In the early 1980’s Stephen King made all dogs a little more suspect with the horror novel Cujo. The story hinged around a more-than-loveable St. Bernard that contracted rabies while chasing a rabbit and became an unpredictable, crazed killing machine. A large portion of the novel and its well-created movie equivalent was centered on a mother and child as they fought to stay alive against the continuous attacks of the transformed-rabid dog. Among the thrills and chills of this story, one can pick out many sad parts to this tale. I have long thought that among the many losers of this story the dog Cujo got the worst end of the stick.

You see, Cujo, while depicted as evil and deadly, was not so; he simply had a “little crazy” in him. Unfortunately, that “little crazy,” in the form of rabies, permeated his character and affected all the actions of the dog until his demise became the only reasonable solution. Heck, by mid-way through the story we were all praying that Cujo would die, and die quickly! In the end, unfortunately, a “little crazy” goes a long way and on that note, we transition easily to Ron Paul.

Ron Paul, the failed presidential candidate of 2008, has become the Cujo of the Republican Party, but not for many of the reasons you may think. Just like the loveable St. Bernard of Stephen King’s creative mind, there is an often unobserved duality to the Texas congressman. Like Cujo, Ron Paul is far from being “all bad.” Many of his long-standing beliefs in the constitution, limited government, and the free market are not only conservative beliefs but also bedrock examples of what has made this country great. As well, Paul’s military service to this country is exemplary and worthy of emulation.

Unfortunately, Ron Paul’s positive points are outweighed by his radical views on many important issues. While many rail against the tax system we currently have, Ron Paul advocates eliminating the Federal Reserve and the IRS with no feasible replacement system. When Paul gets to slashing government entities, he includes the FBI and CIA, saying they should also go the way of the dodo bird. It is here that the inflammation of a skewed viral way of thinking begins to be seen in the Paul mentality. This is not something new for the Texas congressman. During the 1980’s Paul was attacking Ronald Reagan on the use of the CIA along with his “eye rolling” support for the legalization of drugs. Today, Ron Paul’s modern day conspiracy theory stances and “blame America first” positions have garnered him the 9/11 truth crowds and the paranoia-pill pushers such as Alex Jones and Jesse Ventura. In reality, this is a dog that has been hunting for a long time. It is the added benefit of perspective that shows Ron Paul and Cujo to be on similar ground. Both are not inherently bad, they both just have a “little crazy” in them.

The rabidly rough ramifications of Ron Paul are that despite his libertarian foundations, he is one more unneeded albatross around the neck of the Republican Party who has enough problems already. Paul’s straw poll victory at CPAC is more than a little reminder that non-scientific polls have drawbacks; it is a reflection that the Republican Party can still be easily made to look foolish. Of course, Ron Paul will be no more electable in 2012 than he was in 1988 or 2008 and those who believe otherwise should be quarantined and observed. What he does achieve is creating more-than-adequate fodder for those that wish to link Republicans, Tea Party goers, town hall meeting attendees and the mainstream majority of this country with a few radical elements of this nation. As for those who wish to defeat Barack Obama and the big government socialists currently at the helm of this country, they must separate themselves from the frothing fans of Ron Paul. Yes, a “little crazy” also goes a long way in killing credibility for political parties, and this nation cannot afford another loss by default in 2012.
As in the case of Cujo, the presidential aspirations, and more importantly the political impacts of Ron Paul, must be “euthanized” in the country before more damage can be done.

Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and is currently completing his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the books Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society and Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A Politically Hostile World. Paul is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association’s 2008 and 2009 Entertainment Program of the Year, Conscience of Kansas airing on KSDB Manhattan 91.9 f.m. www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@gmail.com

Oh, it is indeed a hard time to be a liberal. The storm clouds of destiny are so close one can feel the humidity of the humiliation that is about to rain down on the liberal left. The thunder, of course, is the American people who have had enough of uncontrolled spending and the quickstep to socialistic left with which Barack Obama and his political supporting cast has taken this country with an arrogant indifference to opposition by the American people. So, as is the case in a free country, our system will be used to wash away these destructive forces and the nation will begin to heal itself and hopefully, be wiser for the experience.

I have written about Palin Hate many times and have been observing its evolution as liberals attempt to come to terms with their upcoming ideological defeats in 2010 and 2012. This documentation has been a dirty business with many twists and turns and as always, with each writing, a little more is learned about both Palin and her attackers. The latest attack comes from liberal New York Times columnist Frank Rich. For the most part Rich blindly stabs his trident at Palin like most of the frothing left that knows they hate the former governor of Alaska for some reason or another but fail to make a coherent argument. To continue a documentation of the evolution of Palin Hate, I will give you an assessment of Rich’s most overt thrusts at the Palin camp.

