Remembering Hurricane Ike

( If you use Firefox this particular blog article will have major font changes later on; but if you use Internet Explorer these font changes don't show up as badly.)

This time last year the Houston area struggled after the effects of Hurricane Ike . Most of the city and surrounding areas lost electrical service; we lost service for a couple of weeks.

My neighbor across the street had a huge pine tree crash through his house letting the heavy rains pour into his living room. With little in the way of “construction materials”, a couple of tarps, some nails and bungee cords; a couple of us pitched in to assemble a make shift patch to reroute the water, not that it helped all that much.

My business truck has a small generator which we enlisted to keep our food stores, the outside freezer and kitchen refrigerator cold. We would crank it up for awhile several times during the day and night to make the most of a limited supply of gasoline, there being no power to gas stations in the area either. We were able to run a small fan, the computer and, remarkably, internet service after the first week, you can read a couple of other blog entries about it here and here ; but that’s not the purpose of writing today, I wanted to compare our modest inconvenience with hardships of others.

Today’s Sunday School lesson, “ A Mission of Saving ”, had to do with the Mormon Pioneers who crossed the Great Plains under extremely harsh conditions and their brothers and sister in the Gospel who came to their rescue.

I should step outside the box for a moment and explain that I’m a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the “Mormons”. Prior to doing any serious investigation of the Church’s teachings, about the only thing I knew about the Mormons was how they’d crossed the Plains in covered wagons; oh yeah, that and they had lots of wives. I didn’t know that much as you can see, that part about having lots of wives had been done away with a very long time ago and my understanding of the “afternoon trek” across the plains was the result of the magic of television and my imperfect understanding of what that migration entailed.

The Sunday School lessons work on a four year pattern, that is if I have that part down. One year we study the Old Testament, then the New Testament, the Book of Mormon and lastly Church History. This year’s course of study is Church History through the pages of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Getting back to this morning’s lesson,

“President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “Stories of the beleaguered Saints and of their suffering and death will be repeated again and again. … Stories of their rescue need to be repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1996, 118; or Ensign, Nov. 1996, 86).

Referring to the pioneers, President Hinckley also said: “I will never get over being thankful to them; I hope you never get over being thankful to them. I hope that we will always remember them. … Let us read again and again, and read to our children or our children’s children, the accounts of those who suffered so much” (Church News, 31 July 1999, 5).”

You may think you have an understanding of what those hardships were; but I learned about the Handcart pioneers for the first time not long after joining the Church back in 1978 and have listened with moistened eyes every fourth year as the lesson plan unfolds.

The handcart pioneers were the poorest, unable to afford the “luxury” of a covered wagon. Handcarts were hastily put together to enable a small family to “make a go of it”, for lack of a better way to put my thoughts, to join with the Saints in the Great Salt Lake Valley. I often wondered what kind of testimony would be powerful enough to strengthen those undertaking such a trek across the vast distances of unknown territory, many of whom would walk the whole way with only the clothes on their backs.

Then there are the stories of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies which suffered the worst, the. These folks started late in the season and got caught by the onset of an early winter out on the plains many miles from the Salt Lake Valley. When I think of the human suffering these folks went through my tears well up quickly.

Folks in our day would have hired lawyers to sue the organizers of such an ill fated company of travelers, pointing the finger of blame and a desire for justice. That’s not the way it went down, my apologies for inserting a little cop slang.

An account from one of the survivors, William Palmer:

“I was in that company and my wife was in it. … We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? … [We] came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.

“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. … I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

“Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.”

I count my blessings for the trials, limited as they may be in comparison. We each are given opportunities to test our testimonies, remembering the promise that we would never be tested beyond that which we are able to endure. Perhaps our character testing is around the next corner and those little bumps in the path, our Hurricane Ike’s if you will, are only minor trials with the really tough test yet to come.

Recalling the words of a return missionary from Samoa and the mild rebuke he got from his partner when a little rain dampened his desire to spread the Gospel, “What, you’re going to let a little rain stop you from doing what the Lord would have you do? You come from a pioneer heritage which had your people walk across the Great Plains, some of them without shoes in the middle of winter.”

Photograph credit to Walter Reed via Flickr .

You might have noticed the font changes; these were brought about through the interpretation of Blogspot's wonderful compose mode functions which took a large dose of LSD, not LDS, while posting this article; sorry, I'm not smart enough to figure out how to fix these unwanted magnifications.

Oh, But This Can’t Happen Here…

Lucy found this news article about an elderly couple who have had their lives stolen by the State of Texas. It made me angry and I don’t even know these folks; just think how angry they are. The State of Texas should hang its head in shame on this one.

Whut Evar Happined to Prouf Reeding?

I winced the moment I saved the title, my apologies; but I couldn’t resist after reading a short article posted on the Foxnews website this morning. Mary Travers of Peter Paul & Mary Dead at 63, the headline announced; I went on to read about one of my favorite folk singing groups.

“The band’s publicist, Heather Lylis, says Travers died at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut on Wednesday. She was 72 and had battled leukemia for several years.”

My guess is Mary Travers was somewhere between 63 and 72 when she died. Rest in peace Mary, your voice was heard.

These Guys Got Off Easy

I read on the Foxnews website where the attempted suicide bombers over in the UK were convicted . These are the followers of that "religion of peace", the ones who planned to smuggle explosive liquids onto airplanes in order to kill thousands of passengers (Infidels) bound for Canada and America.

“Their arrests led to travel chaos as hundreds of jetliners were grounded across Europe. Discovery of the plot also triggered changes to airport security, including new restrictions on the amount of liquids and gels passengers can take onto flights.”

If justice were to be handed out proportionately, each and every traveler who ever had to toss out a bottle of shampoo, a jar of ointment, a tube of toothpaste or any other item such as a bottle of over priced water should have the opportunity to personally kick each one in the groin or some other anatomical location. Instead they will have a comfortable jail cell for a short while until they get released for humanitarian purposes; remember, the UK needs oil.

It’s War and Bad Things Happen

I read an article on the Foxnews website, U.S. – German Dispute Emerges After Afghan Strike .

