Battleground: Monroe, Ohio

The Decline of Internet Civilization by Eric Power

There is a heated debate going on in the town I called home for the last 12 years. Monroe, Oh is verging on a civil war over an issue that has been at the forefront of the town's (and my) attention for the past few years. In 2004, the newly-built conglomerated school campus opened for business, leaving the century-old building and 29-acre campus empty and slipping further into disrepair. 10 years have now passed since the transfer, and the building is on the verge of being condemned. The Board of Education of Monroe has waffled between letting it rot, selling it, repurposing it, or gifting it to a private or municipal entity. Since 2011 (at least that was when my awareness came into being on the matter), my church, Monroe First Church of God, has been interested in purchasing the 29-acre site, encompassing the old high school and all the surrounding outbuildings. We have outgrown our current home; this facility would really allow our congregation to "stretch our legs" and hopefully increase our community outreach as well. The controversy stems from the fact that the BOE would be selling the property to a church, hence violating that well known clause in the Constitution, say it with me now, the Separation of CHURCH and STATE. Oh...hey wait a second...I've got my handy pocket Constitution right here...Bill of Rights....1st Amendment...okay okay...oh! Oh, uh...no never mind....hmmm...dagnabbit! Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, it seems that there is no such thing as the Separation of Church and State in the Constitution of the United States! Don't believe me huh? That's okay, I understand; it's a deeply grounded myth...go ahead, look it up...yeah I'll wait...

The Maze Runner Is "WCKD" Good

Confessions of a Hopeless Reader

 by Eric Power

I'm a big reader. Okay okay, I'll confess; I'm a pitiful nerd-level reader. I'm the guy who laughs at all the book memes on the internet, fanatically follows pages like Grammarly on Facebook, and has the Goodreads app on my phone, looking for the next good book to bury myself into. I'm also just a tad wee bit of a spelling Nazi, but hey, we all have our quirks, right?

Early Beginnings

I started early, cutting my teeth on Dr. Seuss and Sesame Street books with Grover (the monster at the end of his book "scared" me every time) , then working my way up through classics like Peter Pan and Robinson Crusoe. I spent my 2nd-grade reading challenge plowing my way through 100 biographies written especially for children about the iconic giants in American history, such as Ben Franklin, Davy Crockett, and George Washington. Sure, it wouldn't be a big stretch to imagine that my social life was...lacking, even at the tender age of 7.

Musings From The Fringe

This is something I wrote on 9-11-14, after listening to Glenn Beck (or any talk radio) for the first time in a good while. The things he talked about really lit a fire under me, which is something that Glenn is very good at doing, in a good way. I'm posting this pretty much as is, unplugged and acoustic, without my typical production of pictures and formatting. So here it is, the raw brain feed!

Update: 8-20-15 I am adding one relevant picture to the post, only for the purpose of pinning this entry to Pinterest. 

On this day of remembrance of 9-11, I decided to turn on some talk radio and listen to some retrospective on that tragic day, and also, to hear what's been going on in the world since I last paid attention. 

I tuned out back in the end of May, partly because my cell signal has been atrocious, but mostly because I needed a break from the world. It's easy to see how the low-information voter crowd is able to do it!  If I thought this was what the whole world was like, I'd probably vote for Obama too lol. 

Since May, we decided to take a little adventure with our lives, pack up the house and live in our 31 ft. camper. We were picked to be a camper host couple at a state park in the area back in the end of April of this year. We actually had other, more ambitious plans involving a Wild West road trip and our camper, but they have been put on indefinite hold due to a family crisis that happened this spring. Without going into any of the messy, personal details, it's the kind of crisis that had the potential to tear our family to shreds. Personally, it's taken a heavy toll on me; mentally, physically, and spiritually.  Because of this, my summer has been spent camping (living) at Caesar Creek, letting my goatee grow long (my daughter Shelby said that she wanted it to get as long as Dumbledore's lol), working on a scrapbook of my Dad's letters that he wrote during his military service, while stateside and in Vietnam, spending time with Tracey and my stepson Mark, and with Shelby. I've watched two of my friends move to Texas, spent some time with other friends, and have, more or less, dealt with life in the slow lane for a change.  

