Mark Knows It All

My wife and I went looking for autumn this past weekend, and we found it in the Laurel Highlands. What a beautiful place, and only 2 ½ hours away. Located is Pennsylvania southeast of Pittsburgh, I mostly knew this region through the signs we saw on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on our way to somewhere else. We visited the outskirts of the area on a trip to Ligonier two years ago and fell in love with the place. This year we jumped head first in the heart of the region. The main artery through the Laurel Highlands is Route 40, better known as the National Road. This was the first federally funded road built around 1811 beginning in Cumberland, Maryland, to all points west. The toll booth is still there. Although parts of Route 40 are now freeway, the old road is maintained for those looking for scenery instead of speed. As beautiful as Route 40 is, the true heart of the Laurel Highlands is State Route 381 (merging into State Route 711 north to Ligonier), and its smaller tributary roads, wh

A trend that has been happening in the United States for quite some time has accelerated in the Obama administration. That trend is the establishment of a new elite. Conventional wisdom believes that it is the fat cat wizards of Wall Street that have made all the money these past 8 years. That is true to an extent. But the more interesting story is what has been happening in the middle class. Just who are the new elite? Union members and government employees! No matter how you slice and dice it, in the mass making of manufactured goods the American worker cannot compete with the Chinese guy making a $1.00/hour working 12 hours per day with no benefits. The same goes for India. This has decimated our manufacturing base and destroyed union jobs. It is easy to point the finger at government policies for the mass exodus of jobs from the United States, but mostly the problem is folks who prefer to buy $8.00 Chinese made blue jeans instead of $30.00 American made blue jeans. Those folks walk

It’s time to say enough. Over the past several weeks I have linked to various videos showing indoctrination of our children by left wing elements of our education system. I have also written extensively about the bias of the press. For awhile, the press feigned independence. But they have stopped that now. The pro-Democrat/anti-Republican stance of NBC, CBS, CNN, and to a lesser degree ABC is now generally accepted. It shows in their abysmal ratings, and in the stellar ratings of Fox News. But just in case you have any doubt left, watch this: It shows young students from the Ron Clark Academy singing the praises of health care and Obama on CNN. They can’t sing about Jesus. They can’t say Merry Christmas. But they can sing praises to Obama, and on national television. It is sick. It is propaganda. It is dangerous. It needs to stop. Obama is NOT the Messiah. He is the President of the United States. The man is servant of the people. Not the other way around. One should always respect th