“An airstrike by U.S. fighter jets that appears to have killed Afghan civilians could turn into a major dispute for NATO allies Germany and the United States, with tensions rising over Germany's role in ordering the attack.”

{…}

“‘If there were civilian casualties or injuries, of course we deeply regret that. At the same time, it was clear that our soldiers were in danger,” Jung said in comments to German broadcasters. “Consequently, I stand clearly behind our commander’s decision” to order the air strike.”

{…}

“Taliban militants stole two fuel tankers late Friday that became stuck on a riverbed outside Kunduz…”

I fail to see the need to point fingers at anyone. The statement given by Jung should have been all that was required or necessary. This was a military operation intended to keep allied military personal out of harms way by denying the enemy supplies which had already been obtained.

I guess we need to apologize each time something bad happens, has happened or may yet happen. Congress will have a bill up sometime in the near future offering monetary restitution for Taliban terrorists killed by the explosion, free college tuition for the families of those who died while siphoning off stolen gasoline and free medical attention for life. Geeze Louise, it’s getting to be a revoltin’ development.

Really Cheap Watch Contest Returns

Years ago when I was teaching in the Primary I challenged my class of eleven year olds to participate in the Really Cheap Watch Contest. I went out and purchased a really cheap pocket watch at the local convenience store as I recall, one that cost about ten dollars. The winner of the contest would have to “watch” General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, take notes on the various talks given and then write a short article expressing how one of the talks increased his/her spirituality.

I just got challenged to watch the next General Conference via a Facebook invitation. I like to invite folks to watch via my blog. Here is the official invitation:

“The 179th Semiannual General Conference of the Church will convene in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4, 2009. The Saturday general sessions will be held at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.; Sunday sessions will be held at 9:30 a.m. (which includes Music and the Spoken Word) and 2:00 p.m. The general priesthood meeting will be held in the Conference Center on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.”

You can enjoy General Conference from anywhere in the world via the internet, just visit the official home page of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for instructions. Navigating the website is relatively easy; take a few moments and see what is available.

Some folks like to attend General Conference in person in Salt Lake City; tickets are required and may be obtained in advance. You can watch from the comfort of your living room at home depending on cable television availability in your area. I prefer to access it through the miracle of the internet either through live video steaming on the BYU Channel or audio streaming through the Church’s website. (Details of how to access internet streaming are posted about two weeks prior to the broadcast) Archives of past General Conferences are also available through this site in many languages.

Rules for the Cheap Watch Contest

1. “Watch” at least one session, either Saturday or Sunday.

2. Write a short article expressing how at least one of the talks given increased your desire to become more Christ like, listing the name of the speaker(s) and topic(s) of his/her talk(s).

3. Extra points for including scriptural references.

4. Include a reference to my original challenge in the opening paragraph of your article.

5. Send a copy of your article to my email,

tfstern@att.net , by October 10, 2009.

6. One winner will receive a really cheap watch ( to be purchased between now and the first week of October)

Hide In Plain View and Other Security Thoughts

I got my weekly email from the Associated Locksmiths of America this afternoon and there were some good ideas worth passing along. I’m gadget oriented and found the old fake rock hide a key of interest years ago, then came the shave cream can with the hidden compartment to hide your money. (You may recall how this was used in the movie Jurassic Park to hide the dinosaur embryos that were to be stolen.) Now there’s a company selling fake surge protectors that you can take along when you go on vacation or for just around the house. It looks like a standard surge protector except it’s hollowed out and can hold jewelry or cash. There’s yet another free advertisement to come out of my blog.

There’s a line from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 which fits the “hide in plain view” format. Montague is to teach the young firemen at the academy how to find contraband books, “Remember”, he says, “to find you must first learn how to hide.” Burglars and thieves would hardly think it worth their efforts to start tearing apart surge protectors while looking for a Rolex or some similar item. Should you decide to use a “hide in plain view” sort of device; don’t tell anyone, not even your children or you’ve wasted your time.

I put in safes many years ago, simple storage units for homes and businesses where the owner could keep valuables without having to go to the bank. I put one in a wall disguised as an air conditioning intake shaft. They didn’t want their kids to know they had large sums of money and they knew the last place the kids would look was someplace that was in plain view. I even threw in a moderately dirty air filter to cover the actual safe; great looking job if I do say so myself.

The other article which I wanted to share came from Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters, which warned of the dangers in blabbing everything about your comings and goings because Burglars (are) exploiting Facebook or Twitter . There is wisdom in keeping silent; what’s the old WWII admonition, “Loose lips sink ships”.

The same holds true for securing your house and property. If you’re about to go on vacation don’t tell everyone about it via the internet; not everyone who reads your entry is your friend. Some of these folks simply want to know what time you’re gone so they can take their time going through your belongings without fear of being caught.

“Reformed burglar Michael Fraser, ( not related that I know of) who appears in BBC’s “Beat the Burglar” series and helped Legal & General prepare the report, said this kind of information was being used by professional burglars to establish a list of targets.”

If you want to share your vacation experiences, wait until you get back home and then be a little cautious of what you put into your Facebook, Twitter or Blog article. It might not be a great idea to tell everyone you just got that new X-Box, Rolex, Plasma television or any other desirable items which burglars might also want. Share this information with your children and neighbors who might be a little too relaxed in their security measures.

I know of a scam that was used in the Houston area; may still be used for all I know. These guys would call and explain how you just won tickets to the ball game, pretending to be radio shows DJ’s. They’d get your address and send the tickets along with a promise that one of the winning ticket holders attending the game would have a chance at winning the big prize; a new car, a trip to the Bahamas or some other carrot to guarantee you wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours. Then when you got back from the ball game you found the back door kicked off its hinges, your jewelry, television, stereo and game players were all gone.

The point is this, if you’re going to the ball game; wait until you get home to tell your Facebook friends, to Tweet about it or to blog and post pictures of you sitting behind the home team dugout. The story will be just as good, maybe better now that you have pictures to go with it. Try not to give away too many secrets, who knows who’s hooked in to your page, could be one of Michael Fraser’s old cell mates.

