Yhello! Yhello!

Is this thing on? Testing...one, two, three...Yhello!

Very good, then! Those of you who are familiar with Mark Levin (most of you, I would imagine) will understand the title of this post. If you stumbled in here by accident and are not familiar with Mark but you're curious, check this out. It's in my blog/site links, but I wanted to be clear right up front...I am indeed a conservative.

I happen to believe that a good many people who vote for Democrats are misguided, undereducated, overeducated, beholden to the Democrats in some way or another, or simply mistrustful of Republicans. (And in light of recent events, I wouldn't blame them for that last.) Or some combination of the preceding. Quite a lot of others who vote for modern Democrats sound downright Marxist, however. They have their cyber-hangouts, but I won't dignify their existence by linking them here; you probably know what they are, and I don't visit them myself, and (unless you're one of them) my aim here is not to annoy you.

And, one may ask, just what is my aim here? Pretty much the same as that of anyone else with a blog...to occasionally share my perspective on current events/issues with anyone who might be interested, and maybe to engage in a little polite discussion of same. That's a tall order these days, I know; I myself am not above getting testy with Marxists or other obnoxious people who purport to be conservatives, as you can see for yourself if you check out my cyber-home. (Registration is required in order to view. My handle there is DrWhoFan65.)

I will not welcome rancorous debate or abusive, threatening, and/or obscene language here. (I'm not a prude at all, but I consider obscene language both unnecessary and unhelpful-and, frankly, most usually a sign of immaturity.) Commenting on someone else's comment is fine, but please direct comments to me; if you wish to engage someone in direct debate, get a (chat) room. I will moderate any and all comments. Freedom of speech as outlined in the First Amendment ensures that a person will not be punished for expressing a dissenting or unpopular viewpoint; it does not obligate me to provide anyone and everyone with a forum to express their views in an obscene and/or obnoxious manner. This is my house, so to speak; anyone who doesn't like the ground rules can go get a place of his/her own. All that said, I don't mind any civil, reasonably thoughtful opinion which is contrary to my own. I can tolerate lazy spelling, grammar, and punctuation-so long as the point itself is clear (and that goes double for leftists...''just goes to show ya...'') but spell-check is our friend. I'm not a snob, but I find this helpful when I want to verify a definition or spelling.

Here's a bit of background on me, and I may as well begin with my handle and blog title. The latter has no particular meaning; it's a phrase that popped into my mind, and I thought it had a nice ring to it. As for the former, it's pretty much self-explanatory. I was in the US Army for seven years ('84-'91), and for five months of the final year I was part of a service/support unit deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. It was hardly my idea of fun, but of course the front-line troops had it tougher than we did. I am indeed proud of my service, and even more than that, I am privileged to have been allowed to serve my country. I use the "proud" as a distinction between myself and other veterans who feel neither proud nor privileged to have served, yet will cite their service if it suits their purpose. John Kerry comes to mind. The '65 part indicates my birth-year.

Aside from those seven years, I've lived in East Central Illinois all my life-possibly the most conservative area of the state, although there are pockets of leftist wackos--especially in Urbana (which is actually worse than Chicago in that sense...college town-go figure). The small town I grew up in (Pop. <5000) style="font-style: italic;">was a leftie, in case you wonder, but not the bad kind.) I took quite a number of college courses while in the Army, most of them while I was stationed in Italy. Tuition Assistance was a great thing to have for a lower-middle class kid like me; I now wish I'd taken full advantage of it.

I've never really attached a party label to myself, but in the primary I wouldn't ask for a Dem ballot at gunpoint. Not even here in currently socialist-occupied Illinois, where the relatively conservative state Republican party is in a shambles (interminably so, it would seem). But I digress. Aside from the fact that my dad was a conservative, based upon my background, I would probably be deemed (by a leftist, at least) to be a natural Democrat. (In the old sense of the word, that may be true in some respects, but not nowadays.) For reasons I see no point going into, I've gotten a lot of hard knocks since I left the Army, and I'm in a position where factory employment is my only real option at present (not that that's a bad thing, but it's hardly what I envisioned for myself upon my discharge).

But "The Man" isn't at fault there; I am ultimately responsible for my own lapses in judgment (even when helped in their commission), and I am likewise ultimately responsible for overcoming the difficulties those lapses have caused me. I've been blessed to have some caring folks help me along in that respect, and that help has been invaluable, yet in the end I'm the one living this life-such as it is. (In case anyone's wondering, no felonies or prison-terms are involved here, and my discharge from the Army was honorable.) I don't need any overpaid, under-worked bureaucratic twit to feed me, house me, clothe me, find me the job I feel I 'deserve'-I'm a big boy now, thank you; I'll wage my own battles, and the more government stays out of my way, the better my odds of victory/success in all things. I do not accept the mantle of victimhood, which is precisely what modern Democrats in the political arena both promote and exploit in the furtherance of their agenda. I intend to prevail in spite of them.

I could say much more, but I believe I've touched on the most relevant things I wish to share here, while leaving the door open for cross-examination. I've just gotten started here, in case you haven't noticed. What the hell's a 'template'?

Coming soon: "Why Fred Thompson Should (and Will) Be the Next President"; "Internet Sales Taxes: Is It Time for Another 'Surge'?" (Not necessarily in that order.) And much more to come.