Time to Vote!

Just want to remind everyone in the good ol’ USA to cast your vote on Tuesday.  Thousands of men and women have paid the ultimate price for you to have the right to do it.  Please don’t let them have died in vain if you can help it.

Right after I moved to Daphne, AL, there was a vote coming up on raising some money for the library.  This old man asked if I was going to be voting.  Explained I had just moved there and hadn’t had a chance to register, yet.  (Forgot to mention I lived outside the city limits and couldn’t vote in that particular election, anyway)  He said, “Well, guess you’ll have no right to complain then, will ya?”  And, he was right in the big picture of things.  Anytime you choose not to vote, you give up your right to complain about how things are in the political world, or at least you should.  Country’s got enough people who complain.  If you ain’t gonna cast your vote, you are just as much of the problem as the people you‘re blaming.

So, please take the time to vote on Tuesday.  Lots o’ folks are saying this is an important election.  Every election is an important one cuz it’s gonna affect you one way or the other.  One thing about it: things ain’t gonna change unless you at least cast your vote.  Even a lot of dissenting votes sends a message to the eventual winner.  And, just for the record, even though I will not be in town for the election, have already cast my absentee ballot.   

Y’all have a good one!

The Tea Party: Good or Bad?

Gonna do things a little differently this time.  The usual reader knows I normally cover a variety of topics in each blog.  But, been seein’ and hearin’ so much about the Tea Party, feel the need to devote a whole one just to them.  Not asking you to be fer or agin what I’m gonna throw out there, but hope you’ll take a little time to think about it.  If nothin’ else, hope you enjoy this week’s soundtrack.

Saw a headline the other day asking if the Tea Party is good or bad for the country.  They’ve obviously been getting a lot of press ever since they surfaced a couple years ago.  Most of it ain’t been very flattering, either.  Generally, they are portrayed as angry citizens who are against anything that the government, specifically President Obama, stands for.  Both the Pubs and Dems are running smear campaigns against them.  The mainstream media is falling in lock step and pouring fuel on the fire that Tea Party members are nothing more than a bunch of nutcases.  Can’t really remember any stories that are portraying them in a positive light.  If you know of any, hope you’ll post a link in the comments below so I can read it.

Will admit that I don’t really know all that they stand for.  But, have a real hard time believing they are ALL loony tunes.  Think they were a little quick to jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon (think they started protesting him before he even took office, could be wrong about that, though), but that don’t necessarily make ‘em crazy.  From what I can gather, they mostly believe the government is becoming too intrusive into our every day lives.  Based on their name, would think they feel like we are being taxed without proper representation, too.  Although we don’t always want to admit it, these are two of the basic premises our country was founded on.

With all this being said, here’s a few things been chewing over in my gray matter about these folks:

First, would like to say I think the Tea Party is good for America but not necessarily why you might think.  Have said before there’s a lot of people in this country who don’t officially identify with either major party we currently have.  They basically vote for whoever, in their mind, is the lesser of the two evils.  And, even if a politician is elected with 60% of the vote, there’s still 40% out there who might think their voice is not being heard. (Kind of lends credence to that whole “taxation without representation” line of thought)  Unfortunately, folks who feel this way generally tend to tune out of political discourse rather than getting more involved, even to the point of refusing to vote.  To me, the Tea Party is a place for some of this “silent majority” to vent their frustrations, get involved, etc.  Anything which gets more citizens involved in the political process has to be a good thing.  After all, at this time in our history, less than 50% of the people eligible to vote actually use this right men and women have fought and died for us to have.  That’s a pretty sad statistic if you ask me.  If the Tea Party can get more people out to vote, on a regular basis, I say more power to ‘em!

Second, think they are good for America cuz they have gotten the attention of both the Dems and Pubs, especially in this election cycle where several candidates they’ve backed have won their respective primaries.  Both sides are doing all they can to discredit them.  Since they are agin big government and more taxes, the Dems don’t see eye to eye with them.  Since the Pubs are losing a chunk of their supporters to the Tea Party, they’re not real happy with them, either.  Neither party has been this concerned about outsiders since Mr. Perot won about 10% of the vote in the ‘92 presidential election.  That’s the last time both parties actually listened to folks besides their “base” supporters in my opinion.  It’s time for politicians (and voters, too, for that matter) to realize folks outside of their hardcore supporters have ideas, too.  There are a lot more of the “middle” folks out there than extremists of either party, too.  So, if the Tea Party folks will remind the D’s and R’s they need to listen to ALL of the people (or at least more folks outside of their inner circles), I say more power to ‘em again!  

Third, if they want to be taken seriously, they need to do a better job of checking out the people they’re supporting in the elections.  The lady in Delaware is really coming across as a whacko.  She’s the subject of more punch lines than debates.  (She’s a good example of someone both parties are railing against)  The dude in Kentucky comes across as a little out there from time to time, too.  While few people could withstand the rectal exam that the media puts candidates through today, probably could have found some folks that had a few less cobwebs (or cauldrons) in the closet.  On the other hand, given the state we are in cuz of the so-called “normal” politicians, could be time to shake things up a little…But, for long-term survival, you need to have candidates more average Janes and Joes can relate to.  So, this is definitely one area they will have to improve on.

Fourth, they need to find a format where they can get their story out without coming across as being angry and irrational.  This will be the hardest thing for them to overcome in today’s world of the soundbite.  Unfortunately, if your ideas can’t be condensed down to 60 seconds or less, many people lose interest.  And, the TV media ain’t gonna give you any airtime without a visual hook of some sort.  A politician speaking rationally behind a microphone don’t cut it in their world.  But, if one or two (or more) of their candidates somehow manage to get elected, you can bet there’ll be a lot more in-depth coverage devoted to them.

Overall, I think they are a good thing for America whether you agree with their platform or not.  Are they the best answer to all our issues today?  Probably not.  Not now, any way.  But, ultimately, they are getting more people involved in the political process, which is a good thing.  Who knows?  IF they can find some viable candidates (which may be easier said than done), they could actually survive and become a viable third party (or maybe even a second party).  After all, there was neither a Democratic nor a Republican party in the first several elections inside our great nation.  You just never know what may happen…If nothing else, maybe they will show some of our “mainstream” politicos there’s a bunch of folks who are tired of the same ol’, same ol’, and it’s time they start working together to get things done before it’s too late. 

Appreciate you hangin’ in here with me.  Like I said earlier, not asking you to agree with my thoughts, just hopin’ it will spur some of your own. 

Y’all have a good week.

A Little Bit of This…

Well, fall is finally in the air.  Football season is under way, the NHL is playing exhibition games, the temps are falling, and there are political ads out the wazoo.  What more can you ask for?  Got a few things to talk about this week.  Hope you’re interested enough to hear me out.  Gonna end on a positive note this week, too.  So try to stick around if you can.  Promise you’ll enjoy the last snippet.  With that being said, let’s get ready to reeeeaaaaaddddddddddd:

