used without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Reynolds Publishing Company name and logo are the sole property of Charles B Reynolds Milford, PA.

INTRODUCTION

In 2007, I first encountered Associated Content and began writing and publishing all sorts of articles. One of my favorite types of articles to write and publish were an Opinion / Editorial column called Thinking Out Loud. I was able to get out all my opinions and people would read them. It was very cathartic as most people I knew were not really enthused about my rants. But the really great thing was that I actually struck a chord with people at large. There were many out there who not only thought the way I did, but they responded. And even more who found my pieces thought provoking. I didn't convert everyone who read my work but I did make them think. And this, over time, was what I was really after. If someone just fawns over your ideas and tells you how right you are, you really haven't made an impact. But if people argued with you and maybe changed their opinions, even just a little, because of what you have to say, then you are actually making a difference.

This was encouraging. And I wanted to keep it up. So I did. And the idea that I could get people to think for themselves instead of taking as gospel what they were being told, I could contribute, in some small way.

I continued doing so, but often felt a little constrained because I felt there was a journalistic line I shouldn't cross. I needed an additional outlet to really get some things off my chest. And I found a way.

On October 7, 2008, I wrote my first blog entry and posted it the next day on October 8th. Thus began a year plus long tirade of whatever came to mind.

Welcome to my world!

Posted at 8:00 am by Administrator (that would be me) October 7, 2008

Welcome to my blog. I’m pretty new at this blogging thing, but I guess with all things new, we learn as we go. This is going to be sort of an extension of my Thinking Out Loud column, but more of a free form version.

Last night I watched the second Presidential Debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. It was both a victory and a disaster. Victory because John was able to be more comfortable but a disaster because he is going ahead with his but Barack says and Barack wants to" attack tactics.

If John would just stick to telling America what he is going to do as President, he (and we) would be so much better off. Leave the attacking to your VP candidate, Sarah Palin. She can raise all the questions about Obama’s credentials and his background. She is so much better at it because she does it in a way that we would ask the questions, echoing the way we would raise these concerns if we had the national stage.

There were times I was yelling at the television trying to tell John to just answer the questions and leave all the nay-saying out of it. I know there are times he has to make some comparisons, but the way he was / is doing it just plays into the Democrats spin machine.

It is so very frustrating. My daughter came in while I was watching (she was 22 at the time) and said she was watching one of these for the first time and she really didn’t like John because she said all he wants to do is win. I couldn’t really tell her she was wrong because it would have been too long a conversation and I was already frustrated at how John was handling himself.

Its like this. John McCain does want to win. But it's not for the sake of winning or gaining the power of the Presidency. It's about serving the country he loves. And he really does believe he is better suited to the job than Barack Obama. We can all agree on that point. Its just that John’s passion for service gets the better of him sometimes and he does come off as wanting to win. But if we let the Democratic spin machine keep warping history, than people like my daughter are going to be disenfranchised from the political process or, worse, lean the wrong way on November 4th.

John McCain’s record, and not the one line shots at statistical data that means nothing which the Democratic Party would have you believe, is one of always trying to do what is best for the country.

Obama would have you believe that John voted NOT to fund the troops in Iraq and give them much needed supplies to keep them safe and win against terrorist that want to see America destroyed. In truth, John voted against the funding that had a timetable in it. Because John knows you don’t announce to the world (and the enemy within it) where and when you are going to do something. You don’t advertise, you do. If the Allies during WWII announced to the world where and when the main trust of the landing at Normandy was going to happen, don’t you think the enemy would have concentrated all their fire power at that spot? Don’t you think many more thousands would have died and the whole war would have gone the way of Hitler and Mussolini? So do we tell the world we will leave on such and such a date? Don’t you think that this would give the terrorists and terrorist backed insurgents a specific date and plan to hold off until the last of our troops were leaving so they could a get one last shot our young men and women and b begin their last blast push to destroy the country we helped stabilize?

