Walter Patterson Herald ColumnistWhen I was in grammar school, I had a teacher who had a very low boiling point.  In other words, you didn’t have to do much to get in trouble.
Now I was not ”Mr. Billy Clearconscience” because as I recall, I got into as much trouble as any of my male classmates, maybe more, but I soon figured out that if you listened carefully to the words the teacher spoke, you could discern whether or not you were in “trouble” or in “real trouble.”
For example, if he said, “I’m tired of your infantile antics”, you were going to get a scolding. On the other hand, if he said, “I’m sick and tired of you disturbing the class”, well, that was real trouble.  
The words “sick and tired” were the key.  Once I learned this simple, yet profound, lesson, the weekly paddling’s diminished significantly. The only problem was that if my dad found out that the “board of education” had been applied to my behind, he administered another one.
Life was not all roses for an active ten year old.  As a matter of fact, I thought life was “unfair.”  I couldn’t have any fun.  Adults were always correcting me.  If I didn’t do right, bad things happened, mostly to my sitting down place.
But there were lessons to be learned. I learned that if I am merely “sick” of something, I can, with few exceptions, remain under control and try to find ways to eliminate the problem.
But some things are beyond my control – and yours, too. These things, whatever they may be, call for a “sick and tired” response.
I am “sick and tired” of the Occupy Wall Street bunch being compared to the Tea Party, for example.  There is a world of difference, yet every day, some reporter tries to equate the two groups. I have never seen a more dysfunctional group than the Occupy Wallstreet bunch.
For the most part, they are rich kids who have been educated in public colleges who think that the “redistribution of wealth” is a constitutional right.  They claim that they want to put Wallstreet bankers in jail, yet they collect money from their left-wing sources and straightway, put the money in the bank.
They like expensive technology such as iPods and laptop computers, yet they are so dysfunctional that they failed to bring  sleeping bags to the protest.  They did manage to bring their marijuana and cocaine.
What is really scary is that most of the Wall Street protesters don’t have a clue as to why they are protesting.  Some love Obama, for example, while others openly admit that they won’t vote for him in the next election.  Most of the ones I’ve heard interviewed want their college loans to be reduced of forgiven.  My question to them is “Why aren’t you protesting at the college or university that charged you the exorbitant tuition fees?  Isn’t the college the culprit in this particular case?” But we all know that colleges and universities are exempt from protests because these institutions are filled with leftist professors who tell the students that Wallstreet is their enemy, and that the executives who work there are making too much money.  Their money should be taken away from them and given to the “protesters.”
I am “sick and tired” of redistribution of wealth.  This socialistic concept has only served to destroy nations and make it possible for a dictator to take over the country. Take Hugo Chavez, for example.  Here is a man who has succeeded in ruining a once great country and turning it into a South American Cuba.  When he is through, everyone in Venezuela will be mired in poverty.
I’m “sick and tired” of people telling me that “our system is unfair. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”  This is the most absurd mantra that I have ever heard spoken.  In America, many people start off poor, some very poor, but because of our system of government, people can and do move up the ladder of success.  You don’t have to be poor forever.  There is plenty of opportunity still left in America, and hard work, dedication to task, work skills, and a positive attitude can reap significant rewards.
I’m “sick and tired” of the Democrat Party claiming that it is for the middle class while at the same time passing laws and policies that make it almost impossible to remain in the middle class.
I’m “sick and tired” of Democrats telling us that you are rich if you make $200,000 a year and that you should “pay your fair share in taxes.”
I’m “sick and tired of a government that tells me what I can and cannot eat, or drink.  I’m “sick and tired” of a nanny state that tells what which light bulbs that I can and cannot use.
I’m “really sick and tired” of a Democrat legislature that passes Obamacare against the will of the people.  If this disaster is not repealed, then only God knows the terrible fate  that awaits us.  This bill is Democrat socialism in action.  If it is allowed to stand, even Democrats will be opposed to it once it takes effect.
John Murtha, the longtime Democrat Congressman for Pennsylvania, who recently died may have been the most corrupt politician in Washington, even beating out Charlie Rangel, and Nancy Pelosi.  
According to “The Hill,” and the FBI, this powerful politician steered millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars to his buddies who had set up phony non-profit organizations.  I suspect congress is full of John Murtha’s.
Have I mentioned that I’m “sick and tired” of this country being on the wrong track?”