New School Pledge?

I saw this over at Nickie Goomba’s ; gotta love a guy who steps up to the plate with a name like that. I’d offer to take him for a free meal at Burger King; but he probably thinks the Whopper is a form of cannibalism. I’m a What-a-Burger fan myself; #1 combo, no onions or tomatoes and onion rings instead of French fries with a Dr. Pepper. What-a-Burger makes the best onion rings of all the places I’ve tried; not like the cardboard substitutes others serve. I should get a bonus for that unsolicited advertisement.

So where’s this going? The video I “borrowed” from Nickie explains the problems associated with irresponsible spending so even a school age child would understand. Our school children are probably not being taught the facts, much like the public is being distracted by the state run mass media. The Stimulus Package, Cash for Clunkers, Medicare, Medicaid, proposed Health Care Reform along with Cap and Trade will permanently place America in debt, to countries not too friendly toward us to begin with, so far as to destroy the liberties and freedoms once promised here.

President Obama has a short indoctrination video for school children scheduled to come out any day now; a pretty sure bet he won’t need labor union bullies at the door while it’s playing. I forgot, the teacher’s union will already be in position just in case any try to escape the force feeding of socialism.

A fellow blogger, Col. Hogan , often closes his sentiments regarding government with the line, “They’ve killed Freedom! Those bastards!” I hope he’s wrong; but…

Facebook Stalker List

I got one of those Facebook challenge “thingies” from one of my old chiropractors; it should come as no surprise that I have a long list of old chiropractors, not with my screwed up back. I’d noticed her name about a month ago as I went through requests for new friends, clicked on the link and sure enough it was Dr. West, bone cruncher and neck stretcher. I left her a Wall note to let her know I was glad to have run across her.

Dr. West has magical powers other than those listed as “chiropractor” to include Chinese pressure point cures or acupuncture; but I think she tossed a dead chicken over the fence as curls of light blue smoke gently mingled with her incantations, “Evil neck spirits be gone!” I could be wrong about this since my face was buried in the table’s indention each time the “procedure” was performed; but it’s a theory.

I’m not at all sure stalking is the correct description; perhaps a more accurate term would be interested friend, regular viewer, RSS subscriber or any number of non-threatening labels to cover the fact that I enjoy stopping by someone's site. I guess if I stopped twenty seven times in a twenty four hour period every day of the week while wearing panty hose over my face so I wouldn’t be recognized or only visiting their site between two thirty and four in the morning so nobody would see me hanging outside their URL; now that might be considered stalking.

Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t know there was “tool” within Facebook to “uncover” stalkers; dangerous words when applied to the term stalking, pardon the Freudian terminology. This internet history ability shouldn’t surprise me; just that it never dawned on me that it would be so easy to access, much less as a social networking “meme”.

I was a little disappointed, after having reviewed the list; not finding Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep or some of my other regular stalkers. There was one blip on the page, something about NSA that disappeared when I clicked on it; the folks who keep tabs on my every move ever since I voiced my displeasure with the current administration’s Gestapo tactics. That black ops helicopter hovers over my house each time I post a blog; hope the neighbors don’t mind the noise even when it’s in whisper mode.

My militia meetings are held each Wednesday evening at the Houston Texas Temple. I pretend I’m going there as an ordinance worker; but as soon as I pass through the front doors I change into my camouflage uniform and practice rappelling down the steeple, my fully automatic assault rifle over my shoulder and grease paint on my face.

The current “meme”, or social intrusion pointed its digital finger in my direction, a form of spin the bottle if you will; I’m tagged and am supposed to continue by tagging others. I’ve mixed feelings on tagging folks; but must admit that being tagged is flattering to a certain degree, even if it suggests some dark motive such as stalking. I should also point out my limited abilities with Facebook, following simple instructions to continue passing a silly meme along to the next set of victims; I’ll do it via my blog, cut and paste electronically back to Facebook and see what happens.

My list of known stalkers on Facebook:

1 Lucy Stern, 2 Don Guthrie, 3 Cheryl West Hinds (Dr. West), 4 Penny Freeman, 5 Peter James, 6 Leah Christie, 7 Patricia Taylor Carr, 8 Aimee Littau, 9 Amy Chappelle, 10 Wine Commonsew, 11 Jennifer A. Tracy, 12 Mike Souther, 13 Mitsue Ota, 14 Stephen Macklin, 15 Christie Taylor Allred, 16 Elaine H. Webster, 17 Matthew Lopez, 18 Wayne Grantham and 19 Beth Carter.

Here are the questions which accompany the “meme”

→Are you honestly surprised about any of these? Nice to have folks drop by, yes, I’m surprised by most of them.

→How did you meet 4? I met Penny at church, we attend together.

→How much does 1 mean to you? The world and then some.

→Do you know all of 2's secrets? Not even close!

→If you could marry either 1 or 21, who would it be? Well, I am happily married already to number one; but you’ve heard about those “Mormons” lol.

→How far do you think you are on 5's stalkerlist? Probably not very high.

→When is the next time you're going to see 7? Couldn’t say, maybe when we have to report to our parole officer.

→When is the last time you saw 17? I think it was during the Vice raid, hard to say we were all leaning up against a wall while the officers searched us for weapons.

→How do you think 13 feels about you? 姉妹Otaに無料何かが皆について言うために常にあり、友人として持つべき歓喜である。(Sister Ota always has something complimentary to say about everyone and is a delight to have as a friend.)

→Are 11 and 12 anything like each other? They are both great people who enjoy life.

→Describe the relationship between 14 and 20? That’s too easy, I only have 19 on my list

→Would you ever want to date 18? I’m still laughing at the thought…

→What do you think 9's parents are like? I think they are still up for parole; I’ll have to ask.

→Is 10 single? No.

→If you had never met 6, how would your life be different? Who?

