Brushfire of Freedom

The Conservative Cowboy

I heard something on the radio this morning that set my mood for the morning.  Apparently there was a gentleman that weighed upwards of 350 lbs. that was not allowed to get on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Vegas, or maybe it was Vegas to Chicago, the details are not very important to make my point.  He was caught by the flight attendant doing the boarding and was not allowed on the airplane because he did not purchase two tickets.

I am going to let that sink in for a little while.

Now Southwest is not the only airline that has this policy, and this policy is not a new one, it is simply being enforced more stringently.  I have included the exact wording of the policy for United Airlines that was bashed in the media for changing their stance on this earlier this year.

“If unused seats are available on the ticketed United or United Express flight, then a customer meeting any of the above criteria will be re-accommodated next to an empty seat.”

“If no unused seats are available on the ticketed flight, then the customer must either purchase an upgrade to a cabin with available seats that address the above-listed scenarios, or change his or her ticket to the next available flight and purchase a second seat in addition to the one already purchased. If a customer meeting any of the above-listed criteria cannot be accommodated next to an empty seat and chooses not to upgrade or change flights and purchase a ticket for an additional seat, he or she will not be permitted to board the flight.”

“This policy applies to tickets purchased on or after March 4, 2009, for travel on or after April 15, 2009.” 

Now there are three qualifying factors that must be met in order to qualify as a “large person”.  You must be able to fit in one seat in the cabin, fasten your seat belt with only one extender, and put both armrests down.  If you do not meet these requirements then you must conform to the above quotation from their website.

Now I know what our friends on the left are thinking, this is just another way that big business is sticking it to the consumer.  How can an airline force people to purchase a second ticket; that is unfair.  Well before we organized the “Million Pound March” on Washington lets really look at why these policies are in place. (I just made up the “million pound march” and actually that would only be 5,000 people @ 200 lbs a piece but I think sounds dramatic!)

The reason that United changed their policy was because of customer feedback, yes that is right all you “skinny” people out there don’t want to sit next to someone that invades your limited space on an airplane.  Well now isn’t that a novel idea?  And perfectly justified.  People are upset and claiming that this is discrimination against “fat” people.  I have a couple reasons to share with you why this isn’t discriminatory.  First of all a majority of these people are not large because they can’t help it, a majority of them are this was because they don’t eat right, don’t exercise enough, or a combination of both.  The only reason I say a majority is because I know that there are some out there that have justified excuses for why they are large.  So if you are a larger person and want to fly then take some responsibility for your body and lose some weight so that you don’t have to purchase two tickets, that or take the greyhound, those seats are much larger.  The other very big issue I have with this is the fact that the airline companies all have to deal with supply and demand just like every other private sector business in this country.  They are responding to a very large amount of complaints from many of their customers.  This is a very good business practice; keep the majority of your customers happy. 

So now you may be thinking of the title and how this relates?

Well it is simple. The only reason that people think this is discrimination is that they feel that they are entitled to fly wherever they want, and should not be refused service.  Well these people are not being refused service; they just have to pay more to get on the plane.  They are not paying more for the same service, because that would be discrimination, they are paying for two seats because they NEED two seats.

I am using this as an example, the one of many if you read some of my earlier postings, as the minority feeling like the majority needs to conform to make their lives easier.  Why can’t we as Americans look at things in a logical fashion and realize that business and government should cater to the majority.  

Should we go back in time to all of our elections and say that it is unfair for you to be elected to office because you were elected by the majority? 

We are enacting policies in our government that are hurting the majority of Americans, and justifying it with some higher good, that because we are the majority we are privileged.  The liberals of this country are basically spitting on the hard work that many have done to become wealthy.  I myself have not reached that point in my life but I am working very hard to get to that point and if I get there I do not want my hard work to be taken away and given to someone that has not put forth the same effort.  I would like to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

All of this writing has made me hungry so now I am off to grab one of my favorite meals, a Double Whopper.                 

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws. 

 Brushfire of Freedom

The Conservative Cowboy

I am going to start off this week with a couple of definitions according to MSN Encarta’s dictionary(no plagiarism here!)

Change: transitive and intransitive verb: become or make different: to become different, or make something or somebody different

Progress: noun: positive development: development, usually of a gradual kind, toward achieving a goal or reaching a higher standard

I could end this week’s blog with just that, those definitions are a very clear statement of the difference between liberals and conservatives.  For those of you that cannot connect the dots, liberals are the ones that are using “change” as their running platform; and the people of the United States voted in a President on that single word.  Let’s examine for a minute the word itself; become or make different, well that doesn’t sound so bad right? There are a lot of things that people see in our society that they want to make different.  The biggest problem with change is there is never a goal associated with that term.  We can sit here and change the way we do business, change the way we provide healthcare, change the rules for the stock market, and change the amount of involvement the government has in our everyday lives, but are we really moving towards something better?  Or is it simple change for the sake of change?  Are we simply changing things because we didn’t like the status quo?  

