I Believe

• I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who died to take away our sins.
• I believe that I am incredibly blessed to have a wonderful wife and two great kids.
• I believe that I am also fortunate to have a good job that allows me to provide for my family without having too much undue stress.
• I believe my dog Yadi is the cutest dog in the world.
• I believe that many of Donald Trump's supporters are xenophobic bigots who have fallen for his politically incorrect campaign because it coalesces with their narrow-minded, warped view of the world.
• I believe that many of these same people would support an overtly fascist candidate if they thought it would put the "illegal aliens" and minorities in their place.
• I believe that Donald Trump doesn't actually believe much of what he says; it's a sham that may also be a frightening sociological experiment.
• I believe that Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States.
• I believe that Stan Musial is the most underrated baseball player in major league history.  7 batting titles, 3 MVPs, 3630 hits but the average baseball fan knows next to nothing about him.
• I believe that South Carolina and New Mexico have the two best state flags.
• I believe that everyone should visit the beach and the mountains at least once during their lifetime.  Few things can make you feel so small and marvel at the wonder of creation as much as looking out at seemingly endless waters or up at soaring mountains.
• I believe that The Object of My Affection may be the worst movie I've ever seen.
• I believe that the Warren Commission is a crock and that Lee Harvey Oswald did NOT act alone.
• I believe that I am extremely lucky to have two terrific parents who raised me the right way and put me through college so that I can have the aforementioned job.
• I believe that people should be treated with respect regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.  Rather, people should be judged and treated according to their actions and how they treat others.
• I believe that people should be hired, fired, promoted or demoted based solely on their knowledge, skills and abilities as opposed to their gender or the color of their skin.  As such, I believe Affirmative Action programs should be ended.
• I believe that those who wish to defund Planned Parenthood are misguided.  While Planned Parenthood is the leading provider of abortion (something I abhor), they are also the leading provider of education and contraception that helps to prevent unwanted/unplanned pregnancies in the first place.
• I believe there are no bigger hypocrites alive than those Republicans who demonized Natalie Maines and The Dixie Chicks for criticizing President Bush in 2003 while themselves constantly criticizing President Obama a decade later.
• I believe that most people are fiscally conservative and socially liberal and that we need more people to represent those views in politics.
• I believe that we will never "fix" government in this country until we vote out all of the incumbents and replace them with new blood.  I believe mandatory term limits can help accomplish that.
• I believe that Turnpike Troubadours are the best, most talented country artist/band of the last 25 years.
• I believe that most of what passes for "country music" today is watered-down pop/rock drivel.
• I believe that there will be a rebirth of true country music within the next 5 years.  It happened in the 1970s (in response to the overly polished Nashville Sounds).  It happened in the late 1980s/early 1990s (in response to the popified country pitched by the likes of Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap).  It's long overdue to happen again.
• I believe that we are also overdue for a rebirth of rock-n-roll.  It's long past time for the suburban teenager to be blasting rock music on his/her way to school rather than rap or hip-hop.
• I believe that everybody has a friend who will always be their friend, even if they haven't spoken in years; someone with whom they can start up a conversation as if those years apart never happened.
• I believe that the photo ID requirements for voting and the allegations of voter fraud are merely thinly veiled attempts to suppress voter turnout among a population that doesn't vote the way some people want them to.
• I believe that Colin Kaepernick has every right to sit or kneel during the National Anthem if he wants to do so; that is his right.  I also believe that the people who are upset by his actions have every right to say so.
• I believe that people who choose to send their kids to private grade schools and high schools should not complain about how expensive it is.  No one held a gun to your head.  You made the choice - which is your right - so stop whining.
• I believe that my daughter will wind up following in the steps of her mother and grandmother and become a teacher.
• I believe that all cops should wear body cameras at all times, less to infringe on their rights and more to protect them from the false accusations made by criminals.
• I believe that most cops are good people who are only trying to do their jobs and keep us safe.  However, I also believe there are some cops who are bad people and who chose that profession for the wrong reasons.
• I believe that John Oliver is the funniest man on TV.
• I believe that the Chicago Cubs will somehow manage to not win the World Series this year, even though they are by far and away the best team in baseball.
• I believe that people need to start taking responsibility for their own actions and stop waiting for the government to take care of them.
• I believe that the government could spur such responsibility-taking by citizens if it stopped incentivizing bad behavior via government handouts.
• I believe that the U.S. needs to stop nation-building and paying for the infrastructure of other countries when we have so many infrastructure needs at home.  
• I believe that I have probably said something in this blog post that you disagreed with or that upset you. Deal with it.
• I believe that I will probably do a post similar to this one in the future.
• I believe that I am going to wrap this up now because I need to go to bed.

Thanks for reading!