The Democrats were the ones who would use the funding our troops needed as a political maneuvering tool. John was doing what was best for America. And he voted for the funding when the timetable was removed.

I guess that is what it comes down to in this election. What is best for America. I personally don’t think that the radical ideology of Barack Obama would best serve America. Not now during this time of multi-level crisis and not in the future. Obama’s is so far left that even liberals like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden did their level best to stop him. They knew his left wing radical ideas and associations were bad for America. They knew that he was too untested to be the leader of this great nation and the one with his hand on the button.

I don’t believe in simply guilt by association but I do believe in guilt by pattern. Obama is a follower of the Saul Olinsky form of politics. He openly embraced William Ayers, an avowed and unrepentant domestic terrorist who believes he should have done more than his Weather Underground did back in the sixties. He is as guilty as Tony Rezko, a convicted slum lord currently under investigation again, whom he funneled money to in order to build affordable housing that was allowed to crumble into decline. Is this the vision Barack has for our future? His own wife was a most radical anti-white student at college and her own words give away her hatred of America. He sat in a pew for 20 years and listened to the hate filled speeches of Reverend Wright. He allowed his children to be indoctrinated in this hatred. He said he could no sooner disavow Wright than he could the black community. But when it was politically expedient to do so, he did just that. He even threw his own grandmother under the proverbial bus by painting her as a racist. This was his tribute to the woman who he says raised him and gave him all the opportunities he enjoyed which brought him to this point.

And he just doesn’t get how things work. Sure, he’ll redistribute the wealth and cut taxes for 95% of Americans. Who only pay about 30 – 40% of taxes. And he will tax the devil out of the rich, which is the only way he can pay for his massive entitlement programs; programs that would reward people who don’t want to do for themselves. But it is the business community that create jobs in America, not the government. The government only paves the way for businesses to thrive so they can create jobs and push forward with any economic recovery we can hope for. Barack doesn’t get it. Or he does (and this is scarier) but he wants to reshape America into a socialist or Marxist country.

On the other hand, John has served his country time and time again. He served in Viet Name. He was captured and honorably followed the rules of a POW as described in the Navy’s Blue Jacket’s manual. He came home a disabled hero. But that didn’t stop him from continuing to serve. He entered politics to help make America better and give the people a voice. John fought corruption in Congress, even going against his own party when he felt they were not serving the public. He warned against the current economic crisis. He was rebuffed by both Democrats and Republicans alike. His belief in deregulation is a strong incentive for businesses to grow and keep America strong. But he has always tempered this with the realities that corruption in both business and government must be vigilantly monitored. A great regret of his was when he met with a member of a savings and loan during the S&L scandal of the 1980’s. AN ethics committee investigation found that John did nothing more than show poor judgment when he met with Keating. Along with John Glenn, another great American hero, he was exonerated. John has no need to add pork to a bill, spending or otherwise. And he feels to do so is a disservice to the American people politicians are supposed to be representing. John knows who he works for. And it is not the lobbyist or special interest groups. He knows that it is the American public he serves.

John knows that the role of government to keep things going smoothly, protect and serve the people of America and look out for America in the world at large. And then get out of the way, so that Americans can enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Over the course of time, I would write about politics, religion, war, sports, day to day stuff . . . but mostly politics.

Even when not writing about politics, I usually managed to get something in. Like my second posting.

(Author's note - since this was a website, I often linked to other sites or my own articles. In such cases, I have included a section at the end of the book for those references and notated them throughout the book.)

10.09.08

People are stupid / crazy /moronic. (Take your pick.)

Posted at 7:44 pm by Administrator October 9, 2008

I guess I should have led off with some information about this blog. For those of you unfamiliar with my column, Thinking Out Loud, I expound upon something I’ve been pondering. I then invite the readers to agree or disagree with my position, telling them it’s okay either way. I finish off with the statement that this is just me, thinking out loud.