First, Rich does what all liberals do when they see red. He does what liberals accuse conservatives of doing; he bashes women. Out of the gate and in defiance of every feminist who ever voted democrat, Rich frames Palin as the evil, maniacal plotting female. In fact, when talking about Sarah Palin and the incident in which she wrote crib notes on her hand for a speech and was later made fun of by White House court jester Robert Gibbs, Rich takes pity on giggling Gibbs who he sees as a helpless pawn in Palin’s elaborate plan to gain backlash support from the American people. In fact, Rich eludes that Palin’s only quality of note may be her plotting nature when he says, “you had to wonder if Palin, who is nothing if not cunning, had sprung a trap.” All I can say to Frank Rich on that component of his Palin attack is that he pushed the point home very aggressively, “women, you just can’t trust them,” I’m sure the feminists would all be proud.

At this point, Rich’s attack echoes the usual subliminal and overt liberal talking points of the left which include intolerance for financial success, anti-capitalistic spew, guilt by association, bathroom yardstick talk of who has the longest “conservatism,” perpetuating the one-dimensional view of the Tea Party movement, Americans being brainless cattle, and finally the always popular liberal slap at Christianity.

The attacks by Frank Rich on Sarah Palin anger a majority in this nation. He probably does more to promote Palin to the public stage than his cohort, the press secretary, in that he shines even more light on the desperation of the modern liberal today with his multiple-layered attacks. It is important to remember that Frank Rich is playing the best cards that he has against Sarah Palin which when placed on the table appear to depict that Palin is a tricky financially successful woman who believes in God and has hordes of Tea Party followers. This is the best that a New York Times columnist can do after examining everything from the palms, knuckles, and fingertips of the Palin crib note incident.

In the end it is hard not to take at least some pity on Rich who is reflecting not the death of real journalism but the death throes of a liberal ideology that has been exposed and is being rejected by the American people. Palin, as well, should not be elevated to some position of the divine but simply as a person who has a message that rings true with the majority of the nation, a majority which is now about to bring a long-needed cleansing rain to this country.

Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and is currently completing his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the books Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society and Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A Politically Hostile World. Paul is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association’s 2008 and 2009 Entertainment Program of the Year, Conscience of Kansas airing on KSDB Manhattan 91.9 f.m. www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@gmail.com

Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear about a famous sports player breaking societal rules for his or her own personal deviant desires. Whether it is marital infidelity, unscrupulous financial dealings, or just the case of the sensationalized beloved being jerks to their followers, there is an undeniable trend that some believe that all is owed to them no questions asked.

Of course this is not just a phenomenon predominant in the sports industry. It is a mental state of mind that brings about the arrogant belief of entitlement, the idea that a person deserves everything at once just for being who they are despite their personal actions. Cases of entitlement gone bad at times catch the public’s attention with out-of-control sports figures, those who fail to conform to team rules and create general chaos on and off the field, and then complain that they were not given their fair share of time to play, bonus dollars to perform, or face time in front of the camera.

The transition from sports to politics is made easily by listening to the actual architect of the entitlement philosophy (the modern day liberal). Even today, the microphones are still warm from the liberal breath of former Bill Clinton political mouthpiece James Carville and his statements that allude to entitlement. Carville said about this year’s Super Bowl that other than people living in Indianapolis, anyone who did not root for the New Orleans Saints was less of a human being. With his snappy Cajun style of banter, Carville fused the New Orleans Saints football team with years of economic and racial inequality to frame a football team that Americans should not just support because of love of team, but because they deserve to win because they are who they are, entitled.

This same bold challenge to defy the entitled at the ballot box was recently thrust at Scott Brown in his historic upset win in Massachusetts. Liberals found it distasteful that a Republican would have the audacity to even run in an election on a ballot that once held the name of Ted Kennedy. We see the same entitlement mentality on the defiant lips of people like Bertha Lewis from the infamous brothel-builders at ACORN. The idea that their organization should be punished with investigative probes or withdrawn governmental funding is a foreign concept that has no potential to become a reality, because in the minds of the entitled, they are deserving of the rewards they receive simply by their state of existence.

Whether it is the million-dollar crybabies that derail great sports teams, or the loudmouth politicians that throw away party voting majorities, or anywhere it is found in society, the entitlement mentality will continue to be a destructive force. While the “entitled” of the world are doomed to their own self-designed demise, their effect can be minimized if we educate the next generation to reject this flawed, destructive mindset. For the future of our youth, we must reject the notion to allow entitlement to continue despite the volume with which we are instructed otherwise. We must take the time to show our children why liberalism itself creates such negative by-products as entitlement, and highlight the ever-present examples of individuals who go down in flames clutching blindly to entitlement as though it will save them. Despite the pervasive nature of entitlement within the culture today, it is not unachievable to create a future where success and all the adulations that come with it are based on what one does by his or her own hand, and not through the blind fallacies of entitlement.

Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and member of the Montgomery County Drug Task Force. Paul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and is currently completing his PhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the books Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society and Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A Politically Hostile World. Paul is also the radio host of the Kansas Broadcasting Association’s 2008 and 2009 Entertainment Program of the Year, Conscience of Kansas airing on KSDB Manhattan 91.9 f.m. www.ibbetsonusa.com. For interviews or questions, please contact ibbetson91.9@gmail.com