Now that we have examined the blind thinking individuals on the left of the political spectrum, that want change just because with no actual goals, we can look at progress.   Progress is the positive development over a gradual period of time towards achieving a goal.  That last part is the kicker, towards achieving a goal.  And no sports fans I am not talking about that thing on the end of the field with the bright orange net, I am talking about moving towards a specific, measurable, realistic and time oriented outcome.  Another thing that I want to mention about the definition of progress is the gradual piece.  Our society has become one where we rarely have to wait very long for anything; we go through the drive thru and get angry if we have to wait longer than five minutes.  We have on-demand and DVR’s because we don’t like to wait through the commercials during our favorite programming.  

Well ladies and gentlemen change can happen very quickly and progress happens over a period of time, which is why the American public bought into all of the change bravado that the liberals were spinning in the last election.  They needed their quick fix, well as we have examined in the past couple of paragraphs; change has no direction, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  With change we don’t know if we are moving forward on the timeline or backwards.  

Many people on the liberal side of thinking, at least in my experiences, have thought of conservatives and old fashioned, set in their ways and unwilling to change.  I think that we as conservatives just take our change to a higher level; we are concerned with progress which takes change and controls it to push towards a goal.  When conservatives look at a problem we do not just start changing things hoping to solve the problem, we sit back and analyze what is causing the problem and set up a plan to fix the problem.  

Is there anyone in this nation that thinks Barack Hussein Obama and his puppets in Congress have a plan?               

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws. 

 Brushfire of Freedom

The Conservative Cowboy

Note: Originally published March 13, 2009. 

As we start toward the end of the first decade in the young 21st century I have noticed a shift in American values.  As we see a new generation entering the workforce there is always going to be some changes in the way business is conducted, and the lifestyles of our society.  America is one of the most diverse nations in the world; we see it everywhere from the choices at the supermarket to our diverse workplace and social environments.  Change is something that is not only expected but appreciated in society.  But change for the sake of change is not the answer.

I am 23-years-old and part of this new generation.  For the sake of identification we will call it generation “y”.  We have grown up with more technology, ease of communication, and an expanding global marketplace than any other generation in history.  We cannot however, forget why this nation has become the blueprint for success.  America did not become the most powerful nation in the world by resting on our laurels.  Since the second industrial revolution and the transcontinental railroad we have been on the cutting edge of technological advancements in all fields.  This nation has a long history of working for every bit of success in every facet of: Government, Foreign Relations, Business and Research & Development.  After World War I,  America instituted an isolationist attitude because the war was horrible and we did not want to be involved in the outside world, we had two great oceans between us and the rest of Western Civilization. 

We got a very blunt reminder with the attack on Pearl Harbor that the world’s issues involve everyone, and that with the help of technology the world was getting smaller.  Pearl Harbor was a turning point in our nation’s view of the world.  All of a sudden our oceans could not protect us from the problems of the rest of the world.

Fast forward to the current time and we can see the steps made with American companies in operation around the globe.  We outsource everything from manufacturing to health care.  We can get information instantaneously via the internet and e-mail; we can wire money from one country’s currency to another with the push of a button.  With all of these great shifts in the ease of communication and business it is easy to forget the past and the opportunities our parents and their parents have provided our new generation.  Yet with these great opportunities comes a measure of responsibility, a responsibility that we can sometimes forget.  We as American’s cannot forget about personal obligation and accountability to ourselves and our great nation.  We cannot blame our hardships on the government or the rich; instead we need to ask ourselves what steps we need to take to change the situation. This country was built on the ideas and sweat of entrepreneurs, not politicians.  This country was founded on the idea that the people hold the power, not the government.  We need to get back the “can do” attitude and pick ourselves up by our bootstraps.   We are not a nation of have’s and have-not’s, we are a nation of opportunity.                

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws. 

 Brushfire of Freedom

The Conservative Cowboy

I have noticed lately in the news that many of the people who voted for President Obama in November are starting to disapprove of the way that he is handling the economy and now health care.  I am trying to understand what any of these people expected from a man that had almost no executive experience prior to his running for president.  We could see his lack of experience when he nominated his cabinet, many of them with tax issues, and other problems that he should have known would not be confirmed by congress.  Of the other positions that were filled many of them were leftovers from the Clinton administration.  We have seen his lack of experience when it pertains to foreign relations, his iPod for the Queen of England, his bowing to the Saudi King, and of course we cannot forget the hug that his wife gave to the Queen of England.  We have seen his lack of experience when speaking to a group of people when there are not scripted responses, without his TelePrompTer and previously prepared statements the president stumbles to find words to answer even the easiest questions.  We have seen his lack of experience when it comes to the budget, the proposed largest deficit in our countries history.  

