Hello, It’s Me Again

WOW!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog.  Reckon that’s what I get for saying I would update it every week.  Still had the fight song from that other school on here. Well, the music has been changed and there are several things happening now that I feel the need to comment on.  So, if you are ready to see if I can get back into the swing of things, here we go:

• Want to start by recommending a TV show to you.  Almost hate to admit I watch Lifetime, but their show Coming Home is one of the best shows on TV right now.  It’s about U.S. military personnel returning home from various parts of the world to surprise their families.  It’s very well-done.  Odd how my allergies tend to make my eyes water so much during the show.  It usually features one story throughout the hour and includes several others during the course of that story.  Highly recommend you check it out Sunday nights at 9 central;
  
• Went away for vacation for a week and came back to a war in Libya.  Been interesting to see the comments around this war.  In my mind, it’s not much different than what happened in Iraq.  Had a looney tune running the country who needed to be taken out.  Just about everything the Colonel has been accused of, the dictator was guilty of, too.  Nobody has really mentioned the parallels between the two cases.  At least I haven’t seen or heard it.  Not sure if President Obama had the authority to do what he did (probably didn’t unless the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (look it up) is still in effect), but it’s gonna be hard to put the horses back in the barn now til it’s over one way or the other.  Hopefully we won’t need to send in ground troops.  One interesting thing to me is Ghadaffi, Qadafi, or however he spells it, said at the beginning Al Qaeda was supporting the rebels.  Have read several articles that say he may be right on that.  May end up fighting these folks again……just like Afghanistan….;
  
• On a side note, one of the best tweets I saw leading up to this was someone saying you know your president is looking bad when the French are being more aggressive than you.  That was before we started sending missiles but the French had already said they were prepared to bomb the Libyans.  At the time we were saying we were going to sit this one out.  How’d that work out for us?;
  
• President Obama has had several oxymoron moments this month.  Mr. Nobel Peace Prize has now gone to war (at least by his own choice this time).  Interesting.  He also received an award for the alleged transparency in his administration in a ceremony held behind closed doors with no media present.  That just seems like typical Washington-think to me;
  
• Food for thought:  Back when W was president and gas prices skyrocketed, conspiracy theorists were coming out of the woodwork yammering about how he was trying to line the pockets of his oil buddies.  Funny how you don’t hear those same comments now that the price of gas has doubled since the new president has been in office.  Wonder why?;
  
• Watched the HBO Inside Sports show on college football.  Have to admit it did not appear to me that the former players were lying.  Not sure if that’s cuz what they were saying was true or if they were having a Constanza moment.  (Remember what George told Jerry right before the lie detector test?  It’s not a lie if you believe it?)  Tend to believe there’s some truth to them receiving money cuz I believe it goes on at all (or at least most) universities, especially the big time programs.  Don’t know if the players should be paid or not.  Do know many of these kids come from less-than-affluent households so they have no money for clothes, shoes or many other essentials needed to go to college.  NCAA rules don’t allow them to hold jobs, either.  There’s no easy answer to this problem;
  
• Auburn is certainly paying a heavy price for their national championship at this point.  Can’t recall any other champions that have had so much turmoil this soon after winning.  Allegations of players getting paid, recruiting improprieties, starters getting arrested for felonies, alleged gang activities just to name a few of the things that have come out since they won.  Can’t enjoy their championship and hasn’t even been three months, yet.  Mr. Newton probably has a lot to do with this.  Inadvertently, that is.  People started looking closer at Auburn when all of his brouhaha started.  The NCAA’s screwy ruling in his and Ohio State’s cases hasn’t helped anything, either.  Have a sad feeling AU will be in USC’s boat in a couple of years;
  
• Been a crazy year in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.  Have heard some people griping about VCU and Butler making it to the Final Four.  Just can’t make some folks happy.  Most people root for the underdog but no one actually wants them to win.  Glad to see some new blood succeeding myself.  Although, seeing as how Butler played in the championship game last year, not sure if you can really consider them new blood anymore.
  
