Category Archives: Books

4th of July Addendum–Strong Stuff

Published July 9, 2019 / by Lee Kessler / 6 Comments on 4th of July Addendum–Strong Stuff
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First, I appreciate the extraordinary amount of positive feedback and sentiment I received regarding my 4th of July post.  It is appreciated.  Especially since several of you felt it was a challenge as well.  That said, I have something to add relevant to the news that day and the following.

Now, I expected the insanely compromised media to hate the 4th of July Celebration in Washington.   Their predictability borders on the worst that could be said of any actor or writer.  They are a cliché, and everything they do recently demonstrates it.

Take the 4th of July celebration.   I personally watched it, after I had posted my last Blog.   I found it moving, and fun.   It was a celebration.   Now, I know my history a bit.  And the Doolittle Raid was over Tokyo, if I remember, not against the Nazis.  So, the President and his speechwriters got that wrong, and perhaps other things.   I don’t know.   Because that was not the point of the vitriol that came his way the following day.

Obviously small-minded people will harp on such an obvious mistake, or mistakes.  No small-minded person would have been moved by the personal tributes the President gave to specific Americans who were singled out for their contribution to the American story. That, by the way, was the bulk of the celebration.   It was an honoring of free Americans and many who did extraordinary things. But, as I said, small-minded, small-spirited people would not care about that.

No, the main attack was predictably on the honoring of our armed services, the celebration of the branches of the military, the role these people have played in our freedom, and the military flyovers etc.   Comparisons have been drawn by the media to vile dictators.

Now, I understand you may hate Donald Trump.   You may hate America even.   But before you get on your “Intellectual” high horse and condemn his speech writers for their understanding of history, consider this:  to not place the armed services in the celebration, along with the fireworks that our forefathers envisioned, is to reveal a colossal ignorance of what happened on July 4, 1776.

When those 56 men signed that document–in case you missed it–they were signing their own death warrants, and they were beginning a revolution!!!   I don’t know how the NY Times, CNN, MSNBC, or any other pea brain missed it.  This was not a church social.   This was not a classroom debate. This was not an office Super Bowl pool.  This was the real deal.  And to bring it off, it would require MILITARY ACTIVITY AT A LEVEL NOT SEEN IN THE WORLD UP TO THAT POINT.

(Please forward this part to any media people you know, or any blowhards.  I am tired of being berated and belittled for enjoying a celebration of what my ancestors commenced that day.   And I am tired of cowardly bullies trying to rain on everyone’s parade. I make my living as a public speaker, and I don’t care if someone flubs a teleprompter reading, or if there is a gaff now again.   Anyone who actually works for a living talking live in front of others has had an embarrassing moment or two. So, grow up.)

Because it was a military endeavor that began that day, it would be almost a dereliction of duty not to honor the flag, the military branches, and salute them in some way for what Washington’s Army did then, and for what all of our military have done since then to make it possible for these ignorant people to pontificate from their self-righteous perches.

A 4th of July celebration that includes our military is an appropriate thing.   And, if you think otherwise, I suggest you stop talking about whether Donald Trump’s speech had an historical inaccuracy in it.  For all you are revealing is a complete ignorance of what really happened that day, and what we are celebrating and honoring still to this day. If your ignorance had prevailed back then, there would be no United States of America, and there would be precious few free people anywhere.

So, to the critics, I give you an F in history.  Forget the Doolittle Raid.  You missed the whole point of who we are and where we came from. You are engaged in a race to the bottom of the class.   God help any who read you, listen to you, emote with you, and form their opinions on the basis of your pitiful ignorance.

Now, this is about the angriest you will see me.  For those of you who prefer I be more gracious, too bad.   Today, I am John Adsit’s great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter. And, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

4th of July–a point of honor

Published July 4, 2019 / by Lee Kessler / 5 Comments on 4th of July–a point of honor
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Not long after 56 men signed a document that would change the world, and put humanity on an upward trajectory toward freedom and prosperity, they selected a famous British General to lead the Continental Army.

The choice was critical since each man had pledged his life, his fortune and his sacred honor to the cause.   Each knew that if they failed, all would hang for treason.   Each knew also that there would be bounties placed on their lives, their wives’ lives, and their children while the coming war would be waged.

In fact, many of those men did lose their lives.   Many lost their fortunes.  Many lost their families. But, none lost their honor.   They stayed the course–no matter the price.   And we are richer for it today.

As I am packing my home to move out of state, I stood today at the wash stand that has come down to me through the centuries in our family.   In a small upstate village on the Vermont/New York border, Washington was recruiting to try to fill out his army.   Most of you may not know that the whole American Revolution was supported by a tiny percentage of the population.

Like any great recruiter, Washington painted the vision, but he also offered incentives for those who might enlist and fight.   John Adsit, my ancestor, was a poor man who dreamed of one day owning land.   George Washington signed a land grant to him that day, giving him and his heirs property.   He sat at the humble wash stand which was the only place available, and promised the land to our family–if they won.