• Not gonna be able to run in Birmingham’s Susan G. Komen, a great and wonderful cause, 5K run this year.  Was able to run a 5K here a couple weeks ago.  Was sponsored by Time Warner Cable and $5 of every entry fee went towards breast cancer awareness, whatever that means.  Have had a tough time running in both races.  Get to thinking about my grandmama and mother both beating breast cancer.  Also think about my Aunt Trisha losing her battle with it.  Well, she always figured she was going to win either way.  She was either gonna beat the cancer or get to meet Jesus face-to-face.  Will always admire the attitude she had during her fight.  Never really care about my time or what place I come in during these races, it’s more about the cause to me.  Highly encourage each and every one of you to be sure to check yourself for lumps on a regular basis.  That includes you, too, men.  If you think men can’t get it, just look up Ace Frehley on the internet one day.  Might be surprised.  And, women you should also be sure to get a mammogram whenever you get a chance.  It’s been proven over and over again they detect cancer at its earliest stages, which is the best time to beat it;
• Ain’t political ads fun to watch?  They’re usually more about the lies the other guy has told than what the politician it’s about is  gonna do.  Think the best one I’ve seen is one about a politician who stopped a crime from being committed.  Sounds like he got beat up pretty bad in the process.  There’s an ad for him that talks about how this shows he has great character.  I think it’s great that he stepped in and saved the day.  But, part of me also thinks, if he had such great character, he wouldn’t be trying to use this to his advantage in an election.  But, in his defense, there’s no “I’m so-and-so and I approve of this ad” statement at the end.  So, it could be some his supporters have put this ad out and not him.  (Just for the record, though, his wife speaks in the ad.)  However, have noticed he sports a very obvious, bright white bandage on his hand in the ads he does approve of.  Sad thing is, I can’t even tell you what office he or his opponent are running for.  In my defense, it is an ad for a politician in a state other than the one I live in.  Only pay about half attention to those ads in my home state.  Pay about half of that in someone else’s state.  At least they’re trying to talk about his positives.  Have said it once, and will say it again:  if all you got to brag about is you’re not your opponent, you ain’t got much to offer, either;
• Been hearing a lot of yapping bout folks being disappointed that Obama ain’t solved the world’s problems in two years.  Now, ain’t a fan of the man nor his policies, but anyone who thought he’d cure everything in two years should probably not be allowed to vote again, ever.  Well, not really, but it does show the short-sightedness of the American electorate.  In case you ain’t been paying attention, this is a world-wide economic downturn.  We are so dependent on the world economy, there’s only so much we can do as a country to improve things.  Reckon we’ll just keep overturning our elected officials until things finally straighten out.  Our economy has always gone through cycles.  We are currently on a downturn.  Part of me thinks some of the problem is we’ve basically legislated out the depression phase of it.  Great prosperity has always followed a depression whether we want to admit it or not.  Ain’t wishing a depression on us, but my point is eventually the economy will cycle through this downturn and things will get better.  None of the legislation passed during the 1930’s brought us out of the Great Depression.  But, it gave Americans hope, which goes a longer way than just about anything else.  Most of the hope was created by creating jobs.  Can’t say any of the legislation passed in the last four years or so has given folks much hope.  Reckon that’s why President Obama is in such trouble, if you believe the polls, anyway.  Imagine it ain’t a coincidence they just announced the recession has supposedly been over since June…2009.  Not really sure how they come to figure that out now.  But, will say it’s mighty convenient it was announced right before the mid-term elections when the Dems are supposedly trailing badly in many races.  Maybe I’m just being overly suspicious, though…;
• See where Lady Gaga has gotten involved in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” debate.  Think a majority of Americans (including our elected officials on both sides of the aisle) support doing away with this silly policy.  The problem is the language which does away with it is wrapped into other stuff which ain’t so good.  This is the problem most of the time.  Kind of like the debate which said the Pubs were agin extending unemployment benefits a while back.  They weren’t agin extending the benefits, they were agin the way they were going to be funded.  There’s usually more to a story than most Americans want to dig into.  Not sure why this is not just a bill in and of itself.  Would pass with flying colors.  Anyway, at least Ms. Gaga appears to be taking the issue seriously, unlike Stephen Colbert when he was called to testify about illegal immigration.  Read Congress will sometimes call celebrities to bring attention to a particular cause.  Not sure what knucklehead thought calling Colbert was a good idea.  First of all, they had to know he wasn’t going to take it seriously.  Second, this is a pretty hot topic right now so tricks shouldn’t have been needed to draw attention to this subject.  Nice to know our elected officials are taking things so seriously right now;
• Been lots of brouhaha about Katy Perry and her duet with Elmo.  Saw the video.  Think it’s much ado bout nothin myself.  Seems like the kids on lots of kid’s shows dress a lot racier than she did.  The Sesame Street folks have been doing this a long time.  Would think people would trust their judgment by now.  But, some folks nowadays just like to complain bout everything.  By her standards, her dress was pretty tame.  In just about every picture I’ve ever seen of her, she usually has a very low cut top on with a push-up bra shoving those things halfway up to Canada.  To me, it’s hard to tell she has any cleavage in the offending outfit.  But, in the long run, Sesame Street is getting a lot of publicity out this whole thing.  Proving once again that any pub is good pub;
• Heard an interesting debate the other day bout whether golf has lost it’s mainstream status now that Tigger’s struggling.  My man TK Stack Money (that’s Tony Kornheiser to most folks) was saying golf never has been a mainstream sport, especially in comparison to the other sports.  As much as it pains me to say this, have to agree with that statement.  Think Tigger has been mainstream, but not golf itself, least not at the pro level.  (Lot more people play golf than watch it on TV.)  Lot of people today don’t watch for the golf.  They watch to see what Tigger is doing.  Supposedly, TV ratings go way down when he’s either not in contention or not playing in the tournament at all.  Just proves they ain’t golf fans, they’re Tigger fans.  Such a shame, too.  Many people complain about the it’s-all-about-me attitude of many professional athletes these days.  Pro golfers are just about as polar opposite of this that you can imagine.  That’s both the men and the women, by the way.  I actually prefer to watch the LPGA cuz they show their personalities a lot more while they are playing.  It’s a real shame more folks don’t watch them.  Anyway, if you want to watch a sport where the players have honesty and integrity, take a little while to watch some golf on the telly.  It’s actually kind of relaxing;
• OK, here’s the positive ending I promised.  Ever heard of Ike Ditzenberger?  Well, you are about to.  He’s a 17 year old boy with Down Syndrome.  He goes to Snohomish High School out in Washington.  He also happens to be on the football team.  The coach promised Ike he will play in practice as long as he keeps his shoulder pads on and his mouthpiece in.  Every time he does, Coach Mark Perry closes practices with The Ike Special, a play where Ike gets to carry the ball for a touchdown.  Ike’s dream has been to score in an actual game.  Last Friday night in a game against Lake Stevens High School, Coach Perry called The Ike Special on the final play of the game.  Ike ran it 51 yards for the touchdown!  Now, Lake Stevens was in on it, and they let him score.  But, the defenders added touches of realism by “trying” to tackle him, even diving and missing several times.  Lake Stevens won the game on paper 35-6, but in my opinion, both teams won that game.  My hat is off to both coaches.  This is what sports should be all about if you ask me.  If you want to read the story and/or see the play, just follow this here link to see The Ike Special.  You won’t regret it.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Appreciate you hanging in here with me, and hope you’re having a great week.

I’m out!

Are You Serious?

Every now and then, you read a story that just makes you want to say, “Are you serious?”  Sometimes it’s cuz you can’t believe what you just read.  Sometimes it’s cuz you have to wonder why is this a story in the first place?  Well, have seen a few of those this week that I feel the need to comment on.  So, if you’re curious what makes me say, “Are you serious,” here we go:

• Bunch of folks were commenting on Twitter and Facebook about the dad-blamed Video Music Awards.  Ain’t exactly sure why, either.  First of all, they are on a channel called Music Television, which don’t even play music anymore, much less music videos.  Second of all, seems like there’s some sort of award show on every other week.  Feel like we are in award show overload.  To me, the only purpose for most of ‘em is for the artists to pat themselves on the back about what great artists they think they are.  Third, the artists feel like they have to get more and more extreme every year so people will pay attention to them.  (Reckon you probably heard about Lady Gaga’s meat dress or Cher’s plastic body whether you wanted to or not)  Guess mostly just can’t figure out why folks make such a big deal about the awards when MTV has nowhere near the influence on music and culture that it used to.  Hoping someone will explain it to me;
  
• From the “Only in Alabama” department, some lady tried to set a roller skating rink on fire and to blow up the house of a roller derby coach apparently cuz her roommate and the coach were having some sort of dispute.  There’s barely any legitimate reasons to do something like that, much less over some stupid game.  That’s just plain nuts.  Hate to think what she would try against any opposing teams if they won against the team.  Imagine it will eventually come out she’s got some sort of mental deficiency (duh).  At least I sort of hope so.  Hate to think someone would have such little regard for human life to do something like this without some sort of mental defect.  Unbelievable.  And, all of this cuz of roller derby.  Roller derby?  Are you kidding me? Now, if she’d been upset over an Alabama or Auburn game…Just kidding, but sadly more Alabamians would understand why she did it;
  
• If you’re gonna wear your britches around your knees while packing heat, try not to get busted for selling marijuana.  Dude in Minnesota was arrested for selling pot outside of a local restaurant.  During the process of the arrest, his baggy pants fell on the ground.  The female officer reached down to pull them up and felt a pistol in one of the pockets.  The suspect tried to claim it was an illegal search and seizure and pled it all the way up to the MN State Supreme Court.  The Court disagreed and now he’ll spend some extra time in the pokey cuz of his baggy britches.  Well, in all honesty, sure the officer would have found the pistol eventually and am sure the court probably took that into consideration.  But, still, sort of lends credence to the old saying, “Drugs will make you stupid.”  Just glad the court had some smarts about ‘em…for a change;
  
• From the “Your Government Dollars at Work” category, read an article about how some of the stimulus money has been spent.  Apparently $823,200 went to a scientist at UCLA so he could study the effects of washing genitals after sex in South Africa.  Supposed to be about AIDS prevention.  Now, I’m about as much of a “big picture” person as you’ll probably ever find, but am having a hard time trying to figure out: A. what AIDS prevention in South Africa has to do with anything in the US; and, B. how this is supposed to stimulate the US economy and create jobs.  Guess you can argue preventing AIDS in Africa might eventually help prevent AIDS in the US.  And reckon the money did create (sort of) jobs for the scientist and his assistants.  But, still, don’t make much sense on the surface when that money could have gone towards creating jobs for people who have no kind of job at all.  After all, that’s what the stimulus bill was supposed to be all about.  And politicians wonder why the citizens have little to no confidence in their abilities…;
  
• Am glad the preacher in Florida decided not to have the Koran burning after all.  The better angels of my nature would like to think they never really intended to go through with it all along.  Reckon we’ll never know, though.  Did see a poll on CNN.com this week asking if they had the right to burn it in the first place.  Can’t believe this is actually debatable.  Of course they have the right to burn it.  But, as I’ve said before, just cuz you have the right to do something don’t make it right to do that something.  But, what really struck me about this question was the attempt to grossly oversimplify the whole situation.  This whole story was about ignorance, censorship, intolerance, and attention-grabbing more than anything else.  That’s one of the downsides of our freedoms: the media is a big part of the problem in these matters.  The preacher became addicted to the attention and the media just kept fueling him on with it’s continuous coverage.  But, if the press ain’t free, we ain’t free so reckon we have to put up with the bad so we can have the good.  Still don’t make their question make any more sense to me, though;
  