That column is the impetus for this blog. Instead of confining myself to one issue, however, I am free here to expound on whatever it is that has been on my mind. And that tends to wander from topic to topic. Thus, the title of this blog being Thinking Out Loud goes freeform.

Take last night for instance. I was driving along and marveling at the utter stupidity of some people on the road. Here I am, barreling down the road in an eighteen wheeler at 60 mph, with the capacity to be hauling well over 80,000 pounds of metal and rubber and whatever freight is in the box. And some moron passes me only to jump in front of me and slow down. Forget the fact that it is raining, ignore the time of day (night, actually) and assume it is a sunny perfect day with dry road conditions. In the best of circumstances, that is, in ideal conditions, it will take the average truck traveling at 60 mph three and a half football fields to come to a complete stop.

That’s over 1000 yards, or 3100 feet. Now picture you are that idiot in the car that passes a truck, jumps directly in front of them and then slams on the brake because this is your exit coming up. Who do you think will win this confrontation?

It just amazes me how many people don’t know or understand the other vehicles they share the road with. They seem to think that they are the only ones, or at least the only ones that matter, on the roads.

Sigh.

While I was thinking over this dilemma, I heard on the radio about a bus driver [1] who had gotten fed up with the noise and nonsense from the children on her bus. Her idea of handling the situation, allegedly (gotta cover our butts here), was to stop the bus on the train tracks and tell the children if they didn’t calm down, she wasn’t moving the bus. And did I mention there was a train coming. Again, allegedly.

Who does this? What kind of mindset can it be that a bus driver would feel this is an appropriate response to children who are misbehaving. Now, Tommy, be good or I’ll let you die a horrible and painful death.

Come on. If this is true, this woman should not only lose her job, her license and any future prospect of being hired in either the transportation or childcare industries, she should be sent to jail. Or a mental hospital; because she is obviously nuts. Allegedly.

And on the topic of crazy women doing stupid things, there is the story of Eva Daley [2] in Long Beach, CA. She drove her son and some teenage friends to a gang fight which resulted in the stabbing death of a thirteen year old boy in a rival gang. She says she didn’t know what was going on when she drove her son and friends to a park and they all piled out. She also claims she didn’t know anyone had died until she was arrested the next day.

As Judge Judy would say, if it doesn’t make sense, it’s not true. Here is a woman who drives her son and his gang buddies to a park. She knows they are gang members. Anyone who knows anything about gangs will tell you that just before a big fight, they are all wired up. So here she is driving them, all wired up to a park. And she supposedly doesn’t know what is going on. Please.

But let us give her the benefit of the doubt and say she is telling the truth. Just ignore the whole gang thing. Ignore that her son had been stabbed six months earlier by a rival gang. Also ignore the flares that had been tossed toward her apartment that same day by the same rival gang, and the epithets that accompanied this act. Let’s ignore all that. Don’t you think she might have noticed something was up when they all piled back into her car and urged her to drive away, quickly? Do you really want us to believe that they were not all talking about the upcoming fight before and resultant stabbing after while they were in her car?

Well, lucky for us, this one got caught. And she is going to jail for a very long time on a second degree murder conviction.

The world is a crazy place filled with crazy and / or stupid people. Nothing these nitwits do should surprise us. But they do. They surprise us every day with their incredibly moronic actions.

Why? Because we want to see the best in people; we want to believe that humans are basically good and will always do the right thing. We don’t want to acknowledge that people are stupid, irresponsible, corrupt and greedy.

Just take a look at the current mess our economy is in and the politicians who got us here. If you do, you will be cured of any ridiculous belief that people are inherently good. I think the phenomena of Obama is another example of people believing what they want to believe, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

(Aw, come on, you didn’t think I would go a whole rant without mentioning politics, did you? Silly reader.)

