At a town hall meeting in Midland on May 1, Congressman Conaway said he wasn't disillusioned by what was going on in Washington, he'd just learned to temper his expectations and rely on a process that has guided America for more than 230 years.

What a sad commentary. Mr. Conaway has his head in the sand. Our way of life in under siege on several fronts: political, economic and social, and he’s relying on the process that got us there to get us out. I'm not sure if that laziness or insanity. I do know it won't be successful.

Temper our expectations? That sounds like Jimmy Carter. It certainly doesn't epitomize the kind of take-charge American that has brought us through more than 230 years of struggle.

Letter to the Editor;

I have often wondered why my Lord had let me live so long, why I witnessed the burial of three of my four children, all of my three brothers.  This may be “it”.

The subject is water and Lake Brownwood.  I was born at 1514 Belle Plain, a Brownwood Street on May 28, 1928, the year the actual construction begin to build Lake Brownwood.  My granddad, George Stuteville and my wife’s grandfather, Henry Campbell became part of the workforce necessary to cut down trees and remove brush from the Lake Basin.

Early history of the Lake project came from their lips.  Much talk had swirled about concerning irrigation as well as providing water for Brownwood, a town of 12,000 good people “and seven old grouches”.  Actually, a large number produce3d and sold illegal alcohol, using spring water.  The county had many springs in 1928, some now in the lake basin.

I would take a moment and thank everyone that was involved in bringing the Watch Dog program into being at Woodland Heights Elementary.

From the small group that helped brain storm in the initial stages (You know who you are) to the great parents of the PTO at Woodland Heights to the Watch Dogs themselves who are very much needed as well as wanted. 

I would also be remised, if I did not mention the teachers and employees of Woodland Heights Elementary who are unsung partners and without them doing what they do, the program just could not happen.

The current administration is practicing the ancient art of deception and the Democrats that support them are drinking the kool-aid.  As long as man has been on this planet, there have been those that want to rule  and those that want to be dependent and have everything given to them—the nanny state mentality.  This is a very dangerous combination for a free people with a Democratic-Republic form of government.  When the rulers have exhausted all of the resources and can no longer coddle their subjects, rebellion and chaos ensue.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” -- 2 Peter 2: 1

This destruction of individual rights by the progressive movement started in 1913 with Woodrow Wilson.  It was followed up by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930’s and flourished under Lyndon Baines Johnson in the 1960’s.  But now under the regime of Barak Obama we are charging headlong over a cliff to a depth of destruction hardly dreamed of by his progressive predecessors.  His misguided leadership is influenced by the Marxist crowd he has surrounded himself with.  Whether it is intentional or not does not matter; the path to destruction is littered with good intentions.  The corruption and dishonesty of this regime are obvious.

We should all as American citizens thank God on a daily basis of our freedoms that we all have in America.

It seems that near election time some folks like to use and even abuse this freedom to attempt to cut the legs out from under some of the greatest people in the world.  This being said, recently a trash letter was placed on a website to belittle, degrade or grand slam the Sheriff of Brown County and his administration.

No one in his office has ever claimed to be perfect nor claimed they can walk on water.

Many decisions are made on daily basis that concern this department, this county, and the lives of approximately 70 employees under his command.  Long, and yes even prayerfully, thoughts are placed into the decisions that are made.

The gossips, hostilities and negatives are usually based on half truths.  As the wise old Paul Harvey would say, “Wait till you hear the rest of the story.”

It is sad that when folks have a personal problem, they attempt to incorporate their hostilities into politics.  This is so wrong!!

Since our current congressman, K. Michael “Mike” Conaway took office, the total public debt has increased $8,089,187,899,011.10! When Congressman Conaway took office on January 5, 2005, the total public debt was $7,591,307,997,129.40, and on May 2, 2012, the total public debt was $15,680,495,896,140.50. On Congressman Conaway’s watch, the debt has increased $35,013.04 every second! The bottom line, we cannot afford one more second of Congressman Conaway in office! He has provided zero leadership when it comes to the issue of the U.S. public debt. I have heard him constantly reference a balanced budget amendment, but my questions to him are the following, “When the Republicans had control of congress and the presidency, why wasn’t there progress made towards a balanced budget amendment?” Or, “Why can’t you and the other Republicans muster the intestinal fortitude to stand up and vote NO for more out-of-control spending?” The answers are simple. Congressman Conaway has no desire to stop the spending.

For example, in FY 2009 Congressman Conaway sponsored or co-sponsored earmarks that totaled $22,802,000 and $21,347,000 for FY 2010. Also on October 3, 2008, Congressman Conaway voted for the TARP bailout to give hard-earned taxpayers’ money to, what they would call, “too big to fail” financial institutions, H.R. 1424 (110^th). Furthermore, he voted for S. 365: Budget Control Act of 2011 which raised the national debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion. Basically, he voted to give President Obama another blank check.

Congressman Conaway’s recent performance at the Pachyderm Club was disappointing. He came across as petty, arrogant and condescending with his childlike complaints about the spelling of his name and accusing Chris Younts of going a few seconds overtime in his presentation. Most disturbing, however, was the content of his replies.

He claimed he opposes increased spending and will continue to do so, but he gave no examples of spending measures he’s voted against. The truth is he voted for the bailouts, for increasing the debt ceiling and has a poor record regarding earmarks. He gave lip service to the need to curtail spending but when challenged made the silly statement that opposing everything would mean shutting down air traffic controlling and FDA meat inspections, as if they’re the reason we’re $15T in debt.

Many talk loudly with words about the importance of character and moral values, but never really seem to produce.   Bryan Harvey simply talks with his actions, and although we do not live in the Brownwood community, my wife and I have been fortunate to witness many examples of his willingness to do for others.

Many might not realize that he and his wife have chosen to adopt children, and now have three that have come from difficult backgrounds.  Regardless of the difficulties they face, daily they patiently work through the struggles with each child, while being committed to letting them know unconditional love.  Along with demonstrating that character, Bryan takes advantage of opportunities to teach his children the importance of these values as he creates circumstances to let his children put those values into practice. Recently Bryan helped his young son put together and deliver a care package for our son, who attends college in Brownwood and was getting ready to travel with the baseball team to a set of weekend games in another town.