• Every time I got in the car today, the folks on ESPN radio were talking about something Derek Jeter did that was just so egregious they couldn’t believe he did it.  Irritating thing was they never would say what he did.  So, when I got in, had to look it up.  Folks, here’s what he did that was so bad:  he faked getting hit by a pitch.  Holy cow!  Stop the presses!  A player tried to get an advantage in a game!  Oh, the humanity!!!!  Turns out the pitcher threw inside and hit the knob of the bat (Jeter admitted after the game he had not been hit).  The umpire asked him if he got hit and he started flopping his arm around like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.  The Yankees were trailing at the time and he was doing anything he could to get on base, which is his job.  The next dude happen to hit a home run.  Yankees still lost the game, though.  Now, no-way, no-how am I anything close to a Yankees fan, but have to applaud the man for what he did.  Even the opposing manager, who got thrown out of the game for arguing Jeter didn’t get hit by the pitch, said he didn’t think Jeter did anything wrong and would encourage his own players to do the same thing.  The real rub to the media is Jeter’s a real media golden boy and they now feel betrayed cuz he’s just a competitor trying to win at all costs just like everyone else in the world.  Well, I say, get over it!  It’s called taking advantage of baseball’s stupid decision not to use replay more.  Nobody would be complaining if he had leaned into the pitch to get hit.  They’d be praising him for “taking one for the team.”  Not much difference in my mind.  It’s debatable whether either one is ethical, and getting hit intentionally is agin the rules, too.  So, chill out, Baseball Media.  You’re making a big deal out of absolutely nothin’;
  
• Finally, in case you don’t know, marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal out in California.  Well, for those folks who want the effect from the HTC but don’t want to inhale, they now have marijuana-flavored ice cream.  Article I read says every pint is the equivalent of about eight joints.  Said it is literally flying off the shelves of the places that can legally sell it.  If you build a better mousetrap…  Now, never had a hankering for mary jane myself, but have seen and heard about the mythical “munchies” the stuff can cause.  Reckon having weed mixed in with your ice cream might solve that little dilemma.  As the great Briscoe Darling, Jr., used to say, “More power to ya…”   

Well, reckon that’s enough for now.  Appreciate ya making it to the end of the mumbo-jumbo that are my thoughts, if you want to call them that.  As always, all comments are welcome whether you’re fer me or agin me.

I’m out!

Do What?

Been some things in the news lately which just make me want to scratch my head and say, “Do what?”  So, thought I’d share them and maybe you can help them make more sense to me.  So, if you’re ready and willing, as the late great Jackie Gleason used to say, “And awaayyyy we go”:

• See where Steven Slater has parted ways with his now former employer.  You may be asking who he is.  He’s the Jet Blue flight attendant who cursed a passenger, grabbed a beer, and went down the emergency chute as the plane was coming up to the gate.  People were calling him a hero.  Got no idea why, though.  Wonder how many people missed their connections because of that yahbo?  Figure they couldn’t let people get off the plane after that.  Were people celebrating the fact he treated one of his customers like *$&)?  Unless he was physically in danger, it shouldn’t matter what the passenger said to set him off in the first place.  Were they celebrating that the goober was telling his employer to take their job and shove it?  Isn’t that nice in these times where about 1 out of 10 people are out of work right now?  It just never ceases to amaze me how and why some folks suddenly become folk heroes for acting like idi-ahts.  Maybe somebody out there can tell me;
• A headline the other day said some cleric over in Iran says the Holocaust is nothing more than a “superstition,” whatever that’s supposed to mean.  Well, reckon it means he doesn’t believe it really happened.  Have never understood how people can deny the Holocaust.  Guess they’re idi-ahts, too.  Know it’s hard to imagine 6 million people being killed for nothing more than the religion they were born into, especially over such a relatively short period of time.  Met a man once who told me he was one of the first Americans to go into one of those camps.  The old codger started crying while he was trying to tell me about what he saw.  This was in the mid-90’s, almost 50 years after he’d been there.  Ain’t no way I’ll ever doubt it happened, not that I really doubted it in the first place.  Anyway, not really sure what prompted the cleric to talk about the Holocaust, but it’s hard to imagine a man of God/Allah could really be so dense.  Which leads me to my next “do what?” moment…;
• There’s a preacher down in Florida somewhere trying to organize a Quran/Koran burning.  Talk about something that makes no sense at all.  Even General Patraeus (you know, the big chief of our armed forces in Afghanistan) is talking about how stupid this idea is.  He’s got enough on his plate to worry about without having to think about something like this.  But, I digress.  One thing I’ve never really understood is how some people proclaiming to be Christians can be so intolerant of others.  The Bible is pretty clear that Jesus preached a lot about tolerance of others, don’t avoid sinners or non-believers, and love one another whether they are your friend or your enemy.  As a Christian, it just boggles my mind how some Christian “leaders” can’t see that they are more like a Pharisee than than a disciple.  Does God want us to spread His word and brings others to Christ?  Absolutely.  No doubt about it.  But, God gave us free will because He knows forced love ain’t love at all.  We are supposed to bring others to Christ through love and compassion, not hate and condemnation.  Maybe it’s like a quote I saw on Twitter the other day, “To some Christians, the Bible is like the terms of agreement, everyone checks the box but few actually read it.”  Certainly hope these folks change their mind and don’t go through with it.  Of course, that would imply their brains are working in the first place (Yeah, yeah, I realize the irony in the fact I am judging them…);
• Glad to see Hurricane Earl turned out to be a bunch of nothing.  But, the downside is all the media hype leading to nothing will make people block some of the hype out each time it turns into nothing.  Then, when the big one really does hit, it will be Katrina all over again and folks will get killed cuz they think it’s just a bunch of nothing again.  Reckon it’s a double-edged sword, though. They have to use the hype so folks will pay attention nowadays, which leads to overstimulation of the senses, which turns it into white noise, which leads to even more hype to get people to pay attention again.   Just a vicious never-ending cycle.  I always follow the storms on-line, usually on wunderground.com or the National Hurricane Center websites.  Dr. Jeff Masters has a great blog on wunderground.com, too.  Also use intellicast.com to watch the Atlantic satellite pictures so I can see which systems I think will develop.  The best thing about following things on-line is I can choose how much information to look at and believe.  So, if that kind of stuff interests you, check ‘em out;
• Well, football (yes, football, not footy, for any non-Americans reading this) season is finally here!  Glad it’s finally time for the games, too.  Had our usual Favre saga this year.  The dude I talked about last time finally signed, too.  Hope all we have to yak about now are awesome games.  Saw where Matt Leinart was cut by the Cardinals the other day.  Remember when he was drafted, all the so-called “experts” were talking about what a “can’t miss” prospect he was.  Same thing with Reggie Bush.  Ain’t neither one of ‘em had the kind of career people yammered on and on about.  Just goes to show how tough it is evaluate talent sometimes.  Always thought they were kind of overrated myself.  Could be a little biased about that, though, since I’m such a big SEC fan.  If the Boise State/Virginia Tech game is a sign of things to come, will be a great season this year!;

Well, that’s all I got this time.  Thanks as always for trying to follow my rambling thoughts.  Hope you are doing well, and, as always, am interested in your opinion, too.

Ya’ll have a good one!

Back To Other Stuff

Well, there’s finally some things I feel the need to talk about.  If you’re curious, here we go:

