Just a little over thirty years ago, Ronald Reagan stood at his inauguration; placed his left hand on a Holy Bible, held his right hand in the air and recited his oath of office, promising to defend and uphold the ideas set forth in what is now a 224 year old document against all enemies: both foreign and domestic. In this U. S. Constitution: our form of Federal government and how it relates to State governments was laid out; and its charter was set. In its amendments — our freedoms are spelled out for all the world to see.

     In the distant past our nation’s soldiers were revered and held in high regard. They were held up as heroes and role models, parents taught their kids to highly esteem their actions that kept an entire nation safe. However, in recent years, over the last 45 or so years, there has been a chill in the air when it comes to our military men and women. In fact — there is a chill in the air when it comes to a lot of truly American traditions anymore freedom of religion, speech, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc.

     I began this composition by referring to Ronald Reagan, and for good reason. Reagan is the most recent president to really take an immovable stance on the rise and spread of communism. Reagan went so far as to describe the Soviet Union as an “Evil Empire” and he took a lot of pressure for that stance by the liberal progressive media for it. Reagan did not mince words, he did not speak politically correct, he said what he meant, and meant what he said. During his tenure in the White House he gave many speeches; but none probably more geo-politically important than his “Evil Empire” speech on March 8th 1983 to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, and his “Tear down this wall” speech given at the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate on June 12th 1987.

     Let’s speak about the Berlin wall for a moment. This wall erected by the communists in 1961 to stop people defecting from communism to capitalism. In all, 171 people were killed or died attempting to escape the communist eastern block by crossing the  Berlin Wall between August 13, 1961 and when it fell on November 9, 1989. Notice no one was killed trying to defect to communist rule.

     I’ve said all that, to say this; look how far we’ve progressed. Our system of capitalism has been perverted by those in government and high finance, banks; not to mention unions and some corporations. True; free market capitalism has been so shackled and regulated it is barely a shell of its former self. It is being slowly killed off, and for what end? For the very same people who created the crisis to say “you know old gray capitalism “was” ok for times past, but this is now, and that was then, we have a new “system” “. 

     Look at the amount of national blood and treasure [We the People] have spent on defeating and deterring Communism, Marxism, totalitarianism, and socialism in countries around the world. Just from 1945, at the end of WWII to modern-day the number of our brave soldiers killed in action is close to 100,000 and the dollar amounts are in the 100′s of billions.

We have fought in:

• Korea
• Vietnam
• Panama
• Grenada
• Persian Gulf
• Somalia
• Bosnia
• Lebanon
• Iran
• Lybia
• Honduras
• El Salvador
• Iraq now
• Afghanistan now
• Lybia again now
• Uganda now
• The list goes on and on and on!

     We have done all of this, and for what? To have our politicians in charge now tell the American people that they stand with the Occupy Wall Street crowd? The re-run of the smelly, dope smoking hippies from the sixties that spit on our service men returning home from war; calling them baby killers. How ironic is it that the same crowd that attacked our troops for “killing babies” are now the very same people who uphold the “pro-choice” banner as a moral decision. All the while trying to compare themselves to the TEA Party, which by its fruits can be absolutely debunked. People at Tea Parties wave American flags in the air and hold them with pride, people at the Occupy (just insert name) defecate on the American flag and stand on them on the ground. No movements in history can be more drastically contrasted, yet the media is complicit with the lies of the hypocritical OWS protesters with all their amenities that were a product of the very same capitalism that they hate.

     We have our professors at our universities teaching communist revolution openly in the classroom. Encouraging our young people to act seditiously against their own country. Giving extra credit in fact for protesting at the Occupy Wall Street protests. Many of the protests have had a anti-Semitic theme, which the media has, and continues to ignore.

     Our government has “bailed out” multiple business’s. By bailing out these corporations the government has essentially nationalized those business’s. Not only that, by bailing out some, and not bailing out others, the government has also found a way to pick the winner in industry. In some cases the government even operates its very own for profit business’s now. These are all ideas that coincide with communism, not capitalism.

