Getting the House Granny Ready

Each year we do our level best to have the house ready for Thanksgiving; we used to call it “Granny ready” for when my grandmother would visit. We dust in places that collect dust, polish furniture, clean windows and mirrors, get the bathrooms disinfected and spotless and what ever else we can think of to make the house look nice.

This year we decided to do something with the wood flooring in the den, flooring we had installed back in 1992 just after we bought the house. Originally the house had an off white carpet throughout; something which almost turned us away from buying the house. I promised Lucy that when it came time, we’d replace the most heavily used area, the den, with oak flooring. We have enjoyed them all these years without having to do much other than sweep or clean up after a spill when the grandkids are over.

I wrote about putting hard wood flooring into the living room and dining room a couple of years ago; they still look brand new so they don’t need anything other than a dust mop for now. If you visit that article I included links at the bottom to show the progress from start to finish.

It was time to “Rejuvenate” the finish; that’s a free plug for the makers of the product that goes by that very same name. Rather than move all the furniture out of the room it was decided to do a third of the room at a time, moving the sofa, love seat, coffee table across the room until each section dried. That has worked well and the den is nearly finished; the last section being the pass through to our bedroom which I will get this evening.

The next project will be cleaning the crystals on the chandelier, an all day job. The mirrored wall in the dining room along with cleaning the windows will happen soon thereafter.

Granny would be happy to see our house; what I’d do to have her here, to be able to call her on the phone and give her a hard time. I should mention how Granny had watched the technological changes march across time from the advent of telephones, television and all the other gadgets we take for granted. Granny thought it nothing short of a miracle for me to call her on my cell phone while driving down the road.

I would honk my horn and pretend to yell at folks to get off the sidewalk while talking and wait for Granny to get her breath back as she worried for the safety of her grandson. With Thanksgiving around the corner, Granny would be the perfect example of someone with gratitude in her heart for any and all blessings directed toward her family.

I’m glad to have the floor’s glossy again; the beautiful wood finish is part of the warmth that invites me and any who enter to enjoy my home. Two weeks to go, hope there’s a pumpkin pie at the end of the rainbow.

Baptism by Proxy for Holocaust Victims

Every now and again I read an article containing an inflamed rebuke of the Mormon’s; lately it would seem to be more often, gosh and oh by golly we Mormons are a popular target these days .

This morning there was a lengthy hissy fit on the Fox News website from the AP where Ernest Michel, honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, had his undies in a bind because, as he claims, the Church of Jesus Christ hasn’t shown the millions of Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust respect and continues to baptize these individuals vicariously. He claims that such a practice helps to validate “Holocaust deniers” by making Holocaust victims something other than Jews.

“"Baptism of a Jewish Holocaust victim and then merely removing that name from the database is just not acceptable," said Michel, whose parents died at Auschwitz. He spoke on the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-incited riots against Jews.”

I should point out rather quickly, I am not speaking on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I am not in a position of authority and my opinions are mine and probably should be kept to myself; but that’s not my style, so if you don’t like what I have to say go cry in the corner and get on with your life.

“Michel said talks with Mormon leaders, held as recently as last week, have ended. He said his group will not sue, and that "the only thing left, therefore, is to turn to the court of public opinion."”

I once saw a blog article written a few years ago where a hand drawn picture showed Mormon missionaries going through a graveyard digging up decomposed corpses with a short explanation of how that individual thought baptisms for the dead were done. I suppose the image was intended to be shocking and a rallying for anti-Mormon sentiment. I took the time to comment, giving a brief account of the purpose and practice of baptism for the dead and hoped it clarified some of the misunderstandings.

I started with a simple analogy which I will use here. “Just suppose…”, don’t you just love the way that starts, …you wanted to do something nice for a friend. You knew their budget was running thin and at the same time the friend wanted to visit his/her father, something which would require transit beyond their means. Wouldn’t it be a nice gesture to leave a pre-paid ticket at the airport with their name on it? There would be no obligation for them to show up, no strings attached. If they decided not to go the ticket wouldn’t be used and that would be the end of it. If, on the other hand, the ticket was used and your friend got to visit his/her father, a reunion of extraordinary emotional highs made possible because someone had the foresight to include a pre-paid travel ticket; wouldn’t that be counted as a wonderful expression of human kindness?

In the simplest terms I’ve explained the practice of baptisms for the dead. Those who have gone to their mortal rest without having been baptized are limited in their progression in the eternities, they may not return to the presence of the Father without the ordinance of baptism . I could go on at some length regarding the various Christian doctrines concerning the different beliefs espoused; but that is not the purpose of my thoughts today.

I performed the ordinance of baptism for my grandfather, a man I loved beyond my ability to express all those emotions. He died without having received the ordinance of baptism by one in authority and it was my responsibility to provide my grandfather with the “ticket” to get back to our Father in Heaven. What kind of ungrateful grandchild would I be to ignore the eternal destiny of one I love? On the other hand, my grandfather was a hard head, it runs in the family, and he might not wish to return to our Father in Heaven.

Remember when Curly died in the movie, City Slickers? They had a simple funeral out in the middle of nowhere and said a few words as they put his body in the ground. Someone said, “Dear Lord, we give you Curly; try not to piss him off.” It was a comic line intended to draw a laugh; but with my grandfather, that line might just fit.