→If you could tell 8 one thing right now, what would it be? “Nice shoes”, I’m told women like that. (from the movie The American President)

→What is the funniest thing you've ever heard 16 do? She married Chic’s son. ( that wasn’t very nice )

→How did you meet 15? At church, she’s one of “the other Allreds”

→How did you come to be friends with 9? We had our pictures next to each other on the Post Office bulletin board for most wanted.

→If 3 died, would you be lost? There are lots of other chiropractors out there; but can they toss a chicken over the fence while fixing my neck? lol

→What is the weirdest thing you've ever seen 4 do? Not gonna say it, not gonna say it!

→What is 17's only weakness? Can’t spell, it should have been Lopes.

→Are you friends with any of 19's friends? I know her folks; does that count?

→Do you think 16 and 8 would make a good couple? Only in one of those made for television sit-coms.

→Who is 7 to you? She was either my 4th grade teacher or I met her at a bar, not too sure.

→What is the one thing 20 most exceeds at? Not showing up on a list of stalkers.

→If 1 and 3 hated each other, what would change? I don’t think Lucy would let Dr. West adjust her back anymore.

→Is 11 anything like 18? Hard to say, the age difference is huge.

→If you fell off a bridge, would you trust 13 or 17 to catch you more and why? I would want 17 to dial 911 and hope 13 got out of the way.

→Is 12 fun to be around? I’d hope so, no fun being around a grouch

→If you were stuck on a desert island with all of these people, with no food or water and you were reduced to eating one of them, who would go first? It would have to be Mitsue, I love Japanese food.

→Who do you like most out of all of these? Lucy, she told me she’d beat me up if I answered any other way.

Photo courtesy of Flickr, “Penang Hill Fire & Rescue Volunteer Team having the Rappelling Training session in Fire Station at Paya Terubong, Penang.”

Be Prepared

The Boy Scouts have nothing on Lucy; just look at my dinning room table as she has this “stuff” laid out getting ready to teach a class on Preparedness. I’ll get to carry it out to her car in boxes and then back in again when she’s done. (click on image to enlarge)

Lucy likes you to see and touch, not just hear what’s being offered. We have a five foot long piece of construction re-bar in her closet for when she wants to explain about Nephi’s vision and the iron rod , “…Hold to the rod, the iron rod, ‘Tis strong and bright and true, the iron rod is the word of God, ‘Twill safely guide you through”.

82 Year Old Dead Pine Tree Removal

Yesterday we set up an appointment to have a dead pine tree removed from the back yard. Two young men had been driving through the neighborhood and noticed our tree with its brown needles, knocked on our door and we haggled over the price until we reached an agreement.

This afternoon they showed up with their equipment and a few hours later the tree was whittled down to size. These fellows earned every dollar, the one climbing up with his chain saw and the other hauling off the pieces as they thumped to the ground. How do I know the tree was 82 years old; I asked and he counted the rings, all 82 of them.

Swine Flu Vaccine Not Safe?

Already I’m off on the wrong foot; that should read H1N1 Vaccine Not Safe, so much for being politically correct. I’ve got to be more careful or my box will be flooded with email complaints from Miss Piggy’s fan club.

According to information obtained through the below video, the folks who are making the Swine Flu vaccine are refusing to take on the grounds it’s not safe. The vaccine may cause serious side effects; one being autism in children, so of course the government used a group of children up in Oklahoma to test the new concoction.

There are two factions involved, on the side of safety is the health care industry which is warning folks to investigate all the possible avenues to avoid Swine Flu; but to avoid this dangerous vaccine and then there are the politicians who seem adept at hyping yet another crisis to the point of mandating vaccinations, quarantines and other social intrusions for those under their thumb. Who are you going to believe?

Don’t Send a Man to the Grocery Store

So many folks are going on and on about the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy; but I was taught that if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything.

“…”

Speaking of “passing”; got this video from my friend Richard via email yesterday and thought it was worth sharing.

Prisons to be full of Doctors

I noticed where officials are calling Michael Jackson’s death a homicide . Michael didn’t just die; he was Murdered!

“The coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died June 25 in his rented Los Angeles mansion, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released. Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol acted together with at least two sedatives to cause Jackson's death, the official said.”

“Dr. Conrad Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson's personal physician weeks before his death, is the target of the Los Angeles Police Department's manslaughter investigation.”

Here’s my concern regardless of the outcome of any star studded trial put on for the benefit of the media and throngs of adoring fans who cannot bear the thought of life without Michael; if they start putting doctors on trial each time they unsuccessfully treat a patient, a patient who then dies, then where does that kind of law enforcement strategy end? Lots more folks die in hospitals, the result of poorly administered health care, than ever died from gunshot wounds.

There are plenty of articles which touch on the subject of hospital caused deaths; too many to read for my purposes; but I will include a statement found in one study which sums up the idea that doctors kill people all the time and about the only thing done is another box on the statistic sheet gets a mark.

“One of the most universally accepted and available indicators of a hospital’s performance is mortality. However, mortality may reflect differences in the mix of patients rather than differences in quality of care. Attempts have been made to adjust hospital death rates in order to make it a more accurate tool for measuring the quality of hospital care. Up to 27% of deaths have been found to be potentially preventable and between 4.9 and 13.6% of adverse events in a hospital, lead to death.” (emphasis added )

If I read that correctly, one fourth of all the people who die while in the care of doctors did so when their lives could have been extended and between five percent and fourteen percent died as a direct result of “adverse events in a hospital”; in other words they were homicide victims, negligence either from health care technicians, doctors or nurses.

Dr. Conrad Murray is now on the chopping block of a media frenzy because one of his patients died and the world wants to make sure someone gets axed, “Michael Jackson could still be alive for his fans if only…” Like I said to begin with, prisons will be full of doctors if we start locking them up just because a patient died.

What about the statements of other medical professionals who got in front of the television cameras and boldly stated how the use of this particular drug outside of a hospital setting was criminal or at the very least, unprofessional? I’m not defending the actions of Dr. Murray; but that’s the way the medical profession works, get a second opinion or quit your bellyaching.