• Read an article the other day which says women buy and wear sexier clothes when they are fertile during the month.  It’s mostly done without much thought to it.  Guess it goes to show we are not much different from the animals after all.  Females in the animal world do all they can to attract males of their species.  And, much like the males in the animal world, men will drop everything and come a-runnin’ when certain things are being advertised, contrary to what the beer commercials want you to think;
• Been lots of yammerin’ bout this dang mosque they want to build at “Ground Zero.”  Should they be allowed to build it or not?  Even President Obama has weighed in on it, sort of, but, will get back to him in a minute.  This is what I think about all this:  Do they have the right to build a mosque wherever they want?  Absolutely.  If you’ve got the money and the land is available, you should be able to build just about anything you want to anywhere you want to build it.  Is this the best location for them to build one?  Probably not, but don’t know exactly what their plans are.  Maybe they’re going to use it as some sort of memorial to the 9/11 victims.  I don’t know.  What I do know is you can’t blame 9/11 on Islam any more than you can blame the killing of abortion doctors  on Christianity.  Just because there are a few nuts in the religion don’t mean everyone who practices it is a nut, too.  And, like it or not, our country was founded on the principle that folks could practice any religion they want.  That’s why the First Amendment says the government shall not establish one over another.  I can just about guarantee you Iran wouldn’t let a Christian church or Jewish synagogue build anywhere they want.  Do you really want to live in a country which acts like that?;
• Knew when President Obama spoke out in support of building the mosque, he was making a big mistake.  Know what he was trying to accomplish, but it was a miserable failure.  He tried to back out of it the next day by saying he wasn’t saying he agreed with the wisdom of building it there, but it was too late.  All those folks that say he’s a Muslim and not born in the US came out of the woodworks again.  This gave them the ammo they’ve been looking for, and apparently some people who didn’t necessarily believe them are starting to have second thoughts about whether they may be right after all.  First, think it’s been established the dude was born in Hawaii.  Get over it.  Second, he’s been a Christian for years, and, even if he is a Muslim, does it really matter?  A vast majority of Muslims are against the terrorists who just happen to be Muslim.  Even if he’s trying to be a subversive Muslim (and he’s NOT), there’s enough checks and balances in our system to keep him from being too successful at it.  In the long run, hope he learned he should think all the way through before he makes a prepared statement and make sure it says everything he wants it to say;
• Keep seeing how the Dems are still trying to blame everything on W.  You know what?  He’s been gone for two years.  If all you have to run on after two years is “It’s all Bush’s fault,” you must not have much to offer, either.  Besides you had control of Congress the last two years of his presidency so you share some of the blame, too.  So, how bout both sides start coming up with some solutions and stop blaming each other for the mess we are in?  Thank you;
• Football season is almost here, and I can’t wait for it to start.  Been following this whole Darelle Revis story a little.  For those of you who don’t know, he plays cornerback for the New York Jets.  When he signed his first contract, it was for 5 years at a little over a million dollars a year.  Now, after two years, he wants to renegotiate it and is holding out.  Part of me thinks he’s wrong cuz I’m sure he insisted on the five year part before he would sign it.  Understand they want some stability, but, why insist on a long-term contract when you know you will probably outgrow that contract in a couple of years?  But, then again, I also know the owners really have the upper hand in this whole deal.  Players only have a finite number of years to play so the sense of urgency is more on their end.  Owners can also terminate the contract anytime they want to.  That’s why the players insist on the guaranteed money in the contract.  I’ll just be glad once the games actually start so we can talk X’s and O’s instead of $’s.  Part of the reason I just enjoy pro football but am really a college football fan.  At least with college football, you don’t have to worry about things like contracts and whatnot.  You just have to worry about gettin caught payin’ them in the first place;
• On a positive note, see where Vin Scully has agreed to come back to announce the Dodger games next year.  Will be his 62nd season with them.  I’m as big a Harry Caray fan as there is, but I think Mr. Scully is the greatest baseball announcer there ever was, is now, and ever will be.  Can remember watching him and Joe Garigiola calling the NBC Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons.  Vin was the perfect straight man to Joe’s humor.  He also has an natural ease of calling a game.  Much like Keith Jackson is THE voice of college football, Vin Scully will always be THE voice of baseball to me.

Well, that’s some of the things on my mind this week.  Feel free to let me know what’s on yours.

Y’all have a good one!

A Little Bit of Fun

Time for a blog, but ain’t feeling very political these days.  SueMac on the Run had the following questions on her blog the other day.  Thought I’d take a crack at them just for funsies. 

And, awaaayyyyy we go:

1.   You have $100 to spend on a fun present for yourself.  What are you going to buy?

Not really sure.  Probably let my wife and/or kids spend it on something they wanted.  It’s more fun watching them buy stuff than buy stuff myself.  But, if I had to spend it on myself, would probably give it to the sushi chef and tell him to keep surprising me until the money runs out.  Always wanted to do that.  Mmmmmmm.  Suuuuuuushiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

2.    Accomplishment I'm most proud of...... 

The thing I’m most proud of in my life are my wife and kids, but wouldn’t really consider them accomplishments, so to speak.  More like blessings.  Think I would have to say the accomplishments I’m most proud of are every time I make someone laugh.  Very few things in life feel better than laughter.  We should all be proud of any time we can make someone laugh, whether it’s with us or at us.  OK, maybe more with us.

3.    What’s your favorite smell?

Hard to narrow it down to just one cuz have lots of favorite food smells ranging from my wife’s roast beef cooking in the crock pot to my grandmother’s apple pies.  But, if had to choose one thing to smell the rest of my life, would probably choose cedar trees.  Not the hard-core-knock-you-off-your-feet smell of a cedar chest.  Just the smell you get when you are standing next to a tree or two.  Love it!

4.    You’re dream car

A Jeep CJ-7, which for you youngsters out there, was the Jeep Wrangler before folks got excited about vehicle rollovers.  Have always wanted one.

5.    Favorite Season

Fall.  Just something about the leaves changing colors, the air getting cooler, football on Saturdays, and lots of other things that make this my favorite season.

6.    Favorite Way to Relax

Favorite way by myself:  Settin’ in the woods or on the water watching nature come by.  Hard to beat that getting-away-from-it-all feeling I get whenever I get the chance.  Hope to pass that feeling along to my children someday.  Favorite way with others: Vacationing with the family.  Don’t really matter where, either. 

7.    What was your favorite candy as a kid?

Anything with chocolate and caramel.  Always fondest of the Marathon bar.  Don’t think they even make those any more…

8.    It’s a cold winter day, you’re home alone.  Now what?

Put on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt.  Wrap up in a blanket.  Find some sort of sports on TV.  Take a nap.  Might even skip step #3…

Well, those are my answers.  Feel free to share what yours would be.  Hope you’re enjoying the 80’s music.

Y’all have a good’n!

More Music Stuff

As some of you know, started posting song lyrics on Twitter and Facebook every morning.  Some have specific meanings, some are just for fun.  So, been thinking a lot about music lately (not that I ever really stop).  Got a few things thought I’d share with y’all.  Maybe you’ll agree, maybe you won’t.  Don’t really matter.  That’s why there’s lot of choices on your radio dial.  But, if you’re curious what’s in the deep, dark recesses of my mind, let’s get started, a-one, and-a two, and a-three:

• Know I’ve said this before and it really sounds a little crazy, but think The Police are really underrated by a lot of folks.  Every time I post lyrics from them, always get a reply from someone, usually bout how much they love The Police and their songs.  Yet, whenever a best-of list comes out, you rarely see their name on there, or, if you do, it’s way down the list.  They are the only band who’s elicited a response every time I’ve posted a lyric by them.  Just seems odd that they rarely get mentioned in the rarified air of the all-time greats;
• Whenever I hear “Eruption/You Really Got Me” by Van Halen now, always think about our trip to Sea World last year.  They played this song during their finale in the Saturday night show.  Actually had a live guitarist play Eddie’s parts and he was purty awesome.  That was one of the best vacations we have ever taken and probably ever will.  These songs will bring back warm memories for me from now until I can’t remember no more;
• A Twitter friend of mine, @sharongooner, took a poll for the best frontman and frontwoman in rock history.  Freddie Mercury won for the men with 21 votes.  Next closest person was Morrissey with 10.  And, just to prove my point on The Police, out of 145 votes cast for men, no one, and I mean NO ONE, voted for Sting.  Ironically enough, means I didn’t either.  Voted for Freddie and Bonn Scott (who tied for 5th along with David Byrne, Mick Jagger, and Michael Stipe with 5 votes each.)  Debbie Harry won the female vote.  Out of over 75 votes cast, she received 24 of them.  Next closest was Karen O (?) with 6 votes.  I voted for Debbie and Chrissie Hynde, who was alone in third with 5 votes.  Can’t argue with the overall results.  Thought they turned out pretty well.  Did show me there’s a lot of singers I’ve never heard of.  Reckon I need to branch out more.  If you’re interested in reading the blog, you can click on this link: sharongooner.  She also has the results of a poll she took on best guitarist ever.  Oddly enough, the two people I voted for in that poll also finished first and tied for fifth.  Strange…;  
• The Deadliest Catch team played some awesome music during the whole Captain Phil saga.  Thom Beers’ choice to play Johnny Cash’s “Redemption Day” during the montage representing Captain Phil’s death was flat-out pure genius.  His choice of “All Roads Lead Home” by Golden State for the memorial sequence was awesome, too.  Can’t say I’d ever heard either song before then, but each was the perfect choice for the situation.  The episode where the crews find out about his death is on right now.  Getting goosebumps and this is the third time I’ve seen it…anyway, I digress ;
• On the subject of depressing things, every time I hear a Nirvana or INXS song, think about how sad it is that both lead singers are no longer with us due to their own hands.  Don’t think anyone was surprised to find out Kurt Cobain had some real demons circling around in his head.  Imagine most folks were surprised at how he decided to silence them, though.  Have heard several theories about Michael Hutchen’s death.  No matter what led to it, it’s still sad such a talent ended that way;
• On a happier note, read that Roger Waters and David Gilmour had a on-stage reunion the other day.  Needless to say, the crowd was stunned when Mr. Gilmour walked out on stage.  They were the classic yin and yang pair of musicians.  Roger knows how to tell a story with lyrics and David can weave quite the tale with the guitar.  Not sure how long the reconciliation will last this time around, but hope it sticks this go around.

Well, that’s all I got this time.  Appreciate you taking the time to read it, especially if you made it this far.  If you know who Karen O is, would appreciate if you’d drop me a note about her.  Will leave you with this: 

Take your time, hurry up.  The choice is yours.  Don’t be late.  Take a rest, as a friend, as an old memory….

