Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

My All Time Favorite Automobile

I find this a difficult question to answer because there are so many wonderful cars and some that weren’t so special, but have wonderful memories attached, the Model A belonging to Dr. Hoch, I got to help him redo the roof of that summer I turned seventeen. A few years later, I helped a neighbor with a few chores around her house and was able to drive her CJ-3 around during that summer. Neither vehicle was anything special, but the memories I have are priceless, which makes them rate high on my list of favorite cars. When you talk about cars, I have owned none, particularly high on the list of vehicles that are favorites of mine.

If however, you widen the list to contain vehicles, I have never even physically seen the first car that pops into mind is the 308GTS that Tom Selleck drove in Magnum PI. I wanted to drive that Ferrari in the worst way. I still lust after that car and have had a soft spot for Ferrari ever since. The beauty of those classic Ferrarari lines is exquisite. I think the next car that really sank its teeth into my obsession was the Aston Martin GT8 owned by Tim Burton of Shmee150 Fame he was the first person who introduced me to the true world of supercars. I will always have a large place in my heart for that car because of the wonderful beast that it is. It is loud, raw, and with a manual transmission even more rare than it might once have been.

I think the only other car that needs mentioning to complete this wonderful trip down memory lane to find the answer is as the saying goes, last but not least, an American automobile, the Duesenberg. I have loved these big cars since I was a kid, drooling over photos in magazines and history books. I was overjoyed to find an Italian website with dozens of images of these rare cars that I could use to illustrate this post and save to my computer for my screensaver later. The large flowing lines, the big straight eight motors the incredible sound of supercharged engines made the Duesenberg a car like no other.

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

How am I creative?

I just sit down and start writing about what I want to write about but I am often surprised about my viewpoint on paper being different from what I would articulated before I tried to right it down, I also enjoy photography,  spending time in nature is going to be a priority in the year ahead for me.

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

The Rift Is Growing

I hoped the second term for President Trump would be less chaotic than the first, but I honestly think it has become more divided, not less. This raises the question of why this is, and what we can do about it. There is a rift between the political parties about what this country is and what it should become. This country was founded upon ideals and individual freedom, which is unique among all nations.

I was not a Joe Biden fan because we seemed to disagree about way too many things about what we are and how to solve society’s problems. I have always believed life begins at conception and murder is always wrong. I spent much of my career in healthcare and EMS fighting to preserve life and see the humanity in everyone, but I will admit I failed far too often. I find my sense of empathy very small when it comes to those who disagree, and many will stop at nothing to get their way. This has become a significant issue in our current political system. Even as I write this, I paused to read a piece fromThe Epoch Times about nearly thirty of our ambassadors being recalled by the current administration due to their not seeming to speak with the authority of the current White House incumbent, The political polarization in this country is reaching dangerous levels and we must put an end to the administrations careening from one roadside ditch to the other. An incoming president should not want to spend much of their first day in office undoing much of the work of their predecessor, which has occurred with both the last two, or should I say three, administrations: those being the first Trump term, the Biden administration, and then Trump II. I could not believe the obstacles that were thrown in the way of President Trump during his first term. His legislative priorities were scuttled at every opportunity, and who can forget the ever spiteful John McCain, making sure to create such a spectacle by voting against his attempt to repeal Obamacare. I am not saying Senator McCain was wrong to vote the way he voted but that his insistence at making it a huge news event by the way he insisted on being the deciding vote, and in dramatic fashion. No one did more to cripple the president’s legislative agenda than Paul Ryan with his continuous holier-than-thou attitude. He actively refused to bring many legislative items to the floor to thwart the President; this is his own party, no less!

I am afraid to even start with the shenanigans of the Democratic Party during President Trump’s first term because it began with all the election interference and legal maneuvering before he even took office, challenging the results, and let us not forget the Russia, Russia, drumbeat that went all the way back to the campaign. I will admit that Donald Trump is often his own worst enemy when the truth is involved, but that in no way excuses the political dirty tricks he endured. I will say little regarding Adam Schiff and his incredibly egregious conduct, which is beyond my limited vocabulary to describe. How he is not bankrupt or in prison is inexplicable to me. I am in no way excusing the President with his ability to play fast and loose with the truth, but Adam Schiff was a, well, we will get into that another day.

I could go on for much longer, but there is no real need to do so, and it will not improve the clarity of my writing. The point I am trying to make is that the two political parties have become; we must win at all costs adversaries, and it is truly damaging the country. The liberal politics in this country have come closer to being socialist than democratic, and the rise of the victim mentality in this country is alarming. This is by far the most concerning aspect because of the tiny grain of truth at its core. There is always going to be some part of life that is unfair and should be different that holds you back, that is part of what it means to be human. An equally important thing is how you respond to the setbacks you face. I have faced a few, and I am not proud of how I handled them. I am in total agreement with Ronald Reagan, the government is the problem and not the solution. That is no longer the default position in this country!

