Brian's Blog

Reasons Why the English Language is so Hard to Learn

2011-03-30T12:28:00.005-04:00

This is from one of the many daily emails I get. It made me smile so I pass it on.

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

22) I want it to be on record that I will record my record.

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
(Probably for the same reason that custodians don't cuss…or do they?)

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?

One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.

If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible

P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

David Crowder Band

2011-03-26T09:17:00.001-04:00

95 Thesis to the Modern Evangelical Church

2011-03-25T10:41:00.003-04:00

By Greg Gordon
http://95moderntheses.wordpress.com/

1. The “church” at large has forgotten that the chief end of man is to glorify God. (Rom 16:27; 1Cor 6:20; Mt 6:9; 1Cor 10:31)

2. Christians ignore most of the methods, practices and principles found in the book of Acts. (Acts 2:42,44; Acts 2:46; Acts 2:38)

3. Many treat “church” like any other social club or sports event that they might attend. (Acts 2:46; Heb 10:25; Acts 1:14)

4. We’ve made Christianity about the individual rather than the community of believers. (Rom 12:5; 1Cor 12:12; 2Tim 4:16)

5. In most “churches” the priesthood of all believers isn’t acknowledged and the role of pastor is abused. (1Pt 2:9; 1Cor 12:12; Eph 4:11-13)

6. The “church” as a whole has lost the concept of their being grafted into the promises given to Israel. (Rom 11:15, 17-18, 20, 25)

7. There needs to be a recovery of teaching the whole counsel of God, especially in expository form. (Acts 20:27; 1Tim 4:6, 2Tim 2:15)

8. We take it too lightly that we have the blessing and honor of having God’s Scriptures in our possession. (Ps 119:16; Acts 13:44; Neh 8:9)

9. There has never been more access to the Word of God, yet so little reading of it. (1Tim 4:13; Neh 8:1-3; Ps 119:59)

10. Some read the Scriptures to attain knowledge, but do not practice what they read. (Jam 1:22; Mt 7:21; 3Jn 4)

11. Worship has become an idol in many “churches.” The music often resembles that of the world. (Amos 5:23; Phil 4:8; 1Jn 5:21)

12. The world is shaping the views of the “church” more than the “church” shaping the world. (Rom 12:2; Mt 5:13; 1Cor 1:22-23)

13. The “church” spends more money on dog food than on missions. (2Cor 9:6; Lk 21:2; Acts 4:34-35)

14. We take lightly the cost of discipleship laid out by Jesus Christ and do not deny our lives. (Lk 14:33; Lk 14:26-27; Mt 8:19-20)

15. There is a lack of true discipleship and making others to be obedient disciples. (Mt 28:20; 2Tim 2:2; 2Tim 2:14)

16. Many subscribe to the error that parts of life are to be spiritual while others are to be secular. (1Pt 4:2; Col 3:3; 1Jn 2:6)

17. Modern Christians often find Jesus’ command to sacrifice and serve abhorrent. (Phil 2:21; Jam 3:16; Rom 12:1-2)

18. Self disciplines in the Christian life such as fasting and praying are considered legalistic. (2Tim 2:21; 2Tim 1:8; Mt 6:17)

19. Little thought and contemplation is put towards the lostness of men, the seriousness of the Gospel. (Phil 3:8; Gal 2:20; Heb 10:34)

20. We are living with an epidemic of cheap grace with flippant confession and shallow consecration. (Lk 14:28-30; Lk 14:26; Jam 4:8)

21. Since the inception of the Church, the Gospel had the requirements of repentance and discipleship. (Acts 2:38; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31)

22. Now forgiveness is offered without repentance, discipleship without obedience, salvation without sanctity. (Heb 10:29; 4:11; Lk 13:24)

23. Introspection, counting the cost, godly sorrow over sin, are all foreign to many in the “church.”(Acts 2:37; Ps 119:9; Heb 6:1-2)

24. The modern church loves itself more than its neighbor. (1Cor 3:3; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:3)

25. The church must repent of its idolization of personality, and of business principles. (2Cor 2:17; 1Cor 3:5; 1Cor 12:23)

26. Many elders and pastors of the “church” sadly are fleecing the flock to supply their own wants. (Jn 10:12-13; 1Pt 5:2-3; Rev 2:15)

27. The qualities most in demand in today’s pastorate are frequently foreign to the Scriptures. (1Tim 3:2-3; 1Tim 3:5; 1Tim 1:5-7)

28. The professionalization of the pastorate is a sin and needs to be repented of. (2Cor 11:13; Gal 3:1; Gal 2:6)

29. There must be repentance for the ambitious desire and idolization of the celebrity pastorate. (3Jn 9; Jer 17:5; 1Cor 12:22)

30. Pastors must trust the Spirit, not statistics. (2Sam 24:1; 1Cor 1:25; Rom 8:14)

31. Modern day prophets are being stoned by criticism and neglect. (2Tim 4:3-4; Gal 1:10; Jer 1:7-8)

32. God’s prophets are ill-treated and shunned by most “christians” who consider them too extreme. (Jer 6:10; Isa 6:9-10; Gal 4:16)

33. The prophets prophesy falsely, priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so. (Mt 24:4, 11-12; 1Cor 1:19, Jude 8 )

34. There are many false gospels being preached from pulpits in our day. (2Cor 11:4; Gal 1:8-9; Jude 16)

35. There is an epidemic of a “mock” salvation message. It is correct in doctrine, but false in reality. (2Cor 3:6; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rom 8:9)

36. A salvation that does not make men holy is trusted in by a deceived multitude. (Jude 4; Rom 8:1; Rom 6:17-18)

37. There is a needed perseverance in the truths of the Gospel without unbelief. (Eph 1:1; Heb 6:11-12; Heb 10:26-27)

38. A great need is to see “christians” become saints in actual experience. (1Jn 2:29; Col 3:5-8; Tit 3:8)

39. Many professors of religion are forbidding people to be a part of the holy body of Christ. (Mt 23:13; Ps 119:1-2; 2Pt 1:3-4)

40. Preaching has become all about the happiness of man and not the glory of God. (Jn 6:26; Rom 4:20; 1Pt 4:11)

41. Preachers give smooth words to entice men, yet very few give any words of correction or rebuke. (Jer 6:14; Pro 1:23; 1Tim 5:20)

42. Run from gospels that focus on our success and prosperity in the name of Jesus Christ. (Jn 2:16; Acts 20:33; Jer 6:13)

43. Run from gospels that focus on self-improvement. (1Tim 6:5; Heb 12:14; Jam 4:14)

44. Run from churches where men, and not Christ, are glorified. (Col 1:18; Jude 25; Jn 16:14)

45. Run from churches where there is no Bible, no cross, no mention of the blood of Christ. (1Pt 1:18-19; Eph 3:13; Rev 1:5)

46. Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there’s no sense of God’s presence. (1Cor 5:4; Ps 80:14-15; Jer 12:11)

47. Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin. (1Cor 14:25; Heb 10:30-31; Heb 4:13)

48. Run from churches that use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. (Jude 10-11,19; 3Jn 9)

49. Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. (Jam 2:4, Gal 3:28, Rev 5:9)

50. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. (Jer 5:13; 1Cor 14:33, 1Jn 2:16)

51. Run from preachers who tell mostly stories and jokes. (Eph 5:4; Tit 1:8; 2:12)

52. Run from those that are only after money, who use one gimmick after another to get your money. (2Pt 2:3; 2Cor 12:14; 1Cor 9:18)

53. The phrase “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” is not found in the Scriptures. (Rom 10:9-10; Col 1:13; Acts 26:20)

54. Evidence of true conversion does not seem important to modern day Christians. (1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:17; Mt 7:20)

55. Thousands of sinners think of God as having only one attribute: Love! But they continue in sin. (Rom 1:18; Acts 5:11; Ps 2:12)

56. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” has hindered true evangelism. (Rom 3:19; Acts 26:18; Phil 3:18-21)

57. A Gospel of love and grace only, without the law of God being preached. This is a doctrine of Satan. (2Tim 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:19)

58. There has clearly arisen a careless mixture of 20th century reasoning with God’s revelation. (Col 2:8; Rom 1:25; Gal 1:6)

59. Decisionism and the “sinner’s prayer” has been a major cause of false conversions in the “church.” (2Pt 2:1-2; Eph 2:4-5; 2Cor 5:17-18)

60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from me.” (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)

61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15)

62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by most professing “christians.” (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)

63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in the modern pulpit. (2Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13)

64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church’s general thrust and burden. (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)

65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4; Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

69. Many in “churches” are not open to correction, church discipline or rebuke. (1Cor 5:5; 1Cor 11:31-32; Heb 12:7-9)

70. Some preach salvation as a theory instead of persuading men to come to Christ. (Jn 5:40; Col 1:28; 2Cor 4:5)

71. There has been a loss of the fullness and majesty of the gospel. (1Tim 1:11; Jude 25; Rom 15:29)

72. There is little mention of sin or the depravity of man from “church” pulpits. (Jn 3:20; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5)

73. Covetousness, consumerism, and coddling of the world’s goods does not appear wrong. (Jer 22:17; 1Jn 2:15-16; 1Tim 3:3)

74. Little is made of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in churches or in evangelism. (1Cor 15:14-15; Acts 4:10, 33)

75. The “church” has relied more on technology than God. (Zech 4:6; 1Cor 1:21; 2:4)

76. The prayer meeting is considered one of the least important meetings in the “church.” (1Tim 2:1; Acts 4:31; Phil 4:6)

77. Pastors have never prayed less than they do in the “church” today. (Jer 10:21; Phil 2:21; Eph 6:18-19)

78. Very few are waiting on God for His direction and purpose for His Church. (Eph 1:11; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31)

79. The “church” has many organizers, but few agonizers. (Phil 3:18-19; Rom 9:1-3; Jer 9:1)

80. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the “church.” (2Tim 4:2; 1Cor 14:39; 1Cor 12:31)

