Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Take notice I said Merry Christmas and not Merry Xmas.  Who the hell came up with replacing Christs’ name with an X?   Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, period Amen.

I also said Happy New Year.

That being said it will not be anything close to merry or happy for the families of the U.S. soldiers killed in the suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan, nor the victims and families of the mass casualty incident in Las Vegas last night, nor the victims and families of the San Bernardino terrorist attack and all the others.

I started out today in a not so good mood, that ended rather quickly in a terrible mood.

On the way home I stopped by the store to pick up some items.  Standing in line in front of me was an elderly man wearing a baseball hat with logo indicating he was a Korean War Veteran.  He had a few items on the belt, some cans of soup, a few cans of tuna fish and a loaf of bread.  When the cashier rang up the sale the man was short of money and told the cashier to cancel the soup items.  I stepped in and told the man that I would pay for all his items, thanking him for his military service.  He thanked me and left.

Then as I drove home I became pissed off.  I mean really pissed off.

I thought about the $150 billion that the US taxpayers gave to Iran or should I say those we elected gave our money away to a country whose citizens chant “Death to America” and who want to see the annihilation of the State of Israel.

I wondered how that money could have been put to better use right here in the United States.  Helping out Veterans in need.  Or feeding children in this country who go to sleep each night hungry and whose only meal comes from when they attend school.  Or fixing our broken educational system.

Earlier this year the wife of a friend of mine died after losing her battle with cancer.  The medication that was keeping her alive cost around $14,000 a month.  Insurance stopped paying for her medication.  Her husband lost everything.  Donations from friends was not enough.  What has this country come to?  The cost of a few pills versus a human life.  What a disgrace.

Less than a year from now we, the American public, will have elected another president.  Who will it be is anyone’s guess.  Who I hope it will not be?  Not Bernie Sanders, an admitted socialist.  Not Hillary Clinton, a corrupt liar.  And not Donald Trump, a billionaire jackass.

Democrat or Republican, it is going to be one party or the other.  The sad truth is that both parties are responsible for the mess this country has been in for decades.

And does it really matter who gets elected?

Congress can’t get along with anybody even those in their own parties.  And we keep electing these useless corrupt politicians who do nothing to benefit the American citizens they serve, only themselves.

Are we not tired of corruption, dishonesty and the waste of trillions of taxpayer dollars on useless government programs?

When are we going to say enough is enough!

The United States is not about socialism Mr. Sanders.

Yes Mrs. Clinton, Bengazi still does matter.  You lied to the American people just as your husband did.  And you were not smart enough to know that using your private email was just simply wrong.

Mr. Trump, you may have built an empire and good for you.  But you have insulted everyone from a decorated Vietnam War Veteran, to women, immigrants and an entire religion.  You lack common sense and dignity for others.

During World War II citizens of Japanese descent were placed in internment camps right here in the United States.  When their sons came home while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States they had to visit with their families in the camps.  During the 1950’s Senator Joseph McCarthy ruined reputations and people’s lives because he saw a communist behind every bush.  Adolph Hitler almost destroyed an entire race of people.

Is this were we are headed in this country. Do we want to repeat the past?

Alienating an entire religion because of the actions of Radical Islamic Extremists that need to be eradicated off the face of the earth is a disgrace and Un-American.   Religious freedom is the foundation of America.

ISIS and other terrorists groups will be eradicated once those in Washington wake up and listen to the American military commanders who have the expertise in fighting terrorists.  Let the military do the job they want to do the way it should be done.

And now Vladimir Putin endorses Donald Trump.  Enough said on that.

We need to learn from the past and not repeat the past.  I have quoted Albert Einstein many times because he was right.   The problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.

Last night in Las Vegas a woman mowed down thirty-five people injuring many and killing one with her vehicle.  They haven’t ruled out terrorism yet because the investigation is still ongoing.  It may not have been an act of terrorism but it was certainly terror no less, at least to those that were injured and killed.

And it wasn’t the first time that an incident like that has happened.  Others have also mowed down people on the Las Vegas Strip.

And it gets even worse than that.

In 2014 a drunk driver drove his pickup truck right through the front doors of the Stratosphere Casino.  That should never have happened.  It could have just as easily been a car bomb.

Al-Qaeda several years ago in one of the issues of their online magazine Inspire had an article titled, The Ultimate Lawnmower.  It had nothing to do with cutting your grass.  It was step by step instruction on how to modify a pickup truck as a killing machine and use it to mow down people on the street.

The incident in Las Vegas last night was seen all around the world as it was covered by MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and many other news outlets.

Food for thought for those casino owners and county officials who think hospitality should take precedent over security.

It seems we still don’t learn from the past.

Sadly for many in this country and those serving overseas it may not be a very Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year.

Let’s fix this country and elect the best person as our next president.

We need to do it right.  Not only will our children’s future depend on it but the future of our country.