• Saw where Phil Collins announced his retirement from the music business the other day.  Hate to say it, but figured he had already retired cuz hadn’t heard from him in a while.  Was definitely one of the biggest names in music in the 1980’s.  Love his work.  No music from him this time, but maybe in my next post;
  
• On a lighter note, anyone else follow the Egyptian cobra on Twitter?  It got over 200,000 followers in just a matter of a few days, me included.  Whoever was doing it was pretty funny and had some really good tweets.  Hope they keep it up even though the snake has been returned to its proper cage now.

Well, that’s all I got for now.  Feels good writing again.  Will have to try harder to keep it up this time.
Thanks as always for making it this far.  Hope you are doing well.

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!

Proud To Be An American!

Have seen some things this week that have really made me proud to live in the good Ol’ USA.  Mean that literally and sarcastically all at the same time.  Got stories from both sides of the aisle, too, and the best story is last.  You may notice there’s no soundtrack.  You’ll see why later.  Anyway, here’s what I’m talking about:

• President Obama gave a 17 minute reply to a woman who said we are being overtaxed.  He outlined seven, count ‘em, SEVEN points to the woman. No one is sure he if even answered her comment.  There’s two things that tell me he probably did not give her a truthful answer.  First, he’s a politician.  Politicians and telling the whole truth are two things which do not belong in the same paragraph, much less the same sentence.  Second, (and, if you’re a female, about to let you in on a secret you may have figured out anyway) the more a man talks when answering a question, the more likely it is that he’s lying, or at least stretching the truth.  Probably cuz he’s trying to convince himself at the same time.  Anyway, twice said his answer was going on too long so he realized what he was doing but still couldn’t stop.  Appears even he knows the definition of “the rich” will expand before it’s all said and done.  Must have left his teleprompter at home that day, too;
• Phil Hare, the Democratic Congressman who represents the 17th District in Illinois, recently said “I don’t worry about the Constitution” on camera when asked if the healthcare bill was Constitutional. (You can hear it for yourself)  He went on to say the Constitution “says people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  When asked if he read the bill, he claimed to have read it 3 times.  People have jumped on this as an example of how out of touch politicians are these days.  In his defense, the cameraman said, “Jackpot, Brother” after the first remark, which leads me to believe they goaded him into saying something(s) stupid.  Rep. Hare later released a statement saying he meant he’s not worried about whether it will pass the Constitutionality test.  Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on his intent.  The Constitution does give government the right to promote the general welfare of the people.  However, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.  Again, in trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe an easy mistake to make in that situation.  However, have to throw the BS flag on reading the 8,100 page bill 3 times before voting on it.  Let’s say it took 2 minutes per page just for argument’s sake.  That would be 16,200 minutes, or 270 hours, which breaks down into 11.25 days just to read it once.  So it would have taken him about a month to read it 3 times if he read 24 hours a day with no breaks.  You can break it down even further if you want.  Even if he really did read it, is it possible he comprehended all of it since he would have essentially been speed-reading?  The American public may not be all that smart, but we ain’t that stupid, either…are we?;
• Just so y’all won’t think I picking on the Dems, it came out this week that the Republican party approved an expense report with a tab close to $2,000 from a bondage-themed strip bar around Hollywood.  Was supposedly for meals.  Seems the fiscal conservatives don’t mind stimulating the economy (insert your own joke here) in some settings, anyway.  Along those same lines, the Pubs also sent out a fundraising letter this week with the phone number to a telephone sex operation on it instead of the party’s.  (Why does it seem phone number mistakes are always to sex lines?)  Talk about a typo.  Pretty sad when you don’t even know your own phone number.  There’s nothing I can say in defense of either one of these blunders.  Guess they’re taking the ‘P’ in GOP seriously these days;  
• All right, now onto something that does make me forevermore proud to be an American.  Heard of the Patriot Guard Riders but had never seen this.  No comments can do it justice other than “THANK YOU!!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!”  You just have to watch the clip to see why.  This was put together by the family of United States Army Specialist Bobby Russell West, who gave his life serving our country in Iraq.  Be sure to turn your sound on and watch it all the way through.  WARNING – Watching this may cause tears, choking sensations, and a sudden urge to give a standing ovation and salute.