So, other than the occasional news story on Facebook, or Tracey letting me know about something in particular, I've not been privy to any of the latest "end of the world as we know it" happenings. My radio dial had been switched to fuzzy static for the foreseeable future. ISIS, Ferguson, the encroaching socialist police state here in America were, more or less, blips on the edge of my radar--until today.  

HOLYCRAPTHEWORLDISONFIRE!!!

Should I have expected anything different?  Nah, probably not; though I can't help but think that we are on the precipice of something...Earth-shattering. At least Earth-bendy, anyway. Normally, teetering on the edge of anything like a precipice of this nature is a cause for concern. When you have radical Islamists and the rest of the Middle East, Russia, N. Korea, and China at the bottom of that cliff, it's especially perilous.  Of course, with our none-too-capable, out-of-control government drunk at the helm of our beloved USA, it's quite a horrifying scenario that we have before us. 

Do I go back to sleep, knowing what's in front of us? Surely, it's tempting. Ignorance has been sweet, sweet bliss for the past 3+ months. A powerful drug with a nasty withdrawal period, I'm sure. But as with any drug, it comes with a price.  Although I've gotten comfortable with the basics in life, I feel like I've gone dead inside; It's not unlike being on life support, if I could imagine that. My church attendance has been pitiful, for a number of reasons. The biggest reason being that I feel like I'm a million miles away from God. My motivation has plummeted and I just truly haven't cared about anything beyond my family in the past 6 months, and my wife would possibly question that statement, as well. I've almost been hoping the world would end, honestly. A "zombie apocalypse" just seems easier to deal with than what I've had on my plate. Well, having said that, If I don't get out of this trap, I'll probably die in it. 

It's time. Time to chew my arm off to release my body from the snare. I've decided to get back in the game, stop hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock of life, and rejoin the living. 

 I don't know what that means as far as writing more. This is the first thing I've written since March, at least for the blog. And I haven't written much else of substance otherwise. Maybe it'll be time to start again. First, though, I'll just soak up the news, get back up to speed on the world events, and ponder for a bit before I launch myself back into the fray. Thanks for reading and God bless. 

We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Programming...

A Throwback Article

***So literally 3 days after I launch the blog, I received some life-altering news that has completely turned my family's whole world upside down; and not in a good way, I might add. So, as you might imagine, blogging has really been just about the last thing on my mind. Whenever I attempt to sit down and pound something out on the keyboard, I slam straight into the impassable wall - WRITER'S BLOCK. It's a thousand feet tall and made of Adamantium (for all of you Wolverine fans out there). I hope, someday, to actually use my love of writing to assist me in my therapy and healing; unfortunately, that time has not yet come. Until it does, I hope it may suffice to post some past articles that I have written, mainly for Facebook. For the time being, until I put some semblance of my world back together, I hope these articles (somewhat beefed up to make them more blog-worthy) will give you some reading enjoyment! Please pray for my family and me as we work through this difficult time. Thank you!***

 This particular piece that I wrote was in response to an actual news story! The University of Colorado Springs had posted some rape defense tips which had come to be noticed during the gun control debates that occurred last year, after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary that was responsible for 26 senseless, awful murders. The University defended these tips as a last resort method when all other tactics have failed. I'm not sure what they are referring to with "all other tactics". It's peculiar, though, that they left out the ONE strategy that would be the most effective deterrent to a rapist: a GUN.

**************************************************************************

These are some actual helpful tips from the University of Colorado

Springs for women facing a possible rapist. These people are so smart it's no wonder they are college administrators. I feel so dumb in their presence. I've added my own highly uneducated responses after the tip.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The Freedom of Thought by Eric Power

We seem to have reached a point in our country where you either have the exact same opinion with no variation at all, or you will be excommunicated from the group.  Granted, it's always been that way to some degree, but I think it has really come to a boiling point lately. And what's worse, both sides are guilty of it. I'm specifically thinking of the lambasting of Mark Wahlberg. Now this is a tough one for me to write, since I am taking on some of my own allies

Welcome!

