Paul Ibbetson

The Calling of the Roll: Side Making and Side Taking for the Future of America

Whose side are you on? When it comes to what kind of America we will have in the future, that we will hand down to our children, the battle lines are being drawn, opposing sides are marshalling their forces and counting their numbers.

The Common Thread: A Bird’s Eye View of the TEA Party Movement

The TEA Party movement, which started for most as a small grassroots effort by disenchanted Americans to voice their disapproval with the government, is now growing to epic proportions. The movement has transcended the bounds of simply being events that people have heard about in faraway places, to events happening in almost every town on any given day. In fact, for TEA Party goers, it’s no longer a case of trying to make a single event, but how many events can you actually make.

Recognizing The Scent of Lemons: Thoughts From The Free Market

Recently I did something I don’t do very often, I bought a new car. No, this is not a “cash for clunkers” story, but a brief look at the serious challenges that are faced by the free market in America from the Barack Obama administration.

Want To Destroy Conservative Talk Radio? We Got A Czar For That

The Obama administration is truly the place where Czars are made daily. Name your problem, concern, wish, or desire, and somewhere, for better or worse, there is an Obama Czar with power, authority, and funds to address the problem. The question that seems to come up repeatedly is: why do we need Czars that mirror other department agency heads?

The Framing of the Modern Right-wing Extremist

The moon landing really happened, Pearl Harbor wasn't staged, no covert organization is trying to control your mind through radio waves, and Elvis is really, really dead. Those are the first conspiracy theories that jump to mind - that I can announce with clarity and pride that I do not believe in. The need to do this is readily apparent when we talk about the Obama administration's current framing of the modern "right-wing extremist," because frankly, if it wasn't an official documented policy, no sane person in America would believe that our Government could hold such a disdain for its own people in this way.

A Look At The Death Dealers For A Better Tomorrow

Your money or your life! These are the words most people have seen on television, and a precious few in real life, where the villain gives the frightened passer-by the option of handing over their hard earned money or forfeiting their precious life. Ah, for the good old days. For a bad case scenario, the classic robber/victim interaction was a pretty good deal.

Racing to the Race Card: An Observation of Conflict Building

The recent news swirl encompasses the inflammatory statements of President Barack Obama in the wake of the arrest of African-American scholar, Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates, a black Harvard Professor, was arrested by Cambridge police after a verbal altercation, which occurred while police responded to a report of a possible break-in at the Professor’s home.

Why You Should Love Your Carbon Footprint

America, with all its imperfections, is still truly the land of opportunity. This has been the unique component that has brought people from around the world, in every way imaginable, and even some ways not. This opportunity to succeed and, yes, to also fail, is a product brought about by individual freedom that has been unique to America since our founding fathers placed their lives on the line to create a better future for themselves and their families.

The Wolf Who Cried “Boy!”

The wolf who cried “boy!” Make that statement today and it won’t take but a moment for someone to utter that a correction must be made, as you have obviously gotten the important parts of the childhood story title turned around. Of course, they would be right. The childhood story of the boy who cried wolf depicts a youth in charge of a flock of sheep that were under potential threat from the dangerous, hungry wolf that crept along the woods near the foot of a nearby mountain.

Another Elvis Sighting

“I just saw Elvis!” Even decades after the death of the legendary singer, people still exclaim these same words with detailed accounts of their personal sighting of “The King.” I, along with most of the nation, mourned Presley’s death in 1977 but for me, like for most people, that day was the closing of the living story of Elvis, not the beginning of the secret life of the musician/actor.

Of Flies and Men: The Bizarre World of PETA

“Save the whales, save the snails!” Comedian George Carlin had it right when he talked about the audacity and craziness of some to misplace priorities on where to put a helping hand when it comes to people and the planet. When it comes to organizations that ‘break from the norm’ the most, when balancing the value between people and animals, PETA has to be near the top of the list.

Experience, Judgment, and Character: The Road from Eisenhower to Obama

I recently found myself in the childhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas. It was a tremendous experience to hear the creek of the floorboards, to see the handcrafted furniture, and to feel the texture of the wallpaper (even though that is probably against the rules for visitors) in the boyhood home of one of the most important historical figures of the United States. They say that the Eisenhowers lived on the wrong side of the tracks, but you can’t tell that today. What you can tell, is that the Eisenhower family home was not a place of extravagant frills, but of family necessity, with a delicate dash of austere country beauty.

The Black Death

For the people of Europe who faced the Black Death in the middle 1300s, their lives before the plague appeared in many respects the same as for modern people today. People worked in the city shops, or the rural fields, in order to sell their goods to provide for their families and loved ones. People had desires, passions, unfulfilled dreams, and all the disastrously wonderful things that kept the people of those times, as well as folks today, from getting to bed at night or from thinking straight throughout the day.

A Fear Worse Than Words

Want to know what is worse than losing a long, grueling race for the White House? Don’t ask John McCain - ask Sarah Palin. Since the moment the Alaskan Governor decided to throw her hat in the ring as the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate, she has re-defined what it means to be the candidate of the extreme.

The Supreme Court: Minority Activist Wanted

President Barack Obama’s nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a New York Judge of Hispanic decent, has brought about another unique firestorm that may once again define the characteristic make-up of the new Obama administration.

Death and Dishonesty: A Jaunt through the Killing Fields of Abortion

As is often the case with issues of morality in the U.S., there appears to be a moment in time when the public collectively centers its attention on issues the media, and other elements of the liberal establishment, would just as soon keep quietly pushed aside.

Gustav, God, and Michael Moore: Validations of a Criminal Profile

In the summer of 2007, I constructed a profile and analysis on Michael Moore that illuminated the sociopathic tendencies that encompass the actions of one of the most infamous documentary creators of modern times. Within the article, Michael Moore: A Criminal Profile, which was first released in the New Media Journal and then later around the world, I took careful pains to make sure that readers understood that Moore carries the tendencies of the sociopath while not accusing him of the crimes that some sociopaths actually commit.

Breaking the Mold: Why there is only one Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Recently, I had the unique opportunity to interview the man the media calls the “Toughest Sheriff in America,” Sheriff Joe Arpaio, on my radio show the Conscience of Kansas. It was an extremely dynamic interview, and I invite people to listen to both part one and part two of the show in its entirety.

Perseverance: Reflections from a Conversation with Duane “Dog” Chapman

On June 24, 2008, I had a lengthy interview with Duane “Dog” Chapman. Chapman is the star of A&E’s returning hit show Bounty Hunter, where he will once again track felons on the run before a nation of thrilled television viewers. Chapman was gracious enough to take a break from what will be season number five of the Bounty Hunter program to talk with me on my radio show the “Conscience of Kansas.” I think the interview had many exciting facets, and I invite readers to watch both part one and part two of the YouTube version of our conversation. What I would like to focus my discussion on today is my own reflections on the controversy surrounding the man known as “Dog” Chapman.

The Five Follies of Keith Olbermann

For some time now a struggling MSNBC has employed a Bush hating mad hatter by the name of Keith Olbermann. Olbermann appears to be on an endless mission to disparage the president as well as the war on terror, and in doing so has created a very interesting example of the inner workings of the far left liberal.