 

Our veterans are truly a different breed.  May God bless you always!

Hope you had a happy Easter!  Thanks as always for reading. 

A Whole Lot of Another

Been lots of interesting things in the news here lately.  Everybody must be trying to get things in before the Super Bowl since things always seem slow down afterwards. So, if I can thaw my fingers out, will try to give you a little food for thought if nothing else.  Here we go:

• Man!  What a Super Bowl!  Didn't care a whole lot who won.  Only hoped for a good game, and it was delivered.  Was glad to see the Saints pull it off.  They and their fans certainly deserve it after 43 years of heartache.  They played a great game and Sean Payton showed he wasn't just glad to be there.  Calling for an on-sides kick to start the 2nd half took some real courage.  WHO DAT!!!;
• Thought this year's ads were just kind of OK.  Liked the Doritos ad where the kid told the man not to touch his mama or his Doritos.  Didn't realize the Tebow ad was on until he tackled his mother and had to rewind it to pay attention to it.  Like many other things in life, it was much ado about nothing.  Certainly wasn't as controversial as you would have thought.  Think some groups decided to "protest" it beforehand just to get their name in the papers.  Can't always believe the hype, I reckon.  Imagine that.  Did read where one group said tackling his mother encourages violence against women.  Guess they had to complain about something since the ad didn't live up to other expectations.  Would think most people are smart enough to see the humor in it and don't think the ad is saying it's OK to tackle women, especially your mother;
• Did anyone know we are apparently fighting in Pakistan now?  Or, at least we have sent "advisers" there. (Ain't that how we got started in Vietnam?)  Anywho, three were killed in a suicide bombing the other day.  Looks like the reigning Nobel Peace prize winner may be expanding the war on terror, or, whatever they are calling it these days.  (Apparently that phrase is a no-no with the White House and its staff.)  Anyway, not saying there's anything necessarily wrong with it.  Just wondered if you knew about it;
• Read where Michelle Obama is catching some flak about using her daughters as examples in her fight against childhood obesity.  Said might be setting them up for eating disorders and/or poor self-esteem later in life.  Think as long as she keeps it in proper perspective for them, they will be OK.  If the doctor said they need to lose a little weight, she should be praised for trying to do something about it (as long as she didn't do anything out of the ordinary) instead of ignoring the problem.  Shouldn't be anything wrong with using a personal example, either.  Just hope they don't turn it around later and say they don't want their children to be in the spotlight.  Can't expect to have it both ways if you are going to put them out there yourself.  That don't mean someone should go out of their way to put them out there in a bad way, though;
• Sarah Palin spoke at the Tea Party convention over the weekend.  Had notes written on her hand like she was cheating on a civics test in high school.  Not sure about all the particulars as to why she wrote on her hand and not on note cards.  Maybe she thought of something she wanted to be be sure to mention as she was walking to the stage.  Don't know.  But, it don't look real good.  Not very professional at best.  Mostly unprepared at worst.  Just something someone already looked down upon by the media should consider; 
• Read some speculation the other day that the Feds are being tough on Toyota since they are competition for Government Motors (that's what some folks are calling General Motors nowadays).  Since we the people own most of GM now, it will help our bottom line to make the competition look bad anytime they can.  Not saying I necessarily buy it, but some interesting food for thought;
• Hard to believe NASCAR has started back up again.  Got the Daytona 500 this weekend.  Looks like Danica Patrick will run in the Nationwide (one step below the Sprint Cup in case you don't know) race on Saturday.  Could be interesting.  Hope she does well.  The sport could use a little boost.  Lost interest myself last year when they flat out caught Jimmy Johnson and Mark Martin cheating in a Chase race and did nothing about it. Both cars were about an inch lower than NASCAR allows.  Don't sound like much, but it was a race they totally dominated over the rest of the field so it must have been something.  If they allow the drivers to start racing again instead of just driving around in circles, will probably watch again this year.  Will have to see;
• Read an interesting snippet on Dale Earnhardt, Jr, this week.  Someone asked him if he had to win to be a central figure in the sport.  His reply: "Apparently not."  Purty astute if you ask me.  Hasn't won a race in a couple of years, and he's still the most popular driver, probably for no other reason than who his daddy was and how he died.  Think all he wants to do is race and be himself.  Too many other folks want him to be his daddy reincarnated, and that ain't fair to him.  Ain't but one Ironhead and there won't ever be another.  If you ask me, all of The Intimidator's fans should have gone to Tony "Smoke" Stewart.  He's the closest thing out there to Number 3.  Anyway, hope Jr has a good year this year.  While Smoke is my favorite driver, will be rooting for anyone but Jimmy this year;
• Certainly been some odd weather around the country this year.  Heard last year that if there's thunder in January, there will be snow in February.  Well, we had thunder around here in January.  Will see if it happens this year.  Had thunder last year and snow on March 1, which was purty close.  Had some snow flurries Saturday and Sunday.  Might have to count that.  One odd thing is, with all the snow we're having in the States, read they are having to haul snow in for the Olympic snowboarding events next week in Canada.  Strange days indeed. 