    The elected officials in our system have essentially sold out the American people as sheep to the slaughter, while preparing themselves for the future collapse of our systems. The very same people who we have fought for 70 years are now in charge of the greatest fighting force ever known to this world, ours. If our path does not change and change drastically back toward our founding principles, We will owe all who have fought and died fighting our nations wars a huge “I’m Sorry”; “I’m Sorry I didn’t question the government when they said, “you don’t need God, let us take care of you”, “you don’t need family, let us take care of you”, you don’t need your guns anymore, we have plenty to protect you”, “You don’t need a home, we will give you one”,”you don’t need healthcare, we will take care of you”,  ”don’t read that book, we will teach you”, ”you don’t need a job, we have one for you, we would like you to dig a ditch”, and the last noise you will hear is the cocking of their weapon at the back of your head once your hole is dug. Don’t doubt this scenario, it’s happened before! All over the world, where ever communism has reared its ugly head.

     One of the malcontents down at Occupy Wall Street was a man who wanted to be a woman and claimed he was fired from his job for this same wish, he claimed his boss “hated” him. He was dressed in a chinese soldiers uniform, complete with hat and a 40 inch by 30 inch chinese flag. When I seen that, all I could think of is the visions I had of a young chinese protestor in 1989 in Tiananmen Square standing squarely in the path of a tank. If the man on wall street was protesting in communist china, they would have silenced him.

God Bless the U.S.A. Still the GREATEST nation the world has ever known.

Robert E Stage Jr.

Robert E Stage Jr.  

Divorce Ends Marriages…But Families Endure….

Where does wisdom have its origins, where is its birthplace, who can find knowledge? Have you ever asked yourself, just how does one acquire intelligence? Does knowledge accompany wealth? Or does wealth pre-suppose knowledge? All really deep and thoughtful questions, very philosophical. I believe the quest for knowledge begins with our very first steps toward our own self-awareness. Our own cognisance. Once we begin to understand the world around us. But lets skip ahead a bit. Lets skip to school age, say kindergarten through college graduation, we will focus mainly on these formative years. Over the years our nation has been slowly transformed from a society that has taught its students solid christian fundamentals, morals and the 3 r’s, reading, ‘righting and ‘rithmetic. Now students are coddled and disciplined with “kid gloves”. School administrators won’t discipline in some cases just so they don’t “hurt” students feelings. Teachers are grading papers with purple pens as not to hurt the children’s egos, I got red F’s in school if I didn’t make the standard, you probably did also. Did it hurt you? I was not hurt by it. It made me strive harder for a better grade, maybe one I could get written in black pen.

Many people associate our education system forming around our founding or the middle of the nineteenth century. In doing this, they discount the 156 years between the landing of the Mayflower at Cape Cod in 1620 to 1776. In fact, from AD 1620 – AD 1690 the King James Holy Bible was the text-book used to teach children. That is to say, reading, writing and arithmetic were taught from a holy text, however you will not hear this in today’s “politically correct” classroom. Then from AD 1690 through the middle of the eighteenth century students were taught using the New England Primer. This publication was steeped in Biblical texts also. Students learned the alphabet using Bible verses. After the New England Primer, came the McGuffy Reader. Yes; you guessed it, it was also full of moral lessons, from the Holy Bible. It was used through the middle 1800′s up until roughly the Civil War. The university system in our country that’s made up of a number of colleges, was also founded on Christian principles. In fact 98% of colleges in early colonial and pre colonial America were founded so the nation would have sound, educated men leading the church’s in the country, and not laity.