81. A serious, sober, self-controlled Christianity is very seldom found or preached. (2Pt 3:11; 1Pt 4:7; Jude 3)

82. The “church” at large has forgotten how to pray. (1Jn 3:22; Acts 6:4; 1Ths 5:17)

83. Many “churches” are more dependent on tradition than the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Mk 7:13; Acts 16:6; Acts 13:2)

84. Multitudes of professors preach and teach: that you cannot be freed from sin. (Rom 16:18; Rom 6:1-2; 2Pt 2:1)

85. The Apostles and Christ always preached the possibility to walk free from the bondage of sin. (Tit 2:11-12; 1Pt 1:14-16; Rom 6:19)

86. Sinners are not saved to sin, but rather, saved to holiness and good works. (Rom 6:13; Eph 2:10; 2Pt 3:14)

87. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. (2Tim 2:19; 1Pt 4:17-18; 2Tim 3:12)

88. A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living, is the crying need of our day. (1Tim 6:3; 2Ths 3:6; 2Ths 2:13)

89. Many are confused about obedience and the good works that are readily mentioned in the Scriptures. (Tit 3:8; Jn 10:32; Rev 3:15)

90. Little emphasis is put on the plan of God to make us like Jesus Christ in “churches.” (1Pt 1:14-16; 1Jn 2:6; 1Pt 4:1)

91. Christ did not die on the cross to obtain a worldly “church” but for a “glorious Church.” (Eph 5:27; Tit 2:14; Col 4:12)

92. Christ does not come into an unregenerate and impure heart as many contemporary theologians say. (2Cor 5:17; Mt 5:8; Eze 18:31)

93. A holy Church is God’s blessing to the world; an unholy “church” is God’s judgment upon the world. (Mt 5:14,16; Eph 4:1; 1Ths 2:12)

94. If Christianity is to make any headway in the present time, it must be proved to be more than a theory. (2Ths 3:6-7; 1Ths 4:1,11-12)

95. Unbelief has gagged and bound us as risen Lazarus! We need release in this final hour! (Heb 3:12-14; 1Cor 3:21-23; Heb 11:6)

Rules of Civility

2010-06-13T21:23:00.004-04:00

I started a new book that my boss recently bought me for my birthday. I haven't finished the other two that you see here on my profile, but I wanted to start this one now. The reason for reading three books? I definitely have ADD when it comes to reading. I get bored easily and need to switch back and forth between reads. And I need to get a head start on this one because it is huge compared to most I read. Total including a couple of appendixes is 83o+ pages. I just started it and it has captured my wondering mind. Well, at least until I got to page 10 and needed to come here and post something that I just read.

The book is The Real George Washington by Parry, Allison, and Skousen. It begins with Washington's early years and on page 10 is a section from his exercise books titled The "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior". Below is an excerpt.

Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters somewhat grave.
Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.
In writing or speaking, give to every person his due title according to his degree and the custom of the place.
When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did it.
Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.

Let your conversation be without malice or envy...And in all causes of passion admit reason to govern.
Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.
When you speak of God and his attributes, let it be seriously and with reverence. Honor and obey your natural parents although they be poor.
Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

Amen!

Taxman!

2010-04-15T14:42:00.003-04:00

Dedicated to all of us who waited until today to do the dirty deed of filing income tax returns.

Humility

2010-02-11T15:08:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine read this to me from his devotions the other day and it was exactly what I needed. It fit perfectly into what I have been facing. I love how God does that.

The twelfth step of humility is that we always manifest humility in our bearing no less than in our hearts, so that it is evident at the Opus Dei, in the oratory, the monastery or the garden, on a journey or in the field or anywhere else. Whether sitting, walking, or standing, our heads must be bowed and our eyes cast down. Judging ourselves always guilty on account of our sins, we should consider that we are already at the fearful judgment, and constantly say in our hearts what the publican in the gospel said with downcast eyes, "I am a sinner, not worthy to look up to the heavens" (Luke 18:13). And with the prophet: "I am bowed down and humbled in every way" (Psalm 38:7-9; Psalm 119:107). St. Benedict of Nursia

"This paragraph is, at first reading, a very difficult excursion into the tension between the apparent and the real. Bowing and scraping have long since gone out of style. What is to be made today of a dictum that prescribes bowed heads and downcast eyes in a culture given to straight-shouldered, steady-eyed self-esteem?

"Benedict is telling us that true humility is simply a measure of the self that is taken without exaggerated approval or exaggerated guilt. Humility is the ability to know ourselves as God knows us and to know that it is the little we are that is precisely our claim on God. Humility is, then, the foundation for our relationship with God, our connectedness to others, our acceptance of ourselves, our way of using the goods of the earth and even our way of walking through the world, without arrogance, without domination, without scorn, without put-downs, without disdain, without self-centeredness. The more we know ourselves, the gentler we will be with others."

Joan Chittister, O.S.B.

So Cute!

2009-12-19T11:34:00.003-05:00

Sou teu no ukelele @ Yahoo! Video

A Funny Halloween Story

2009-11-03T17:44:00.008-05:00

A funny joke from a friend's Facebook post today. Laugh much today?

A cabbie picks up a nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the very handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why he is staring.
He replies, "I have a question to ask, but I don't want to offend you."
She answers, "My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive."
"Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me."
She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single, and #2, you must be Catholic."
The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and I'm Catholic!"
"Okay," the nun says, "Pull into the next alley."
The nun fulfills his fantasy with a kiss that would make a hooker blush. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.
"My dear child," says the nun, "Why are you crying?"
"Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess. I'm married and I'm Jewish."
The nun says, "Oh, that's okay. My name is Fred and I'm going to a Halloween party."

Down

2009-09-28T07:54:00.004-04:00

I heard a catchy song by Jay Sean on the radio the other day and it's tune has continued to stick in my head. I looked it up on Youtube and then found this girl's acoustic rendition of it. Her name is Tiffany Alvord and man, is she talented. Enjoy.

Jack Webb Schools the President on Healthcare

2009-09-12T07:46:00.003-04:00

I know. I know. It's been way too long since I have posted an entry. Really no excuses except I have been wasting my time on Facebook and Twitter. :-)

A friend sent this to me yesterday and it is really good! Enjoy.

Cars I've Owned III

2009-06-01T07:06:00.005-04:00

THE MARRIED WITH KIDS YEARS

My wife, Tammy and I have owned numerous autos in our 23+ years together. I will not attempt to show them all but instead will show you some of the ones which were memorable in some way to me.

(2) Eagle Premiers
I don't know why we had two of them at the same time but we did. Maybe it was because we liked them so much. These cars were loaded. One was red and one was gray. Our young son nicknamed them "good and evil." He called the red one evil due to it's color and because it broke down from time to time.

Chevy Astro Van
Hey, these are the Married With Children posts. Man, I forgot how ugly these vans were. Kinda looks like the precursor to Nissan's Cube, huh?

Yugo
Yes, I owned a Yugo! What was I thinking? My wife loved this car because she could hand a bottle to our kids in the back seat while driving. And she complains about me texting while driving.

Dodge Aires Station Wagon
We pulled our boat with this one. Again, I had kids and couldn't afford a truck. Interestingly enough, the transmission died. I think the boat was too heavy.

1970 Chevy Monte Carlo
This was my hobby car. I bought it while living in North Carolina and restored it over time. It had a 400 small block that I did minor modifications to. Nothing major but it was pretty fast. My wife and kids miss this beast. So do I.

1996 Mercury Grand Marque LS
I loved this car! I bought it from my dad and only got rid of it a couple of years ago. It died just 1,400 miles short of 200,000. The dual timing chain came lose and it was going to cost more to fix it than it was worth. It now sits at New Castle Auto Salvage. Did I tell you I loved this car?

The Cars I've Owned II

2009-05-12T10:07:00.012-04:00

THE MARRIED-BUT-NO-KIDS YEAR

1986 Chevy Monte Carlo
This was a sweet car! The manufacture color was deep metallic red but it was more like a very dark purple. I am not a fan of purple cars but this one was sharp! We bought it and the one below new in '86. It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were young, had great jobs, no kids...
Did you notice the title above? The Married-But-No-Kids years actually only lasted for one year. And as a result we added a healthy new baby, with all of his joys, to our two healthy new car payments. That wasn't smart...but the cars were nice.

1986 Pontiac Sunbird
This was my wife's car. We added 14 inch tires with Kelsey Hayes wheels. It was black with red pinstripes and red interior. It was sharp! I wish I had the actual picture because the picture below doesn't do it justice.

1973 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible
This one was for fun. We bought it for $1,500, drove it for a year and a half and then sold it for $1,800. It would be worth much more than that now. This car was in great shape! No rust, no motor smoke, new top, and the heater worked! Every once in a while the battery would not turn the car over and we would have to push it to get it started. But I don't know anyone who has owned an older Bug that didn't need to push it to get it started from time to time.

The Cars I've Owned

2009-05-07T19:22:00.008-04:00

These are not the actual pictures of the cars that I owned but are very similar. I smile as I look at how the cars represent seasons in my life.

THE EARLY YEARS

1970 Camaro
350 small block with 375 horse heads, 12.5 to 1 compression pistons, over sized racing cam, Edelbrock high rise intake with Holley 850 double pumper carb, headers and dual exhaust, automatic turbo transmission, stock rear end. My son says, "This must have been the cool season of your life."
This car would scream! (read: It was scary fast and it's a wonder I'm still alive!)

1964 Volkswagen Beetle Bug
Why did I go from the hot rod above to this one? I swear my dad didn't tell me that I had to check the oil every time I put gas in the Camaro. And...I blew it up. When the mechanic checked it, he just had to tell my dad that it was bone dry on oil. My dad took the motor out, put a 6 cylinder in it (sniff) and then sold it. He then bought me this car. By the way, it wasn't all bad. This Bug had a 50 horsepower motor and I could squeal the tires when I popped the clutch. And I got a ticket once to prove it.