Well, that's all I got fer now.  Thanks for hanging in this long.  Y'all have a good'n!

Later.

We're Not Gonna Take It

Been reading a lot of analysis on this whole Massachusetts-election thing. Have had a chance to ruminate on what happened and why and thought I'd share my thoughts on it for what they're worth.  These opinions apply to both parties so please don't think I'm trying to single either party out:

Think what both parties are overlooking is, in the grand scheme of things, neither one represents the whole country.  In fact, would venture to say neither one of them even represent half of the country. A majority of folks probably consider themselves independent from both parties.  We just have to vote for one of the two major parties cuz that's all we really got to choose from.  But, whenever a party gets the majority in Congress and/or the White House, they automatically think the whole country only cares about what they have to say.  "We have been given a mandate by the American people!" to which I say "Bullfeathers!  You have, but not what you think!"  The real mandate is we're looking for folks to get along and actually get something done that makes a lot of folks happy, not just one party. When they overlook their counterparts on the other side of the aisle, they aren't listening to a large number of citizens in our great land, which angers a lot more people than makes happy.  The term 'compromise' seems to have died when Henry Clay did.

In the specific case of health care reform, think most people in the country realize reform is needed and want to see it done.  However, they are not happy with this particular brand of reform being forced down their throat.  It appears they are more worried about getting something passed than getting the right thing passed.  Besides, if this reform is 'The Answer,' why won't it apply to Congress, too?  Seems to me (and others) like they would want this health care themselves if it's as great as they say it is.  Anyway, I digress...

The politicians usually make the basic excuse that people opposing their ideas are just angry hate-mongers who don't love their country.  Well, they're partially right.  People are angry all right.  But it ain't cuz they're hate mongers who hate their country.  It's cuz they love their country and they are tired of being ignored!

Politicians from both sides usually say they are going to be bipartisan and work with the other party in the spirit of togetherness while they are campaigning.  However, what they really mean to say is, they are going to be bye-partisan, and tell the other side to kiss their behind cuz we're in control now.  We've all heard politicans on both sides of the aisle say these things just in the last 15 years or so.  In fact, this philosophy has been around since the beginning of our great country.  So, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone when that's how it ends up going down.

Was Tuesday's vote a vote against President Obama or the system? My answer would be the system as polls seem to indicate folks generally like him although they are not real sure about his policies right now.  The key to any election is how many independent voters show up, what they want, and who they vote for.  Say right now, as always, they just want to be listened to.  As long as neither party chooses to believe this, we will keep bouncing from side to side with the optimistic hope they actually mean it this time.  Maybe this election will serve as a wake-up call for both parties, but somehow doubt it will.