And then came the glitches. Every so often I would have horrible glitches in the program or the web site or whatever. These were annoyances because I could not build an audience if they could not read my writing. (Pretty arrogant to think I would actually build an audience my first shot out of the cannon, huh?)

Like this one, only my third entry into the process.

10.11.08

Small Glitch

Posted at 11:49 pm by Administrator

There seems to be a smallish glitch that I am working on. Instead of going to my homepage, the web address brings you to my blog. I am working on correcting this problem. Until then, please click on this link to get you to my home page [3].

Thanks for you for our patience while we work to rectify our little growing pains errors.

10.22.08

UPDATE on technical glitches

Posted at 9:55 am by Administrator

Sorry all. There still seems to be several glitches from my host. Not only is it still sending people here instead of the home page [3], I was unable to access. And soooo many things have been happening. I will get to new posts in a few hours. Thanks for your patience.

Please feel free to post comments. I have made it easier to do so. Thanks again.

Glitches and technical issues and greenness aside, I love words, in so many of its vibrant and varied forms. So I dove into this new format and set guns blazing.

I had hopes of both honing my craft and getting it all out. I also wanted to contribute; to the country, to the conversation, to the future. I dreamed of somehow converting my own little corner of the internet into something that would both make a difference and would be beneficial to supporting my family.

And I wanted to make my folks proud of me (mom in heaven and dad here on earth), my wife proud of me, my son and daughters and grandsons proud of me. I wanted my sisters to say yep, that's my bro and my friends say way to go, man. I wanted people to say that I took a stand and did it with eloquence and skill.

So many dreams, so much passion. How was one man to do all that? I guessed I had my work cut out for me.

Throughout Thinking Out Loud - The Book I will also be inserting the aforementioned Op/Ed pieces in the timeline as they were written. I hope you get some enjoyment, feel a little peeved, laugh, cry, remember and generally have a good time while reading. I also hope you get a chance to do some soul searching and thinking on your own. And just remember that this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Second Introduction

I separate this from the first one simply because it is my book and I will do what I want.

No, seriously, I am adding this additional introduction the year I am publishing it. I want to give a small further explanation as to why I am doing this.

I have recently moved back up to Pennsylvania and was covering the local politics. I was speaking with my sister about something that was going on. I jokingly said to her, well, you know these are the types of people who still cling to their guns and bibles. Seriously, she looked at me and said don't say that out loud up here.

I was taken aback, to say the least. She meant it, and she didn't get my reference. I know she is not type of person that follows politics very closely, but I figured of all people, her living in Pennsylvania and all, she would have gotten it.

I don't have to say it out loud, I explained. The President did . . . four years ago when he was campaigning.

Her look of shock made me explain more.

After getting some flack in Pennsylvania, Obama was speaking before a crowd in San Francisco. He described Pennsylvania voters as being backward, as still 'clinging to their guns and bibles'.

So, I am publishing this for all the good people of this country who have forgotten the things that went on before. In the coming months, all that has gone before will be given spin. But, here, I have observations and in as many cases as possible, the original references, as they happened during the 2008 Presidential election season and the first year of the Obama Presidency.

Those who do not remember history, nor learn from it, are doomed to repeat it. Somebody smart and famous said that, or something similar to that, a long time ago. And I really don't want an uninformed voting America to repeat the mistakes of the past, without having a chance to see the history and hopefully learn from it.

As I say in my blogs, I don't care whether you agree with me or disagree with me. So long as I get you to think for yourself, and stop listening to others (including me) telling you what to think, I have done my job. But hey, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

CHAPTER ONE

ELECTION 2008

Of course, there was the election that I had become so passionate about. Much of my online articles had been about this (including so many Thinking Out Loud Editorials), so it was an obvious extension that the topic drift into my blog entries. Most of the beginning segments will be from articles I wrote prior to starting my BLOG. They range from the candidates of the 2008 elections to racism and the media, from a suggestion on what can help us in the energy crisis to the mortgage crisis we were all about to come crashing headlong into.

