NECESSITY__MOTHER OF INVENTION AND INNOVATION

wisdom from mistakes
This sign says it all!                                                                

We gain wisdom by learning from our mistakes.  When we need to accomplish something but we do not have the tools or resources, we must improvise a way or invent something new.
We have made mistakes in our form of government  so we must be innovative or create something new.

DRAWING THE LINE

Cully James Jr....2010

     I am the author of this post. This is my picture in the fig. on the right. I intend to give a number of harsh opinions of our government in regard to current events. I want everyone to know who is making these complaints of our government. I have no intention of hiding in the nameless, faceless cyber world. My email is at the top of this blog page. I will respond to all mail after I run a virus scan on each one. You can agree or disagree with me, that is your right, but you cannot make me shut up.
     In my opinion,  our government has been lying to the American people about how the money has been spent over the last twenty years. They have spent trillions of dollars on meaningless programs and put the money in their personal bank accounts until we have finally been drained of our savings. Now they want to use our Social Security money to cover up their own graft and corruption. We have encountered lies told by several politicians on a variety of topics and we let them slide. We have told jokes about sex scandals and spending $400.00 for a hammer. We have let them talk us into waging wars we could not afford while large corporations made billions of dollars from their government contracts.
     Now they are in a bind so they are going to throw their senior citizens under the bus to cover up the real reasons why we are broke. We have been used to expand their personal riches and now that we are of no further value to them I guess they want us to crawl off and die.
     We need a new government reform. Representation by states. Eliminate the party system. We need to elect independent people whose special interest is the voters in their district. A campaign promise is a declaration of verbal contract with their voters and if they break their word they should be removed from office and barred from any future political offices. When people lie they break the trust of the people they lied to gave them. When there is no trust there is mayhem and violence.
     I can't speak for everyone but I have lost all confidence in my government to look after my general welfare. Providing for the General Welfare  for the People of the United States is a mandate of the U.S. Constitution and the politicians of the last twenty years have failed at this mandate.  They lie to the voters and then sit back and laugh at us for believing them. It's time to DRAW THE LINE and send a message to our local, state and federal politicians. Go home and get a non-political  job. We will elect our own representatives that will serve our interests and not their own.  We will investigate you ourselves, from which we will draw our own conclusions.   

MUSHROOM NEWS by Chris James

     Whatever happened to hard working investigative reporters like Bob Woodward (pictured on top right) and Carl Bernstien (lower right), who broke the Watergate scandal in 1972?  What about other investigative reporters who rose from field reporting to anchor desk, such as, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Winchell, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer? Where have the real news reporters gone and why have they been replaced by the "fluff mongers" of today?
     Paul Harvey used to say, "And now__ the rest of the story" This was what we could depend on from the aforementioned reporters. We would get the headline, the bones and meat of the story and sometimes even the desert. We were given the news facts but they left the comments for us to give. They gave us the facts and expected us to think for ourselves and interpret those facts. Today is a totally different matter. All we hear is the headlines and the pre-approved sound bites run on one loop after another until all we know is the sound bite.
     According to CNN, "70 million Americans live on Social Security, SSI, SSDI or VA benefits."  My husband, myself and my 93 year old mother-in-law receive some of these benefits.  On an eight second sound bite, I heard the president say, "If the country's debt crisis could not be solved that no social security checks will not be issued on August 3, 2011".  This is our retirement. We live from paycheck to paycheck. If the check does not come we will have no money to pay our rent, buy food, pay our auto insurance, electric bill, water bill or make needed auto repairs, just to name a few. My husband has paid into social security since he was sixteen and this was his nest egg. I paid into it for a number of years while I drove a truck and became disabled. My mother-in-law paid into it all her life working in a bank. Mr. President, if you miss this payment you will start an avalanche of currency circulation interruption that will have devastating effects on this country. Your legacy will be that you were the president that stopped social security and cast America into revolution. Why is no-one reporting on the overall affects this president, congress and senate is having on this country?
     Why cut the programs for the poor and middle class while you sit in your million dollar offices, making deals with the rich corporations that is draining this country of it's assets and resources. Why don't the news organizations report your decisions and shady deals instead of treating the public like mushrooms or to say, keeping us in the dark and feeding us bull crap? Why and how have special interest groups bought and paid for the United States Government officials? Will some young investigative reporter expose the real and true power of the insurance companies and how they dictate policy to our Supreme Court Judges, Congress and yes, even the President. When will someone report the true unemployment numbers and give us a factual report of the "State of the Union" Why are Americans being driven into economic slavery? Why can't our elected officials keep their campaign promises? Who do they sell out their integrity and why? What is the price for selling out the American People for special interests and where does the purchase price go?
     News reporting used to be an honorable profession but it has crawled into bed with the very people they were entrusted to watch over. Now you have become like a cheap whore that spreads disease from reader to reader at the direction from the pimps in Washington D.C.. Our watchdog has turned on the people it was intended to protect.
                                                         Chris James           July 15, 2011
My wife wrote this letter to the editor to be published in several newspapers. I received her permission to reprint it on my blog post. I agree with the entire content of this letter.   Cully James.


