About Me
I am that rarest of humans, a conservative native Californian who is a teacher. I am married and live in Benicia, California, a small city located at the very top of San Francisco Bay. Not only am I a California native, I am a Bay Area native. My father is a US Navy veteran from South Carolina who saw service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He is my personal hero. My mother was Canadian, she grew up in Boston and was in Berlin during the airlift. My brother, Charlie, lives on Cape Cod and just retired from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and I have a foster brother, Tracy, who lives and works in the God forsaken hell hole that is Southern California.
I grew up in the North Bay and attended San Francisco State University. I graduated with a degree in Political Science and have attended St. Mary’s College in pursuit of a Master’s in Educational Administration. I have also taken classes at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Stanford. I have been a US History teacher for 18 years. I am an active leader of a Sea Scout unit in Napa and an active member of Native Sons of the Golden West. I am also a life member of Sons of Confederate Veterans.
I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in California when I did. when I was a child, the economy here was booming, schools were good, cities were MUCH safer and my native state was truely the “Golden State”. Things began to go south sometime in the early 80’s and have continued to decline ever since. I believe that my generation was handed a great legacy which we have largely squandered.
My wife and I have two cats, Heidi and Ted and a dog Buddy. We both love to travel and have together travelled extensively throughout the United States and North America. I have been to the People’s Republic of China and currently Jennifer and I are planning a trip to St. Thomas or Ireland in the spring.
My political philosophy is Jeffersonian and libertarian in the extreme. I believe that the expansion of government power is a direct threat to our personal freedoms, rights and liberties. I believe in the dictum that the government which governs best governs least. I believe the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are two of the three greatest documents ever written. I am pro-life, pro-gun and pro personal choice. I am an unashamed Southern Baptist. I am not ashamed that both my great-great grandfathers fought for the Confederacy nor am I ashamed that my father served in three wars in the United States Navy. Oh, and I am a Parrothead.