Until we meet again… 

I’m Back

Howdy, y’all.  Don’t know bout you, but it’s been pretty dang hot everywhere I’ve been this summer.  Definitely glad God gave someone the smarts enough to invent A/C.  Know it’s been a few weeks, but have been a little busy and haven’t really had anything just felt the need to talk about.  Now I’m all rested and recharged. Got a few things on my mind this week so here we go:

• Travelled out to Summerlin, NV last week.  Trip was great until got ready to fly home.  They loaded us on the plane then decided to fill the empty seats.  Trouble was, the computer was broken down so they had to fill the empty seats by hand.  As a result, we were 45 minutes late leaving the gate.  Now, besides the fact it was 116 outside, what’s really aggravating is they held up a plane with about 300 folks already on board just so they could put 10-15 more folks on it.  This resulted in about half of us missing our connecting flights in Atlanta, and seeing as how we got to ATL after 11 pm, there were no other flights until the morning.  Did I mention they were also out of hotel rooms and most of the restaurants were closed?  So, they inconvenienced about 150 people for the sake of 10-15 people.  Wonder how they thought that was providing good customer service?  And they wonder why people get are so angry at the airline industry all the time;
• Best part of my trip was getting to meet fishing legend Bill Dance.  He was on my flight out to Nevada.  He’s every bit the nice guy you see on TV.  If you know who he is, you know he always wears a University of Tennessee ball cap.  He had it on and even had one attached to his brief case for some reason.  Have watched his show since I was a kid.  It was a real thrill to meet him even though it took me a long time to build up the courage to talk to him; 

                                                   

• Went to Gulf Shores, AL, a couple weeks ago.  Great time to go.  Hardly anyone on the beaches, free parking everywhere you went, and a short wait at Lambert’s.  Media reports of the oil are greatly exaggerated (imagine that).  There was some oil there but it was just a thin coat.  You would think there was oil about a foot deep the way the media’s been carrying on.  If you enjoy the beach, but not so much the water, you can still enjoy yourself.  Many rooms have reduced rates right now, too.        
• Speaking of oil and the media, the local news in Mobile started each night with about 10 minutes of oil coverage.  One station even had “breaking news” about every hour just in case you somehow forgot the oil was still out there.  Think the worst story I saw was a 5 minute piece on a dead turtle found in the Intercoastal Waterway.  At the end of the piece, they quickly mumbled something about no one knows if it’s death was related to the oil or not.  Good grief.  Talk about stretching for a news story.  But, now that the oil has apparently been capped, the media will be able to focus on something new now…I hope.  Love how President Obama took 42 days to address the nation while the oil was still flowing, but it took him less than 24 hours to speak out after it had been capped.  Just sayin’…;
• Mid-term elections are coming up.  Wonder how many Dems will continue with the “It’s-all-Bush’s-fault” theme?  Pretty sad that’s all they really have to fall back on after two years.  Think the biggest disappointment to folks is the perceived lack of jobs being created as a result of the big stimulus package which was passed last year.  Part of me wonders if the jobs are out there but they aren’t the ones people want.  When the New Deal was passed, it created blue collar jobs.  Nowadays, folks want to tell others how and where to dig the ditches instead of using the shovel themselves.  Would think it’s hard to create white collar jobs out of nowhere.  But, the perception is out there that the Dems are more interested in handing out unemployment checks than creating jobs.  Americans always talk about being free.  Have to wonder how much freedom we are giving up when we always have our hands out to the government looking for our “free money?”  Got news for you, Folks, ain’t no such thing as free money.  Now, there are always some folks who actually need a helping hand.  Ain’t talking ‘bout them.  Talking about those folks who can be independent but choose not to.  And, in my mind, every time you take a handout from the government or give up a freedom to the government, you are becoming less independent.  Maybe I’m wrong, though;
• Anyone else watching Big Brother this summer?  Pretty funny they had this big “twist” all planned out by having someone play the part of a saboteur.  Bad thing was they were voted out the first week.  What’s even funnier is only one person even had a notion as to who the saboteur was, but the whole group took credit for getting them voted out.  Hmmm, folks taking credit for blind luck.  Sounds like a bunch of politicians, don’t they?  These House Guests are just about as interesting, too.  We have Showtime 2 now and get to watch Big Brother After Dark this year.  They haven’t really been all that interesting during the times we’ve sat down to watch them.  Almost like watching C-SPAN.  Hours of mindless blathering with a few good nuggets thrown in every now and then.  But, still feel the need to watch although I don’t know why…;
• Last week’s Deadliest Catch was the episode where Captain Phil passed on.  Thought the production team handled it about as well as they could.  Definitely proved why they’ve made this show as good as it is.  Have said it before, but it’s hard to believe how empty people have felt for a guy (and his family) they’ve never met in person.  Another sign of a great production team cause they’ve managed to let the real guy through without any embellishments.  Hope you’ve pulling up lots of full pots in Heaven, Capt Phil;
• Well, another real American icon passed last week, Mr. George Steinbrenner.  Whether you loved him or hated him, have to admit he changed the game of baseball forever.  And, you might not have liked his tactics, but he was an owner who was all about winning.  Too many owners out there nowadays who only care about the bottom line.  Mr. Steinbrenner also inspired one of the greatest comedy characters of all-time on Seinfeld.  RIP, Big Guy…

Hope everyone is doing well out there.  Appreciate you taking a few moments out of your day to read my thoughts.

Y’all have a good one!

Happy Independence Day!

Below is one of the greatest speeches of all times.  Even though it has been over 11 score now and it is about one specific event, the meaning behind it is just as important now as it was back in 1863 when Mr. Lincoln gave this speech.  Please think of those who are fighting for us now, have fought for us in the past, and especially those who have sacrificed all so that we can enjoy the food and beverage of our choice on this day which celebrates our birth as a nation and the freedoms we continue to enjoy.

 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.  - Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln, 1863

 

May God bless you, your family, and the United States of America along with our allies worldwide!

Whole Lot of The Other…

Haven’t been in much of a mood to blog lately, but there’s some things going on need to yak about.  So, here we go:

• So, did you get your iPhone4, yet?  Ordered mine on the day you could pre-order them.  Got one for The Mrs, too.  Ours were even delivered a day early.  My wife loves hers.  Have been out of town so haven’t been able to use mine, yet.  A friend here got his so I have been able to see one.  Can’t wait to see mine.  Took Apple two months to sell 1 million iPads.  They’ve already sold more than 1.5 million of the iPhone4’s.  In reality, it’s taken about five days to sell that many.  Unbelievable.  Like the man said, if you build a better mouse trap…;
• Been lots of talking about the U.S. Soccer team and the World Cup.  Reckon congratulations are in order for making the elimination round.  Not much of a soccer fan myself.  Have to admit had fun on Twitter during the U.S.–England match.  Many of my English friends were cracking jokes.  Best one I saw was from my bud @LordNeil who said something about the Americans showing up around 19:41.  Retaliated with we just might show up in the mid 17’s or early 18’s.  He came back with yes, but the English would have been around since the 14’s.  Purty funny for a history geek like me.  Turned out we scored our goal at the 40 minute mark.  Told him reckon we really do show up in the 40’s.  Guess we did OK, though, even if the English goalie pulled a Bill Buckner.  Lots of Englanders got a kick out of the New York Post saying we won by tying the game.  Anyway, not sure soccer/football will ever take off here in The States, though.  Figure if guys couldn’t get interested when ladies were running around taking their shirts off, there’s not much hope;
• That was some match at Wimbledon tween John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.  11 hours and 5 minutes total with 138 games in the final set alone.  Most matches that go 5 sets probably average about 60 games for the whole match.  Now, I realize they played over 3 days, but you have to have a lot of endurance to play that kind of match.  Pretty amazing.  Not much of a surprise that the winner of the match, Mr. Isner, lost his next match pretty quickly.  Had to be worn out.  But, it gave folks something to talk about and also reminded people that Wimbledon is even going on;
• Lots of talking last week about General McChrystal stepping down as commander over the Afghanistan operation.  Still ain’t sure if he quit or got fired.  Either way, he had to go.  Can’t have someone that high up in the food chain making fun of the Commander in Chief and the Vice Commander in Chief in a public forum like that.  Have to give him credit for one thing, though.  At least he didn’t try to squirm out of it by saying he was “quoted out of context” or anything lame like that.  Or, if he did, I didn’t hear about it.  Know there’s lots of folks who agreed with what he said, but just cuz folks agree with him, don’t make it right.  Freedom of speech don’t apply in the military, but I sure appreciate them defending my right to have it;
• Well, last Friday marked the one year anniversary of the death of a true icon, Farrah Fawcett.  It was touching to see all the tributes and…what’s that you say?  You only saw the ones for Michael Jackson?  Yeah, me, too.  Not saying they weren’t deserving.  Think what makes me wonder a little is the fact his family is now trying to claim he was murdered. According to LaToya, he was murdered for his back catalogue of music.  Didn’t even know she was still talking to the family.  As shocking as his death was, it was a tragic accident to someone with a sad addiction.  That doc may have been a nincompoop, but doubt he was purposely trying to kill the King of Pop.  Just a sad, sad story;
• Speaking of sad stories, The Deadliest Catch has finally gotten to Capt. Phil having his stroke.  Came shortly after finding out his son Jake is an addict.  Have been thinking all season that Jake was acting like an addict so wasn’t that surprised to find out he is one.  Hope he gets the help he needs.  In an odd way, it led to Capt Phil being in port when he had his stroke.  They came in early so Jake could go to rehab.  Ended up not saving Phil, but at least he had a chance.  Am curious how the producers are going to handle this whole situation.  Have read they are going to stretch it out over 6 episodes.  Not sure how much will focus on Jake but know Capt Phil will definitely be a main focus.  Hope I can make it through without crying…;
• Just so I can end on a higher note: who in blue blazes is Lady Gaga and why should I care what she’s doing at Mets and Yankees games?!  And, even more, why should I care what Jerry Seinfeld thinks about her?!  Now, I know who she is, and I understand she’s a big star and everything, but could care less how she’s dressed at a baseball game and whether or not she was allowed in the dressing room after the game.  Just stick to singing, Honey, and, put some clothes on when you’re out in public.  You got the cash.  Spend a little of it to help out the clothing industry if nothing else.

