John Reynolds

In the 30th day of Army vs. McCarthy Hearings before a Senate Committee, June 9, 1954, a verbal exchange occurred that changed history. Joseph McCarthy, senator from Wisconsin, was leading the fight to uncover communist sympathizers in America. He had been a young circuit court judge and a pilot during World War II.

When it came to ferreting out communists his "bulldog" tenacity served well. He could see communist "red" and all shades of "pink" wherever he looked in the landscape of American society. The Great Depression of the '30s had prompted some Americans to believe that communist socialism was a better system than capitalism. Many dipped their toes into the communist pool, others took the plunge.

Many of us were exposed to Shakespearian literature, however briefly, at some point during our education years. Even if we understood the dialogue most of us "pigeonholed" the experience in the useless information drawer along with algebraic formulas, and compound chemical chains.

My "crazy cousin" Bill when asked where he thought he was going in life would respond, "to hell if I don't get a transfer." To my knowledge his behavior wouldn't have warranted such a fate but apparently he felt the need to change his ways, and did, he got his "transfer."

The Constitution of The United States and related documents were written to benefit the people of this country. The rights of foreigners are not addressed and are peripheral to the rights of U.S. citizens. Words used in these documents such as "We the people of the United States .." "the right of the people.." and " the right of citizens of the United States.." support that point. The Constitution addresses how the government is structured and how it performs. The "Bill of Rights" and other amendments address rights of the people.

Turns out Candidate Barack Obama wasn't as charismatic as first thought. Sure there were some folks swooning, composing songs, odes, and poetry. A few even got tingles up their legs, a very few, but most people were simply doing what we so often do in presidential elections; vote in a new guy from the other party.

One of the lies told most often by the liberal wing of the Democratic Party is that of the Bush Administration's policy on torture. Critics got a lot of mileage from this and it unified the left, helping them to regain political power. Then-candidate Barack Obama rode the tide of this criticism. It was a wave that helped take him all the way to the White House.