   

HATS OFF TO ERLANGER POLICE DEPARTMENT

     When some individual or organization acquires significant success in their life's work, I think it is proper for all citizens to stop and reflect on the hard work and consistent  effort of that organization. This is the reason for this post. I would like to honor the Erlanger Police Department and the men and women who serve this community. 
     As a young boy growing up in Erlanger I witnessed this sleepy little town protected by one full time chief (Chief May) and one part-time officer. Since then this department has grown into a well educated, efficient and dedicated law enforcement body. The public officials, down through the years, have had the vision to see the growth  potential of this city and knew very well that  population growth must be led by skilled and knowledgeable first responders to protect it's citizens. The Erlanger Police Department has met the growing pains head on with courage and perseverance. The officers have worked hard to train themselves to obtain a high level of legal knowledge and professionalism. They meet danger and complex issues on every shift and yet they still maintain the understanding of the needs of the people they protect.
     The highest praise I could possibility extend to them would be as follows:
"The fidelity, bravery and integrity they exhibit in their work has set a high standard of excellence for other police departments in Kentucky to equal." May I thank you all for your continued efforts to keep us safe.

MOUNTAIN HERITAGE

     I would like to make you aware of my love and respect for the Mountain Heritage of the Eastern Kentucky People. There are many families in this region whose origin dates back as far as the early 1700"s. They were there and carving out a living off of the land even before there were any settlements in the area. They were hunters, trappers, woodcutters and farmers.  Not only did these people have to struggle to survive against the elements of their environment, but they were constantly harassed by the Native Americans in their area as they competed for their very existence and food, clothing and shelter. Then they were encroached upon by people moving in to form settlements. They brought with them disease and social rules that conflicted with the laws of nature. Along with the influx of civilized society came the Red Coats aka the British Army and Patriots whose plan was to defeat the Rule of England and establish the freedom to invent their own form of government based on the principle of individual freedom. This principle may have been somewhat confusing to the original mountain people due to the fact that they have already enjoyed pure freedom,  regulated only by the laws of nature.
     Throughout the years, mountain people have been constantly been attacked by outsiders looking to control their land and their very lives.  Outside social influence has attempted to impose their rules and restrictions on the Mountain Heritage People and those heirs of the land have resisted and fought back with any means at their disposal. The coal companies tried to impose economic slavery on them and they organized themselves and fought back. The U.S. Government tried to interrupt their income by invoking the rule of prohibition. The U.S. Government tried to confiscate their land by the rule of eminent domain to establish the Daniel Boone National Forest. This land grab prohibited these mountain heirs from living their lives in the manor to which they had been accustomed for hundreds of years. Outsiders have labeled them rude, ignorant and sometimes even stupid. Their heritage has been attacked by every corner of society and yet they survive. They adapt and overcome every obstacle that is placed on their path. This alone seems very smart to me. They are strong, independent and self taught peoples. They have their own time-tested ways of doing things and their own rules of conduct that is based on common sense and their individual belief in God. They are a proud people, in their own way, and if you listen to them and watch what they do carefully, you will learn volumes about living and life. 
     When you belittle these people, you are insulting the very principle of freedom, on which our government was founded, that being the idea of "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".  When you befriend these people and earn their trust you will enjoy the blessing of true friendship.  Should you anger these people, you would find it easier to be in a small cave with a very large female black bear with two cubs to protect. 