1980 Chevrolet Citation
Junk! The first car I purchased with my own money. I thought it was cool that it had a vertical cassette radio but other than that, not so much. This car finds itself on the list of the worst cars. It was an embarrassment to Chevrolet and to me.

1983 Pontiac Trans Am
Dignity restored. T-tops and fast. Two speeding tickets to prove it. I finally had to sell it when I got married. The sacrifices we make for the women we love.

Specter in 2001

2009-05-01T18:26:00.002-04:00

A friend sent this to me today. It just makes me shake my head.

After Senator Jeffords left the Republican Party in 2001, Senator Specter spoke in the Senate and proposed a rule change to prevent senators for switching parties.

Arlen Specter

2009-04-28T17:15:00.003-04:00

Well, well, well. Arlen Specter made it official. He switched from the G.O.P. to the Democratic party. Are any of us who know him really surprised? He has been a Democrat in Republican clothes for a long time. Don't believe a word he said in his news conference about why he is switching parties. This is not a principled move because the Republican party has moved further and further to the right. It's about poll numbers and a paycheck! I don't know about you, but I am so tired of elected government representatives who care more about getting re-elected than what's important! That is what this switch is all about, plain and simple.

Specter blamed conservatives for delivering control of the Senate to the Democrats in 2006. The real reason the Republicans lost ground in both U. S. houses is because of their lack of conservatism not because they were too conservative. (i.e. Rick Santorum losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 due largely to the fact that he supported and endorsed liberal senator Arlen Specter. Hmmm.)

Come on, Pennsylvania! Wake up! Pat Toomey for Senate!

Here's a quote from Pat Toomey's website - www.toomeyforsenate.com:
“Senator Specter’s decision is in keeping with his record. He is more at home in the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. That has been true for decades, not just true today.

In recent weeks, Senator Specter has made numerous statements about how important it is to deny Democrats the 60th seat in the U.S. Senate and how he categorically intended to remain a Republican to prevent one-party dominance in Washington.

What Pennsylvanians must now ask themselves is whether Senator Specter is in fact devoted to any principle other than his own reelection.”

Commercials

2009-04-23T08:01:00.002-04:00

Since switching from satellite to cable with a DVR (digital video recorder), I don't much watch commercials anymore. It's actually quite nice to watch an hour television show in 40 or so minutes. And watch it when I want to watch it. But from time to time I do catch a commercial or two that makes smile. Here are a couple.

Making Amends

2009-04-06T16:36:00.006-04:00

A few days ago, I posted a blog about my wife’s antics on April Fool’s Day. My wife read it and asked me, in a very sweet way I might add, why I only told the world about the twisted, mean things she has done to me on April 1st. She said, “There are a lot funny things that I have done that aren’t so mean. Why didn’t you speak of those?” Well...do I really need to tell you what this posting is about? Really?

There was one April 1st that my wife decided to make it appear that our house had been robbed. She took all of our valuables, including electronics and hid them in an out building. When I walked into the house, I noticed right away that our very large television was gone. Upon further inspection, I also discovered that our VCR, computer, microwave, my wife’s jewelry, my golf clubs and several other things were missing. All of it gone!

My three adolescent children were with me as I walked into the house and they thought it was funny. I know this because they were dancing through the house singing, “We were robbed! We were robbed!” Everything at that age is a game. I remember once while I was out of town that my wife’s car broke down on a very busy highway and a police officer allowed her and the kids to sit in the his car while she waited for help to come. They looked at her and with a sheepish grin on their faces began to sing from the back seat, “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?” (For those who don’t know, that’s from the theme song of the T.V. show Cops.)

Okay, back to the crime scene. As my kids are dancing through the house, I was yelling at them, “Get out of the house! Don’t touch anything! There may be fingerprints on stuff!” They eventually danced out to the porch and waited as I started to call the authorities. Something inside of me told me that I should call my wife first and let her know what was going on in case she came home and saw the police and the CSI team outside our home. I didn't want her to come home and freak out! I remembered that she had a hair appointment that day so I called the salon. When her hairdresser answered the phone, she chuckled when I told her who it was. She was in on it or at least knew about it! That’s when I figured it out. Good thing I called her before the police!

There are other jokes that I will post later. I need to spread this penance out for as long as I can.

"Officer Down!"

2009-04-04T15:44:00.007-04:00

It's a call over a police radio that no one, especially those who wear the uniform, wants to hear. This morning, Pittsburgh police officers were ambushed and gunned down as they were responding to a domestic disturbance call in the Stanton Heights neighborhood. As a result, three police officers lost their lives and two others were injured. The Pittsburgh community and our entire nation mourns these fallen officers and prays for their families, friends, and colleagues.

http://www.odmp.org/

South Park - How Banks Work Today

2009-04-02T12:58:00.008-04:00

Got my retirement account statement the other day and it's gone! Poof! Not really, but almost. I am glad that I am only 45 and invested for the long term!

2009-04-01T23:00:00.004-04:00

Well, it’s a little after 11 p.m. and I only have a little less than an hour to worry. What am I worried about? My wife. Let me explain. Today is April 1st or April Fools Day and for many years, my lovely wife thinks that this is the day that she must play a practical joke on me. Now when I say practical joke , I don’t mean a simple, fun, Ha Ha, kind of joke. I am talking about make-me-feel-like-I’ve-been-punched-in-the-gut kind of joke.

Let me tell you what she has done to me.

One April Fool’s Day my wife came up with this elaborate plan that involved my then 9-year-old son. It was early evening and I had fallen asleep watching television. While I was oblivious to the conscious world, she took the skin from the chicken breast she was preparing and laid it on my son’s arm. She then took ketchup and syrup that she mixed to a perfect blood-like mixture. As my son watched with a grin on his face, she poured the “blood” all over his arm. Then she ran with him to the living room and screamed for me to help her because “Ean had cut his arm with a knife!” I jumped up, and in my daze, grabbed him and ran to the bathroom to see if there was something I could do!

My stomach was sick as I looked at his skin laid open with blood all over it! I think I saw his bone! It was awful! Then with a slight grin on her face, she looked at me and said those infamous words, “April Fools!” I was so angry! It must have shown on my face because as soon as my son looked up at me, he began to yell in frantic repetition, “Mommy made me do it, Daddy! Mommy made me do it!” A little while later, our son went to his mother and told her that he didn’t want to be a part of her pranks on me anymore! I tell you, she is evil!

Another time, she again used some food and fake blood to prank me. Our laundry room was in the basement so she would regularly take clothes down the steps while carrying them in a laundry basket. I was upstairs doing something when I heard her fall and yell like she was hurt. I ran to the basement and found her lying on the floor with her face buried in the clothes, basket nearby. She moaned that she hurt her leg and as I look down at her ankle, I saw what appeared to be her tibia poking through her sock and blood was all over it. It was in fact a beef bone she placed very carefully in her sock.

I again became sick at my stomach as I tried to figure out what to do. I asked in a panicked state if she wanted me to carry her up the stairs or if she wanted me to leave her there and go call 911 and have the EMTs come down to get her. She continued to have her face buried in the clothes and I thought she was crying. Later I discovered she was laughing as she looked up and said it again! “April Fools!” When will I ever learn? This woman is evil!

But I do love her! She tells me all the time that my life would be boring without her. She is right. The funny thing is that all my friends try to warn me. One sent me a text this morning and told me to beware! They actually think it is funny because I am so easy to mess with.

Well, I still have a little more time to “beware” and I am hoping she does not have the energy to do something this year. But I think I remember that there was one year when she waited until April 2nd to prank me. Oh, no, I forgot about that one. I don’t think I will be able to sleep well tonight.

Wow! Is This How You Feel?

2009-03-31T20:00:00.006-04:00


   Crossfire
   Day by day, night after night,
   Blinded by the neon lights.
   Hurry here, hustlin' there,
   No one's got the time to spare.
   Money's tight, nothin' free,
   Won't somebody come and rescue me?
   I am stranded, caught in the crossfire
   Stranded, caught in the crossfire.

   Tooth for tooth, eye for an eye.
   Sell your soul just to buy, buy, buy.
   Beggin' a dollar, stealin' a dime,
   Come on can't you see that I
   I am stranded, caught in the crossfire
   I am stranded, caught in the crossfire.

   I need some kind of kindness,some kind of sympathy oh, no
   We're stranded, caught in the crossfire

   Save the strong lose the weak,
   Never turning the other cheek.
   Trust nobody don't be no fool,
   Whatever happened to the golden rule?
   We got stranded, caught in the crossfire
   We got stranded, caught in the crossfire
   We got stranded, caught in the crossfire
   Stranded, caught in the crossfire
   Help me.

I Am Truly Sorry

2009-03-28T15:02:00.007-04:00

Brazil's President, while meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Thursday, said the global financial crises was caused by "white people with blue eyes." I am sorry! I would have apologized sooner if I had known it was my fault!

This would be funnier if it wasn't so scary! I don't know about you but as a white guy with blue eyes, these kind of statements really unnerve me! Change the colors and it reminds me of a part of our human history that we should not be proud of.

Boy Suspended For Passing Gas

2009-03-24T18:37:00.009-04:00

Okay, let me apologize ahead of time for this posting. I know, I know, it isn't really a sincere apology when you do it before the offense, but being the uncivilized man-pig that I am, I must not let this opportunity go. What's the story? Well...

An eighth-grader in Lakeland, Florida was suspended from riding the school bus for three days after being accused of passing gas. The bus driver wrote up the 15-year-old teen for passing gas on the bus Monday saying he did it to "make the other children laugh, creating a stench so bad that it was difficult to breath." The bus driver handed the teen the suspension the next day.

Polk County school officials said there's no rule against flatulence, but there are rules against causing a disturbance on the bus.

The teen said he was not the one passing gas. (Ah...the classic "Blame Someone Else" defense!)

Whether he did it or not, he might have gotten off easy. A 13-year-old student at another school was arrested in November after authorities said he broke wind in class. (Arrested? Holy smokes! That's some serous wind! He! He!)