Y’all have a good one!

Does God Really…?

A Twitter friend posted some interesting questions and comments about God the other day.  They got me to thinking of some responses.  Since I needed more than 140 characters to respond, thought I’d post my response here.  I’ve been working on a blog along these same lines for a couple of weeks, anyway, so this gives me just another reason to go ahead with it.  I’m not trying to convert anybody with these ramblings.  Just putting my thoughts out there.  It’s up to you to decide what you choose to take from ‘em.  So, here I go:

• I don't believe in the Christian God [but] I've seen enough "miracles" and heard strange stories to think that I can't deny the possibility of supernatural – To paraphrase the great mind Yoda, there either Is or Is not.  There either is a God who has dominion over everything or there isn’t.  There is no Christian God, Jewish God, Muslim God, Hindu God, or any other specific brand of God.  There can be only one God.  I choose to believe there is a God cuz I’ve seen and heard lots of things that have convinced me He is here, but I will get into that a little later;

• Why do Christians automatically expect their God giving them just blessings? - Hear this question a lot, especially in the context of sports when the winner thanks God for helping them win.  Don’t think Christians (and followers of other religions) think God only blesses them and their kind.  After all, why would God care who wins the Super Bowl?  Think people are just misunderstanding the response.  To me, the response is thanking God for giving them the talent to succeed in that particular situation, which is not to say the other team has not been given the same gifts or that He has willed for the Saints to beat the Colts.  Instead, these folks realize they’ve been given a gift above others.  After all, lots of folks can play football in the backyard, but most of them don’t have the talent to make it in the NFL (or to play in the FIFA World Cup for my overseas friends).  “Religious” people realize where this talent comes from.  God gives this to them at birth, long before they’ve made the choice whether to follow God or not.  It’s not just limited to Christians, either.  Jews thank Yahweh.  Muslims thank Allah.  Christians just get more press about it cuz there are more in the high-profile sports for whatever reason.  The fact you are a Christian does not necessarily grant you more blessings than others…on Earth.  We’ve all seen successful people who aren’t “religious.”  The greatest blessing for believers will be after they pass from this lifetime and live eternally in the Kingdom of God.  Bottom line is: Christians (and others) realize where their blessings come from and like to give thanks where thanks are due.

• God is guiding me everywhere right on time, but millions die in floods, diseases and natural and other disasters?  Don’t think God controls my every movement or anything like that.  Do I think He watches out over me?  Yes, but, like any other child, I don’t always listen to Him so I do things He’s not necessarily happy about.  But, just for the sake of argument, let’s say He does guide me everywhere.  That still will not shield me from disasters.  The world ceased being a perfect place once Adam and Eve made the decision to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.  Therefore, bad things are going to happen.  Could God stop them if He chose?  Yes, and I believe sometimes He does, especially if He has a higher purpose for you being here.  Now, that don’t mean only the bad die young.  Heard a preacher say once there is no explanation why good people die before we think they should.  Unfortunately in life, there are things we are just not meant to understand nor be given an answer to;

• Why do I believe?  (This is my question, not hers)  There are many reasons why I believe.  One is because I do.  My heart of hearts tells me there is a Higher Being out there Who looks out over us and was gracious enough to let us be born.  Christianity is the only religion which worships a savior with an empty grave.  This is because Jesus conquered death by rising three days after he was killed on the cross.  With all the early Christians went through to keep it going, hard to believe it would still be around if God did not exist and Jesus didn’t rise from the grave.  Another is there are just too many things which had happen at the right time in the right place for us to be here for me to believe they happened by luck or coincidence.  But, if you are a real pragmatist, here is something to think about:  No one disputes the Bible is thousands of years old.  Many believe it is inspired by what God told the writers.  If you read Genesis 1, it says God created the heavens and earth.  Then He created life in the oceans before creating life on the land and in the air.  It also says He created the animals before He created man.  Science believes this is the same order life as we know it was created in.  The Bible told us about this thousands of years ago, long before scientists existed much less proved this to be true.  And, for the record, have always believed Who created us and why is much more important that the actual how.

So, these are my thoughts on the matter.  Like I said earlier, not trying to convert anyone.  My purpose is to give you some things to think about.  It’s up to you to decide whether you believe them to be true or not.  If God cannot make you believe, what chance do I have?  If you decide not to believe them, I will still love and respect you as a friend, and I hope you will feel the same about me.

May the Peace of the Lord be with you!

My Take

Been some folks having bad PR weeks lately.  Also been a few with some good PR.  Am feeling the need to comment on a few of both.  So, if you’re ready, proceed at the risk of your own intellect:

Some of the folks gettin’ some bad PR lately:

• President Obama – Between recent losses by his political allies, a couple of candidates saying he basically tried to bribe them to drop out of the races and the whole BP mess, he’s had some rough weeks here lately.  Some of it’s not his fault.  Ruling parties traditionally lose seats with each progressive election after they take the White House.  Promising people jobs if they’ll drop out of races, if he did have anything to do with them, is something he could have totally avoided.  Not sure what I think about the whole BP situation.  On the one hand, people talk about how government is getting too involved in things.  Then, folks complain when they don’t.  Have said before think this fell under federal jurisdiction so maybe they should have done something earlier.  At the very least, Mr. President shouldn’t have waited 40+ days to say this whole thing makes him mad.  Not sure what else he could have done differently, but, sometimes a leader has to look like he’s doing something even if he ain’t or it won’t do any good.  I have a bigger beef with the folks who keep blaming everything on W. Bush.  Nancy Pelosi even tried to blame this whole mess on Bush being cozy with the oil companies.  Guess she didn’t know they are one of Obama’s biggest contributors, too.  Bush has been gone for almost 2 years now.  Time to stop blaming him for all your shortfalls;
• BP – Now, they’ve had some real bad PR for the last 40+ days and deservedly so.  What happened to that rig and the resulting spill have been real tragedies.  Eleven men were killed and lots of sea life is either dying or will be.  Think some of the bad stuff being said about them is going a little overboard, though.  People talking about how BP don’t care about cleaning things up, saving the environment, won’t pay for anything, etc.  That’s just a bunch of hooey!  They’ve been trying everything they can since Day 1 to solve this mess and keep the oil from leaking out.  Ain’t a company in the world that would intentionally want this kind of PR.  They haven’t tried to shirk any of their responsibility in this.  In fact, they are already handing out money to folks on the Gulf Coast who’ve lost jobs cuz of this whole mess.  And, to all of you thinking about boycotting BP cuz of this, how bout waiting until the clean-up is over.  If you stop buying from ‘em now, they might run out of money to take care of all this.  Contrary to what some folks may think, only the government can create money out of nothing.  Businesses can only get it from their customers.  Can’t blame you for being mad at BP.  Just want to give you something to think about.  And, no, don’t own any BP stock that I know of;
• Israel – Not really sure what they were thinking raiding that flotilla.  Obama’s getting some flak over this, too, cuz he won’t make a strong statement against Israel on this.  Actually think he’s doing the smart thing and waiting until more information comes out.  The natural knee-jerk reaction would be to say the Israelis are completely in the wrong on this one.  Have something telling me there’s more than meets the eye to this story.  They either had some bad intelligence or the whole story ain’t been told, yet.  Maybe they were in the wrong.  Don’t know.  Reckon there’ll be a lot more coming out on this before it’s all said and done;
• Helen Thomas – Case you don’t know who she is, she’s a reporter who’s been in the White House press corps since Washington was president.  She was asked what she thought about Israel and she said they should all go back to “Poland…or Germany…or wherever they came from.”  Saw the You Tube clip myself on Twitter.  Maybe she should read the Bible a every now and then to learn where the Israelites come from.  Anyway, conservative pundits have jumped all over this saying it shows how daft the liberal media is.  Personally, not sure why this is even a story.  She may be a role model for a lot of reporters, but imagine most regular folks could care less what she says or thinks.  Besides, thought she retired several years ago.  Reckon it’s time for her to go back to the old hack reporters’ home;
• Baseball Commissioner/Umpires – There was already some nyah-nyahing going on cuz some of the umps have had hair-triggers on ejecting people this year.  Then, the whole mess with the perfect game that wasn’t cuz of a bad call by the umpire came along.  Have to give the ump credit for admitting he made a bad call after he watched it on replay.  Even went over to the Tiger locker room to apologize.  Not many people would have done that.  Think the worst thing in this whole mess is Commissioner Selig still insisting baseball won’t join the 21st Century and have instant replay apply to something other than questionable home runs.  Was agin it myself for a long time but am slowly coming around to they need to get it right.  Come on, Baseball, get in the game!