Michael Jackson seemed content with whatever treatment he was being given regardless of what other folks may think. Michael was under Dr. Murray’s care, his own decision, and it ended his life. Michael could have switched doctors at any time; but he didn’t. The fact remains that patients and doctors play out the statistics of life and death taking into account that once in a while the roll of the dice comes up snake eyes.

So, why the big media hype over one more patient who didn’t make it? Drum roll please… could it be a smoke screen for other more important news items? Nationalized health care legislation, Cap and Trade legislation, nukes in North Korea, nukes in Iran or any number of other government fiascos which are not being properly evaluated? The “drive by media” sold their souls and are nothing more than propaganda outlets for the Obama administration, with few exceptions.

When I see front page coverage of a non-story such as Michael Jackson’s doctor being targeted for homicide charges, not just for a day or so; but for a couple of months, little red flags start waving in the background alerting me to some kind of shenanigans to divert attention away from something much more important; so, what is it this time? What dark cloud looms on yon horizon that should have been on page one; but instead we get another picture of Michael Jackson?

UFO Sighting?

I know the pain killer and muscle relaxer pills are working because I can move my neck without hurting. I got home from church and it took almost an hour for them to kick in. My stomach didn’t appreciate them so it took two Ding Dongs and a glass of milk to settle the rumblings; a tough life but somebody has to do it.

Looking at the local radar with the idea of seeing what kind of afternoon pop up showers might be headed our way, something which has been fairly regular this past week even if the showers managed to skirt around my particular neighborhood; I found an odd image.

Where’re my sound effects, oooowwweeeeooowww! That has to be where the UFO came through the clouds and evaporated all the moisture.

Living Within Your Means

I got this from a good friend after I’d posted my article on Cash for Clunkers . While this was sent as mild humor; it occurred to me how most of the items listed pointed toward the idea of living within your means, enjoying that which you had without complaining for that which you couldn’t afford or did without. We could learn a few things from the past.

Someone asked the other day, ‘What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?’

‘We didn’t have fast food when I was growing up,’ I informed him. ‘All the food was slow’

‘C’mon, seriously. Where did you eat?’

‘It was a place called “at home”, I explained, ‘Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn’t like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.’

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn’t tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card.

In their later years, they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice, This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).

We didn’t have a television in our house until I was 10. It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6am and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.

I was 9 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called “pizza pie”. When I bit into it I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that too. It’s still the best pizza I ever had.

I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn’t know weren’t already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home; but milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers – my brother delivered a newspaper six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6am every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cent from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don’t blame me if they bust a gut laughing.

That part about having a paper route holds a great deal of importance. I had my own paper route after school. I picked up a bundle of newspapers from the drop off location which was about a mile or so away, if recollection serves there were either 25 or 50 newspapers in a bundle depending on the thickness of that day’s paper. I had one of those heavy duty work bicycles with the handle bars turned upwards, like an angry bull, to hold a canvass sack full of papers. I also had a small green ledger collection book listing each customer and how much they owed/paid.

The folks who ducked payment often were trying to be quiet as mice on the other side of the door when I’d show up. Sometimes I’d see the lights get switched off as if they thought I was that stupid. I learned to be bold and knock until they gave in. Can you imagine trying to hide from a paper boy, a debt so small as to make a grown up turn off the lights?

I learned basic principles of budgeting, payment for work performed, work ethic and doing things even when the weather wasn’t pleasant. I learned responsibilities and for that lesson it’s hard to put a ledger sheet or determine whether or not the pay scale was enough.

I’ll close with something I heard from a returning missionary a couple of week ago. Elder Lyon spent two years serving in a foreign land. One morning as he looked at the rain falling he wondered to himself, “Why bother going out today, folks aren’t going to want to let us into their homes dripping wet.”

His partner, a local, came over to him as he stood under the shelter of an awning, putting a hand on his shoulder and got his attention. “Your people in your country believed the teachings of the Prophet, Joseph Smith. They crossed the Great Plains on foot in the dead of winter, many of them without shoes. Are you going to tell me a little rain is going to stop you from going out to teach the Gospel?”

I may have gotten the quote off a bit, not having written it down word for word; but you should get the message regardless. We need to learn a proper work ethic, work hard and enjoy what rewards are provided through our own efforts; sitting back and waiting for better economic times, better weather or the winning lottery ticket isn’t much of a work ethic, now is it?

Cash for Clunkers Fuels Anger

There’s a story on the FoxNews website explaining how Cash for Clunkers is ending as of Monday . Many are jumping up and down in jubilation calling this wealth redistribution program a success; I see it as nothing more than government assisted theft.

‘President Barack Obama said in an interview Thursday that the program has been “successful beyond anybody's imagination”’

I suppose the definition of “success” should be re-examined in light of such a statement. Did Obama mean that the government had successfully used taxpayer money, money which had been earned by some individuals and then handed it over to other individuals in order to satisfy their desire to purchase a vehicle which they otherwise should have financed on their own?

Think about it; each person who “took advantage” of Cash for Clunkers bought into the idea of “money for nothing”, it’s “government money”, rather than acknowledging the fact that someone else actually earned that money and paid taxes on it; that’s how it became “government money”.

New vehicles purchased under the Cash for Clunkers program required the government to unfairly enforce a graduated tax code in order to separate money from those who rightfully earned that money to reward those who simply wanted more.

Each time you sit in that new car purchased with money stolen from your neighbor; ask yourself, what else will you encourage your government to steal to help pay for items you think you’re entitled to have? Will you only steal money, remember, you’re a co-conspirator in league with the tax collector, will you only steal from your neighbors to help purchase prescription drugs; after all, those drugs are very expensive? Will you only steal money to pay the rent on your Section 8 housing, acknowledging that someone else is picking up the tab even though you don’t know their name? The list is getting longer; when do we stop robbing Peter to pay Paul all in the name of entitlements through taxation.

If folks learned to budget, even with a limited income, there would be enough for rent, utilities and basic foods if they cut out frivolous expenses like cable for big screen high definition television, cell phones, fancy high dollar cross trainer tennis shoes, home delivered pizza, family vacations and even the car; opting to use public transportation. It might require moving to a smaller house or apartment closer to a major thoroughfare but it would make a limited budget work without stealing from your neighbor. I’ll bet you might even be able to afford minimal health insurance coverage; but that’s no fun and anyway, the county emergency room has to treat you regardless on ability to pay.