To Proselyte or Not To Proselyte

2009-03-23T20:43:00.005-04:00

A pastor friend of mine posted this video on his website a while back. I was thinking about this again so I thought I would look it up and share it with you. It is by Penn Jillette, a self-described atheist, who is part of the comedy/magic routine known as Penn and Teller. Listen closely to how he describes the man who spoke to him and gave him a special gift.

Bumper Stickers

2009-03-23T18:24:00.016-04:00

So here are some bumper stickers that a friend sent me today. Enjoy! Oh, lighten up, Liberals!

Okay, this creeps me out!

2009-03-17T15:10:00.006-04:00

2009-03-10T18:21:00.003-04:00

I just saw Ed Barnett on the Glenn Beck program on Fox News. He wrote an open letter to the I.R.S. which started out as a joke but now has become a huge national phenomenon. Here it is.

Dear IRS,
I'm sorry to inform you that I'm not going to be able to pay the taxes owed on April 15th, but all is not lost. I paid these taxes - accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gas tax, hunting license tax, fishing license tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, Medicare tax, city tax, school and county property tax up to 33% the last four years, Real estate tax, Social Security tax, road use tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, sales franchise tax, state unemployment tax, federal excise tax, telephone tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle tax, registration tax, capital gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, Colorado property tax, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mexico sales tax and many more I can't recall and I've run out of space and money. When you do not receive my check April 15th, just know that it was an honest mistake. Please treat me the same as the way you've treated Congressman Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, ex-congressman Tom Daschle and, of course your boss, Timothy Geithner. No penalties, no interest.
PS, I'll make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check.
Ed Barnett
Wichita Falls

Ed, you speak for a lot of us! You are truly a great American!

Cosmic Eye

2009-02-28T07:45:00.006-05:00

This is a spectacular picture taken by a telescope in Chile of the distant Helix nebula in which stars are burning themselves out.

Middle Class Tax Cut!

2009-02-21T16:25:00.006-05:00

From Reuters:

President Barack Obama ordered the U.S. Treasury on Saturday to implement tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans, fulfilling a campaign pledge he hopes will help jolt the economy out of recession.

The tax cuts are part of a $787 billion economic recovery plan passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress over Republican opposition. The aim is to put more money in the pockets of Americans and stimulate the economy by increasing consumer spending.

"I'm pleased to announce that this morning the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks, meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month," Obama said in his weekly radio address.

My wife tells me that I should be thrilled that a tax break of any amount is coming from this President and Congress, but come on! $65 a month? That will fill my gas-guzzling Chevy SUV about 1.5 times! And this is supposed to "help jolt the economy out of recession"?
Please, this would be funny if it wasn't so sad!

Lost Generation?

2009-02-20T09:33:00.003-05:00

You have got to watch this! Not only is it very well done with much thought and creativity, but it is the truth! I get weary of those who continue to "bash" this generation of young people! I have three kids who are 18, 19, and 21-years old, and they definitely can say "yes" to the second half of this video!
Wow!

No Cussing Club

2009-01-24T10:07:00.003-05:00

I haven't looked into this with great detail but my first reaction is "Cool! What a great idea!" Nothing turns my stomach more that to hear a young person spew obscenities! Way to go McKay! Continue with the cause!

Here is a link and video for you to check out.

http://www.nocussing.com/

Read Your Lady Like An Open Book

2009-01-12T18:55:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:25:00.002-05:00

A friend sent this to me by email. I have never seen this guy until now and I like! Hope you do too! Here's hoping you have a happy New Year!

Annie's Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Bunny Crackers

2008-12-29T11:27:00.005-05:00

Who buys Annie's Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Bunny Crackers? I bet a lot of people now!
I know you should do the right thing without expectation of being rewarded but the old lady could have thrown a little their way! Kudos to the Rogoff family! Booo to the old lady!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473132,00.html

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T19:23:00.002-05:00

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

I Am Officially Nuts!

2008-12-17T14:51:00.004-05:00

Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning and had the tune of a song from a long time ago stuck in your head? You have no idea where it came from. You didn't see a commercial the night before with the tune in the background. No one mentioned it in recent days. You just woke up and there it was. And what drives me nuts when that happens is that it is usually the most bizarre song ever! Well that happened to me this morning. I have to get this song out of my head. Maybe posting this will help but I seriously doubt it! LOL!

Jon & Kate Plus 8

2008-12-12T19:19:00.007-05:00

I want to tell you about a show on TLC that our family just loves. It is Jon & Kate Plus 8. It airs on Monday nights and is in its 4th season. The show is about a family who live in Pennsylvania and have 2 sets of multiples. They have twin girls and sextuplets - 3 boys and 3 girls.

They don't push religion on the show but you definitely learn about their faith from their website. Also if you watch the show closely, you will notice Scripture verses posted on their kitchen cabinets and sometimes Jon will wear a Christian T-shirt while he is interviewed. But there are lots of other reasons to watch. It's fun, loud, honest, unpredictable, and absolutely irresistible. I must warn you, if you decide to check them out, you will definitely get hooked!

By the way, I love them all but Joel is my favorite!

http://www.sixgosselins.com/index.html
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/jon-and-kate/jon-and-kate.html

Mother's Wisdom

2008-12-12T18:57:00.003-05:00

John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his mother couldn't help noticing how beautiful John's roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between John and his roommate and this only made her more curious. Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between John and the roommate than met the eye. Reading his mom's thoughts, John volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Julie and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Julie came to John and said, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?" John said, "Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her a note just to be sure."

So he sat down and sent her an email:

"Dear Mother,

I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.

Love John"

The next day, John received a response from his mother which read:

"Dear Son,

I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Julie, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Julie. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now.

Love, Mom"

You gotta love moms!

What's Up With That?

2008-12-06T14:20:00.006-05:00

The English language is a funny thing. For instance, did you know that there is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word? That two-letter word is none other than the word "UP".

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen, lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. If you are Pennsylvania Dutch, you may red UP the room.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this up is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP for now because my time is UP, so time to hush UP!

Oh, one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning, the last thing you do at night, and some of us do during the night? Answer: U P!

Mildred, the Church Gossip

2008-12-06T13:52:00.003-05:00

Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose in the other members' private lives. Church members were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny; he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... and left it there all night!

40,000 Show Up For Free Vegetables

2008-12-01T20:04:00.008-05:00

I know. I know. It has been a while since I have posted. Nearly a month! There have been plenty of interesting things to point out to you. I've just simply been busy with other things.

This story is a great story! It reminds me of Leviticus 19:9-10 "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God."

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/131137

Rise Up, Conservatives!

2008-11-05T10:56:00.008-05:00

There is no time to point our fingers of blame or flounder in post-election pity. It's time to re-group and get busy doing what we do best - standing up for the values that have made this nation great! Stand up like we have in the past!

And it doesn't matter what party controls the White House and Legislature. It doesn't matter where the market goes. It doesn't matter if we are experiencing international peace or conflict. At the end of the day, conservatism wins. It always has and it always will. We just have to get back to the our basic conservative principles. The G.O.P. has lost its conservative soul and we must find it!

So what do we do now?

We stay positive and focused.

We do not apologize for our beliefs. We do not need to re-brand them but instead we defend them.

We support our president and the office of the presidency. We have much to be thankful for! This is a great country!

We must (to borrow a phrase from Michelle Malkin), "lock and load our ideological ammunition."

And to borrow from another great American, "Let's roll!"

A Little Fun

2008-10-31T15:00:00.003-04:00

Okay. So I don't know about you, but for me, this election is getting a little crazy! It's just a little too intense! I have been paying close attention, and as a result, I think it's getting to me. So this is for all of us who are a little overwhelmed by it all. Relax and enjoy a cheesy scene from a cheesy movie.
LOL (laugh out loud) please!

God love ya, Joe Biden!

2008-10-20T15:42:00.006-04:00

Joe Biden at a Seattle fundraiser yesterday - "Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said, Watch, we're gonna have an international crises, a generated crises, to test the mettle of this guy."

He continued - "I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate. And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."

Thanks, Joe, for speaking the truth about your running mate! Say, how about we help by electing someone that the world is not endorsing? Let's say we elect McCain instead? You see they know that if they test President McCain, they will lose!

Aledo HS Homecoming Queen

2008-10-16T10:40:00.003-04:00

Get the Kleenex out! This story reminds me of a girl I used to attend high school with named Renee. A fellow football player and I used to help her get her pop (soda) from the machine each day after school. Some were so cruel to her back then. It makes me cry when I think back to how they treated her. This story makes me cry for good reasons! Notice the screams of excitement when they announce her name! This video just made my day and I wanted to share it with you!

Obama, Marx and Socialism

2008-10-13T08:16:00.005-04:00

According to Wikipedia, the definition of socialism is as follows:

Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and the creation of an egalitarian society. Modern socialism originated in the late nineteenth-century working class political movement. Karl Marx posited that socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution, it being the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.

Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth into a small section of society who control capital, and creates an unequal society. All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly, although there is considerable disagreement among socialists over how, and to what extent this could be achieved.

Barack Hussein Obama responded to a question about his tax plan as follows:

"It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama told Joe. "I want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

Sounds like pure, unadulterated socialism to me. And according to Marx, where do we go from there?

Rediscovering God in America (Part 5)

2008-10-01T12:56:00.004-04:00

And here is the conclusion. Hope you had your eyes opened!

Rediscovering God in America (Part 4)

2008-10-01T12:53:00.003-04:00

Here is part 4.

Rediscovering God in America (Part 3)

2008-10-01T12:51:00.002-04:00

And here is part 3.

Rediscovering God in America (Part 2)

2008-10-01T12:49:00.004-04:00

Here is part two.