As always, thank you for your time.  And, I'm interested in what you think about all this, whether you agree with me or not.  Please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

These May Only Interest Me, But...

Been cold and rainy 'round here for the past, oh, six months or so. At least it seems that a way. Combine that with the fact ain't been feeling very well and it leads to a recipe for lots o' thinking, which can be a dangerous thing. But, hopefully it will make fer some interesting reading. Will let you be the judge of that. Anywho, here's a few things I've been thinking and observing this week:

• Saw where President Obama is trying to pressure banks into loaning more money to folks. Ain't that what got us into this mess in the first place? Just sayin';
• Watched a show about the Beatles on the History Channel this week. Was about their studio/album recording sessions. Seems for the most part they just walked in and jammed for a little while to come up with many of their songs. That's just flat-out remarkable to me. Can remember seeing Mick Jagger being interviewed about them once. Said they were waiting backstage at some TV show with the Beatles. There was some guitar lick The Stones couldn't figure out how to play so they sang it for Paul McCartney one time. He picked up a right-handed guitar, flipped it around, and played it perfectly left-handed on the first try. Not bad for a guy who can't even read music. After hearing that story, have thought they are some of the best musicians the world has ever known. Watching the show this week just solidifies that in my mind;
• Know I talk about the Beatles a lot, but, if you were to ask me my all-time favorite band, would tell you in a heartbeat it's Pink Floyd. Just something about their music that really strikes home with me. Have seen some biographies about them lately. One said they made sure Sid Barrett received royalties from all of their albums until the day he died in the early 2000's. In case you don't know, he was one of the founding members and he basically went insane after their first album in the late 60's. Now THAT's what I call loyalty. Roger Waters said they used to "sit around and talk about using drugs." Never said if they actually used them or not although probably know the answer to that already. Don't condone that, but really appreciate the music, which would probably have come out one way or the other. (That's what I've convinced myself of and you ain't gonna change that) Like many other bands, the two really creative forces in the band got to where they couldn't stand each other so they eventually split. What a shame;
• The Mrs and I have started watching Pawn Stars on the History Channel. Have to admit never thought I'd like a show about a pawn shop in Vegas, but it's purty good. People bring some interesting stuff in there to sell/pawn. Always amazes me how much they think their stuff is worth, too. Most of the time they overinflate the worth, but occasionally they have no idea what they have. To the shop's credit, they will usually tell the person what they have in those cases. Most of the deals I've seen have been fair to both parties. Recommend you check it out sometime;
• Had what George Costanza would probably call the "perfect channel switch" Saturday night. Watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer then switched it over to the Heisman award ceremony right as they were opening the envelope. Perfect! Got to see the winner without having to watch all the stuff leading up to the announcement. By the way, Roll Tide! Congratulations to Mark Ingram for bringing the first ever Heisman to The Capstone! Think he deserved to win it, but also think if one of the kids from Nebraska or Stanford would have won, they would have been good choices, too. Now it's time to concentrate on the championship game...;
• Was glad to see Megan and Cheyne win The Amazing Race this time since Flight Time and Big Easy were eliminated. Overall, the challenges were purty lame (with a few exceptions - i.e. - repelling face-first down The Mirage), but the show managed to keep my interest. Hopefully, they will have better challenges next time and will stay away from the ones which the winners are based on totally random luck instead of based on the teams' skills and/or knowledge;
• Can't wait for the finale to Survivor this week! Gonna be interesting to see if Russell makes it all the way to the end or not. You can call him lucky and/or a real SOB, but he has played the best game by far this year, probably the best since Richard Hatch in the first season;
• Good thing there's global warming. Cuz, if there weren't, the Deep South would be a solid block of ice right now. Been cold and rainy for like FOREVER! Well, it feels like it, anyway. We even had snow a week or so ago. Don't usually get that, when we actually get some, until January - March;
• One last thing, my cousin's 4 month old daughter is in the hospital with pneumonia and/or RSV right now. She's made a lot of progress but still has a little ways to go. Please say a prayer for her and her parents. God will know who you're prayin' for. Thanks.

