Celebrate Freedom

The Texas Independence Day Celebration

Texas is the only state in the Union that was ever an independent country. We Texans have hung on to that Independence. We've always been loud and we've always been proud of who we are: Texans! Therefore we celebrate!

March 2, 1836 dawned, frigid and gray; cutting winds blew through glassless windows. Texians - as they styled themselves - huddled close, pulled blankets tight, and gave birth to a dream. At the Town of Washington, fifty-nine representatives voted into existence a sovereign nation: the Republic of Texas. Tennessean George C. Childress had drafted the independence document. In word and spirit it borrowed heavily from Thomas Jefferson'' original 1776 declaration. No matter.

Anglo-Celtic Texians proudly embraced the values and traditions of their founding fathers. "The same blood that animated the hearts of our ancestors in '76 still flows in our veins," one frontier preacher affirmed. Still, not all the delegates were of that blood. Four Mexican residents signed the declaration on behalf of their Tejano constituents.

The delegates could not have picked a worse time to declare independence. To many contemporary observers, such confidence appeared reckless.

As delegates brazenly declared Texas independent, the artillery of Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna hammered the walls of the Alamo. Just four days later his troops would assault the crumbling fort and wipe out every rebel defender. At the same time, General José Urrea's division swept northward through the coastal prairies. He would subsequently capture the entire rebel command of Colonel James W. Fannin, Jr. following the Battle of Coleto on March 19. Acting upon Santa Anna's orders, Mexican troops executed Fannin and the majority of his Goliad garrison, some 342 men. The twin defeats at San Antonio and Goliad generated panic among Texian settlers who fled toward the Louisiana border. The "Runaway Scrape" they called it. To declare independence amid all this chaos seemed more than unduly hopeful. Indeed, to most it resembled a fool's errand.

On April 21, General Sam Houston's vengeful army swept the Mexican camp at San Jacinto and the skeptics recanted. On that momentous afternoon, enraged Texians slaughtered 650 Mexican soldados and took another 700 prisoner. Most important, the following day Texians captured President-General Santa Anna. At San Jacinto Texians won a great victory, but only with the capture of the Mexican dictator did the battle become decisive.

The date is not a state holiday; public schools do not let out; newscasters rarely recall the event. Those who love Texas remember. Always.

Now, would you now join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Pledge to the Texas Flag.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Honor the Texas Flag. I pledge allegiance to thee: Texas, one and indivisible.

Budget Process

Barak Obama has submitted his first ever US budget today. It is a REAL shocker. $3.6 Trillion dollars of spending. Many of those programs are worthwhile endeavors or sound very nice in theory. Let's break that down in reality. Barak Obama said that this budget will be paid for by raising taxes on ONLY those households that make over $250,000 a year or corporate entities. Well, I am here to burst that bubble with some cold hard numbers.

If the government raised taxes on those households that make over $250,000 a year to tax 100% of their income (and IF Paul Revere did not ride down the road shouting "The tax collector is coming") ; the government would collect $1.3 trillion dollars. That leaves $2.3 trillion in unfunded expenditures. Let's put that in terms we can all understand.

Let's say your family has $100,000 of income per year. Let's then say that you spend $163,000 in the course of the year. Would your bank cover $63,000 in overdrafts? Would they loan you the extra $63,000? What about next year? Could you spend that $63,000 (or more) of "unfunded expenditures" over and over again without any repercussions? THAT is what this budget does. 63% of the spending (and that is ONLY in my 100% taxation example) is NOT funded by tax dollars collected. That is not fiscally responsible.

I have some suggestions for our erstwhile elected leaders in their budget process for FY 2010. Perhaps this is new to some of those elected leaders or perhaps they have simply forgotten how to budget in the real world. Hopefully, this will spark some common sense.

When starting with a new year's budget, you need to identify the amount of money that will be available for expenditures. Take the sum of taxes collected in the last year that you have data for - say 2007. Now, since we all know we are in a "recession", subtract oh, say 10% from that number for contraction of incomes (and thus taxes collected). This should be a good number to start with for estimating purposes. This is the sum total of money that you have to spend. Whatever budget you come up with, you cannot exceed this number because then you will be spending money you don't have.

Now, identify all the items that you have in your expense listing that are necessities. This is not "like to have's" or "wish list" items. This is items that if you don't pay, bad things happen. For instance, the light bill for the Capitol, salaries of the military force, rent or mortgages on federal buildings. So, detail that list of items that were paid in that last year you have data from and determine if there have been any inflationary increases (like energy bills). Subtract those amounts from your available funds.

Now, make a list of all the things you spent money on last year that weren't absolute have to's and determine if there are cuts you want to make to this list or increases that must be made for any reason. This would be items like International Support for instance; are there any cuts you can make in these items. Is there any items that you want to grow? Subtract the amount you decide will be spent on these items from the available funds. What you have left is your "discretionary funds". This is money that you can spend on new programs or raises for salaries or other items that you want to introduce or to pay off debts that have been incurred.

Make a list of all the outstanding debts that are left over from other year's budgets. This is your unfunded liabilities list. Some of the "discretionary funds" need to be applied to these items so that you can start to "balance" your debt load. You cannot simply add new programs without making some inroads into paying these debts. Determine what debts will be paid and subtract those amounts from your available discretionary funds.