So where does this bring us? Lets run up to the early 1960′s. This was the period where school systems really deviated and turned against religious principles and morality. This change revolved around two Supreme Court cases brought by the ACLU and others, including a famous atheist named Madeline Murray O’Hare. One case removed the reading of the Bible at the beginning of the school day. The law up until this ruling by the Supreme Court was that 10 verses of the Holy Bible were to be read upon the start of the day by a student, without commentary. The other case removed prayer from schools. The claim was that Madeline’s son was made to feel uncomfortable by these actions in school, this was the premise for the lawsuits. What is really ironic, is the very same kid that was at the center of his atheist mothers lawsuit against the school he attended is now a devout Christian author, he wrote a book named “Let us pray”. William J. O’Hare was used as a pawn; much like the Pro-Death abortion crowd used Jane Row to manipulate abortion laws through the Supreme Court, Now “Jane Row” is also a devout Christian, and her renouncement of how she was used and her Christian testimony can be viewed on YouTube. This is how progressives work. Anything they know they could never get congress to pass, is taken to court, sometimes over and over, until victory of the minority. Our Constitutional Republic was never designed to be ruled by minority rule. Our nation was founded on the principles of  majority rule.

Lets look at something else that has been distorted in the media and in colleges for about the last 100 years, ”Wall of separation between church and state” No, this is not a quote from the U.S. Constitution, as some would have you believe. This is a quote from the author of The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Quite often, this quote is taken out of context so it can be maliciously used to subvert and usurp the meaning of the first amendment. The quote appeared in a letter written to the members of the Danbury Connecticut association of Baptists, from Washington D.C. by Jefferson’s own hand. The letter was written as a response to reassure the gentlemen of the Danbury Baptists that the State (Federal Government) was not going to meddle in Church affairs. In fact, Jefferson even reciprocates the prayers of the Baptists. The letter is dated January 1, 1802.

So it must be a money problem. Ask yourself this, how did our founders become so smart that they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution among other legal documents when compared to today’s economic indicators, most of these men were poor. Here’s an even better question. How did Abraham Lincoln grow up absolutely poor, and yet he still became a lawyer, and eventually President. Arguably these are some of the greatest minds that ever walked the face of the earth. So how did they do it? Some had apprentices. Some just buried themselves in books and read, however one common thread connects these men. They all had a zeal for learning, and a great understanding and reverence of their Creator. All you have to do is read their own words.

Lets look at a just a few facts that can’t be denied when contrasting our current education system to the older models. You can actually contrast just the last 40 years and see a huge difference. In the 1960′s the extent of teacher complaints about students were: chewing gum in class, talking in class, missing the waste basket, and not turning homework in. In our more expensive and “ultra-modern” classrooms teacher complaints have now progressed to: extortion, rape, assault, murder, drugs, and students carrying weapons. Todays schools are run like prisons with their state of the art metal detectors and school lockdown programs. We as a nation should be asking ourselves just where did we go wrong? I contend we run God and his moral codes out of school. I have heard some old country preachers say “We run God out of our homes and our family’s, long before the Supreme Court run him out of the schools!” how right that is. If we do not honor God in our schools, why should He honor our schools? The schools are cursed. I don’t mean a Gypsy put a hex on them. I mean when you try to do things without God he has no business blessing our endeavors. And He won’t! As you have read this, I want you now to remember the series of questions that I posed in the first paragraph. Just where does Wisdom come from? What is Knowledge? Do you have to be rich to acquire these things? Or if you acquire these things, will you be rich?

We as a nation are lacking students and adults that can think critically. We have become a nation of zombies. We need a return to basics, a return to our foundation!

Robert E Stage Jr.