Responsible individuals, and there seems to be a dwindling supply of them, responsible individuals put off purchasing a new car until they first can afford to do all the other less fun things; rent, utilities, food, clothing, health insurance and all the other living expenses. My five year old truck is paid for and maintained with regular oil changes, brake jobs, transmission tune ups, protective wax for the paint and even insurance. I’m willing to drive my truck until the wheels fall off, which should be another five years, maybe more; so don’t pull up next to me in your new car paid for with Cash for Clunkers stolen money and show off that which you didn’t earn and don’t deserve; it only fuels my anger.

Even the Kitchen Sink

I’m enjoying a blackberry smoothie for dinner; half a quart of frozen blackberries, an equal amount of orange juice and one container of Yoplait pineapple yogurt blended until the berries are crushed. I then top off the glass with tonic water, a trick I’ve learned helps keep my legs from cramping in the heat of summer.

Lucy’s been down in Galveston all week with her brother and sisters; won’t she be surprised when she gets home and notices the kitchen sink we bought during the Boy Scout fundraiser a couple of months ago has been installed. Thanks again to my friend Lawrence for donating the sink along with the installation to the Scouts so we could bid on it; looks great. I guess the next improvement will be new counter tops; something Lucy’s been wanting along with ceramic floor tile to replace the ten year old linoleum that’s started to show its age. It wouldn’t be Sunday at our house without the HGTV home improvement shows, now would it; shaking my head in defeat.

Yesterday I tore out the old tub caulking and replaced it with a new bead of anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-mold caulk. I probably should have vented the room after spraying down the old mildew with Clorox; oh well, it did a good job of preparing the tub surfaces and I survived. I bought some simple tools at Home Depot; one to scrape off the old caulk and the other to apply a nice even bead of new caulk, they did the trick.

I better leave some dirty clothing on the floor, some wet towels on the edge of the tub and some Ding Dong wrappers scattered next to the sofa or Lucy will think she needs to go off to the beach more often. She’ll be home tomorrow; none too soon for me.

Washington Could Get Stuck With the “Bill”

I caught a glimpse of the Hurricane Tracking Chart for Bill, courtesy of the FoxNews website. The idea occurred to me, if the storm tracked a little more to the left it could hit the D. C. area; in other words, the Bill could come due. These folks have been drifting far to the left ever since the Dems managed to get control; why not a hurricane?

USA Today’s 2nd Amendment Poll

The folks at USA Today had a poll which came to me via my email; thank you Richard for sending it along. I can’t say I agree with the way the question was asked; all the same I participated under the loose adaption of poorly written words.

“Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?” The correct answer would be, “No, God gives individuals the right to bear arms; the Second Amendment acknowledges this God given right and is intended to prevent government usurpation of this individual right.”

That having been said, the question should have been worded, “Do individuals have the right to bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment?” You might insist that such minor alterations in the wording is trivial; to which I would add, trivial only to those who would distance individuals from one of our most important God given rights as if governments had the power to grant such rights. On these principles our nation’s foundations are built and the assault on individual rights is constant and unrelenting.

If the adversaries of liberty are permitted the opportunity to “sell” their agenda, the abandonment of founding principles which include the understanding that rights are bestowed on individuals from God, then America has lost the greatest leverage against tyranny; the godless will have won.

In the Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller , Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, identified the following issues in ruling against the D. C. ban on the individual’s right to bear arms:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.
(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.
(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation

2 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v.
HELLER

Syllabus of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Anti federalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved. Pp. 22–28.
(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.
(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms. Pp. 30–32.
(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47.
(f) None of the Court’s precedents forecloses the Court’s interpretation. Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual rights interpretation. United States v. Miller,
307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.
2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever
and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp. 54–56.
3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this Cite as: 554 U. S. ____ (2008) 3

Syllabus prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56–64.

Here’s your homework assignment, click on the provided link and read the entire SCOTUS decision and get a feel of why it’s important to have originalist judges sitting on the bench rather than activist judges who would have us believe the founding documents of our nation come with “white out” in order to marginalize God given individual rights.

A Stitch In Time

I’d forgotten about the marvels of the internet when I posted about enjoying The Outer Limits earlier. After a good night’s sleep and engaging my brain, it dawned on me to check YouTube for the chance that someone might have posted a trailer for the show; turns out they did more than post the trailer, the whole show is available in five parts. Here’s part one; hope you enjoy it as much as I did. All you need do is click on the next installment to see the whole show; amazing what you can find on the internet.

Time on my hands

Lucy is down at the beach in Galveston with her brother and two sisters for the week, their chance to be together each year. This has become something of a tradition and so I have time on my hands to stay up late watching movies or listening to music.

I glanced over my DVD collection and landed on The Outer Limits – Time Travel & Infinity Collection. If you enjoy well written Sci-fi it’s hard to beat, especially this group of time travel stories.

There were two which I enjoyed more than the others, A Stitch in Time and Tribunal. Amanda Plummer plays the roll of a time travelling executioner. She waits until the state would have executed a murderer; but instead of letting the victim get murdered, she goes back to the day prior to the murder, identifies the dirt bag and explains how he’d been convicted and at that moment she blasts holes in summary execution.

Things get a bit twisted each time she jumps back and forth as she recalls both “histories"; the one where the actual murder took place and the other history, the one where the murderer is executed prior to destroying an innocent life. The trail of evidence is toyed with rather well as pieces and facts don’t fit or make sense; a gun fabricated in the mid 70’s being linked to a murder which happened in the 50’s, finger prints of a suspect who would have been in kindergarten at the time the murder took place.

Tribunal takes a shot at bringing a NAZI war criminal to justice half a century later where he is living under an assumed name. The time traveling involved brings ancestors, both past and future together as time lines get reworked in order to bring about closure.