Rediscovering God in America (Part 1)

2008-10-01T12:36:00.007-04:00

This video is the first of 5 entitled Rediscovering God in America. They each are about 10 minutes give or take a few. I know in our 30-second-spot-world that it is hard to sit for 10 minutes but take a few minutes to listen to a man that I have always admired and am liking more and more each time I hear him speak. I will post each video in separate blogs. This took place at First Baptist Church in Atlanta Georgia where Dr. Charles Stanley is pastor.
Below is the first.

He's No Jesus Christ!

2008-09-12T07:50:00.003-04:00

Transcript:
Dem. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN) - I submit to you, Mr. Speaker, that the parties have differences. But if you want change, you want the Democratic Party. Barack Obama was a community organizer like Jesus, who our minister prayed about. Pontius Pilate was a governor. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Representative Cohen, I serve Jesus Christ: I know Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ is a friend of mine. Mr. Cohen, Barack Hussein Obama is no Jesus Christ! And by the way, Jesus was not a "community organizer", He was a world changer! And how dare you compare Sarah Palin to Pontius Pilate!

These liberal Democrats are coming unglued!

What Has He Done?

2008-09-04T18:04:00.002-04:00

Watch this and then could someone please answer Newt's question. What has Obama done besides make speeches and write? Seriously! And please answer it without pointing to the experience or lack thereof of someone else. And don't tell me what he is for. I just want to know. What has Barack Hussein Obama done?

Kill and Destroy

2008-09-02T12:06:00.003-04:00

When it comes to voting in an election, whether it's for a local county commissioner or a national candidate for president, I am a three or four issue kind of guy. Where a candidate stands on lower taxes, less government, and 2nd Amendment rights are a few of the things I want to know. But the big issue in my book is abortion! As a Christian, I can't "pull the lever" for someone who is convinced that abortion is okay! And then to think that someone could defend infanticide! I just don't get it! This video explains a lot!

Wow! What a Week!

2008-08-29T21:15:00.009-04:00

I have been on record as saying that, as a conservative, I have not been thrilled with McCain. After the forum at Saddleback, I was beginning to warm up to him. After this week, I am absolutely on board! What happened this week? I watched the Democratic National Convention. The speeches were good and I can even say they were inspiring. There was nothing there to make me a blubbering cry baby and I cry pretty easily. I thought the melt down by Oprah to be bizarre. But nothing happened that would cause me to not vote for McCain.
The other thing that happened was McCain's pick for V.P. today. Dare I say, he hit it out of the park with this one! Sarah Palin is a top-notch, strong conservative woman! I would vote for her as President today!

The Shack

2008-08-16T14:35:00.008-04:00

I just finished a great book entitled The Shack. I want to tell you about this book but I don't want to give away the plot, so I will quote from the book's back cover.

Mackenzie Allen Philips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant THE SHACK wrestles with the timeless question: Where's God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

The Shack will cause you to question some of your age-old-beliefs and probe deep into your theological mind. Read it with an open mind and an open heart. There is a great website that deals with some of these issues.

http://www.theshackbook.com/

Let me know what you think.

Taunting the Bear

2008-08-11T14:19:00.004-04:00

This article is a little lengthy but it gives great insight and background into the current conflict between Russia and Georgia.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/10/europe/10traub.php

3 Ways to Lower Gas Prices

2008-08-08T09:47:00.001-04:00

Common Sense!

1 Bike, 2,771 Miles, 1 Conference

2008-07-14T07:10:00.031-04:00

The 2700+ mile trip was conceived as our church board sat and discussed our upcoming General Church Conference for our denomination to be held in Fort Worth, Texas. When the date and location was mentioned, a board member and fellow motorcyclist leaned over to me and said, "Sounds like a bike trip to me." I laughed and made some comment that I don't remember but the wheels (pun intended) began to turn in my mind. "I can do that. Can't I? Yes, I think I can." After talking to my wife, Tammy, it was a done deal. While staff and delegates would fly, she and I would make this a bike trip to Texas.

I had to get the bike ready. It's oil needed changed and I finally needed to get those front steering bearings changed. Apparently, even though Suzuki doesn't admit it, the Intruder steering bearings go bad and cause the front end to wobble when taking your hands off the handlebars. Suzuki first told me it was the front tire. So I changed it but the wobble was still there. Suzuki's answer then was "You are not supposed to take your hands off the handlebars." Duh! After some research on the forum at http://www.intruderalert.com/, I decided to have the bearings changed. The fine people at Davis Cycles in Butler, Pennsylvania ordered parts from All Balls http://www.goallballs.com/ and now I can take my hands off the handlebars and no wobble. (My wife doesn't like it when I do that!)

So the bike is ready and we are packed and ready to go.

What I would like to do for the rest of this posting is to give you a brief synopsis of each day.

Day One - Sunday, July 6th
Day one began at 6 a.m. in the driveway of our home in western Pennsylvania. We already said goodbye to our half-asleep kids and after having prayer, Tammy and I saddled our steel horse and headed north on Route 60. After a few minutes on this quiet highway, a young kid came barreling up behind us in excess of 100 miles-an-hour and switched lanes in the nick of time to pass us! I hoped this was not a precursor to things to come. It wasn't. The travel for the rest of the day was uneventful. That is always good when you are on two wheels.

We decided to follow interstate highways for the first day. Route 60 took us to Interstate 80 and 76, and then we followed 71 south to Louisville, Kentucky.

We ended the day visiting with long-time friends in Louisville, Kelly and Claudia Forbes.
We have been friends for a long time. It is always good to catch up with friends you haven't seen in a while. They gave us directions to a Holiday Inn on the southeast side of town. And that is where we ended day one.

Day Two - Monday, July 7th
We left at 7 a.m. after loading up the bike, checking the weather in the hotel business center and sipping a couple cups of java. No rain in site. I thought to myself, "This is going to be a great day!"

We followed Interstate 65 south from Louisville to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Tammy thought it best to start the day on interstate to make good time and then in the afternoon take back roads if time allowed. We had three and a half days to make it to Fort Worth, Texas. That is plenty of time to make it on a motorcycle but there are a lot of variables that can slow you down. So interstate it was to Bowling Green. In Bowling Green we hopped on a four-lane, Route 68 which took us to to Russellville. There we took Route 79, a great two and four-lane road, all the way to Memphis, Tennessee. We jumped up on Interstate 40 and traveled west just across the mighty Mississippi to West Memphis, Arkansas.

Day two was hot and we both got a little sunned burned. It was probably the most difficult day even though it was one of the shortest as far as mileage goes. We were both ready to get off and find a hotel bed.

As we pulled into the Holiday Inn parking lot, another biker pulled in behind us. His name was Dave and he was from Cincinnati and was traveling to Little Rock. The interesting thing is that he was on a 2001 Suzuki Intruder. The same year, make and model we own! Dave works in maintenance for a trucking company and instead of taking his truck, he makes a bike trip out of his business travel. We ate in the hotel restaurant where we spoke again to Dave. I ordered a chicken salad and got a kick out of the waitress' reaction when I asked her to put french fries on my salad! I assured her it was a western Pennsylvania thing and she obliged. She just shook her head as she walked back to the kitchen.

After getting to the room it did not take us long to be in dream world.

Day Three - Wednesday, July 8th
Since we were pretty tired and had a ways to go, we decided to travel interstate the rest of the way in order to make good time. So Interstate 40 took us to Little Rock, Arkansas and then Interstate 30 took us south west toward Texas. We stopped in Hope, Arkansas, birth home of President Bill Clinton. If you didn't know that or had forgotten it, they have a huge sign outside of the exit to Hope that lets you know.

It was still hot so we thought it would be good to take a long lunch in air conditioning. We stopped in Hope and ate at Uncle Henry's Smokehouse Barbecue.

Man was that good! If you are ever in Hope, Arkansas, you have to try this place. It is just off of Interstate 30. It's not fancy but who cares if the food is good, right?

We made the mistake of leaving the bike in the direct sun so the seat was scorching hot when we came out! The waitress in the restaurant gave us a cup of ice water that we poured over the seat to cool it off before we planted ourselves for the rest of the trip.

Tammy commented on the trip through Arkansas. She said that that stretch was boring. I am told that parts of Arkansas are beautiful but definitely not this part. There was nothing to see but farmland. Really not much else.

We decided to travel the rest of the way to Fort Worth no matter how long it took us. We were trying to maneuver around storms that were moving through Fort Worth and Dallas. We got into some rain just as we passed the Texas Motor Speedway on 35W. We were sprinkled on a couple of times, once during day one outside of Cincinnati and also during day two in Memphis. They both only lasted a minute or two and this rain in Texas only lasted for about 5 minutes but was a little harder than a sprinkle. Not bad really. I don't mind getting rained on when on the motorcycle. Especially when the temp is in the 90's. It's actually a blessing to get cooled off!

We made it to our hotel, the Comfort Suites at about 7 p.m. We didn't have anything on the agenda until noon the next day so we showered and went to bed.

Day Four - Wednesday, July 9th
The conference that brought us to Fort Worth didn't begin until 3 p.m. Registration was at noon. We ate breakfast at the hotel. After registering, we went to lunch with our group. I loved being on the bike but it was good to sit in a "cage" with air and let someone else drive.

The business sessions were what I expected. Some were for the proposals and some were against. Each were passionate about their reasons. I don't think many minds were changed but it was good to get reacquainted with those we haven't seen for a while.

Day Five - Thursday, July 10th
We reconvened for business at 8:30a.m. after breakfast. After all was done, we quickly got ready for the trip home. I wanted to get a head start because the weather did not look as though it was going to cooperate. If we left soon after conference business we could stay ahead of the storm that was coming our way. We did. We left at about 12:30 p.m. and headed back the way we came.

We took more secondary roads back through Arkansas. This helped some but it was still boring. We took Route 67 north east toward Little Rock. We stopped in Arkadelphia, Arkansas to spend the night. This is about an hour from Little Rock.

