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Here’s a good start – watch this video by Ronald Reagan. It is his famous “A Time for Choosing” speech from 1964.
Pay special attention to the video at:
1:25 – 2:15 Debt
3:00 – 3:30 Freedom
3:45 – 4:00 Self government
5:00 – 6:25 Constitution
8:55 – 9:15 Government inefficency
13:30 – 15:30 Social Security
15:45 – 16:05 Healthcare
17:50 – 18:40 Size of government

With the shennanigans that have recently been going on in Washington DC, it’s more important than ever to get involved. We need to stick to the Constitution and choose elected officials that will do the same. At the very minimum, vote! Vote for people that don’t want to re-invent our country. Find those that want to get back to the roots of our country. Like Inigo Montoya says in The Princess Bride:

                            INIGO
             I am waiting for you, Vizzini.
             You told me to go back to the
             beginning. So I have. This is
             where I am, and this is where
             I’ll stay. I will not be moved.

He takes a long pull from his brandy bottle. He stops as the
Assistant Brute comes into view.

                         ASSISTANT BRUTE
             Ho there.

                         INIGO
             I do not budge. Keep your “Ho
             there.”

He waves his sword dangerously.

                         ASSISTANT BRUTE
             But the Prince gave orders –

                         INIGO
             — So did Vizzini — when a job
             went wrong, you went back to the
             beginning. And this is where we
             got the job. So it’s the
             beginning, and I’m staying till
             Vizzini comes.

Our government has gone wrong. Very wrong. We need to go back to the beginning of our country. Back to the reasons our government was formed – personal freedom, free from government oppression, personal liberty. But, it’s not as simple as just getting the government back down to size and influence. The hard part will be to get the people weaned off the government pocketbook and to be willing to work, take responsibility and break free of dependence on the government. Do we as a group of people have the will and desire to shed the baggage of our bloated government? Or, are we really going to become another socialist European country?

Watch the video of Ronald Reagan’s speech and really listen to his words. Don’t forget about those Milton Friedman videos, either. Reagan and Friedman together with the Constitution. That’s the way it should be – back to the beginning.

With help from my mom and dad (probably more important for the brains than the brawn), the greensand filter is installed and working. It took most of the day and a few extra trips to Menards, but I’m glad it’s finished.

The tall filter on the left is the greensand filter. The one on the right is the water softener. I was surprised to see how big the  greensand filter was. It makes me wonder if my water softener is sized right for the house….but it does the job.

All the valves are there so I can bypass each of the filters separately, or run the water through neither or both of them. There are 7 valves and  55 solder joints – and NO LEAKS!!! It’s amazing that there were no leaks, considering my usual quality of plumbing. Best of all, the rotten egg smell is gone.

Now I need to figure out the optimal recycle/backwash schedule for the filter and softener. I’m starting out every 4 days on the filter. I may have to bump that up to every 3 days, but trial and error is the best way to figure that out. The softener is a little more difficult to figure out. It was set to recharge every 3rd day. It only has a 6 day timer on it, which makes it harder to adjust, unless I”m just not getting the idea behind it. It should not have to work as hard now, with the greensand filter installed. If I set it to recharge on day 1 and day 4 (to get 3 days in between, instead of 2), it will just recharge a day earlier on the back side. So, I think I’ll leave it at every 3rd day for now.

I also installed a reverse osmosis filter at the kitchen sink. That took a little longer than I thought it would, but it’s also in with no leaks. After going through the setup procedure, we should be able to use it tonight. According to the directions, it has to sit 3 times, for 8 hours with no use to properly get the membrane ready to filter.

I’m going to look at a Subaru Forester today – maybe a few of them. Looking at cars is not something I like to do anymore. When I was a teenager, I loved going to the car dealers and looking at them for hours. I’d sit in them, read the window stickers, check out the features and talk to the salesman. Back then I wasn’t buying, just dreaming. Now I actually have to spend the money and wonder if I’m going to get a car with problems, one that was driven or maintained poorly, or if I’ll pick a good one. I’d like to get it done and over with.

The weather is steadily getting warmer. We’re supposed to be in the low 40′s all week. I know that we’ll likely get more snow since it is the  2nd snowiest month of the season, but the warm weather is lifting my spirits up a bit.