Now for some folks who’ve had some good PR here lately:

• Armando Galarraga – In case you don’t know, he’s the pitcher who lost the perfect game cuz of the bad call.  He’s handled this whole situation with a level of class that you wish more people would.  He didn’t argue at all with the umpire about the call, not even in the heat of the moment.  Just smiled, shook his head, and walked back to the mound.  He accepted the ump’s apology by giving him a hug and telling him it’s OK.  You should use him as an example to your kids how people should react to adversity.  Like my wife said on Facebook, people are going to remember him more cuz of the way he reacted to not getting the perfect game than they would have if the call had been correct.  Keep up the great work, Armando!;
• NHL – The Stanley Cup finals have been great this year!  In fact, the entire playoff season has been great.  If you want to see exciting games between two evenly-matched teams with players who go all out on every play, this series is for you.  Been lots of scoring and even more hard hitting.  Glad the refs let them play in the finals.  NBC and Vs. have done a great job covering them, too.
• Dennis Hopper – Hard to say someone who just died is having a good week.  But, there’s been lots of nice things said about him since his passing.  He was one of my all-time favorite actors.  He played a lot of roles, but my favorite was the photographer in Apocalypse Now.  The most surprising thing I read was that he considered himself a Republican.  This is the man who wrote Easy Rider, one of the ultimate anti-establishment movies.  Go figure.  Him doing those retirement fund ads makes a lot more sense to me after reading that.  Rest in peace, Mr. Hopper! 

All I got this time.  Made it to 47 miles running last month.  Not quite to my goal of 50 but I’ll take it.  Hit my 2,000th tweet over the weekend.  Didn’t take as long as I thought it would.  My Twitter name is @scotps23.  Approaching 150 followers now and always looking for more.

And that’s the news that is the news the way I see it.  Y’all have a good one!

Remember Why...

Hope everyone has a happy Memorial Day!

As you are cooking out, drinking your beverage of choice, and just overall enjoying your day, please take a moment to reflect on why we have Memorial Day. It is a day to honor those who have fallen defending your right to be free.  There is no greater sacrifice someone can make than dying for you and your freedom.

I know this is primarily a holiday to remember American heroes, but please also remember those brave folks from other countries who have made the ultimate sacrifice at our side.  We've fought beside a lot of brave allies over the years. There's also not many countries in the world that do not have at least one of their descendants in our country and/or military. 

Most of all many thanks to all of our vets and their families, especially those who suffered a loss in the name of our freedom.  Remember, we are free because of the brave!

God bless the men and women in the military, God bless America, and God bless you!

Thoughts on Things

May’s ending on some big notes.  Most reality TV shows are crowning their winners.  The NBA and NHL are about to start their finals.  And, Congress is about to make one final push before their summer break.  Let’s just hope they do some good. 

Got a few things want to talk about.  Hope you’re as interested in reading about them as I am in thinking about ‘em:

• Went to the grocery store and bought 8 items to the tune of $28.  Not sure what’s more shocking: the fact I spent $28 on 8 items or that I “saved” $12 by using my super saver card.  Now, come from a farming family and am all for farmers getting what’s owed to ‘em.  But, can remember food prices going up when gas prices skyrocketed a couple years ago.  Now that gas has come back down to more reasonable prices (relatively), seems like everything that went up cuz of higher delivery costs should come down, too.  Doubt the farmers are seeing much from the higher prices;
• Been a little over a month since oil started spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.  So far the Obama administration has been content with letting BP manage the clean-up.  Have to wonder why the Feds haven’t been more involved in this.  Believe this is something which falls under Federal jurisdiction. As I understand it, the states control 2 miles off the coast and the Fed control out to about 200 miles.  Could be wrong about that.  Either way, still seems like something they should have a bigger hand in.  When Katrina hit, folks were upset that the Feds didn’t step in right away when things should have been the responsibility of the city, then the county/parrish, then the state way before the Feds should have been involved.  Wonder which celebrity will step out and say Obama hates fishermen and the environment?  Have to wonder what would have been said if this had happened 2-3 years ago.  To be fair, not really sure what they could be doing any differently.  But, would like to think something would be better than nothing.  Then again, we are talking about the US Gov’t…;
• There’s been a lot of yakking about all the oil in the Gulf and how no one seems to care about cleaning it up.  Would like to point out there were 11 men killed when the explosion happened.  You just don’t hear much about them and their families.  Think it’s sad no one wants to talk about them;
• Looks like the Kagan hearings will start next month.  The Clinton library is saying they won’t be able to get her documents they have together in time for the hearing.  Wouldn’t think it would be that hard to get them together.  Just go to the Kagan section.  Of course, this is the same institution that said they wouldn’t be able to get any of Hillary’s documents out in time for any of her elections.  Seems to be a pattern here.  Anyway, short of saying Hitler and Stalin were just misunderstood, doubt anything she’s written will matter.  Naturally, the Dems are behind her.  From what I’m reading, the moderate Pubs support her, too.  So, looks like she will be confirmed without much of a battle twixt the Left and the Right;
• Arlen Spector lost his bid for the Democratic senate nomination in Pennsylvania.  Serves him right in my opinion.  It’s one thing when you switch cuz you believe more in the other side.  Seems pretty obvious he only switched parties cuz he thought it would save his butt in the upcoming election.  He was already trailing in the Republican race when he switched.  Guess he was trailing on the Dem side, too.  Guess you really can’t fool all of the people all of the time.  Wonder how many Pubs voted in the Dem election just to vote against him?;
• So, have you heard the latest out in Arizona?  Appears they are searching out teachers who have heavy accents so they won’t teach English to non-English speaking students.  Sure wouldn’t want someone to learn how to speak a second language from someone who had to do it themselves.  As the great philosopher Mr. Bugs Bunny says, “What a bunch of maroons!”  Not only is this just downright stupid, it also plays right into the hands of folks who claim their immigration bill is racist.  Idiahts;
• And now for some things completely different.  Was a lot of discussion again about if the right person won Survivor this season.  There’s no doubt Russell is a master manipulator/borderline bully.  However, his scorched-earth policy leaves him no friends on the jury, who are the ultimate deciders of who wins the $1 million.  Not really sure how someone who makes it to the end without making waves is any less of a survivor than the person(s) apparently pulling the strings.  You have to manage to stay out of the crosshairs while building relationships with the people you are voting out.  Sounds like an ultimate survivor to me.  Humans are social creatures by nature so we naturally gravitate towards those who know how to make friends and turn away from those who don’t.  That being said, while I am happy with Sandra winning, thought Parvati should have won.  She was targeted by everyone from day one and still made it to the end.  While her decision to team with Russell might have gotten her to the end, it ultimately cost her with the jury.  They hated him so much they wouldn’t vote for Parvati, either.  Just proves the adage bad company corrupts you more than it helps you in the end;. 
• Pacman turned 30 years old last week.  (And, am talking about the video game, not the football player.)  Hard to imagine that was cutting-edge technology back then, especially when you consider how realistic video games are today.  Was never very good at it myself.  Was more partial to Asteroids and Zaxxon.  Still…Happy birthday, Pacman!!!;
• Ran almost 67 miles in April.  So far, have only run about 27 miles in May.  Don’t think I’ll make 67 this month.  Can probably make close to 50 before June rolls around.  Will just have to see.

That’s all I got for now.  Hope y’all have a great week.

I’m out!

