David Thompson - The Times Examiner

: By David Thompson; Published: 07 December 2016

In my experience, one usually hears advice when its application would be least appreciated and mostly useless. Thus we come to know the truth in the saying that, “Nothing goes so unheeded as unsolicited advice,” and yet here I go.

My Mother was not just wise; she was given to me as an Angel from God. Please accept that I am not being flippant or a smart aleck at the moment; fact is, Mom’s analytical skills relative to her children were so astonishingly accurate it was, well, scary. Like when she told me at age 10 that my penchant for being reckless was going to hinder my life if not reformed. Her words have come back to haunt me many times since.

One can certainly make a case that wanting to join the Marines at age 19 because they said they needed “A few good men,” was motivated by all the right stuff. Then again, my sisters would tell you even today that such a decision during the Vietnam War falls into the reckless x 10 category. Who knew my sisters would also get the analytical gene…nah, just kidding, those two knuckleheads don’t know anything.

: By David Thompson; Published: 30 November 2016

Peggy Noonan said in the WSJ, “Trust America.” Apparently that is her response to people upset with an election that will put Donald Trump in the White House. While I want to share Ms. Noonan’s faith in the USA, it is less clear after 8 years of Obama that we can or should do so. Certainly we should not without strong “rules of engagement.”

There is much wiggle room under the First Amendment (1A), in fact, we allow for the expression of all sorts of nonsense. Where the line should be drawn, however, is when evil people among us utilize the American instinct for fair play and tolerance against us – then my pragmatic side says, “Wake up, America.”

ISIS, for example, has used the Internet for all sorts of nefarious purposes, including sending messages, recruiting and demonstrating just how evil human beings can be. Jihad is not a passing fancy: it has been around for 1400 years. We ignore radical Islamic terrorism, as Obama has tried to do, only at our peril.

: By David Thompson; Published: 23 November 2016

My Dad used to say it, “Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.” And I admit, among the things that progressives are doing lately that make me laugh are those signs that say, “Not my President.”

There are so many real and imagined grievances between and among us that one of the takeaways from the elections of 2016 is the indisputable fact that Obama succeeded. Oh, he lost an election alright; indeed, he lost in epic fashion. But his larger quest was to “fundamentally transform” this country and, by golly, he did so. As readers of this column know, my spin on his legacy will be anything but generous. Then again, even we amateur historians take a stab at “fair and balanced” now and again.

We used to be able to carry the weight, to shoulder without complaint the burdens of being a citizen in this land, the greatest country in history. No more; the MSM now carps about most everything and those masses who once “yearned to be free,” are now merely “useful idiots.” Obama succeeded in getting re-elected in 2012 and some would say in a larger sense as well, because he utilized a divide and conquer strategy. Military folks know one never splits the troops up, and yet there are examples…with names such as Chancellorsville.

: By David Thompson; Published: 09 November 2016

The election of 2016 is finally over. As I write this prior to Election Day, I have no knowledge of who will be the next POTUS. Regardless who won, however, can we all agree to make some changes so we never again find ourselves with such a lousy choice in candidates?

Political parties have become the antithesis of democracy. The Democrats were uncovered by WikiLeaks, emails clearly showed that Bernie Sanders did not have a prayer of winning the nomination. That Hillary Clinton engaged in corruption should surprise nobody. That the Democrat National Committee (DNC) did so will only be an issue if you are not a progressive ideologue, the sort that has taken control of the DNC. And because Hillary successfully colluded with the DNC to rig the primary system in her favor, it reinforced her belief that she was entitled to be POTUS. She tried to wrestle the nomination from Obama in 2008 also, but there were too many Democrats then who refused to go along.

: By David Thompson; Published: 19 October 2016

Donald Trump nailed the queen, in public and to her face. At the second debate held on Oct. 9th Donald Trump did what we have been waiting for, for 30 years to happen, he confronted Hillary Clinton about her illegal and shameless behavior. Bravo, Mr. Trump…well done.

Hillary Clinton has been allowed to get away with all sorts of conduct that would have put anybody else in prison. The most recent example of such was her using a private email server for official business while she was Secretary of State, and destroying thousands of emails which are public property. That the FBI/DOJ allowed this to happen and chose not to indict her is proof of how Obama has made the government into a completely political institution. Obama has destroyed the rule of law, but the fact is, he has been allowed to do that by a compliant Congress. Progressivism is a disease and most of those currently involved in government have been infected by it.

: By David Thompson; Published: 02 March 2016

Having survived my first POTUS primary election cycle in SC, let me share a few observations. “Take-aways” from anything are only useful if one identifies those worth remembering because they offer some valuable lessons.

Most stunning even for those of us who are unapologetic political junkies is that South Carolina really does go bonkers for a few weeks. I attended myriad events, including five political events in the last week, from the SC debates in Greenville through the last Rubio event in Clemson the night before the GOP primary…wow. It is wonderful to be able to do so, to participate in the democratic process up close and personal in a state where one’s vote actually matters.