Thanks, as always, for making it to the end. Have seen a lot of different places on the map this week. Appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read this. Please feel free to become a follower on the left-hand side. Comments are always welcome, too. Please check out the other blogs which have links over there, too.

Peace out!

And Now For Some Total Randomness

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Went to my ma-in-law's over the weekend. Always a nice trip which usually don't last long enough. It's like homecoming, too, since I lived down there for 12 years. Wish had more time to visit other folks when we go down there.

Anyway, have some random thoughts to get out of me noggin so here we go:

• Saw where Ken Ober, the host of MTV's Remote Control was found dead today. Was 51 or 52 years old. Sad. Only saw the show a couple of times, but generally liked what I saw. Prayers go out to his family and friends;
• Have seen a lot of news articles lately about Al Gore and Sarah Palin. Wish they would both just go away. Don't really care what either one of them think about anything although I'm sure they are both nice enough folks. Got no idea why Gore keeps surfacing. Got no idea why people think Palin should be pushed for the presidency. While I doubt she's the ditz the media portrays her to be, don't really think she's presidential material, either. So, please, both of you, please just quietly fade into the background and don't call us, we'll call you;
• What is it about Buffalo that makes football folks want to tell the Bills fans they are Number One? Saw where the owner of the Tennessee Titans was fined $250,000 for giving them the one-finger salute. Seems like I recall a crazy Dolphin linebacker (can't remember his name) doing the same several years ago. Geez Louise...;
• Did you hear about the three University of Tennessee football players getting arrested for committing armed robbery? No, that's not a joke. Two were scrubs and one was a starter. Two were kicked off the team today and the other one's decision is pending "gathering more information." Will let you guess which one is still on the team. While the armed robbery part may be unique to Tennessee, the personnel decisions ain't. Funny how the stars get second and third chances while the backups get no leniency. Imagine that...;
• My useless information box up above said on April 4, 1964, the Beatles held the top five spots in the Top 40 chart. That is simply amazing! Most bands don't have five hits in their whole careers, much less 5 Top 40 hits, and even less 5 top 5 hits. Nowadays, bands don't have five songs released at once, either. If they ain't the greatest band ever, they are at least in the discussion and they have very few competitors;
• Speaking of the The Beatles, my kids came home from school today singing Yellow Submarine. When I asked them where they learned that song, they said they learned it in music class. Purty cool. The only Beatles song we learned when I was in school was Blackbird. Anyway, thought it was funny they liked that song because the other day my daughter was talking about how old 80's music sounds to her. Decided not to get into the history of that song since they seem to like it;
• In the last two weeks, have had a good friend, a friend's husband, and a guy in my Sunday school all lose their job. Two of the three were the result of the current economy and suspect the third one was probably an indirect result of it. Makes me thankful for the job I have. Hope you are thankful for yours, too, even if it's not exactly what you want to be doing right now. Asking that you keep these folks in your prayers (God will know who they are without you having to call them by name). Should probably thank the Big Guy for your job, too, if you have one.

That's all for now. Y'all have a good week!

Gapses in the Synapses

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween over the weekend. Ours was pretty nice in spite of the cold weather. Well, it was cold for the South, anyway. At least the rain quit around lunchtime. Could have been very miserable.

