Why am I doing this?

Why did I decide to start writing a blog? As I enter my 60's, I find I am having more trouble remembering things I could instantly recall in the past. I think it will be therapeutic to me to put these experiences down as I recall them to try to keep my memories from fading.

Why did I decide to start writing a blog NOW? A recent experience made it clear that my friends, some of many years, do not really know me. Last week I was at a Christmas party with about twenty friends. We were doing a "Chinese auction" where you draw numbers and pick a wrapped gift or steal one from someone else. After someone stole my first gift, the gift I unwrapped was Ted Kennedy's book, "True Compass." As they were taking my picture with the book, one of my friends laughed and said, "Art's the biggest Republican we know."

Well, I am a registered Republican but only because in North Carolina you have to declare a party in order to vote in a primary and I am opposed to the current Progressive/Socialist leanings of those currently in control of the Democratic Party.

I am a conservative in the classic sense. That is, I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For instance, the 10th Amendment states that any power not specifically granted to the federal government is reserved to the states and to the people. I believe that the best government governs the least. I'll be posting more on this later.

I am a libertarian. That comes naturally from being a conservative. The least government enables the most freedom and liberty. Don't confuse those who want to impose strict rules on social activities as being conservatives.

I am for personal responsibility. I have made mistakes. I have made bad investments. I have been fired twice. I take full responsibility for my life and don't expect the government to bail me out. I am 100 percent for equal opportunity, but do not expect equal outcomes. You get out of life what you put into it.

I am a fiscal conservative. I believe in a balanced budget. You should not buy what you can't afford. Today's government, both federal and the state of North Carolina are controlled by special interests. They give grants and programs (entitlements) to groups that continue to vote them in to continue the largesse. I believe in a hand up, not a hand out. We need to balance our budgets.

I am a skeptic. I don't necessarily believe what I hear on TV or from the government. I try to read both sides and make up my own mind. I believe most government social programs create more problems than they solve. I have read the Communist Manifesto. I have read Glenn Beck's Common Sense. I choose capitalism over communism (progessivism, socialism or whatever you want to call it.)

I'm actually sorry that someone "stole" the Kennedy book from me later in the auction. Now I'll have to buy it.