: By David Thompson; Published: 03 February 2016

Do great people make history or does history make great people? Is it the larger than life character that molds and shapes events that determines the course of human existence? Or, more often than not, do events place a common person in a time and circumstances that give rise to uncommon human behavior?

: By David Thompson; Published: 13 January 2016

There are some astonishing things happening in America as we speak, not least important of them is the fact that the minority is having its way with the majority. Obama’s actions are and should be a concern and the fact is, the majority of Americans do not agree with POTUS. And the question of how that could happen is answered by the progressives having adopted Obama’s “Chicago style.” That means shut down the opposition by whatever means necessary. The truth is that under the false pretense of being liberal, the progressives have exposed their true nature…they are fascist at heart.

What liberals can’t stand is being called out, having their nonsense confronted by facts. Liberals operate on one level only, a purely emotional consciousness. Really, all kidding aside, liberals live a facts-free existence. What issue would you like to discuss, for example, “global warming?”

: By David Thompson; Published: 06 January 2016

Barack Obama has been President of the United States (POTUS) for seven years this month (1/16)…the most unsettling epoch in the history of the American presidency. What is even more bracing is the knowledge that the earthquake is not done yet. And the aftershocks will continue to alter American history long after Obama no longer lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Having Obama as POTUS would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, save for the fact that he didn’t just appear out of the mist. Obama was created out of whole cloth but mystery or not, he was elected twice. And if nothing else, Obama’s legacy will always serve as a reminder that “we get the government we deserve.” If Americans remain asleep at the switch and unwilling to fulfill their duty as citizens, we will continue to decline as a nation

: Published: 26 August 2015

About ten years ago, on the occasion of my 60th birthday, I made a comment to the group my wife had assembled. To honor what I knew was a terrific bunch of people I said that, “Everybody in this room is a good human being.” Little did they know they were also shortly to become an endangered species. Without dwelling on the obvious fact that I reserved then and still count now on my place among the “good guys,” let’s talk about the larger premise.

From where I sit, the President of the United States (POTUS) has targeted the good people of America. There is really too much evidence to ignore what Obama is doing. The list of crimes against the honor and integrity of America and its people is, frankly, too long to list here. If you don’t agree with that, well, you simply aren’t paying attention.

: By David Thompson; Published: 17 June 2015

It always seems so lame, the whine that goes up from the loser that the other guy barely won. Or that the beauty contest had all ugly contestants and so nobody wanted anything to do with the result. Remember this: every contest has to have a winner… and the winner gets the prize.

The majority of the country now realize what a foolish mistake it was to elect and, even worse, re-elect Barack Obama; but spin those results any which way and the bottom line remains the same. And yes, he gets the mandate that goes with winning. Fortunately that works both ways, so after the 2014 elections Congress should again have a say as well. But that assumes the weasels that got elected were going to be serious about their oath to uphold the Constitution.

Part of the reason the country now realizes it made a prodigious error voting Obama-the-fox into the chicken coop is that he has some real strange ideas that he is inflicting on America and the world. For example, he apparently is OK with radical Islam…wow.

: By David Thompson; Published: 28 January 2015

Our country’s foreign policies included the Monroe Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, both bold and clear assertions of national purpose. Our Presidents sent ships to fight the Barbary Pirates off “the shores of Tripoli” at the dawn of the 19th century and we saved the world by winning both world wars in the 20th century. Now our country is reduced to having James Taylor sing “You’ve got a friend” in an absurd and juvenile effort at foreign policy aimed to make amends to our oldest ally France. France, without whose assistance we would not have prevailed in our Revolutionary War, was subjected to further indignity from terror by the tone deaf incompetence of the Obama administration.

“Tout est pardonne,” was the message Sec. of State John Kerry delivered at a press conference in Paris on Friday, January 16th, 2015. He had come just a week too late to demonstrate American “sincere condolences” for the murders of more than a dozen people in the Charlie Hebdo Muslim terrorist massacres. Obama, along with anyone else from his administration, skipped the march against terrorism that drew more than 3 million people along with more than forty representatives of other countries. How sincere can he pretend to be?

: By David Thompson; Published: 16 April 2014

I don’t want to talk about “Common Core.” Neither did I want to talk about “No Child Left Behind.” It seems to me that we are surrendering a critical part of the entire education debate without a fight if we even discuss a federally mandated program. That is putting the cart before the horse. How about we back up and first discuss whether any program coming from the US Department of Education (DOE) is legal. I am not mincing words here; it is my firm belief that there is no constitutional basis for the existence of the entire federal DOE. Therefore, anything they do is illegal…and we should ignore it.

At a minimum we certainly have a basis for asking the question: what article of the constitution establishes the legal foundation for the federal government to be involved in education? My reading of the document is that it says clearly the only power given to the federal government is enumerated, spelled out, and what is not is “left to the states and to the people.” Show me where it says education is a prerogative of the federal government? Simply put, you can’t. Anyone would be hard pressed to make a legal argument justifying the federal DOE by connecting dots back to the Constitution.