The 4th of July is a great holiday where we celebrate, with family and friends, the birth of our nation. And what better way to start the day than in a 4th of July parade. I walked with Tom McClintock, but before the parade started I walked up and down the parade line to say "Hi" to other entrants. When I got to the Obama/ Brown/ Democrat entry, I thought I would greet Charlie Brown.

I have known Charlie Brown for years primarily through Rotary. A Democrat in Rotary is an oddity primarily because Rotary is made up of businessmen and women who work hard to improve the community we live in. Seeing Democrats are so hostile to business and Democrat policies screw up the community much more than they help, there are very few Democrats in Rotary. Anyone who has ever met Charlie immediately realizes that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer (enough said), but he does take the good-natured ribbing in Rotary about being a Democrat.

So I walked through the Democrats looking for Charlie. The Democrats where sure a group of glum sourpusses... but I guess it would make sense seeing the 4th of July is not their favorite day--- April 15 is the Democrats favorite day.

I found Charlie sequestered in back, away from people... probably to keep the aforementioned impression of Charlie to a minimum. I shook Charlie's hand and told him they had a nice entry. No doubt the surrounding people pegged me as foe rather than friend... probably because I was carrying an American flag.

Some handler/ bodyguard/ goon stepped in and told me it was time to move on. I have never met the guy, but it was apparent he knew something about the area and he must have brought $ for signs and stickers. My impression was he was a handler straight from Nancy Pelosi. I told him to take a hike and I continued to converse with Charlie.

Charlie had a big semi truck pulling their float. I made the crack that he is going to have to drill a couple oil wells to fill its tank. Charlie went off on the Democrat talking points about how if we start drilling now we will not have gas for ten years. One has to wonder about that line of thinking--- are there idiot Democrats that tell their kids, "Don't go to college, you will not get your diploma for four years."?

I jumped in and interrupted Charlie's recitation of the Democrat talking points and said, "Just have CC Myers do it... if he can repair the road like he did after the Northridge earthquake, fix the Bay Bridge in a weekend and repair I-5 in an incredibly short period of time, surely he can get oil in a few weeks." Charlie continued reciting the Democrat talking points saying wind power is the answer. Amazingly enough the only wind was coming from that Democrat float... hot air abounded.

I came over to say "Hi" to Charlie and tell him they had a nice entry- not to get bored silly listening to idiot Democrat talking points. So I just walked away and as I walked away I could still hear Charlie going through the broken record of the Democrat old and tired talking points.

The parade started, and yes Tom McClintock was treated almost like a rock star. I walked along and would tell the crowd, "That is our next Congressman..." and I would then would get interrupted by people, "Yes, that is Tom McClintock and I voted for him!" I saw kids with Charlie Brown stickers and I would ask the parents, "What is going on?" The parents would roll their eyes and say, "Ken, she like stickers."... and the implication was, we are going to throw it away when she is not looking.

Towards the end of the parade the people with Charlie Brown/ Obama signs fell back and surrounded the cart carrying Tom. I pointed to Tom and asked them, "Hey, do you guys want to get your picture with our next Congressman?" They got a big smile but it quickly changed with a look of wait a minute, this guy is trying to trick us. Then almost immediately they went into the Democrat talking points, "Bush lied, people died, no war for oil...." Yada, yada, yada... it was impossible to have an intellectual discussion without lapsing into a recitation of the Democrat talking points- hopefully these kids are not our future.

Such is my 4th of July encounter with Charlie Brown.