Day Six - Friday, July 11th
The plan for today was to make it to Memphis, Tennessee by lunch time, an easy feat. We followed our plan of taking interstate early and back roads later. Interstate 30 took us to Little Rock and Interstate 40 to Memphis. We have not been to Memphis so we thought we would stop and spend some time there. We found the Welcome Center just across the bridge over the Mississippi. It was nice and air conditioned. We stayed in there for a while asked for a good place to eat and they sent us up a few blocks to Beale Street.

We found a parking spot on a side street. As soon as we got off of the bike a homeless man came up to us and was telling us all the good places to eat. He proceeded to tell us that the fish place on the corner was good. He showed us the take out plate of food that he was eating from there that someone had bought for him. He said it was so good that it "melted in your mouth." He smiled and said, "And that is a good thang since I have no teef!" He offered to watch my motorcycle for me while we ate but I didn't think that was a good idea. I am sure he wanted us to "hire" him. I told him I appreciated the offer but we would park in the parking garage across the street. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

We walked around the corner to Beale Street. Well, you know a lot is happening when a street has its own website http://www.bealestreet.com/. We ate at Pork With An Attitude http://www.pigonbeale.com/. Wow! Really good!

After lunch, we headed east on secondary road, Route 70 to exit 143 at Route 13 about an hour from Nashville. We found a very nice Holiday Inn Express to stay at. The staff were great and the breakfast bar is truly as good as the commercials say. We did some laundry and rented a movie. The next morning I asked Tammy if the movie was good seeing as I didn't make it through it. She laughed and said it was.

Day Seven - Saturday, July 12th
The next morning we headed toward Nashville on Interstate 40 and then we jumped up on Interstate 65 toward Kentucky. At exit 6 we took Route 100 over to 31E to Glasgow. This is when the storm caught up with us. The bottom dropped out! We had put on our rain gear on earlier so that helped. We made the decision to stop and take an extended dinner. I pulled the bike up under an the awning of the restaurant and we went in to spend some time drying out.

After leaving the restaurant, we were hoping to travel back roads for a while but the weather did not cooperate. It really got bad! It was raining so hard I could not see so I thought it best to stop again. We pulled up under the front walk and awning of a Family Dollar and decided to do some shopping. I called home and my daughter, (our meteorologist for the trip) checked the weather map online and told us that it should be clearing up soon. After about an hour, it did enough for us to head out.

We traveled Interstate 65 north to Interstate 64 to Lexington, Kentucky. It was not completely clear but it seemed okay to take back roads. I don't know if this is logical but I don't like taking back roads during heavy rains. It seems safer to take interstate roads during storms. My thinking is that it is safer because there are more places to stop and get help if needed.

We took a rural road, Route 68 north to Maysville, Kentucky (Boyhood home of George Clooney). We found a new Hampton Inn off of AA Highway and decided to stay there. The room was very nice and the staff were nice except they would not let me park my ride under the carport in the front. That was frustrating but I understood. I let them know though that the Comfort Suites and the Holiday Inns we had been staying at allowed us to park there. Matter of fact, one staff person encouraged us to park there even before we asked. It did not seem to phase them.

Day Eight - Sunday, July 13th
After breakfast, we headed across the Ohio River and took Route 52 east toward our home town of Portsmouth, Ohio. We used to travel this road a lot when we lived there. It was nice to see familiar sites.

A huge wild turkey was sitting on the road and as we approached she decided to take flight, not away from us but toward us. I ducked, Tammy ducked behind me and the turkey just missed us. It's wing swiped my mirror as we went by. Man, was that close! That was the biggest turkey I have ever seen! I think it would have knocked us over if it had hit us full on!

Route 52 took us to Route 104 which took us to Route 23 north toward Columbus. Although the radar showed no rain, we traveled all the way to South Bloomfield under thick dark clouds. It looked and felt like we were about to get dumped on again. We stopped at Bob Evans to have lunch.

We came out to a beautiful clear day. The blue sky, white clouds, and cooler temperatures made it absolutely a beautiful ride. We took back roads through beautiful eastern Ohio. We followed them back to western Pennsylvania to end our trip at about 7 p.m.

What a great trip! We encountered no major problems or incidents. The weather was great except for late on day six. We had a great time! My wife is sore and probably needs some time to recover but I can't wait until our next long trip.

I will make some overall comments later on our entire trip.

Freedom Is Not Free

2008-07-04T15:53:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrate the birth of our great nation. While spending time with family, grilling hamburgers and hotdogs or whatever you do together, don't forget that the real theme of this day is freedom. And the freedom that we all enjoy is due to the great scrifice that men and women have made and are making. A "Thank you" is in order...

Thank you!

Monsters and the Weak

2008-07-04T09:40:00.007-04:00

Here's a great poem about the valor and commitment displayed by our troups everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan. I found it on http://supportmyredbulls.blogspot.com/.

The sun beat like a hammer, not a cloud was in the sky.

The mid-day air ran thick with dust; my throat was parched and dry.

With microphone clutched tight in hand and cameraman in tow,

I ducked beneath a fallen roof, surprised to hear "stay low."

My eyes blinked several times before in shadow I could see,

the figure stretched across the rubble, steps away from me.

He wore a cloak of burlap strips, all shades of grey and brown,

that hung in tatters till he seemed to melt into the ground.

He never turned his head or took his eye from off the scope,

but pointed through the broken wall and down the rocky slope.

"About eight hundred yards," he said, his whispered words concise,

"beneath the baggy jacket he is wearing a device."

A chill ran up my spine despite the swelter of the heat,

"You think he's gonna set it off along the crowded street?"

The sniper gave a weary sigh and said "I wouldn't doubt it,"

"unless there's something this old gun and I can do about it."

A thunderclap, a tongue of flame, the still abruptly shattered;

while citizens that walked the street were just as quickly scattered.

Till only one remained, a body crumpled on the ground,

The threat to oh so many ended by a single round.

And yet the sniper had no cheer, no hint of any gloat,

instead he pulled a logbook out and quietly he wrote.

"Hey, I could put you on TV that shot was quite a story!"

But he surprised me once again -- "I got no wish for glory."

"Are you for real?" I asked in awe, "You don't want fame or credit?"

He looked at me with saddened eyes and said "you just don't get it."

"You see that shot-up length of wall, the one without a door?

before a mortar hit, it used to be a grocery store."

"But don't go thinking that to bomb a store is all that cruel,

the rubble just across the street -- it used to be a school.

The little kids played soccer in the field out by the road,"

His head hung low, "They never thought a car would just explode."

"As bad as all this is though, it could be a whole lot worse,"

He swallowed hard; the words came from his mouth just like a curse.

"Today the fight's on foreign land, on streets that aren't my own,"

"I'm here today 'cause if I fail, the next fight's back at home."

"And I won't let my Safeway burn, my neighbors dead inside,

don't wanna get a call from school that says my daughter died;

I pray that not a one of them will know the things I see,

nor have the work of terrorists etched in their memory."

"So you can keep your trophies and your fleeting bit of fame,

I don't care if I make the news, or if they speak my name."

He glanced toward the camera and his brow began to knot,

"If you're looking for a story, why not give this one a shot."

"Just tell the truth of what you see, without the slant or spin;

that most of us are OK and we're coming home again.

And why not tell our folks back home about the good we've done,

how when they see Americans, the kids come at a run."

You tell 'em what it means to folks here just to speak their mind,

without the fear that tyranny is just a step behind;

Describe the desert miles they walk in their first chance to vote,

or ask a soldier if he's proud, I'm sure you'll get a quote."

He turned and slid the rifle in a drag bag thickly padded,

then looked again with eyes of steel as quietly he added;

"And maybe just remind the few, if ill of us they speak,

that we are all that stands between the monsters and the weak."

Have a great 4th of July!

Hossa Is Going To Hockeytown!

2008-07-03T10:49:00.003-04:00

Just in case you have been in a cave and haven't seen any sports coverage, Marian Hossa, the Pittsburgh right-winger (not politically) is leaving Pittsburgh! He will be playing next year for the Stanley Cup Champions, the Detroit Red Wings. Hossa will add to an already very strong offensive team. This is going to be a great year for Red Wing fans! I can't wait until October! I think he is going to like Hockeytown, especially when he gets to hold up the Stanley Cup! Don't you think he will look good in red?

A+++++++

2008-06-30T13:14:00.002-04:00

A teacher in Elmira, New York asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans. Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny. The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different. Little Johnny says, "Because I'm not an Obama fan."

The teacher says, "Why aren't you an Obama fan?"

Johnny says, "Because I'm a Republican."

The teacher asks him why he's a Republican. Little Johnny answered, "Well, my mom's a Republican and my dad's a Republican, so I'm a Republican"

The teacher asks, "If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?"

With a big smile, Little Johnny replies, "That would make me an Obama fan."

They Got One Right!

2008-06-26T13:56:00.003-04:00

Well the Supreme Court finally got one right! What I don't understand is how 4 of our Black-Robed-Interpreters think that we don't have a 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Thankfully Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Kennedy and Thomas understand our Constitution.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guns

Gay Marriage: Reason to Care

2008-06-18T07:29:00.003-04:00

Great New York Post online article by Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, whose California affiliate is working to override the California court ruling.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06182008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/gay_marriage__reason_to_care_116011.htm

Natural Disasters of 2008

2008-06-16T07:02:00.013-04:00

And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:4-8

Luke adds ...and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. Luke 21:11b

And later And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke 21:25-26

Let's take a quick look at just one item in Jesus' predictions - that of the problems and changes in nature. Let's examine the headlines of 2008.

FEBRUARY
Deadly Storms Pound Southern States
Tornadoes and thunderstorms ripped across several southern states Tuesday night, killing at least 44 people and injuring hundreds more.

MARCH
After Major Cyclone, Bangladesh Worries About Climate Change
Months after Cyclone Sidr killed 3,200 people along the Bangladesh coast, the devastated country turns its attention to climate change. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on recovery efforts and worries about the long-term future of the country.

Rain-soaked Midwest Braces for More Flooding
Rescue workers conducted emergency evacuations and rivers continued to swell Thursday after heavy rains soaked parts of the Midwest, leading to 13 weather-related deaths in the region.