I remember many conversations with Obama supporters back in November that would argue to the end about how he would not bring socialist ideals to the government.  Now those same people are worried that the Government may now have too much say in the everyday lives of the American people.  That is one of the biggest worries in everyone’s mind about the current health care bill that is in congress right now.  Opponents to these ideas are being labeled as “hate mongers”, “evil”, and even that they are hurting the democratic process.  Speaking out against something that you feel is wrong is necessary for the democratic process, but because we calling our out representatives on their mistakes and providing a much stronger opposition than was expected we are labeled “Nazi’s”.  This name calling is typical behavior for the liberals of this country, blame all of our problems on the previous administration.  I am still hearing how it was Bush’s fault, Obama you have been in office for 7 months; take some responsibility for your own actions and policies.  I know that that is a hard thing for liberals to do because they like to live off of other peoples successes and blame their problems on the system.  Well the American people are not buying any of your PR now Mr. President. 

I was very active in November to try to push all of these questions on people that were planning on voting for Obama, obviously to no avail.  People are now starting to realize that we as Americans made a mistake in electing Barack Obama as the 44th President to serve this great nation.  We as Americans have made mistakes electing officials in the past as well.  The wonderful thing about our system is that we have the power to rectify those mistakes, and the first step in doing so is the mid-term elections for the various seats in congress coming up in November 2010.  People like Harry Reid the senate majority leader who as we have seen in the short time that President Obama has been in office is simply a puppet for the Presidents policy, not really caring whether or not he serves the people that he was elected to serve.  Perhaps it is arrogance, the arrogance that comes from serving in congress from 1982 until today.  Two terms in the house and a 4 terms in the senate, 27 years.  Harry Reid is but one of many examples where the people that we have elected to represent us are not doing the will of the people but are simply conforming to the Presidents will.  

So as the debate about health care continues I ask the people to continue to voice their opinions, and voice them in any way that will make them heard.  As for the people who see now that we as Americans elected an in-experienced man to serve as our president all is not lost and we can fix our mistakes.  And please remember above all that the people we elect are sitting in office to serve the people, and as the people we hold the power to elect the official that will serve our needs as individuals and as a country.                

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws. 

 Brushfire of Freedom

The Conservative Cowboy

As the healthcare debate moves out of Washington and into our home states we have seen the anger at the American people.  The Senators and Representatives are all back in their respective states and setting up all of these “town hall” discussions.  This is an attempt to sway the people’s disdain for this healthcare reform that, thank goodness, has not been voted on yet.  The meetings are a perfect opportunity for the people who disagree to stand up and voice their opinion.  These outbursts of opposition are something that liberals are not used to from the right.

If we look a little deeper we can see why us conservatives do not know how to protest.  In order to be a true conservative a certain mentality is needed.  We are the people that just deal with the cards that are dealt to us and work our asses off to make the best life possible for ourselves and our families.  We were the people sitting in class during protests in college, for the simple fact that the sooner we got the degree the sooner we could put that degree to use.  Our liberal counterparts were the ones participating in organized protests.  So as a conservative the fact that we are protesting should tell anyone and everyone how off-the-wall this health care reform really is, and how the public really feels about our current elected officials.

No longer will the conservatives of this country just deal with what is thrown at us.  We need to organize and get the message to our elected officials that we will not stand by and let a government continue to take power from the individual.  We need to stand up and realize that if this government plan for healthcare is so great then why don’t the politicians themselves choose the government option?  The House, Senate and Executive branch are cramming legislation down our throats at speeds that may set a world record.  Legislation that is strengthening and lengthening the arm of the government’s penetration into our everyday lives.  Yes 47 million Americans live without health insurance but how many of those people are in this country and legally?  Liberals have a tendency to throw statistics around without justifying their numbers.  A statistic is only as good as the data that the statistic comes from, and the variables used to calculate.  

Hey Obama, the people are starting to see your façade break, and seeing you for what you really are and that is a socialist extremist.  We conservatives must find our voice and find it quickly because mid-term elections are right around the corner.  We need to be more involved at a local level, send your congressmen emails, go to their “town hall” meetings.  Institute social programs for the needy and unemployed and conservatives will just deal with it and move on but try to take away our freedoms and change our way of life and we will stand up and fight.  Barack, Nancy, and Harry you have pushed conservatives to the breaking point, and now you have to deal with the consequences.      

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Copyright 2009.  The published content is the sole property of the author.  Any copy, use, or redistribution of any portion of the material without the written consent of the owner is a violation of international copyright laws.