Anyway, have a few things to comment on this week. And away we go:

• Watched a little of the Vikings/Packers game yesterday. The Favre worship wasn't quite as bad this time, but it was a little much at times. Yes, it's great that a 40 year-old-man is playing his position well in the NFL. But, there are two things that have bothered me about both of his comebacks. First, the media acts like it's the Second Coming every time. As much as it may pain some people to hear this, he's only playing football. He ain't coming back to solve world hunger, solve the Middle East crisis, etc. There are much more important things to talk about in the world. Second, don't think he understands why people outside of Green Bay aren't really fans of him, anymore. It's not because he's not playing for the Packers and it's not because they are tired of the media oogling over him, although imagine that's got something to do with it. It's because it appears he drags these decisions out to get all the media attention he can out of it. Hopefully, the third time will be the charm, and, when he announces his retirement again, he will really mean it this time. Now that he's beaten the Packers twice, maybe he will finally ride off into the sunset and retire for good while he's still at the top of his game;
• Saw a story asking whether there's room for moderates in the Republican party. Made me a little angry cuz don't think there is room for moderates in either party. The reason for the story is there's a special election for a Congressional seat in New York. One of the Republican candidates withdrew from the race over the weekend cuz the other Republican candidate was ahead of her in the polls and in raising money. She was hand-picked by the committee cuz they thought her moderate views would appeal to more people. Maybe, maybe not. If people don't think she's likable, her stances probably don't matter a whole lot. So, now there are articles questioning whether there is room for moderates in the party. My answer is there's no room for moderates in either party. Read another story where Harry Reid added a public option to a Senate healthcare reform plan. Had to do it cuz the liberal constituency in his district was up in arms. So, he added something that will further drag out the process and probably has no chance of passing just to satisfy the less-moderate side of his party, which most likely shows him the most money. Think that is one thing wrong with America these days: there's no room for moderation in either party. Won't even get into the money part of it. Wish a viable third party would arise, or, at least a viable independent candidate. Not ashamed to say I voted for Ross Perot in '92 (before he wigged out). He had a pretty strong showing and got the attention of a lot of knuckleheads in DC. Unfortunately, he went crazy in '96 so both parties went back to their usual business. Sad to see;
• See where President Obama's poll numbers have come back to earth. Shouldn't be a surprise. Most politicians seem more appealing when they are candidates as opposed to actually serving. Wish they would delve a little deeper in those polls and ask why. If I had to guess, half of those who don't like him think he's taking things too far and the other half thinks he hasn't gone far enough. For those in the latter, he's only been in office for a year. Surely you weren't expecting everything to be solved in a year. Most of our problems have been bubbling for 15-20 years (and even longer). Don't care who you are. They ain't gonna be fixed in a year. If you are a regular reader, you probably already know where I stand on this so won't chew that bubblegum again;
• In case you were wondering, the blood pressure went down enough that won't have to take any pills for now. Have lost 33 pounds since the end of June in my Battle of the Bulge. Still hope to lose about 7 more before all is said and done. The Mrs has done even better than that. (Way to go, Honey!) Most of mine has been from running 4-6 times a week and using the Lose It! app on my iPhone to count my calories. My wife has done the same along with going to Curves three times a week. The hardest part has been finding the money for all the new clothes. (By the way, that's no excuse not to diet and exercise);
• A friend reminded me that you don't have to be alone when times are rough. You can always reach out to your friends for support. True friends will be there for you through good times and bad. They will also never complain about you reaching out to them. More importantly, you can always reach out to Jesus. He reminds us in Matthew 11:28-30 that He wants to help carry our burdens in life. All we have to do is ask. Just as a reminder, if you have anything you would like me or anyone else to pray about, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail. There is a link in my profile.

That's all I got for now. Just wanted to point out the left-hand side of the page in case you've never noticed. Have some quotes over there. Also have links to other blogs that I encourage you to check out. Feel free to become a follower if you'd like. Appreciate those of you who already are. Gives me encouragement to keep it up.

Peace out!

Happy Birthday, USA!!!

Happy birthday, America!!!

Hard to imagine the thoughts that were going through the minds of our Founding Fathers back in 1776. We were the first colony that had a chance of seceding from the British Empire. But, they still had to be worrying about a lot of things: Will we succeed? Will we fail? What happens if we fail? Maybe even scarier, what will happen if we win? I certainly thank God they had the courage to strike out on their own.