     I have been fortunate to have made some very good friends in the Rowan County, Kentucky area who have shown me more kindness than I deserve. I would be untruthful if I neglected to mention that their are some people who do not like me. They think I talk dumb and act foolish. In their eyes I am an outsider and for that reason I cannot be trusted.  I respect their right to have their opinion about me because they have earned it. Whether liked or not I will always love the hills, mountains and hollows  of Eastern Kentucky and will always respect the history of the families who have resided in those hills for generations. I will always show respect for the hill people and the Mountain Heritage they represent.

THE VALUE OF FREEDOM FOR THIS MEMORIAL DAY

     In the late 1990's I broke away from everyone and everything I knew to follow a life long dream to work as a real working cowboy out west. Many times I camped out with a herd of cows or tourist on a horseback vacation. When I was helping to guide guests on a six day horse trip I would have many duties before and after the day's ride. Some days would require eighteen hours of work even though the daily ride was only seven hours. I soon learned that the guests were on vacation but I was not. The wranglers have to get up about an hour before the guests to saddle the horses, fix breakfast and breakdown the camp. At the end of the ride for that day our riders would walk out their kinks and roll out their bedroll. Some would venture out a short way to take great photos of the marvelous wilderness in which they were riding. On the other hand, we unsaddled the horses, fed and watered them and tied them to the picket line. Then the work began with building a campfire, setting up the cook stove, preparing dinner and feeding the guests. After they were all served then we could sit down with them and eat our  thirty minute dinner. After we ate, we would get up and check on the horses, put food away, wash dishes, and prep food in the cooler for breakfast, then, roll out our bedrolls.
     I was always concerned about the horses health so I was selected,  by the trail boss,  to sit around the campfire with the guests and entertain them until  they bedded down. While doing this, I would excuse myself every half hour and check on one or two horses that I had noticed with sore withers or cinch sores. I would rub some suave on the bare spots to keep the hide soft and checked their knees for heat. I would then return to the campfire to continue the entertainment. This was my normal routine on six day horseback vacations.
     I distinctly remember one four day trip with a small group of senior folks. We were not able to ride but six hours per day, (at the request of the guests), so the ride supplier set the camp supplies closer together on the trail. This quickly became a gravy ride for the wranglers and gave us more time to enjoy our guests and the ride. It was about nine o'clock and still daylight when our tuckered out guests were all bedded down. For the first time,  that I knew of on a trail ride, the wranglers had the campfire all to themselves. We sat there drinking our coffee and swapping tales of the cowboy life. I made the comment to the boys that this is what I came out here for. I told them I wanted to experience the freedom of the wilderness.
     My trail boss, (Candy Morrison), quickly informed me that this was not real freedom. This is the illusion of freedom that we provide for the guests who pay big money to go on these rides. "What we do here", he said, "is to enjoy the benefit of freedom. He tipped his hat back on his head, sipped his coffee and said, "I would like to tell you a true story about freedom and why it is so valuable to Americans". I got up and picked up the old metal coffee pot from the fire stone, filled every one's cup, set it back down and settled in for his story.
    He began his story slowly.  "When I was a young boy up in Livingston, (MT) I used to go trapping. One time I had set out about twenty or so traps and baited them with chicken parts. The next day I got up before daylight to check my string. After checking five or six of them I came up on one steel trap that had been sprung. I saw fox tracks in the snow around the trap and when I looked closer I found a fresh  hind paw of a fox laying on the ground. I knew the stories of the old men who had many times told about how when a fox is trapped he will chew off his leg to get away. I knew, right away, that this was the case here in my trap. I followed the blood trail and stumble signs for about three quarters of a mile and I found her. She had a liter of three pups laying on her, sucking milk from her teat like they were starving. She was exhausted to the point that her senses were very dull so I put her out of her misery with my forty-four, took the pups home and raised them until they were big enough to survive in the wild.  Eventually, I turned them out to live out the life their momma tried to give them. "You see boys",  he said slowly, "Freedom is not free. Freedom is the result of and idea to survive and the free will to sacrifice your all for the idea. Momma fox sacrificed her paw to get back to her pups with milk and one ol' chicken bone so her pups could live on to live their lives and raise their families." We all were very quiet by then and the supply driver spoke up and said,  "Freedom ain't free. It must be earned and fought for".
     The next time you see a veteran remember the story of momma fox and what she sacrificed in order to return to her family with food and drink. The veterans who return from fighting overseas and their families brings to us continued safety and security that we may enjoy the benefits of our freedom. Thank you to all who serve and nourish the American Dream.                                  C.D.James    5/28/2011