When I was a much younger man, I felt I needed to contribute to making life better for myself and those around me. In the intervening years, I lost sight of that, and I don’t think I am the only one. I am reminded of the quote by John F. Kennedy, “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I have become far too good at remembering the first part and ignoring the second. I need to change that, and I doubt I am the only one.

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

The Price Of Freedom

This is a piece I wrote many years ago and recently ran across again so I am adding it here so that I can rewrite it properly someday.



July 4, 2001

“People willing to give up freedom for a little safety, deserve neither freedom nor safety.”
–Ben Franklin.

“We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
–The Declaration of Independence

Over the last couple of weeks I have read more than a couple of articles that have talked about using force against agents of the US government. That frightens me. I do not understand how we have reached this point. 

I have done quite a bit of reading on the right to keep and bear arms and the issue is rather clear. This country is at a fork in the road, and the entire country needs to determine together where we go from here. 

This country was founded by men who designed a government that had never existed before. This country was entrusted to us by those men, and there are many who would say we have betrayed that trust. 

The Bill of Rights is a document that lays out, not rights granted to us by the government, but God given rights that we should never allow to be taken away by our government. Yet that is what our government is attempting to do. There are those who think our rights under the second amendment should be sharply curtailed or eliminated. “It is a matter of ‘Gun Safety’,” they will cry. “It is ‘for the children’,” they will wail in protest. No, it is far more than that! Those men who signed the declaration pledged everything so that this country might become a nation. These were not fainthearted men, who turned and ran at the first sign of trouble; we can do no less. 

The freedom we have in this country has a very high price. I read an article last year that talked about what some of the signers of the declaration went through as a result of their actions. Many of them paid a heavy price for their actions. We must also pay a heavy price; that price is not in gold or silver, but eternal vigilance. I am not willing to die for a cause I do not believe in, and neither were these men. I am, however, willing to die for a cause I do believe in. They did not take what they did lightly, and neither should we. 

The government that was set up by these men, was set up by men who did not trust it. The Bill of Rights was written so that our God given rights were enumerated for all time. There are those who would say that we no longer need to fear the power of the government, that the people should surrender their arms in order for us to be safe. It is our arms that keep us safe, and keep us free. I can not give you a better answer to the request for us to surrender our arms for a little temporary safety than that of Mr. Franklin. It has been said many times that the second amendment guarantees the others. So we should no more surrender our arms than our printing presses. As I said earlier, this country is at a fork in the road. In one direction we see the continuance of the journey started by our founding fathers. Down the other path lies the path of disarming and surrendering our freedom. Any call for us to surrender our arms should be resisted, with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. Our founding Fathers swore to do this, can we do any less?

This then should be the reply to anyone who wants to take way our freedom:

The Founding Fathers swore everything to help found this country and we should be willing to do the same to keep America free and strong. Are you willing to do the same to take our rights way? 

Do you feel so strongly that I should no longer have the right to keep and bear arms that you are willing to pledge your life, your fortune and your honor? 

I can not guarantee it will be necessary for you to lay down your life to get our guns, but are you truly willing to do so? 

I do not ask these questions to threaten you, but to ask you to think. Is a temporary illusion of safety so important that you are willing to give up your freedom for it? 

How can you do this after considering the high price that was paid for that freedom by all who have come before? 

Are you willing to pay that price?

Are you willing to pledge your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor? 

Understand this, I most certainly am and will! 

There is a long line of patriots who have given their lives for this country and what they believed in. Are you willing to give your life to get my guns? 

If not, then have the honor to stop this foolishness and allow honest men to live in peace.

 

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

Pleasant Read

I am posting this because I found it a nice little read and thought I would share it. It talks about a small town Pastor that grew up in Chicago and became a gun owner later in life. I am a Second Amendment supporter and I don’t own a gun but realize that our freedoms must be defended to keep them. This story talks about a normal everyday gun owner who isn’t afraid of speaking out but prefers to speak quietly most days about gun rights. Enjoy!

The Pastor’s Garden Gun: Reliable, Accurate, & Untraceable

 

Posted under: Gun Rights

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

Letters to the National Rifle Association

I agree with him and will start doing the same, I am a Life Member as well.