John Adsit was not a young man, but he had a dream.   And he knew that a free society was necessary for him or his descendants to ever have anything.  So, he signed.  He went with Washington, leaving the family behind.  He stayed the course of the entire war, and he returned to work the land.

Why?  The promise of freedom and prosperity resonated with him I would guess.   And so he too pledged his life, his fortune (which was small), and his sacred honor to the cause.  Wealthy and poor alike believed in the dream and the rewards, and they fought and bled together to bring about opportunity for generations to come.

Today, as you eat your hot dogs, and bar-b-q, please reflect on the vision that precedes you, on the commitment that precedes you, which affords us a land where men and women are free to pursue their dreams.   We are not guaranteed the outcome of our efforts.   But we have been given the chance to expend our effort.

Ask yourself, what are you willing to pledge your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to?  Hopefully you know.   But, if not, pray for the wisdom to identify something worth your life, worth your fortune, and which requires your honor.

Enjoy your day.   Enjoy your family and friends, and a delicious meal.  As for me, I look at that table, and salute a man who 8 generations ago, risked it all–for me.

Happy Birthday, America!

The Grenade

Published June 18, 2019 / by Lee Kessler / 2 Comments on The Grenade
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It was a popular expression during the 2016 Presidential Election for Candidate Trump’s supporters to shout out the command, “Drain the Swamp.”   Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, I doubt any of us have not had a day when we scratched our head, cursed under our breath, and wondered what the heck the men and women we elected turned into once they got to Washington, DC.

Be honest now.   We have all regarded that place as the swamp, because it doesn’t seem to matter who is President, or which party is in control of the Congress, we have all of us sensed there is something incompetent at best, and diabolical at worst, going on in “the Swamp.”

I mean, think of it.   How did the place even get its name?   Yes, the area was once a swamp I believe.   That’s not it.  It’s the other definition which Washington has earned in the decade-in and decade-out world that some perpetual players live in.   Webster’s kindly defines swamp as “a difficult or troublesome situation or subject.”  The verb means “to inundate or submerge.”

So, the voters who clamored to “drain the swamp” know that there is something insidious, even sinister, that lives in that swamp known as Washington, DC.   And they further know that no matter who they send to Washington as President or Vice-President, the swamp somehow inundates them.

Draining the swamp became a strategy then to drain off the excess water and expose the creatures who are living there.   It sounded like a good strategy. It even got a candidate elected. The problem with draining a swamp, however, is that it gives the “swamp creatures” time to slither away, hide under a rock at the bottom, take up residence in a new, deeper area–and remain camouflaged, still ready to strike.

Well, unwittingly, the American people didn’t send a man to drain the swamp.   They might have thought they were.  Instead they lobbed a grenade into the swamp.   Donald J. Trump is a grenade  He’s not a drainage valve technician!

When that grenade exploded totally unexpectedly, and instantaneously, the swamp creatures who were lurking in the murky subterranean world of manipulation, power, and likely corruption, were tossed up onto the surface–visible in broad daylight.   This was something that had never happened, and they never expected.   There they were: Democrats, Republicans, Bureaucrats, Intelligence snakes, K-Street firms–all of them writhing, trying to get out of the light and back down into the darkness they have been operating from during my whole life.  We even know their names now.  We can see them flailing.

Unfortunately for them,, Donald J Trump appears to be a time-release grenade.  He just keeps exploding sections of the swamp.   To me it is hilarious to watch these creatures spit, hiss, bite, and dive for cover.

Well, I have a tip for them–from me.  It’s not the grenade that is your problem.   It’s the people who tossed that grenade into the swamp, who wanted to see the real identities of hidden incompetence or subversive actions.

You have operated in dark, dank, murky corridors too long.   You have hurt Republicans and Democrats alike.  And the time has come for you to wither in the light of day.   Your power is ending.

Here’s to “grenades!”  (Now I have to put a disclaimer here.   You know I am not talking about military, weapons grenades. I do not, and never have, advocated violence.  I am talking about a disruptive, combative, fearless, asymmetrical warrior.  That was our grenade of choice.)

The Bunker

Published June 1, 2019 / by Lee Kessler / 2 Comments on The Bunker
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I remember when I first was invited to be a radio guest on a Talk Show with Gen. Paul Vallely and Oscar-Winning Film Producer, Jerry Molen.   As they launched the show they spoke of broadcasting from a bunker in the Rockies.   It struck me as humorous.

Having no idea where their studios actually were, I understood though that apparently they did not want to be truly located.

Later, when I happened to hear Rush Limbaugh one day, he too spoke of broadcasting from a bunker.   Again, I had no idea where his studios were, or are, actually, and whether “the bunker” was necessary.