Having all this time on my hands I got to watch the entire collection; probably my fourth or fifth time to enjoy this collection. I remember something Douglas Callister said regarding great books, that the best books should be read and re-read year after year rather than simply saying, “Oh, yea, I read that one”, and then letting it gather dust on the book shelf. I suppose the same could be applied to certain DVD’s and music.

I’m getting a little sleepy now, the pain pill and muscle relaxer I took a while ago is kicking in. I better post this and get to bed.

Suspect Could Not Have Been an Astro

According to an AP story , “Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is in the hospital after he was attacked by person using a metal pipe as he was leaving the Wisconsin State Fair.”

About the only thing I could add, the suspect could not have been an Astros' ball player; as poorly as they’ve been hitting they couldn’t have done it. The Astros’ struggles continue with vs Brewers ; between their pitching and lack of hitting they aren’t much to look at right now; and I’m one of their fans.

“The Astros have lost 12 of their past 15 games on the road and 15 of 21 overall. Houston (56-61) is five games under .500 for the first time since June 25, when it was 33-38. The Astros are 9 1/2 games out of first place in the National League Central -- their biggest deficit of the year.”

There’s a high definition video clip of Pence getting a two run shot which accompanies Brian Mc Taggart’s article; this new age in computer graphics ability still blows me away. Perhaps the Milwaukee police will want to talk with Pence to see if he has an alibi, or maybe Matsui after he’d logged his 2000th major league hit.

Saturday Review August 15th 2009

Once upon a time in a blogosphere not so long ago…a couple of folks would post highlights of the week, articles which might have been missed, interesting side shows and other items of interest. I’ll take a stab at it and see if anyone likes it.

Never Yet Melted posted a link, Obama’s Leaky Plumbing , that started off my morning.

“Barack Obama discovers a leak under his sink, so he calls Joe the Plumber to come and fix it. Obama asks Joe how much it will cost.”

{…}

“Joe immediately says, “$9,500.”

“$9,500?” Obama asks, stunned. “But you said it’s an easy repair!”

“Yes, but what I do is charge a lot more to my clients who make more than $250,000 per year so I can fix the plumbing of everybody who makes less than that for free,” explains Joe. “It’s always been my philosophy. As a matter of fact, I lobbied government to pass this philosophy as law, and it did pass earlier this year, so now all plumbers have to do business this way. It’s known as 'Joe’s Fair Plumbing Act of 2008.’ Surprised you haven’t heard of it, senator...”

Go read the rest; it’s too good to miss.

Third World County posted Greenie Sheeple which has a video clip from Penn & Teller getting folks to sign a petition banning DiHydorgen Monoxide in order to save the environment.

Mover Mike has a video which answers the question, “Is the recession over?” . I’m not the sharpest pencil in the pencil box when it comes to economics; however, according to the information in this video, if you price the toxic assets of all these banks which are in trouble in real terms, not the BS made up jargon which was instituted in order to confuse the public; then no, the problem which existed before still exists.

Down Under on the Right Side posted a video which explains “Muhammad’s Whorehouse” through the reading of specific lines from the Koran. Is it any wonder why these ignorant wretches blow up their fellow beings in order to escape into such a promised carnal state?

Stop the ACLU has one, “Surprise! Global Warming Data Missing from CRU” . All that data which had been requested under the Freedom of Information Act in order to replicate the models by scientists outside the close knit circle of fear mongering Climate Warming Religionists known as the Climate Research Unit.

I love the way the article starts, “Or, as The Register puts it “

Global Warming Ate My Data”. I’m still laughing at the brazen audacity these folks have as they shout, “Crisis!” from every roof top and then sink into the shadows when asked to prove their theories with raw data.

While I’m on the subject, stop what you’re doing and purchase Ian Plimer’s, Heaven & Earth: Global Warming – The Missing Science . The book makes for a difficult read, lots of footnotes and scientific charts and data; however, the information contained makes it a must read for anyone looking for reason in this manufactured “crisis”.

I should mention the on going crime scene two doors down the street. I have no facts, no information other than what the sheriff’s deputy told me as I stood at the edge of the yellow taped off barrier, “I can’t tell you anything at this time; but, let’s put it this way, you and your neighbor will have plenty to talk about over coffee.” Boy, that was helpful.

There were police cars blocking the street, one of these patrol cars had witnesses in the back seat. There was a “plain wrapper” parked in front of my house, a crime scene specialty unit, a sheriff’s officer taking lots of close up pictures of what ever was in the front yard, another sheriff’s officer with a metal detector going over the blades of grass in a search pattern and a patch of what looked like blood on the driveway next to the house. I’ve no idea what happened; but I seriously doubt it had anything to do with a home owner’s association complaint regarding the yard being in need of mowing. News at eleven…

Silent Encroachment by Those in Power…

Do you really want to know, really? Listen to what Ronald Reagan had to say about the skillful and never ending advance of Socialism here in America through Medical reformation. Thanks to Glenn Beck and many others for sharing this 10 minute history lesson.

“One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project, most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it. Now, the American people, if you put it to them about socialized medicine and gave them a chance to choose, would unhesitatingly vote against it.”

I would hope, as did Ronald Reagan, the American people would unhesitatingly vote against it; however, there are so many living under the delusion that being “poor” is the same as being entitled to a portion of someone else’s hard earned money. There are plenty who would trade liberty for security, yours and theirs, because they never understood that you can’t get something for nothing. Wake up America or we will have to explain what used to be a land of liberty and choice to the next generation, hanging our heads in shame for letting it slip away.

Why bother asking?

I found this video interview over at Neal Boortz’ website . I should toss in that it hardly qualifies as an interview since the fellow asking the questions, Lawrence O'Donnell, continues to talk over and shout down his guest, potential Senatorial candidate Peter Schiff, the entire time. Inexcusable, steam rolled and rude come to mind; Lawrence O'Donnell needs to have someone teach him some manners back behind the barn.

Can you imagine for even half a nano-second switching Peter Schiff and substituting Barbara Boxer or Nancy Pelosi? No, I didn’t think so.

This is filed under humor…I think

I’ve seen this in my email twice already; don’t know who originated it, thanks all the same.