The Declaration of Independence ranks up there as one of the greatest secular documents ever written. Right up there with the Magna Carta and our own Constitution. If you've never read it, think you should. A lot of men and women have sacrificed everything to make sure we will always have the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." If they are willing to do that, feel like I should at least take the time to read what inspired us to become our own nation. As always, many thanks to our veterans and their families!

It would have been difficult for our Founding Fathers to imagine just how great our country has turned out. Yeah, we've got our problems. Many may never be solved completely. But, there are still people doing everything they can to come join us. Must be doing something right.

Hope you have fun this weekend. Enjoy the fireworks, eat good food, and enjoy your beverage of choice. Pray for our soldiers everywhere, especially those in harm's way. Most importantly, be sure to thank God you have the opportunity to live in the greatest nation in the world!

May God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!!!!

Things That Make Me Go Hmmmmm

Last time said I was going to have a blog on things I worry about. Don't really worry about many things, but do think about quite a few. Thought I'd list a few just in case someone has some answers for me. So, here are some things that make me go, "Hmmmmm."

I wonder:

• Do aliens really visit us? Hard to believe in the vast universe there is not life somewhere else. But, are they really advanced enough to visit to us? If they are that smart, why would they want to contact us in the first place?
• How can people see the miracle of life and the beauty of nature and not know God exists? Too many things had to go right for all of this to just be random luck.
• If Lincoln were observing our society today, would he say, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, some people some of the time, but some folks just ain't going to believe anything!" Some people are so hard core on both sides of the aisle, they wouldn't believe the other side if the Heavens parted and the angels sang while they were talking.
• Why do women get upset when men leave the seat up? If we can go to the trouble of lifting it, seems like they could take the time to make sure it's back down.
• If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we design a remote that beeps so we can always find it?
• How can anyone not love the Muppets?
• How could anyone truly believe they would survive a nuclear war?
• Will the people on Big Brother actually be worth watching this year? The last couple of years have been iffy at best.
• How can anyone really believe we are going to spend our way out of debt? Sure explains a lot about the state of our country.
• If anyone else has noticed society's downward turn started about the same time prayer was taken out of schools?

These are just a few of the things rattling around in me head. Thoughts and comments are welcome.

Do As I Say...

No, I'm not trying to hypnotize you. I'm talking about that old expression, "Do as I say, not as I do." What's making me think of that? Glad you asked. Politicians!

The last couple of months I've been reading how one political party wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Say they want to make sure both sides of the story are available to contradict the Rush Limbaughs of the world. They talk about ideals such as freedom of speech. But, I suspect that's not really their agenda.

When people attended the tea parties several weeks ago, some people who lean left talked about how un-American it was to protest taxes. Excuse me? People have a right to express their political beliefs as long as they "peaceably" assemble. (See the First Amendment if you don't believe me) I even heard several people say the protesters were racists because they were not for President Obama's agenda. Sad to see people have stooped to that accusation. Are there people against President Obama because of the color of his skin? I'd be an idiot to say no. Is everyone who does not agree with him a racist? Absolutely not. Political discourse is one of many things which make our country great. This country was founded by people who protested about things they did not agree with. When people resort to name-calling, that usually means they cannot defend their position with facts. There are a lot of facts which can be used without having to resort to calling people names. Do not agree with many of them, but they are there.

Today I read about Al Gore testifying before Congress on global warming. Also read the majority party would not let someone with a contrasting opinion offer his testimony. It's pretty sad they talk about bringing back the Fairness Doctrine so people can get both sides of the story, but they only want to allow both sides when it suits them.

Before my liberal-leaning friends start protesting, I would like to point out the party that leans right is just as guilty. Case in point, anyone who opposed them in recent years was un-American and threatening national security. That argument was just as bogus. And, that's just one example that comes to mind.

My point is, everyone is for freedom of speech. The caveat is they only support freedom for the speeches which support them. And, that, my friends, is what I call un-American. Thomas Jefferson must be shaking his head somewhere.

Have a great day.