Back in 2008, we often complained about the lack of candidates who were willing to take any kind of principled stand. This year, we have the incredible fortune of having two men running for national offices who actually are taking a stand. David Hedricks and Clint Didier are running for the House and Senate respectively. This quote from Didier's platform page should sound familiar.

I am pro-life – from conception until natural death. Our Declaration of Independence states our inalienable rights are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: and “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men…” Therefore, it is the express job of government to protect all innocent human life. Taking a public policy position otherwise leaves all lives in jeopardy.

Hedrick's site lists a similar stand for life, as well as this in regards to the Second Amendment:

When the Second Amendment states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”, it means, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Period.

When in Congress, I will never vote for any piece of legislation that infringes an American’s right to keep and bear arms and I will actively advance legislation that supports this right.

In addition to these, you can find many more statements were both men take obvious joy in the hallowed American tradition of government-bashing. With men like these to support, we would be fools to miss the Washington primary on August 17th.

A number of years ago, my Great Grandpa Brown put a lot of his experiences and observations into a series of poems. Last Thanksgiving, I scanned over one hundred pages which were held in a single binder. Grandpa Brown has two more binders, as well as some loose pages. Over the next several days, I plan to type up several of the more remarkable poems. I have already posted the first, titled, "The Rattle Snaker." You can also expect posts titled, "The Armistice Dance" and "The Herd of Steers." The latter might sound rather boring, but I can assure you that Great Grandpa was a master in the art of understatement.

The Rattle Snaker

When walking in the woods one day,

Off the path I chanced to stray,

And as I went a step to take,

I saw a coiled up rattle snake,

But the snake was playing fair,

He rattled to warn me he was there,

So I quickly regained the path,

And decided for to leave there fast,

For where a rattle snake is found,

Other ones may be around,

I told the farmer where I’d been,

And he said lets take care of him,

So he went out to his pig yard,

And got a sow that was fat as lard,

She seemed to know just what was up,

For she followed him just like a pup,

And when we got into the brush,

Ahead of us she made a rush,

And in less time than the telling takes,

She came back with mister snake,

And it was fun to see that beast,

As she finished up her feast,

Then back in the brush she run,

And came back with another one,

Well the farmer said she done quite fair,

For you can see she got the pair,

He had refused for to the market take her,

For she was a perfect rattle snaker,

He said he wouldn’t sell that sow,

For she had got two dozen now,

And she knew she’d have a snake dinner then,

Each time he took her from the pen,

For if there were any snakes about,

She would always smell them out,

It didn’t matter what kind of snake,

She’d take any breed or make,

Before he taught the sow to follow,

The place was known as rattle snake hollow,

But he had turned the old sow loose,

And of the snakes she made good use,

But one would show up now and then,

Then he would take her from the pen,

And she seemed to have it in her mind,

He expected her a snake to find,

And she would show it to him atleast,

Before she was set to have her feast,

Well you say she’s just a hog,

But pigs are just as smart as any dog,

You can take any pig you pick,

You can easely teach him tricks,

And he will follow you like a dog,

And you will tip your topper to that hog.

A.D. Brown, Sept, 7, 1977

In the past several years, the arrival of fireworks season in Clark County has been accompanied by new restrictions. Several years ago, it became illegal to sell or use fireworks during New Years. This year, it is illegal to sell or use fireworks on July 5th, the day when retailers usually mark down their prices by fifty percent or more. But there is something unique about this latest infringement on our freedoms. On April 21st 2009, when the changes to the laws were passed, Tom Mielke was on the Board of Commissioners. This was the Tom Mielke who campaigned on a platform of small government. And yet, he sat in the hearing room and joined Marc Boldt and Steve Stuart in passing this measure unanimously. The minutes from that meeting only record a few short lines from Mielke, in which he implies that we are fortunate that they did not decide to abolish the entire season. This is how tyranny happens. When even the good guys take the side of big government on issues that seem too small to matter.

Now, you may be wondering why I am getting so upset by the elimination of one day in the fireworks season. I am disturbed precisely because this issue appears so trivial. It is true that there are many bigger problems in the world, with abortion and euthanasia claiming innocent lives daily. But this is a problem because it is a slow removal of one of the little joys that makes life worth living. When you read the accounts of people who lived in Nazi slave camps or Soviet countries, you read about many evils. You can discover a life lived behind barbed wire, with barely enough food to survive. But the victims of these barbarities did not long for freedom of movement as much as they longed for that swing under the big oak at home. The food doled out to a Russian child might have been sufficient, but it could never match the pink cake with white frosting which Momma made before the shortages began. When you remove silly little pleasures from someone's life, you actively destroy their joy.

Dog-stealer, horse-stealer, man-stealer--can you think of anything so base as a toy-stealer? -- GK Chesterton