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?'

Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure, Why not?'

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra high resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany.

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full color, 150 page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP Laser-Jet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.'

'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says Bud.He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the Bud says to the young man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?'

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'

'You're a Congressman for the US Government,' says Bud.'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie, 'but how did you guess that?'

'No guessing required,' answered the cowboy. 'You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows... This is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog.'

Will your GPS do this?

Something similar to this made the rounds a while back but it is still good for a bit of a chuckle.

Lastly, and on a similar note, if you’re as thrilled as I am about the direction our government is headed, you’ll love this next humorous link . Thanks and a tip of the hat to my friend Richard for sharing.

I better shut down; the pizza delivery guy just drove up…

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein. If that makes sense then Vote NO INCUMBENT next time around.

Ink Heart on DVD

My daughter Jennifer let me borrow her copy of Ink Heart on DVD. I wasn’t familiar with the movie title; however, she gave me a run down of the basic story line and I was intrigued. I visited their website and found that it is part of a trilogy which I intend to purchase in book form; it isn’t often I find truly original writing.

“Based on the best-selling book by Cornelia Funke, “Inkheart” is a fantasy adventure that sends a father and daughter on a quest through worlds both real and imagined.

Mortimer “Mo” Folchart (Brendan Fraser) and his 12-year-old daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett), share a passion for books. What they also share is an extraordinary gift for bringing characters from books to life when they read aloud. But there is a danger: when a character is brought to life from a book, a real person disappears into its pages…”

Cash for Clunker Honesty Clause?

When you purchase almost any item the seller must be straight forward and explain the actual benefits of any given product; just part of honesty in advertizing. Why isn’t this approach applied to the Cash for Clunkers cash give away program?

There should be a warning statement, much like on the side of a pack of cigarettes, something along the lines, “Caution: The tax money used in the Cash for Clunkers program has been obtained at the point of a gun from fellow citizens. The actual benefit to the environment is minimal and the long term detriment to society has not been calculated.”

The government has mandated the total destruction of the motor and drive train to insure that nothing gets recycled. Does this sound a bit odd considering how recycling saves both energy and natural resources?

“Under the program, the government is advising car dealers to replace a trade-in's engine oil with a lethal sodium silicate solution and run the engine to ruin it before giving to selling the car to a scrap dealer.

The Automotive Recycler's Association says that means more waste, since the damage prevents the resale of parts like pistons as well as smaller profits for scrap yards, since it can cost $700 to $1,200 to process a car, including transport and removing toxic items like mercury.

ARA Executive Vice President Michael Wilson said that recycling auto parts saves 85 million gallons of oil per year in energy savings alone.

The two parts most in demand on the resale market are the engine block and the drive train, accounting for 60 percent of used-parts sales, he said. But when cars are scrapped, the engine block is destroyed by the silicon, and the drive train can be sold only under certain conditions.”

It all looks like smoke and mirrors to me; spend money you didn’t earn by taking the government handout money they stole from your neighbor to save the planet from cars that emit CO2 and cause global warming according to falsified data and computer generated models obtained from the EPA who is telling government they need to be more honest. Yup, sounds like our government; business as we have come to expect.

Locksmith Award 2009

Opening my email this morning, “We are pleased to announce…”, oh please, not another award. I remember the first time I walked into the bus station; I must have one of those faces, “Wanna’ buy a watch, Kid?” The same hold true, even in the age of email. “Wanna’ buy a neat looking award?”

I never bothered to read how much the locksmith award plaque was going to cost, not to mention shipping and handling.

Over thirty years of being in business has taught me an important lesson; the awards I’m after have faces on them; Franklin, Jackson and Hamilton.

Skeletons in the Closet

There’s an AP story out of Illinois about a resourceful group of cemetery folks selling the same piece of ground over and over in order to increase profits. They would dig up the previous “tenant”, toss the old bones and make the plot good as new for the next poor soul, pardon the pun.

Detectives working the case actually found one skeleton wearing a suit, presumably the one he was buried in. I’m surprised they didn’t try to resell the suit on eBay.

“We’ve only done very, very shallow digging there and have found a substantial amount of bones,” Dart said. “Just below that level is dead grass so it almost appears as if things were just dumped on top of existing grass.”

I have to wonder, how many of the other skeletons were wearing, “Obama” t-shirts? Anyone with a sense of history knows, “dead people always vote straight Democrat”.

One last observation; as I was about to post, my iTunes was playing, Just a Closer Walk With Thee, the Canadian Brass version. Have I got timing or what!

1st Amendment Double Standard?

A FoxNews item explained how rapper “T.O.” plead No Contest to threatening a pair of Lakeland police officers in his song, “Kill me a cop” .

“The 20-year-old rapper, whose real name is Antavio Johnson, began a 2-year prison term July 24.”

So what’s the problem; recalling how each and every person standing before a judge is offered an extensive opportunity to hear, “You understand the by pleading No Contest you will be found guilty…the you are doing so of your own free will without threat…” and so on.

““He wrote a song, the song is an expression, the First Amendment protects it,” attorney Joe Registrato said in the FOX affiliate’s report on MyFOXTampaBay.com.”

Sorry Joe, had your client identified the President of the United States as the target of his anger, “I’m gonna kill Obama” or some similar phrase in his song you can bet he’d have been hauled off for threatening the POTUS regardless of his inability to carry out such threats.

As for threatening specific individuals being protected speech under the 1st Amendment; I hardly think so. This gets back to the original foundation of thought; where do Rights come from? Rights come from God and it hardly sounds reasonable that God would have included threatening another of His children with bodily injury or death as part of “free speech”. The same holds true for pornography or what some call artistic expression; the opportunity to spit in the face of society in the name of “freedom of expression”; horse hockey!

I’ll likely have my file reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security for mentioning the POTUS in this article, some computer that goes over each and every printed word on the internet will flag me as a potential threat. Who knows, T. O. and T. F. could be cell mates one day, serving time for serious threat against another; I’d have to kill him since I can’t stand Rap.