Now, identify all those new items you would like to put in place. Things that are the "nice to have's"; "want to have's"; "wish list" etc go on this list. Prioritize these items in order of importance or desire. Add up the totals for these new programs and see if they will fit into the budget. If they do, great. If they do not have the funds to cover the spending, you have to do one of two things - cut some of these new programs from the list or make cuts in other budget items.

Once you decide what will be in your expenses list and what will not, add them to your list of expenditures and subtract the amounts from your available funds. Note - remember you cannot go below zero and you should plan to have a small amount left over (say 5%) for reasonable and unexpected expenses. (This is called SAVINGS)

Folks, this is not hard. All US households do this process in some form or another all the time. (Granted some do this better than others) You cannot just shoot pie-in-the-sky budgets into the air and think that you can spend money you don't have and have no hope of ever paying for.

This is called FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. Let's entreat our elected officials to apply some.

Racism Cuts Both Ways

Yesterday some cowardly anonymous poster commented on a blog post that I wrote almost two years ago about Illegal Aliens and my thoughts and feelings on that topic. The poster asserted that I am racist because of my belief that illegal aliens harm America and need to leave the U.S. to go back where they came from.

Well, I wanted to clear up a couple of points for Mr. Anonymous.

First - my son is Hispanic. His father, who died in service to this great country, was Mexican and Native American. I could not love my son more if I lived twice as long. I am proud of him, his heritage and his father.

Second - I - through my family have a mix of heritages in my background - Gaelic, Italian, Native American and I welcome the history and traditions of all of those ethnic parts. But, at the foundation of it all, I am American and I deeply love my country.

I have heard many arguements about Illegal Aliens. These arguements try to pull the heartstrings and make you empathize with individuals who "just want a better life" or who "work hard at jobs no one else wants". That is baloney.

This is America. The land of opportunity. If you want the opportunity to live here; be proud of the country and come here legally. Learn the language and become American. Love your roots and history but, if you want me to stand with you - love the country you want to build that future in - or leave because we don't need detractors.

For the Love of a Horse in One's Life

To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years, a horse can teach a young girl courage, if she chooses to grab mane and hang on for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies is mightier than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having one's toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated at a horse show is an admirable feat for any child. For that, we can be grateful.

Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a computer, a horse needs regular care and most of it requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to break the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink heartily; we know we've made the right choice.

Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are easy keepers, requiring little more than regular turn-out, a flake of hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you - you'll struggle to keep them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so accident-prone you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to injure themselves.

If you weren't raised with horses, you can't know that they have unique personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a sense of humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it.

Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing. You will hit it off with some horses and others will elude you altogether. There are as many "types" of horses as there are people- which makes the whole partnership thing all the more interesting.

If you've never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing you can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a Sunday, but to truly ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a living being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and putting the car or tractor in "drive."

In addition to listening to your instructor, your horse will have a few things to say to you as well. On a good day, he'll be happy to go along with the program and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear he's trying to kill you. Perhaps he's naughty or perhaps he' fed up with how slowly you're learning his language. Regardless, the horse will have an opinion. He may choose to challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider) or he may carefully carry you over fences - if it suits him. It all depends on the partnership - and partnership is what it's all about.

If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at it, you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in addition to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're willing to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you have to learn.

And, while some people think the horse "does all the work", you'll be challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse may humble you completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is the closest you'll get to heaven.

You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you really want to? The results may come more quickly, but will your work ever be as graceful as that gained through trust? The best partners choose to listen, as well as to tell. When it works, we experience a sweet sense of accomplishment brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.

If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our over saturated schedules; balancing our need for things equine with those of our households and employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to ride as well as we'd like. Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.

If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them. Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are clear: a warm place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals. Some of us need these reminders.

When you step back, it's not just about horses - it's about love, life, and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more than a moment of sorrow.

We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe, and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.

To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of fields of battle.

Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses rise to the challenges we set before them, asking little in return.

Those who know them understand how fully a horse can hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding when or whether to end the life of a true companion.

In the end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses--or our horses to us. Does it matter? We're grateful God loaned us the horse in the first place.

Author Unknown

The Meaning of the Season: A Rifle for Christmas

This story is poignant this year. Some may know and some may not; 2008 was a hard year for my family. David was laid off from his programming job at CompUSA when they went out of business at the start of the year. He recently started a new job on December 1 for which we are very thankful. Despite the tighter belt through the year and this Christmas, I was compelled to help another family with Christmas as we aim to do each year. Even with one salary, we are blessed in so many ways and I wanted to share those blessings with others. This story touches on so many themes, I hope you enjoy it.

Better bundle up - the goose bumps will freeze you!! I think I need to read this every year at Christmas. This is what Christmas is all about...


Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities. But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.

It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas. We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible. I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity. Soon Pa came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."

I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens. Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what..

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me."

The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what? Yeah," I said, "Why?"

"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.

When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked. “Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Pa was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"

Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.

"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said. He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.

My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.

I soon had the fire blazing and every one's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.

Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."

I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. Pa had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensen’s, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life – one where the true meaning of the season came shining through.

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!