APRIL
Earthquake Shakes Up American Midwest
The Midwest awoke to a forceful magnitude 5.2 earthquake early Friday morning. The earthquake, centered in southern Illinois, damaged property but no injuries were reported. Ray Suarez talks to an expert about the rare Midwest quake.

MAY
Massive Cyclone Ravages Myanmar, Tests Government
A large cyclone hit the nation of Myanmar Saturday, bringing widespread damage and causing major harm to its citizens, killing upwards of 10,000 people. Relief agencies are rushing to respond, and the event is seen by many as a test of the military junta's ability to direct the relief effort.

Death Toll in China's 7.9 Earthqake Nears 9,000
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake rocked central China on Monday, killing nearly 9,000 in Sichuan province's Beichuan county and trapping students in at least eight schools, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

JUNE
U.S. on Track to Break Tornado Records This Year
The first half of 2008 has already marked the deadliest tornado season this decade. As many as 1,000 tornadoes have already touched down in the U.S. since January, more than the country sometimes sees in a full year.

Flooding in Iowa Reaches Record Levels
Record rainfall and rising water inundated the town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, forcing large-scale evacuations, including a hospital with more than 170 ill patients.

So people, get ready.
Jesus is coming.
Soon we’ll be going home.

Dad Will Never Say

2008-06-15T08:00:00.010-04:00

Top Ten Things You'll Never Hear a Dad Say

10. Well, how 'bout that?... I'm lost! Looks like we'll have to stop and ask for directions.

9. You know Pumpkin, now that you're thirteen, you'll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won't that be fun?

8. I noticed that all your friends have a certain "up yours" attitude ... I like that.

7. Here's a credit card and the keys to my new car -- GO CRAZY.

6. What do you mean you wanna play football? Figure skating not good enough for you, son?

5. Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend ... you might want to consider throwing a party.

4. Well, I don't know what's wrong with your car. Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies -- you know -- that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a mechanic and pay whatever he asks.

3. No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring -- now quit your belly-aching, and let's go to the mall.

2. Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.

1. Father's Day? aahh -- don't worry about that -- it's no big deal.

Happy Father's Day!

Ouch!

2008-06-14T12:06:00.003-04:00

He's My Son

2008-06-13T17:36:00.001-04:00

Wow! What a great song!

Japan Seeking Trim Waists

2008-06-13T14:09:00.009-04:00

33.5 inches! Holy smokes, I would be in big trouble!

The government of Japan is enforcing waist-size-guidelines for it's citizens. Does this scare you as much as it scares me?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?no_interstitial

Full Moon

2008-06-04T07:37:00.004-04:00

I know I shouldn't laugh because he hurt himself...but I can't help myself! He, he, he!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/ap_on_fe_st/mooning_mishap

Never Forget!

2008-05-30T07:43:00.009-04:00

This is what al-Qa'eda did.

This is what al-Qa'eda wants to do.

Still from a video entitled Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror,

posted on al-Ekhlass and al-Hesbah, two password-protected websites

believed to be affiliated with al-Qa’eda.

Never Forget!

Vaclav Klaus at National Press Club

2008-05-29T17:48:00.004-04:00

I heard a portion of this on Rush Limbaugh's program yesterday and was so intrigued that I wanted to read the entire speech for myself. Vaclav Klaus is the President of the Czech Republic. Below are excerpts from that speech. I think they speak for themselves.

I spent most of my life under the communist regime which ignored and brutally violated human freedom, and I remember quite well, wanted to command, not only the people, but also the nature, to command wind and rain is one of the famous slogans I remember since my childhood. In the past, it was in the name of the Marxist or the proletariat, this time in the name of the planet. Structurally, it is very similar. The current danger as I see it is environmentalism and especially its strongest version, climate alarmism.

We are now at the stage where the facts, reason, truth are powerless in the face of the global warming propaganda. We have probably and regretfully already reached that stage. Now, the whole process is already in the hands of those who are not interested in rational ideas and arguments. It is in the hands of climatologists and other related scientists who are highly motivated to look in one direction only because a large number of academic careers has evolved around the idea of manmade global warming. It is fodder in the hands of politicians who, through the manipulation of people, maximized the number of votes they seek to get from the electorate.

The green movement is trying to dictate, control, regulate, mastermind our lives. This is what we see every day. They want to discuss how many children we can have because the man is a creature which damages the atmosphere because of breathing. They are dictating us what kind of cars we can use, how big the refrigerators we can have. I speak as someone who lived in a communist era and who knows what it means to eliminate freedom, as someone who knows what it means to eliminate the market economy, someone who knows what it means to regulate, to command, to mastermind the economy from above.

I don't believe that man is destroying the planet and environmentalism is based not on small issues of saving electricity here in the National Press Club or of greening one pond or lake or water. That's not environmentalism. Environmentalism is an ideology which wants to control the world.

Oops! Did I Say That?

2008-05-24T18:30:00.002-04:00

Sometimes the mask slips and you see the pure, undadulterated face of Liberalism. Maxine Waters is talking about socializing a major American industry. Watch it for yourself.

Democrats Loathe The Military

2008-05-22T07:06:00.014-04:00

Once again a leader in the Democratic party reveals his party's true colors. Tom Harkin feels as though a man who has served his country for decades in the military and follows a family tradition of serving must be feared instead of respected. Harkin told reporters that John McCain’s family history of service makes him too “militaristic” to be President, as compared to those who got drafted against their will to serve our nation. John McCain’s family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, “and he has a hard time thinking beyond that,” Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday. “I think he’s trapped in that,” he said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. “Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous.” Did he actually say "dangerous"? Harkin said that “it’s one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that’s just how you’re steeped, how you’ve learned, how you’ve grown up.” A McCain spokesman said Harkin’s remarks were offensive and showed that Democrats are out of touch with Americans’ values. No kidding! “Senator Harkin’s comments are an affront to the many thousands of Iowans who have served our country so valiantly for generations,” said spokesman Jeff Sadosky. “This sort of attack shows just how out of touch Democratic leadership has become with the values that have made our country so great.” Think through this. Anyone who serves in the military is at least a little suspect, but those who volunteer should be considered warmongers, especially if they follow their father and grandfather into the service of their country. It’s one thing to have been drafted — that excuses someone from their association with the military — but to have actually volunteered? Unbelievable! This comes, of course, from the same party whose Senate Intelligence chair suggested that military pilots have little human feeling. This also comes from the same party that celebrated Kerry’s military experience while denigrating George Bush’s National Guard service. This comes from the same party who's candidate during the last election made a joke that if you don't do well and make an effort in school, you will end up in Iraq. I just shake my head!

Don't get me wrong. I'm not thrilled with John McCain's political views. He leans a little too far left for my conservative blood. But I would never consider him dangerous and therefore unqualified because of his military service. I have always been supportive of our men and women serving in the United States military. But I have entered into a whole new experience now that my oldest son has volunteered to serve in the United States Air Force. I can't tell you how proud I am of him! But the liberal leadership in the Democratic Party does not share in my pride! They loathe the military and the very country they are serving!

Obama Blunders

2008-05-21T15:42:00.009-04:00

All it takes is one blunder and a Republican is tainted for life. Remember Dan Quayle? He will be forever remembered for misspelling "potatoe."

But what about Barack Obama? It is amazing what he has said!

Last May, he claimed that tornadoes in Kansas killed 10,000 people: "In case you missed it, this week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died - an entire town destroyed." Actually the death toll was 12.

Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: "Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states? I think one left to go."

Last week, in front of a roaring Sioux Falls, S.D., crowd, Obama said, "Thank you, Sioux City...I said it wrong. I've been in Iowa too long. I'm sorry."

Explaining last week why he was behind Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama again messed up basic geography: "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better know, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle." On what map is Arkansas closer to Kentucky than Illinois?

Obama has as much trouble with dates as he does with maps. Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Ala., he claimed that his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: "There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Ala., because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born." Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965. His spokesman, Bill Burton (what a nightmare job that would be) later explained that Obama was "speaking metaphorically about the civil-rights movement as a whole."

Earlier this month in Cape Girardeau, Mo., (Rush Limbaugh's home town) Obama showed off his knowledge of the war in Afghanistan by speaking about the lack of translators: "We only have a certain number of them, and if they are all in Iraq, then it's harder for us to use them in Afghanistan." The real reason it's "harder for us to use them" in Afghanistan: Iraqis speak Arabic or Kurdish. The Afghans speak Pashto, Farsi, or other Arabic languages.

Over the weekend in Oregon, Obama showed his ignorance of the decades-old, multi-billion-dollar massive Hanford nuclear-waste cleanup: "Here's something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I'm not familiar with the Hanford, uuuuhh, site, so I don't know exactly what's going on there. (Applause.) Now, having said that, I promise you I'll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport." I assume on the ride back, a staffer reminded him that he's voted on at least one defense-authorization bill that addressed the "costs, schedules, and technical issues" dealing with the nation's most contaminated nuclear-waste site.

And probably the most serious of all blunders, Obama told a Portland crowd over the weekend that Iran doesn't "pose a serous threat to us" - he actually argued that "tiny countries" with small defense budgets can't do us harm - and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave."

Listen, I make mistakes in what I say all the time. But I am not running for the President of the greatest nation on earth! And I am not seen by the liberal left machine as an all-knowing, articulate, transcendent Messiah, as they do Barack Obama!

Those Evil Oil Companies!

