At 3:00AM on Wednesday morning on November 7, 2012, I could not sleep.  I did go to bed, woke up and just had to see what was happening with the election returns.  It was obvious that President Obama had been re-elected for a second term.

I was so upset, that I sat at my keyboard, and pounded out all my thoughts about the direction of the world. More specifically, the direction our nation was taking a direction that appears to be askew of the values, aspirations and thoughts of this country during  my childhood.  What is happening to our country?

After reading that post, which appears on this blog site, I made the decision to begin writing about some of my thoughts and sharing them.  I want to get more specific about the wide variety of subjects that were mentioned in that post. After all, I am retired and my wife would really appreciate me getting a more time-consuming hobby.  Painting lawn ornaments is just not cutting it.

I decided this even though, like most baby boomers, I am technologically challenged.  Watching my two 9- year-old grandchildren motor their way through all things electronic certainly does not make me feel any smarter.  Watching my 3-year-old grandchild motor his way through an ipad makes me feel like an absolute idiot.  (Where were these kids when I needed them to program my VCR?)

The one trait that I believe is becoming a rare commodity is “common sense.”  A very timely example of this is the forboding approach of the Fiscal Cliff.  Everyone agrees this is a dangerous event, but all those smart people that we have elected to represent us have not a hint of a solution.  I suspect we will get a temporary patch, with a totally unacceptable solution being forced upon us in two to three months.  I don’t have a crystal ball predicting  this, I just have a genuine belief that when all is said and done; the solution will be more geared to getting our elected officials re-elected, than in actually “biting the bullet” and coming up with a true, long term fiscally responsible solution.  It only takes a small amount of “common sense” to realize that a family could not in any way survive handling their finances as terribly as our governmental institutions.  At one time, it was only the federal government that could not balance their budget.  But amazingly, they had the printing presses.  Now it is common for many states, counties, and municipalities to be in debt and borrowing money to balance their respective budgets.  Does that pass the common sense test?

So this last paragraph was just a teaser as to the topics that will be discussed on this blog.  There will be controversial topics introduced, many of those being topics discussed from my post from my sleep- impaired night in November.  The common thread on this blog will be me bringing up subjects and attempting to offer “common sense” solutions for improving our lives and improving our country.  I will do this by referring to my personal experiences, as well as referring to the carefree times of my childhood during the 50s and 60s. Those were the decades when people did not lock their doors, and you would never lose your car keys, because your parents left them in the ignition.

Want more?  Here is a list of subjects that will be discussed to improve our country:

1.  Term Limits

2.  Medical malpractice insurance limits

3. Frivolous lawsuit legislation

4.  The role of attorneys in our society

5.  Entitlements; specifically welfare programs and unemployment

6.  Mandatory military service?

7.  Education and parenting  (Yes, the lack of the latter leads to being unsuccessful in the former)

8. The media, games, and social networking that shapes our opinion

9  Gun Control

10.  Any other topic that a thinking person wants to discuss

Warning!!! I am not a “touchy-feely” person when it comes to making decisions.  I am always interested in hearing from anyone who has put forethought into their opinion; even if their opinion is totally opposite of mine. If your first three words are”I feel that”, …..I am probably not interested in your health that day, and consequently, less interested in your opinion.  I want the thinkers reading and responding to my blog site.  The “feelers” are free  to watch Ellen or Dr. Phil and blog the cooking channel.