This issue touches many family’s in Ohio. My wife and I have had some spirited discussions about SB5. You see we are a couple “unequally yoked” politically right now. Normally we are both fairly conservative but on this issue we disagree. We both held our nose and voted for John McCain last election. You see; my wife works in the public sector, and she has a part-time private sector job, and I work in the private sector. I have a slightly more conservative view of SB5 and my wife has a conservative view of SB5 but doesn’t like the fact that it’s going to directly affect our finances negatively. We have viewed the issue from all sides, and had many discussions. One of the things that really upset my wife is the fact that she hasn’t had a raise in 5 years, and her “great” union has conceded benefits when negotiating the last two contracts. Now many would say “oh that poor little state worker”. But the cynicism would be mis-placed. Let me explain why, my wifes quota of accounts to examine, balance, and update is 250 per 8 hour day. My wife examines 750-2500 accounts per 8 hour day. So needless to say she works very hard for her money. In the last quarter she worked, she was shown production numbers by her supervisor that read as follows: employee A examined 6600 documents, employee B  examined 1700 documents and my wife examined 22,000 documents. Now, because of staff cutbacks and employees that were not replaced when they retired or quit, this production level is kept this high at all times. So when my wife hears she is being rewarded with a pay reduction for busting her rump, she’s let down, to say the least! I look at the situation this way, I am against unionization altogether. I believe they are communistic in nature, and that goes for government employee’s or private sector. I believe they support division of the populus that labors. It sets one set of workers above another, to me that just doesn’t represent equality. One issue we have talked about is the merit pay part of the new law. We both do slightly agree on this, but with one caveat, the dreaded office politics. While we agree you should be reviewed and rewarded on work performance and receive compensation on those merits, we disagree whether that would be reviewed fairly and impartially by the supervisors in charge of performing the work performance reviews. I believe they would be done professionally, but my wife is a little more of a realist. She believes that office politics may skew employee’s reviews, therefore resulting in a lower raise.

I heard on the radio today a small blurb by the head of Innovation Ohio, which is a progressive think tank, complain about the politicians reducing the pay of state workers by asking them to contribute more toward their insurance and pension payments but the politicians do not have to abide by the same law. Now if this is found to be the case I stand with this man, I don’t support that action either, but remember political organizations make political statements. Private sector employee’s pay about 30% -50% toward their health insurance costs annually and 90%-100% toward their retirement, these numbers represent a huge gap.  Either way, if you are for or against SB5, you have a chance this November to have your voice heard, so get out and vote!

Should a persons religious beliefs be on trial before they are seriously considered for public office of any type?

Should a persons personal life be on display for all to see before they are seriously considered for public office?

Should a persons business dealings be investigated before they are seriously considered for public office?

What social issues do you want “your” candidate to be passionate about?

Do you want “your” candidate to be politically correct, or do you rather like a plain-spoken person?

How cozy do you want “your” candidate to be with foreign nations, who should he or she feel are our allies to garner your support?

I was one of those guys who took a referral from a family member for my legal representation for my divorce. Sadly I didn’t do enough homework when it came to researching the attorney before I hired him to represent me. I had mediocre representation at best. I was charged a flat fee of $2700.00 for “divorce with children”. I never received an itemized invoice for services rendered, even after asking for one on several occasions. Whats even worse in my case, I paid for two divorces, just before the paperwork was filed I had given my ex-wife $2100.00 to pay the new house mortgage and incidentals for our children. I later found out, my ex never paid the mortgage, she used the money I gave her to hire an attorney to sue me for divorce. Aint that the luck! Actually she didn’t pay one mortgage payment on the new house she lived in for 14 months, and this is just plain greedy, after being in the new home, she let all her family members throw her a “house-warming” party where she received gifts for moving into a house I paid $2000.00 to have built, that she never paid a dime on for 14 months…. and lived in for FREE. 

Heres another piece of advice I didn’t know until I found myself searching for a “good” divorce lawyer, always; 100% of the time go with the reputable “local yocal” attorney in the municipality where your case will be heard. What this does for you is it  cozys you slightly closer to the judge hearing your case. You really want your attorney and the judge to already have a good working relationship. Think about it. Do you want the guy or gal who has worked with the judge many times over and maybe have shared a drink or a golf game with? Or do you want the guy or gal who has never seen said judge, never! I think you see my point. We all wish justice could be blind, but every now and again; she PEEKS and the scales are tipped! In the real world it really does matter who you know. I know I may sound a little jaded and cynical, but remember folks, I’ve walked the gauntlet already.