2008-05-21T15:14:00.010-04:00

Who should we blame for high gas prices really? Mmmmm...let's see.
1. No drilling in ANWR. (A relatively small area.)
2. No drilling off the coast of Florida and California. (I don't like either of these states!)
3. No new 100-year leases to drill in the Gulf while China, Venezuela, and Cuba are going in. (Hello! They are not stupid!)
4. There’s cap and trade legislation that will increase the price of gas, according to the EPA by $1.50 a gallon. (Just what we need, more legislation!)
5. Shutting down of oil fields in Colorado.
6. We just passed legislation that let us sue OPEC. (Oh, that will help! They won't retaliate. I am sure they will issue an apology and increase production thereby lowering prices. Members of Congress are a bunch of bozos!)
7. We have allowed environmental attorneys to sue the oil companies for possible future destruction of an Alaskan Eskimo village.
8. We have protected the polar bear and its habitat right where the oil deposits are located.
9. We are talking about seizing windfall profits from the oil companies. (Oh, that's right Mr. Fascist, we don't want the evil oil companies making money. They don't employ that many people anyway. And who cares what their shareholders think!)
10. We have not allowed any companies to build a new refinery for 30 years. (This just blows my mind!)
11. In fact, we’ve cut our operational refineries in half since 1982. (Ditto.)
12. We won’t develop coal-to-oil technologies.
13. We won’t allow nuclear plants to be built.
14. We tell the oil companies what blends (and there are many) they have to make.

AHHHHH!

A Laugh From Someone I Know

2008-05-20T16:06:00.007-04:00

I read this joke on the blog of someone I know. It was so funny, that I wanted to spread the laughs. So here it is. Check out his blog at http://scottaldridge.blogspot.com/.

Ed was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary
and his wife was really angry. She told him, "Tomorrow morning I expect to find a
gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less then 6 Seconds
AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!"

The next morning Ed got up early and left for work.
When his wife woke up she looked out the window and
sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in middle of
the driveway.

Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the
driveway, and brought the box back in the house.
She opened it and there was a brand new Bathroom Scale.

Ed has been missing since Friday. Please pray for him.

Nothing Like It!

2008-05-14T07:18:00.003-04:00

Every Breath You Take

2008-05-12T16:56:00.003-04:00

This video was produced by my son, Caleb and his friend, Evan. It was for their high school Video Productions Class. Caleb is the keyboardist in the creek scene, my daughter, Chelsey provided the artwork for the eyeball scene and that is my trash can they destroyed! Not bad, huh?

"Barack Will Never Allow You to Go Back to Your Lives as Usual."

2008-05-10T07:36:00.003-04:00

"Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed."

I'm sorry. But does this creep anyone out? (Apparently "creep" is my word-of-the-week.) But seriously, this actually causes me to shiver! Please don't misunderstand me. I am not one of those "Big-Brother-is-going-to-get-you" kind of people...but doesn't this at least give you pause?

It's been awhile since high school P.O.D. (Principles of Democracy) Class, but I don't think anywhere in the Constitution does it give the President of the United States the authority to demand anyone get rid of their cynicism. Listen, I am big on people pushing themselves to be better people. It's included in my job description, but I don't think the President demanding it is the way to get it done. And what about those who kind of like their lives as usual? What about their freedom to be uninvolved and uninformed?

I know that her comments are discounted as political rhetoric, but listen to her closely! Jesus said it is what comes out of a person that defiles him or her. What is in the heart comes out eventually. Pay attention! This woman has a good chance of being the First Lady! That creeps me out!

O.K...This Just Creeps Me Out!

2008-05-07T14:44:00.003-04:00

Devastation, Death in Myanmar!

2008-05-07T13:59:00.006-04:00

I can't even imagine what this is like!

God, please comfort , move, reveal, compel, provide, and help in every way!
Comfort those who have lost!
Move the junta to allow outsiders to provide aid!
Reveal who You are in some way!
Compel us who have been given much to give!
Provide physically and spiritually for this nation!
Only You know what is needed to help!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7703711&ch=4226714&src=news

RNC’s Top 10 reasons Barack Obama isn’t ready to be commander-in-chief:

2008-05-03T07:10:00.005-04:00

10. Thinks our enemies will be peaceful if only we invite them over for coffee.
9. Yes? No? Present.
8. $1.52 gas? Vote to suspend the gas tax. $4 gas? Support the gas tax.
7. MoveOn.Org & Howard Dean = Obama’s "New Politics"
6. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Subcommittee in name only.
5. Guns are something voters "cling" to because they’re bitter.
4. Religion is something voters "cling" to because they’re bitter.
3. Withdraw from Iraq now, but return if al Qaeda in Iraq takes hold in Iraq.
2. "Friendly" with unrepentant terrorists like Bill Ayers.
1. Would rather eat a waffle than answer tough questions.

Going Nuclear: Greenpeace Co-Founder Changes Mind

2008-04-15T15:10:00.010-04:00

Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in which he endorsed the use of nuclear power, an enemy that the environmental wackos have fought tooth and nail for decades.

" In the early 1970s when I helped found Greenpeace, I believed that nuclear energy was synonymous with nuclear holocaust, as did most of my compatriots. That's the conviction that inspired Greenpeace's first voyage up the spectacular rocky northwest coast to protest the testing of U.S. hydrogen bombs in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Thirty years on, my views have changed, and the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change."

Well, well, well! Congratulations to you, Mr. Moore for being honest and owning-up to the fact that the environmental alarmism over nuclear energy was wrong.

Even if you are skeptical about global warming theories, as I am, there are many reasons to support nuclear power. Replacing hydrocarbon-based fuels for generating electricity will reduce our addiction to oil and natural gas and help to bring prices down. It will also put a stop to the absurd idea of using our food supply (i.e. corn) to power our cars.

By the way, if Mr. Moore was wrong about nuclear power plants back then, could he be wrong about other things now? I don't know. As Glenn Beck would say, "I'm not a rocket scientist but I am a thinker!"

Documents: Sect Married Girls At Puberty (link)

2008-04-08T19:15:00.004-04:00

Pediphillia in the name of religion! This truly makes me angry! I have a teenage daughter...I need to stop now! This truly makes me angry!

The President Is Dead! (link)

2008-04-07T11:09:00.010-04:00

Who was he? Marc Antony, John the Baptist, Michelangelo, Ben-Hur, Astronaut Taylor, and forever...MOSES!
But most importantly...NRA President and defender of the Constitution.

What a legacy! What a patriot! A man's man in every since of the word! Charlton Heston, the Legend is no longer with us!

Barack Obama: I Don't Want My Daughters "Punished" With A Baby

2008-03-31T16:04:00.004-04:00

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”

This was the answer that Barack Obama gave in response to his opposition to abstinence-only education on March 29th, 2008. Regardless of what your stance is on sexual education, you have to agree that this statement is full of hostility. It also shows the real Barack Obama. Even though he says he "understands" that abortion is a deeply moral issue, anyone who could think of a baby as "punishment" has no clue about moral issues.

A child is not a punishment! In the case of an "unwanted pregnancy" it may be a consequence, but the term “punish” is reprehensible!

The Church of Oprah (link to more on the story)

2008-03-29T11:20:00.009-04:00

There is nothing new under the sun! This is just ancient Gnosticism in a new charismatic package!

My Mail Box Is Available (link to story)

2008-03-29T11:11:00.004-04:00

This is so cool! But why did he turn it in to the police? He didn't find it on the street or in a shopping cart at Walmart. (Do they have Walmarts in Japan?) It was clearly meant to be his.

Easter Snow!

2008-03-22T10:15:00.004-04:00

O.K. Here's the deal. For this blog posting, I need for you to scroll down and read my first blog entry entitled, Winter Storm Warning dated for March 8th. So I will wait while you do that....

You're back. Good. So here is today's posting.

Change the date to March 22nd. And... "ditto!"
That's all for now. Have a happy Easter!

Celebrate the Resurrection of Christ

2008-03-13T14:28:00.009-04:00

The resurrection of Christ is the linchpin of the Christian faith - the historical event upon which all Christian doctrine stands. The apostle Paul makes this clear in his first letter to the Corinthians:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. … For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone

(1 Cor. 15:13-14, 19).

In fact, the New Testament mandates that belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a necessary condition of the Christian faith - no one can be saved without it. This mandate is found in verses such as Romans 10:9: Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Will you believe? Will you confess? Will you choose today to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus? If you will, the Bible says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that will live inside of you! How cool is that? That is a reason to celebrate! Jesus is alive!

"Do Over!"

2008-03-10T17:02:00.021-04:00

When I was a kid (picture not me), we used to say that phrase and when spoken, it allowed us to start over with what ever it was we were doing. Now I am a pastor and if there is anyone who believes in "do overs" it's me. That's the "business" of the Church! That's the whole message of Christian forgiveness! No matter how bad we've been, when we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ, and seek His forgiveness, He forgives. The Bible says that He separates us from our sins and does not remember them against us any more. We get a fresh start! Old things are gone and now everything is new! That's a huge do over!

But...here's my problem with the current "do over" talk in the Democratic Party. Even though they were warned by party leadership not to move their primaries to January, Michigan and Florida basically said, "We don't care. We are moving our primaries." They knew ahead of time that not having their delegates seated at the convention would be the penalty but they decided to do it anyway. At that time the two current leading candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama signed pledges to not campaign in Florida. Barack honored his commitment, Hillary did not. Now those two states and many in the Democratic Party are whining that "every vote should count!" Could it be that the only reason they are asking for a "do over" is that the race is neck and neck and it looks like a future convention mess for the party?

Should have thought of that before! I say, "Want a little cheese with that whine!"

Winter Storm Warning

2008-03-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

Wow! I know this is pretty much normal for Western Pennsylvania but it's March 8th already! I know, I know, "In like a lion and out like a lamb!" But I have had enough of this white stuff! I am ready for Spring! I saw a fat robin yesterday and was hoping that was a sign. It was but the sign read "I Need More Food Before This Storm Comes!"

I really do love this area. Really! I am tired of the snow but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else...except maybe in Hawaii. Yes, that would be nice. Actually if God called me to a warmer climate, I would probably complain about the heat. And isn't that the way we usually are? We are always looking across the fence to the grass on the other side. "Hey, is it just me or does that grass look greener over there?" Yes, it is greener but that's where the septic tank is!

And this is another rambling for another time but where are all the Global Warming Alarmists?