By Billy “Kneecap” Braddock

To be able to write this column, I have to say on top of the latest news and politics. Even though I tend to be a pretty good BS artist, the BS coming out of Washington makes it too easy for me to come up with a new topic each month.

I just read a new study about civility in America. The study found that two thirds of Americans are tuning out political advertising, and 54% are tuning out election coverage altogether. Maybe it’s because we have lost respect and hope that our political parties will discuss matters civilly.

The Congress hasn’t passed a budget in four years, and we’re 16 trillion dollars in debt. The only way to improve this is to elect people who share your vision and will work together. I hope this year people will become energized and pay attention to who they vote for in this election.

There are more important things in your life than watching American Idol and paying attention to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. I remember reading the Dunning-Kruger effect; the basic theory said incompetent people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people. If this is true in this election, the incompetent and uninformed electorate would be incapable of knowing who the truly qualified candidates are.

When we realize that we are a Republic nation of laws and not a democracy, we might elect statesmen instead of politicians. “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter” Winston Churchill. This election in November will probably be the most important one in your lifetime. Florida is a very important state in this election, but sometimes I worry about the voters. Some people live in a fantasy world, and you can’t spell Florida without the “DA”. Make your vote count.

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about Bullying. According to Wikipedia the definition of bullying is a use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can include verbal harassment, physical assault, or coercion. Before we wussified our children, we taught them to stand up to bullying. When I was a kid, the first experience I had with bullying was with a neighbor who kicked the dog squeeze out of me. When I got home my grandfather kicked the rest of the dog squeeze out of me for losing. The next day I kicked the dog squeeze out of Johnny, because I was afraid my grandfather would pop me again.

We moved quite a bit, so I attended many schools. Each time I would start a new school, the bullying would surface. When I told my grandfather that this kid wanted my lunch money, he told me, give it to him. Take a roll of nickels place them in your fist and hit him in the choppers and that would be the last time he would ask for your lunch money. Probably, he wouldn’t be able to eat anyhow. He taught me to stand up for myself and have self respect. Once the bully realizes that you’re going to stand up to him, he’ll leave you alone.

By the way, I learned the secret of life. I would tell you but then it wouldn’t be a secret.
Hope you had a safe Biketoberfest.

For Sale-a 1985 Honda Gold Wing with California style sidecar. Only 50k miles! If interested e-mail me at kneecap@cfl.rr.com

Remember, I write the column/my editor writes the apologies.
See you on the shiny side of tomorrow…