Well, after blogging for a year–especially the content of my blogs in the last few months–I now know why the person communicating may need to keep their location unknown.   “The Bunker” is a euphemism for an undisclosed location.

So, know that my recent experiences have caused me to decide, in the future, to Blog to you from a “Bunker.”

That’s all for now.

Who Works for Whom?

Published May 23, 2019 / by Lee Kessler / 1 Comment on Who Works for Whom?
1 Reply

Now I realize it’s been a long time since some of us took our Civics class where we studied our Constitution, and our government.   And for many of you, and those you forward this to as well, you never even had a Civics class.  Apparently some educators felt you didn’t need any education on how to be a citizen of this country.   Sadly, many, who apparently never had Civics classes, have now ended up in government, in one of the three branches of our government.

The key point–overlooked by the DC establishment and the bureaucrats that serve them–is that this is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  It was the “Great Experiment” that people could be free and they could form a government and govern themselves.

In that case, we need to remember that everyone in Washington, DC, in all branches of government, in all Departments of the government, and in the State governments as well, works for us!  They may not know this, or choose to ignore it, but we must not.  You are the boss.  They work for you, and it is your money collected through taxes that pays for everything.

You and you alone elect the President and Vice President.   They in turn select their key Secretaries, and then thousands of employees work for them.   But who are they really working for?   You.   You are the Boss of their boss, and if you don’t like the boss you elected, you fire them through the ballot box.  And you even can figure out a way to fire them once they are an entrenched bureaucrat with tenure.

You also are the Boss of your Senators and Congressmen and women.   The only authority they have to do what they do in Washington–or to even go there–is granted to them by you with your vote.   If you do not find them effective, honest, competent, and a great civil servant, you and you alone can fire them.

Please remember this the next time some Washington elitist hack talks down to you as if you were beneath them–too stupid to govern yourself, too stupid to understand the “complexity” of the issues, too consumed with sex and weekend barbeques to be trusted with the affairs of state.   It is that disdainful mindset that has always led to authoritarianism, then to totalitarianism or dictatorship.   Those we “hired” to work for us take on a God Complex and begin to believe they are superior to their constituents, and that we work for them.

Whether they are right or wrong about you, they still work for you.   Never forget this.   Or we will cease to be a free people with a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  But make sure you are an informed, educated boss who is not flailing around on a stimulus-response emotional roller-coaster driven by the news or social media, like Pavlov’s Dog.

We are better than that.   Our ancestors were counting on that fact when they declared their independence from a dictatorial, mercurial king.   They were counting on that when they risked their lives and fortunes (many to lose both) to be free.   They were counting on that when they created a Constitution to anchor the generations, and provide guidance and stability.

They had many choices, many forms of government that they were considering, and looking at.  The men in that room made a choice–for YOU.   And when they finally came out of the Constitutional Convention to present the Constitution to the people, a man cried out to Benjamin Franklin, “What form of government have you given us?”   His answer, “A Republic–if you can keep it.”

I challenge you to educate your children and grandchildren as to the difference between a Republic and a Democracy.  Democracies fail because they turn into mob rule. Knowing that, and knowing history, the generations ahead of us did keep the Republic.   They built a great nation, and changed the world.  Today’s young generations don’t seem to know or care.   And, if they do not, they will preside over the demise of the “Great Experiment.”   And likely be too “stoned,” or self-obsessed to even know how they will be reviled by History.

Teach them who works for whom.  Teach your government leaders the same.  Keep them in line.  And most of all, we should make sure we are “Bosses” worthy of being submitted to.   Otherwise, the people we hired will overthrow the “Bosses,”  demeaning them and dismissing them, calling them “Deplorables.” Debasing terms like “Racist,” “Bigot,” “Sexist,” “Xenophobe,” “Nazi,” “Misogynist,” “extremist” are Black Propaganda generalities designed to dominate.  They are condescending at best, and overbearing and unjust at the worst.

If we deserve to be the people who elect our government officials, we best be smarter than them, wiser than them, kinder than them, and constantly vigilant.

I want to alert you to the fact that In the months ahead you will be learning about an attempt by a group of highly placed and powerful individuals from within the Washington DC bureaucracy to overthrow our government, and overturn your vote, or the vote of your countrymen.  You will witness indictments, trials, and likely convictions.   It will shock you.

As for me, I ask myself, “What signal did I give to these men and women that made them think they should or could stage a coup and get away with it?  Did I appear disinterested and incompetent?  Did they think I lacked the courage or stamina to face this, and ferret them out, and bring them to justice?”

Perhaps they did think of us that way.   But, I have never forgotten the legacy my ancestor John Adsit left me when he risked everything and signed up with Gen. George Washington.  He fought for himself, and for future generations–which includes me.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to assert my authority as the “Boss” of these seditious individuals, and I am ready to work to repair the damage, and to make sure we do “keep the Republic.”

How about you?