Rob Morse's avatarSlowFacts

I received donation letters and a phone call last week from both the National Rifle Association and from the NRA-ILA, the Institute for Legislative Action. I wrote these letters in reply. I’m sure some people will call me a hater, but I want the NRA to reform. RM

National Rifle Association of America
(Second letter to National Rifle Association of America- Institute for Legislative Action)
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

You recently asked me for money. I’ve donated in the past. I want to donate again. I will donate when Wayne LaPierre has left the NRA, and the NRA has severed ties with Ackerman McQueen. I will donate elsewhere until then.

Rob Morse
Member number
Patriot life member

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Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

The Truth of Socialism on the Little Screen

Think about what is posted here, is your security really worth giving up your freedoms?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob Morse's avatarSlowFacts

We know socialism fails. The question remains if citizens will believe the lying politicians and vote for socialism anyway. The media won’t tell you these truths, so here is the truth about socialism laid bare before us in Venezuela.

-Venezuela was one of the world’s largest oil producers with enormous oil reserves. (1999)

World Oil Reserves- OPEC 2017

Source-https://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/images/content/data_graphs/GRAPH%20OPEC%20%20share%20world%20crude%20oil%20reserves%202017.jpg

-When legislators determine what can be bought and sold, the first thing to be purchased are legislators.. and voters.

Chavez wins again 2010. Granted new powers

Sources- https://www.socialist.net/venezuela-elections-2010.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/27/venezuela.elections/index.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-banks/update-6-venezuela-assembly-gives-chavez-decree-powers-idUSN1729156220101217

-Free speech and the rule of law are a threat to government power.

Judge Arrested After Ruling Against Socialists New York Times- 2010

Source- https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/world/americas/04venez.html

-A government disarms its populace so the rich and powerful can do things they couldn’t do to armed citizens. (2012)

Venezuelan Government Destroys Private Arms

Source- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-18288430

-Modern infrastructure is constantly under repair. A society can’t…

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Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

Why Encourage Recreational Marijuana?

I ran across the 10 Blocks podcast and wanted to post the podcast and my comment:

https://www.city-journal.org/recreational-pot-legalization.

What I heard is that once again Social Justice Warriors have tried to fix a situation that isn’t broken and made things worse as a result. Marijuana use is detrimental when it is overused and overuse is very easy to accomplish, leading me to believe that legalization or even decriminalization is a bad idea. The drive to decriminalize or legalize marijuana use will do little on the political/social arena but create further damage to the fabric of society Why is there such a drive to destroy or damage the fabric of society? I really have to question the ulterior motives of the people and organizations involved in this movement. I have not even touched on the self harm that smoking marijuana may cause and am speaking only on the political level. Legalization will do little more than damage  that which holds us together, that seems to be the endgame to all this, why are we helping unknown people pulling the strings to do this? I will never support legalization and neither should you in my opinion.

Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

The Socialists Got What They Wanted..and the Republicans Gave it to Them

This is a severe problem that must be solved, the Republican Party has to grow a backbone. They are much to prone to buckle to Democratic Progressive/socialist demands and fracture the Constitution rather than stand their ground and argue the facts and principles of the situation.

Rob Morse's avatarSlowFacts

Government is more intrusive and more expensive than ever. Obama made law with his phone and his pen by issuing executive orders. Fortunately, President Trump has reversed many of these orders. Trump also restricted the federal bureaucracy.. when it was politically convenient to do so. Unfortunately, Trump also used the bureaucracy to do the dirty political work that legislators wanted to avoid. That leaves all of us at risk.

The latest example is the  firearm accessory called a bump stock. The murderer who killed 59 people at the concert in Las Vegas had a bump stock on some of his guns. Neither the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) nor the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) said that those bump-stock-equipped weapons were used in the attack, but the news media ran with the story of “deadly bump stocks.” That story became political reality.

House and Senate legislators caved…

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Posted on by Mark Zanghetti

Science, Fantasy, and Superstition- Gun-Control Fails the Evidence Test

Some food for thought, why do people hate to be free?

Rob Morse's avatarSlowFacts

I’ve watched gun-control advocates slide down the slippery slope. At first, their spokesmen said gun-control was simply common sense. Unfortunately for them, each gun-control law is a claim that can be tested. Instead of changing their beliefs as we learned more, gun-control advocates simply chanted their old arguments louder and longer. Gun-control must have saved one life somewhere, they claimed. Eventually, the gun control-talking-heads had to turn their eyes away from the facts and ignore the damage they caused. For our part, we passed gun control laws because they felt good rather than did good. Like many public policy issues, we think we’re talking about evidence when we’re really discussing how we feel.

Superstition is holding an unjustified belief because of the way it makes us feel. It is easy to think we’re too sophisticated to have superstitious beliefs. Fortunately for us, evidence is one of the best tests to…

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