Misfiring Synapses

Hola!  Got some random things to comment on.  Kind of passionate about one or two of ‘em.  The others, well, just need to get the voices out of me head.  So, if you’re ready, here we go:

• Been trying to make good on learning Spanish to read the tweets from a couple folks I follow.  (Hi, @GadgetCLo and @MacoElenita!)  Took Spanish in college and learned a little more while I was working in Miami after Hurricane Andrew.  Still remember some Espanol and can occasionally pick up the gist of what they’re saying.  Just completely lost on some others and resort to Google to help me with it.  Try to write in Spanish every now and then.  Always had trouble with tenses and syntax and probably still do. Imagine they probably just laugh and are too polite to comment on my ineptitude.  @ingek73 has even started teaching me a little Dutch.  Some words I can figure out from what little German I remember from high school, but that ain’t many.  Doubt I’ll ever be fluent in either language, but, if I can get to where can half-way read ‘em, that’ll be a start; 
• So, President Obama has named his choice for the Supreme Court, one Ms. Elena Kagan.  Now, I’ve heard a lot of things people are concerned about.  Some of them may be legitimate.  ‘Tis true she has liberal leanings, has no experience as a judge, and very little paper trail for people to investigate.  These might bother you depending on what you think makes for a quality Supreme Court justice.  However, there’s one thing people are diving into which I think has absolutely no bearing on how she will be as a judge: is she or isn’t she a lesbian?  Can anyone tell me why we should care about this?  There’s gay folks on both sides of the proverbial aisle.  So, whether she is or not should in no way determine if she’s qualified for the court.  Yes, the Bible says homosexuality is an abomination before God.  But, it also says it is not for us to judge others.  That is for The Big Guy to do whenever and however He sees fit.  There might not even be anything for Him to judge on this.  Have said it before and will say it again, got quite a few gay friends (and several I suspect) but could care less about it.  Far as I can remember, we’ve never even talked about it after they told me.  Sort of our own don’t ask, don’t tell policy, I reckon.  I love them just as much as my straight friends and, if for some reason we ever have a falling out, their sexuality will have nothing to do with it.  Anywho, I digress.  There’s lots of things to debate on this lady.  Let’s leave her sexuality out of it;
• Been reading some nyah-nyahing about the fact Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, has been criticizing the Arizona immigration bill without actually reading it.  This coming from some of the same folks who criticized the healthcare reform bill and lots of other things.  Highly doubt they actually read those bills.  Guess that’s OK since they were the ones doing the criticizing.  Fact of the matter is, people comment on stuff they don’t know about all the time (myself included), and ain’t a thing in the world wrong with it, either.  Heck, people vote on stuff they don’t understand all the time.  Bottom line is, let him who is without sin cast the first stone.  Think I hear a lot of stones dropping out there. So, if you’re going to criticize him for commenting on something without reading it first, you better be sure you’ve read everything you criticize, too.  And, summaries on-line or in the newspapers don’t count;
• Been some yammering in the sports pages about Brian Cushing, the 2009 NFL defensive rookie of the year, testing positive for a performance enhancing drug masking agent last year.  The AP was so “enraged” it decided to revote on the award.  Find it hard to believe there were no rumors out about this out there when they were voting last year.  These guys hear things all the time they don’t report on.  Someone probably talked last year about something this big.  And, he didn’t even test positive for a PED, just the masking agent, which turns out to be produced naturally by the human body.  Think most people could care less about the whole mess.  It’s not very shocking when an NFL player tests positive for anything like this.  Most folks figure it just ain’t natural for people to be as big as the players are without some sort of chemical help.  Comes across as a bunch of hollow indignation by the sports media guys.  Gives ‘em something to talk about, I reckon;
• Been bad and haven’t run in almost a week. @FitBottomedGirl posted an interesting question on her blog, fitbottomedgirls.com, about whether exercise affects your mood or not.  Not really sure it affects my mood or not.  I’m purty even-keeled for the most part regardless of what’s going on.  But, sometimes can find solutions to things while I’m out running.  Maybe running helps me relax or just have to think about something during all that time.  Have quite a few friends who tell me they can feel their nerves changing when they haven’t exercised in a while.  So, maybe there’s something to it for some folks.

Well, that’s all I’m gonna write about for now.  Have some comments on the outcome of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians, but will save those for later in case someone DVR’d it and ain’t had a chance to watch it. 

Dankjewel!

Tschuss!

Are You Serious?!!!

Got several things to talk about that just make me want to say “are you serious?”  Warning, some of these are just things I need to get off my chest so I can start focusing on other things.  But, try to end on a brighter note.  So, just going to jump right into ‘em:

• Saw a video of an Hispanic UCLA professor ranting about the United States and immigration.  Among the things he said were Americans are against Hispanics coming to the US cuz we’re scared they’re going to take over.  He also called for Hispanic people to revolt within the United States.  Now, got several problems with this dude and his so-called logic.  First, any American who is against LEGAL immigration is an idiot (Native Americans excepted).  There’s not a single person in this country who is not either an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant (again, Native Americans excepted).  Americans are not scared Hispanic people are going to take over.  People of Hispanic origin are elected to public office, run businesses, etc all the time.  Most citizens are grateful LEGAL immigrants are coming here.  What most Americans are opposed to are ILLEGAL immigrants.  We have rules.  Follow them.  Lots of other people followed them and they are now legal citizens of the US.  To me, they should be the most upset with the ILLEGAL immigrants cuz they want to shortcut the rules the LEGAL ones followed.  The second thing I’m opposed to with this dude is he is calling for an open revolt against the US government.  That could be considered treason cuz he ain’t talking about taking over through the ballot box.  Should probably post the video but have spent enough time on the idiaht.  Which leads me to my next topic…;
  
• Saw where 5 students were disciplined for wearing American flag t-shirts and bandanas to school on Cinco de Mayo.  School officials said they were incendiary.  So, you’re telling me displaying the American flag in the United States of America is an act of hostility?  That is RIDICULOUS!!!  When the school board said the school officials were wrong for punishing the boys, 200 Mexican students walked out of school in protest.  Now, I understand Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican day of celebration for a military victory over the French, and it’s something Mexican people should be very proud of.  However, you are in America now, not Mexico.  America celebrates lots of holidays which came with immigrants from other countries, and, by all means, please continue to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  However, please keep in mind, if you are going to choose to live in the United States, become a citizen, and take advantage of all the benefits of living here, you should respect the laws and customs of the country you are living in.  And, in our country, people have the freedom to display the flag any time they want to (please see the 1st Amendment under the part about “freedom of speech”).  Not to be rude, but, if you don’t like it, you always have the choice to go back where you came from or find another country to go to.  All right, enough of that soap box;
  
• Comedy Central is developing a show about Jesus.  As they used to say on Malcolm in the Middle, “This…will end….badly.”  Right now the premise is going to be Jesus is now living in New York City and is having a difficult time adjusting to the modern times and God is too busy with other things to help Him.  Now, when God, The Devil and Bob came out, people were in an uproar, and you could make the argument that show was based on the book of Job in the Bible.  Do they really think there won’t be a real uproar over their show which will have no Biblical basis?  Part of me thinks this is being thrown out there cuz they’ve recently been in trouble with the Muslim world over Muhammad being in an episode of South Park.  I don’t know.  Just don’t see how this show will have any chance of making it, at least I hope it won’t;
  
• Pretty odd what happened with the stock market last week.  Dove about 900 points in an hour, possibly cuz someone hit a ‘B’ instead of an ‘M’ on a keyboard, changing a stock sale from millions of shares to billions.  The whole stock market went into a tizzy cuz of the sell-off.  At least, that’s what they think happened.  No one really knows.  Maybe our recovery is not as strong as some politicians would like us to believe.  Wall Street reminds me of the stories you hear about how a buffalo herd would stampede cuz of a shadow.  Pretty scary to think a large part of our economy is based on a system which decides how it will spend its money based on whether Geither scratches with his left or right hand when he gets up in the morning;
  
• The former Chastity Bono is now officially Charles Bono.  OK.  So, what makes this such a big news story?  He’s only famous for being the child of Cher and Sonny Bono.  Maybe it’s cuz people thought he/she was so cute on his/her few appearances on the Sonny and Cher Show and still remember that.  I don’t know.  If Chastity decides to go through with being Charles, that’s her/his decision to make in a private setting.  Could care less about it myself and it shouldn’t be played out in the national media;
  
• Sad to hear Lena Horne died.  Hate to admit all I really know about her is she was a singer/actress and Fred G. Sanford had a big crush on her.  In reading about her today, she was a real civil rights pioneer.  RIP, Ms. Lena;  
  
• All right, now that I’ve brought everybody down, time to liven things up a little.  As of right now, I have 112 followers on Twitter.  Even got included in my first list this week.  (Thanks @flaysomewench!)  Hit 1,000 tweets, too.  Been lots of chattering about the British elections this week.  Been some pretty good jokes on Twitter about the whole mess so that’s one positive…for me, anyway.  One of the coolest things which happened this week was having a chat with @TheChristinaKim, the LPGA star.  Talked about restaurants in Mobile, AL, which is where the LPGA is stopping this week.  She doesn’t follow me, yet, but maybe some day…;
  
• Tigger’s catching a lot of grief for pulling out, er, withdrawing, er, quitting during the TPC this weekend allegedly cuz of a bulging disk in his neck.  One female commentator on the Golf Channel reported live on the air he left cuz of a “bulging d*#%.”  Whoops!!!  Talk about a slip of the tongue!  Guess the jokes were out there pretty quickly.  Anyway, if he really is having neck problems, could be from stress.  Been known to happen to folks.  And, now that he’s “cured,” reckon he doesn’t have a way to release all that tension, anymore.  Reckon his game will suffer until there’s some kind of conclusion with Elin one way or the other.  Has to be difficult for him waiting on the other shoe to drop.  Hard to feel sorry for him, though, when he’s got no one to blame but himself.  Don’t mean he should be judged by us, just hard to feel any empathy for him;
  
• Ended up running 66.9 miles in April, which is more than I ran from November to March combined.  Am up to 6-7 miles on most of my runs now.  If someone would have told me I’d be running that far a month ago, would have told 'em you’re nuts.  Have somehow managed to still gain 4 pounds, though.  Can’t figure that one out… 

Well, thanks for letting me vent.  Hope to be a little more upbeat next time. 

Y’all have a nice day!