Dakota Beacon

Thanksgiving is a time for -- what else -- giving thanks.

There’s much to be thankful for. Of course there are always the tangible things: home, car, money and such. Then there are the non-tangible things such as health, friendship and family.

There are situations for which to be thankful, too. For example, I’m very thankful to be an American. Much of the world’s population would like to come to America and live the American dream. Barring this, they do the next best thing. They emulate our material lifestyle.
I’m even thankful for President Barak Hussein Obama. I know, I know. You thought you would never hear such words from me. Well, I am thankful for our president.

I’m thankful Obama has stymied the Clinton political machine. This is something the Republicans could never do.

I’m thankful President Obama demonstrates exactly what liberals and progressives stand for. When liberals and progressives run for office, they never tell the truth in their campaigns. If they told the voters exactly what they stood for, they would never be elected.

--They tax and spend as if there was no tomorrow.

--They propose endless dialogs with those pledged to destroy America rather than actually protecting America.

--They think they know what is best for America while imposing restrictions and controls against the will of the people.

Liberals and progressives talk a good conservative line only to gather votes. Once in office they behave like any other authoritarian by consolidating power and control over people’s lives. This in the name of “helping the little guy.”

I am thankful President Obama is nullifying the Democrat Party, the bastion of liberal and progressive thinking. Nowhere else could Marxists and Socialists find a better home than by aligning themselves with the Democrat Party.

Obama is marginalizing the Democrat Party right before our eyes. During the 2010 elections he destroyed the careers of several long-term Democrat Senators and Representatives who supported the president’s health care and cap and trade legislation. In November 2008 the Democrats were on the rise. Obama put an end to this for which I am thankful.

President Obama brought more Americans back to the conservative movement than anyone since Ronald Reagan. Obama succeeded like no other in bringing Americans to the polls to vote against his policies. For this I am thankful.

I am thankful that President Obama sparked great interest in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. His administration generated the greatest surge in arms and ammunition sales ever seen. Law abiding citizens provided private sector stimulus to the arms and ammunition sectors of the economy while other sectors failed, moved off-shore or took government bailout money.

I am thankful that President Obama served as a catalyst to awaken the American people from their stupor. It’s too bad each generation must learn the hard way. Every now and then someone or something must stir the American passion for freedom and liberty. I am thankful President Obama has done just that.

Thank you President Barak Hussein Obama for providing exactly the hope and change America needs.


Dennis M. Patrick graduated from Colorado State University in 1966 with a bachelors degree in Political Science and was commission a 2nd Lieutenant in the U. S. Army. He was Airborne and Ranger qualified and served with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and the 1st Infantry Division in Germany. He holds two Masters degrees: one in Systems Management (Logistics) from the University of Southern California the other in Military Art and Science from the Army Command and General Staff College.

Patrick served three years in the Pentagon on the Army Staff with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and three years as a Joint Planner with the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Responsibilities included briefing and advising the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick retired from the U.S. Army in 1987.