IN JESUS NAME

     When I was a young man I found myself in the horrible position of trying to take out a bank loan to purchase a new pickup truck. Of course,  my credit was poor and my assets and liabilities did not equal the collateral with the truck for the bank to lend me the money, so they turned me down.  A few days later I was visiting my dad and as we set out under the big tree in the front yard I confessed to him about the fact that I could not get the loan for my new truck. He asked me a few questions that related to how much down payment I had, what kind of insurance I would have on it, how much I needed the loan for with total price and most importantly, would I pay it off. After answering all his questions to his satisfaction he looked at me and said, "Meet me at the bank first thing tomorrow morning.
     The next day dad and I walked into the bank together and asked to speak to the loan officer. We sat down and the loan officer started to explain to dad why they turned me down for the loan when my dad interrupted him and said, "I know all about that but what we are here for is to tell you that I will co-sign his note with him. If he fails to pay it off, I will make good for it". The loan officer didn't bat an eye but said, " Of course, Mr. James, I'll draw up the papers right away".  The loan was approved and a few days later dad and I went to the dealer ship and I drove my new truck home. I could not obtain the loan on my own. The bank gave me the loan on my dad's co-signature. I guess you could say the bank authorized the loan with or  in my dad's name.
     People in the Christian Faith can only find forgiveness, salvation, grace and mercy with the God of Abraham in the name of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus paid the price of conquering death to resurrection that empowered Him by God Almighty to mediate between God and mankind a line of communication. The only chance of a relationship man has with God is the credible co-signor of the faith, Jesus Christ, as in John 3:16. Jesus is the signature of God that enables us to obtain the blessings God has for us but are truly unworthy to obtain.
     When we pray, we should close our partitions with "In Jesus Name".  When we live out our lives we should endeavor to live in Jesus Name so our God will recognize the signature on our lives and grant to us His Mercies of peace, joy and love that comes from His Forgiveness. There is a warning I would like you to understand that comes from defaulting in Jesus Name.
     When we confess our sins to God and ask for salvation in Jesus Name and are saved by His Grace, it means He has co-signed for our salvation to God and we are forever obligated to Him for a debt we can never repay. Should we falter in our faith walk it is the same as being late on a payment. It is true that Jesus is our constant mediator for our sins but God is not happy with us because we have shown disrespect to the Name who has co-signed for our faith,  who in fact, just also happens to be His only Son. God judges that our souls will be forgiven but our bodies must live in the circumstances we have chosen through sin. This is the horrible penalty of committing sin while living as a benefactor in Jesus Name. Living in the name of Jesus means to respect and act out our lives in such a way as to honor, glorify and uplift the Name of the Anointed One as our living testament to God. We can never pay the full debt that Jesus has already paid. All we can do is make our daily payments, to the best of our ability in childlike faith and honest devotion to obedience to God's Commandments. The greatest commandment being, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, IN JESUS NAME.