When I wrote my Op/Ed pieces on Associated Content, I decided to add a quote that might be funny, significant or irreverent. It was a little touch to add something that a standard headline couldn't. And it was really fun to do as well. Most quotes were found using Brainy Quotes on the web. Like my first one on Hillary Clinton n may of 2008.

Thinking Out Loud - Hillary Clinton

All Truths Are Easy to Understand Once They Are Discovered; The Point is to Discover Them. - Galileo

(5/9/2008)

You know what amazes me about the American people? Not only are we strong, independent, rugged and innovative, but we also tend to have short term memories. Or maybe its just our collective use of selective amnesia.

Here we are in 2008, in the midst of a Presidential campaign, finding ourselves in a brouhaha concerning whether or not Hillary Clinton is an honest person. There are polls galore asking if they find the candidates honest. In one such poll during the North Carolina / Indiana Democratic Primaries, 54% of people questioned Hillary's honesty. All because of a comment she made about a sniper incident in Bosnia in 1996. It was explained by her campaign and supporters as her simply misremembering the event. And if this wasn't enough, she reported on a young woman who died because she didn't have health insurance; which was later discovered to be erroneous. But she explained this away as well by saying someone had told her the story wrong.

Now, for our part as Americans with selective memory. This isn't the first time this woman has been caught in a lie or exaggeration or a misremembering. She has been doing it for well over a decade.

TravelGate, the first scandal to hit the Bill Clinton administration. Hillary played a central role in the firings and then made false statements about her involvement. Independent counsel Robert Ray concluded that she had made factually false statements, but there wasn't enough to prosecute.

Whitewater. Remember that little scandal back in the early days of the Clinton Presidency? Documents that were willed to the Library of Congress by Sam Dash (ethics counsel for Kenneth Starr), who passed away in 2004, show that Hillary had lied about her involvement as legal counsel for the Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Association; as well as the money she made doing so. Prosecutors also determined that she had lied, under oath, about her legal involvement in another real estate venture (Castle Grande).

Health Care Program during the Clinton years. Hillary has always stated that she was pivotal in writing the health care reform bills during her husband's term. Not true, it was Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy. She claimed to have been in many meetings that the records show she never attended.

Two words. Vince Foster. The only thing that you can say for certainty is that this long time friend and aide to the Clintons is dead, and that his body was found in a park. There are lots of conspiracy theories involving his death, from his committing suicide in a place embarrassing to the Clinton's but moved to the park, to his having an affair with Hillary that resulted in his death. Throughout the investigation and public scrutiny of his case, it is excruciatingly obvious that Hillary (and Bill) held information back and were less than truthful.

It just seems to me that after over a decade of her honesty being called into question, even if you think she has been vilified by those who just don't like her and Bill, you have to think of the saying where there's smoke, there's fire.

(And is it just a coincidence that after I mention this on a national radio talk show, suddenly other radio hosts and the NY Times are talking about it? I think not.)

You can say I'm being mean. You can say there is some ring of truth to all this. You can even say sticks and stones . . . No matter. This is just me, thinking out loud.

Have yourself a great day!

Thinking Out Loud - Myanmar (formerly Burma)

I Believe in Benevolent Dictatorship Provided I Am the Dictator - Richrd Branson

(5/9/2008)

The military junta in Myanmar (formerly Burma) have drafted a constitution, which most Western authorities have derided as being a way to legitimize their control of the country since seizing power in 1962. They are going to have a vote on it. But there is much opposition to the referendum from groups within Myanmar.

What to do, what to do?

Hey look, there's a huge cyclone coming. Now, if they just fail to let people know its a big one and its going to hit, the Generals may just have the answer to their quandary. They can let it wipe out a significant portion of the population, including much of the opposition (aided by some judicial use of military assistance for the survivors), and then push for the vote to go forth amidst the death, destruction and chaos caused by nature. After all, they can't be blamed for giant storm, right?