When there are children involved in your divorce, always, always, always, involve a family counsellor and a mediator, these two positions are going to be your lifeline! I cannot recommend this strongly enough; because this is where I lost the most ground, I did not do this. Take for instance, getting a counsellor involved, what this does is allows all parties involved to vent to someone other than the person they might despise at that particular moment in time. It saves a lot of unnecessary hurt feelings in what is already a tough situation. Getting a mediator involved will reduce any dis-agreements that pop up along the negotiating process, you know, “bumps” in the road. Also involving a mediator helps with dis-agreements in the future, because if everyone is on the same page and everyone knows exactly what their agreeing to, It’s hard to plead ignorant later over visitation, support, or what ever might be the pressing issue of the day.

You should always use ALL the tools at your disposal! Do extensive research, ask for references from your attorney’s former clients. Use the internet to view forums, and bar association writings regarding certain lawyers. Go to the library, study family law or read books on the psychological effects on children who suffer through such trauma as divorce causes. When you get right down to it; next to a death in the family; there really isn’t any trauma like a divorce. A divorce is the natural world of a child (no matter how bad their environment is) being un-naturally ripped into two pieces. After it is ripped like the tearing of your flesh, then the “distance” of the “divorce altered relationship” begins to set in. Which can cause all kinds of odd reactions from your children, depression, isolating themselves, drawing ”dark” pictures and so on.

I will leave you with this, do everything you can to speak respectfully of the other parent in the presence of your child, in their eyes you can “kill” the other parent with just a few careless hurtful words. Always make time to share and talk about how your child(ren) feel, and to an extent how you feel also now, remember divorce is new to you and your child(ren). Take advantage of every opportunity to encourage them to spend quality time with the “other” parent (no matter how devastating your alone time is for you).

I was not afforded many kind words in my divorce, this ultimately destroyed two of the best father daughter, father son relationships you ever witnessed. Now the relationships are dead. I have become as a distant memory in my children’s minds, I have become but a whisper in a hurricane.

Robert E Stage Jr.

With that being said, there are some who have been reminded on what seems to be a daily basis by their wives or husbands, “If you leave me, you’ll lose everything; kids, house, cars and when I say everything, I mean everything!” I myself, hail from this particular group of people. When my ex-wife explained to me that if I ever left her that she would take everything from me including the kids and the house, she used to solidify her statements by adding a little caveat by saying “And if I cant do it, my Mom will see to it happening!” Maybe you’ve heard those very same words. In my case this is actually the only vow my ex-wife ever kept.

Luckily, life does not end “post children”. Every day is a challenge, but I have made it, and in most cases prospered. With the support of my soul mate, my new wife Cynthia, I have since my divorce, gained my self-respect back, went to school and received my GED, I even completed and passed a couple of college courses. Also I went to school and received a State of Ohio license to sell Life, Health, and Annuity insurance. We have a ton of fun raising and playing with our three labrador puppies. Our life is really good.

 I can remember feeling like my ex-wife was extorting me to stay in a destructive relationship by holding me hostage with my great love for our children. In the end, If you are not respected, not loved, treated poorly, or just plain discounted as a second class citizen in your relationship, no amount of extortion will keep you in it. It may keep you for a season, but soon that season will be over, and so will the relationship. Most will say, “stick it out for the children’s sake.” often times this only teaches children to stay in the same destructive relationships when they grow up and are dating or married. This just perpetuates the hurtful vicious cycle in the next generation.

No one can make these hard decisions for you. But if you’re visiting this blog; take this advice, get plenty of input and counselling before you make any decision. Also read the first psalm in the Bible, and follow it strictly, get good solid Godly advice in your situation. Find good moral things to do to fill your time with, help a neighbor, volunteer, bless others with your talents.

Don’t perpetuate damaging behavior because you feel it’s just “best” for all involved.

Robert E Stage  Jr

Somewhere tonight; a child and a parent are crying out from the depths of their heart to God in heaven, only wanting to be reunited and to begin repairing the relationship that has been damaged and lost.

Robert E. Stage Jr.