The Birth of a Blog 

Welcome! Some of you may be seeing me for the first time, while others may know my writing from my guest posts over on The Ratrace Losers blog. I wrote a number of articles as a guest author over there, and Chad, the blog owner, was so kind and gracious to allow me an outlet for my thoughts. I have always wanted to strike out on my own, and due to some life circumstances (nothing bad) that have occurred, I finally have! So I want to take the opportunity to properly introduce myself to you and tell you what I'm all about.

Some New Additions

If you scroll down the page, you will notice a whole pack of new posts! No, I didn't snack on amphetamines and write all of those in one day; my friend Chad over at The Ratrace Losers was kind enough to allow me to import my guest postings that I wrote on his blog over to my own! Very cool; he absolutely did not have to do that, so I am very thankful for his generosity. So, read some samples of my writing, feel free to comment, and by all means, if you like something you read, SHARE IT. More to follow; the true launch of Power, For The People is just around the corner!

Getting Started

This is a brand new blog!  I am working on putting it all together, so pardon my construction mess while I get this thing up and running.  Check back very soon for some posts!

Where's All This Global Warming They Keep Talking About?

Gearing Up For The Big Chill by Eric Power

If you live just about anywhere in the United States, it's probably safe to say that you've noticed a colder-than-typical winter this year. Climates throughout the Midwest and the East have been bitterly cold, and characteristically warmer locales such as the South and Southwest have experienced a very unusual cold snap that has left them reeling in utter confusion, with some locations getting snow and ice for the first time in decades. Southwestern Ohio received a substantial brunt of the Polar Vortex, punishing us with subzero temperatures, even harsher windchill and dumping more snow on our heads than we've seen in quite a few years.

"Never Out of The Fight", Lone Survivor!

My Thoughts on Marcus Luttrell's Thrilling Biopic by Eric Power

The story of Marcus Luttrell and his SEAL brothers is told in a gritty, unrelenting fashion in the movie adaptation of his book from 2007, "Lone Survivor: TheEyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEALTeam 10". I took  my 14 year old son, Alex, to see it on opening night (and then saw it again with my wife, a week later). It was a hard movie to watch, and I admit that I was moved to tears at many points throughout the movie. Before the credits rolled, they played a dedication to all the men who perished in that operation. I am not one who cries easily, certainly not in public. But seeing the sacrifice that these men gave for their country, their loved ones, and their Brothers-in-Arms, in living color on the big screen, was more than I could handle. It was probably a good 10 minutes before I could trust myself to speak steadily with Alex about what we had just seen. These guys have more honor in their left hand than I have in my entire body and I am humbled to know their story, and more importantly, to pass on their story. If seeing his old man in tears helps him to understand that point a little better, then so be it.  

What about BOB's?

The Basics of Bug-Out Preparedness by Eric Power

If you look on the internet these days for pretty much anything, you'll be linked to 2,187,243,539 sites that claim to have exactly the information that you need. This is no less true when you look up Bug Out Bags.

Here's a little background on me: I am a prepper. (sshhh....don't tell anyone OK?) I started getting into the prepping mindset around 2007 when I started hearing about the failing economy.  The general decline of society is something that has concerned me for a while now, as well. I also remember a 4-month period right before Y2K when I started storing gallon water jugs like mad (no extra food, just water!), and prepared a lock-down/security procedure for the two-bedroom apartment that I lived in at the time. Looking back, it all seems silly, but never mind that right now! I could see the writing on the wall and it didn't (and still doesn't) look all that fantastic. So my wife and I started looking into being prepared for whatever might come our way, be it natural disasters, hyperinflation, societal collapse, and/or *GASP* ZOMBIES. And this time, making sure it was done the right way.