But uh oh, there's all those pesky foreign governments who will want to come in and help the victims. Can't let them see the virtual genocide. Especially the Americans. And they are not once believing the sincere appearing First Lady. They know she's just front for the evil George W, who they are sure knows what they're doing. Besides, after Katrina, the Americans can hardly claim any expertise at disaster relief. So, they will just stall and hem and haw, and close the embassy for the holidays. And it will just appear they are distrustful of foreigners on their soil.

Meanwhile, they can just go on with wiping out a large portion of the population, taking out whole villages so there will be no witnesses. And even get a few photo ops of the Generals handing out food and water to the poor victims of this natural disaster. And the population will be so cowed, their referendum will be passed. And they will once more be the saviors of the country, just as they were in 1962.

Far-fetched, you say? Maybe. But it wouldn't be the first time (or the last, unfortunately) that something like this was perpetrated by a ruling body on its own citizenry.

Maybe you agree with me. Maybe you think I'm out there in left field on this. Or maybe you see some valid points but find others preposterous. No matter. This is just me, thinking out loud.

Have yourself a great day!

Thinking Out Loud - Media, Racism and Politics

The Mainstream Media Has Its Own Agenda. They Do Not Want to Print the Facts. They Have an Agenda, They Have a Slant, They Have a Bias. It is Outrageous to Me. - Curt Weldon

(6/6/2008)

Mainstream media is way out of control. They have always put whatever spin best suits their needs on a story by story basis. But of late they seem intent on creating unrest where none, or barely none, exists.

I grew up in Philadelphia in the '60s and am no naive ninny when it comes to racial tensions. My parents always taught me that each individual, no matter race or religion et al, should be taken on their own merits. Yet I saw time and time again people around me be hateful towards others not like them without ever knowing the individual. I was even the victim of a mugging while in my teens by a gang of black boys.

Still, I took my parents teachings to heart and have tried to pass these values along to my children.

I am not naive enough to believe that racism does not exist, but I have found that though the years it has grown tired and weary in the face of mutual struggles. In the Navy during the late '70s and early '80s, I worked alongside people of many religions and color and background. No matter these differences, we had a shared existence and dependence on one another.

Today, there are certainly pockets of those who retain a grip on the old hatreds and fears and anger. But these are just that, rare instances. However, the mainstream media would have you believe that it is a higher percentage of the population than it is.

Why? It makes better copy. It makes more interesting news.

Take the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. News reporters came south and wanted to find out how having the Olympics being in Atlanta was affecting the local populace. Did they find the professional who worked in the city and had to deal with the traffic headaches? No. Did they look to the businesses to see if there was the expected economic gain anticipated? No. They found the most loud mouthed, obnoxious, beer bellied, coverall wearing, toothless yahoo they could find and got quotes like, Down here we gots our ooooown version o the 'lympics. And showed a bunch of rednecks belly flopping into a mud pit. And this is how they represented the typical southerner to the world.

Now, we have a most historic event in American history. A woman and a member of a minority faced off for the Presidential nomination for a major political party. And a minority won. Now this intelligent and charismatic young man will be running for the highest office in the land. It is historical because for our whole history, we have told our children they can grow up to be whatever they wanted, even President of the United States. Until now, this was only true of a portion of the population, i.e. white boys. And the mainstream media had many, many chances to showcase this fact, showing that everyone truly does have the same opportunities; be they black, white, Hispanic, Asian, male or female.

But what do they do? They dive into the least common denominator and play the racism slant. Will white America really vote for a black man? Will the ones who wanted a woman in the White House really not vote for the black man that took her chance away? Is America ready for a black President? And the biggest spin of all, if you don't vote for the black man you must be racist!

I will tell you two things flat out right here. I was extremely impressed when I first saw Barack Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and am still awed by his intellect and charisma and genuine enthusiasm. And I will not be voting for him in November.