My grandfather was something of a character during his short time on earth. I know he was raised a Christian and baptized in his youth; not sure what denomination since I never knew him to be a church going kind of guy. He wasn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to assure his baptism was performed by someone with authority I had it done for him after he died. I went to the temple and stood in for my grandfather, was buried in the water while his name was recorded. I then had other ordinances performed which would provide passage back to our Father in Heaven; none of which are binding as they must be accepted by my grandfather to have any effect.

Those who do not recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as the authorized agent of the Lord, Jesus Christ, must flip coins regularly to determine what they believe or don’t believe. I say this with a huge grin on my face knowing how some are tearing the edges of their clothing and covering themselves in ashes.

Think about it; if the Mormons are not the authorized agents of the Lord, Jesus Christ, then we have no powers and no authority, either here in mortality and certainly not in the eternities. Why bother to give us the time of day much less get your undies in a bunch over an ordinance you claim has no bearing on anything? We can’t make you a Mormon, we can’t make your ancestors Mormons either; there’s this thing called “agency” and it’s strictly an individual’s choice on anything, to include membership in God’s kingdom .

If, on the other hand ( I love The Fiddler on the Roof ), “on the other hand”, the LDS Church does have the authority to act in God’s name , then maybe it would be wise to go along with our foolish practices and humor us in our taking care of those who cannot do for themselves.

If you’d like to have the “authorized” explanation of the ordinances performed in the temple, by those more capable than myself, I recommend visiting the link provided here .

A Different Sort of Veteran’s Day Story

We watched a wonderful children’s movie last night set in WWII Scotland near Loch Ness. It’s a fanciful tale from a young boy’s view as his father’s away in the military, a way of coping with the loneliness and fear.

The young boy found an odd looking item along the edge of the loch and, according to the tale, as told by the grown up version of that boy, the legend of the Loch Ness Monster is told as the Water Horse developed from nearly a tad pole sized creature into a full blown wonder to behold. The story is of the relationships garnered with all around him; but mostly between the boy and his Water Horse friend.

Instead of growing up with a father, the young boy grew up with the help of the Water Horse more commonly known as the Loch Ness Monster; taking him past his fears and into an acceptance of how things are with the war going on. Near the end of the movie the young boy accepts the likely hood that his father might not return, all those thoughts being tied with the escape of the Water Horse from the loch and out to sea while the shore guns fired on thinking it to be a German submarine. “He might not come back” and if you’re not paying attention you might think he was simply referring to the Water Horse making it to the open sea.

There was a talk given in General Conference a couple of years back, which I cannot find, having exhausted the search engines at LDS.org for hours, where at the end of WWII the father of the house returns home. The older children all shout with joy, “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!” and the youngest boy who had never known his father since the war separated them soon after being born was shouting along with his older brothers and sisters, “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home! What’s a Daddy?” I hope my memory of those lines is close enough, not having the talk in front of me.

I had to wonder in my own heart as the words came to my ears, how it must have been growing up without the constant care and love of a father, one who was serving his country in time of war. I was lucky, my dad served and came home, then I was born. I still get to talk with him on the telephone; that is, when he’s not out bowling with his buddies. “Bowl a hundred!”; that’s my way of saying, “I love you”.

As we celebrate Veteran’s Day take a moment to appreciate the sacrifices made which might otherwise slide under the radar, time spent away from young children who miss their Daddy.

Garbage as Art

The 22nd item on Cleon Skousen’s list in his book, The Naked Communist , “Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. … “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms” came to mind today. While listening to the Paul Harvey radio show this morning there was a spot announcing the possibility that two pieces of “art” by Mark Rothko may have accidentally been hung upside down at a gallery showing modern “art”.

I had to laugh as I was driving at the time, at the implications. If the experts on “art” couldn’t figure out which side was up, what it was or how to hang it, then what kind of garbage was it? I mean ( insert your best Arlo Guthrie voice at this point ), “I mean…” what the heck kind of “art” permits such a travesty to be pulled off?

I took the time to look up this piece of “art” when I had the chance. Garbage with a frame would be more like it. I’ve seen paint samples that had more expression. Quoting an article by Alastair Jamieson :

“… Rothko is thought to have wanted the works - which he donated to the Tate before committing suicide in February 1970 - to be hung with the stripes running horizontally and the location of his signature on the back of the paintings is believed to reflect this wish.”

If, after waking up from a night of serious drinking or drugs, I found one of my expensive canvases covered in such a way I might have considered suicide as well; however, rather than give the paintings away, I’d have had the decency to cover them with something which could have at least been classified as artistic impression. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen paint samples that had more expression.

Prop 8 Reporting Diluted

Depending on the sources you read, violence related to the passage of California’s Proposition 8 could go under the radar. I read on the Fox website a short article which summarized the fact that the Mormon Church supported the passage of Prop 8 and how the Gay community had targeted them in marches and protests.

“In Salt Lake City, a crowd of about 2,000 chanted "Separate church and state" and waved rainbow flags outside the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which encouraged its members to work to pass the amendment by volunteering their time and money for the campaign.”

The article made the protest sound fairly tame and civilized mentioning only a marginal amount of unrest and displeasure aimed at Mormons in general. I then read another account in Meridian Magazine containing more information which was slightly more unsettling.

“The LDS Temple in Los Angeles was under siege yesterday by 2,000 protesters angry over the Church's role in passing Proposition 8, forcing the closure of the temple.”

“Signs were hung from the fence around the temple and protesters screamed in anger, snarled afternoon rush-hour traffic and said, “This isn't going to stop us…If we do this we have a chance.” “We're going to fight it until the world changes,” protesters claimed.”

“Shame on you,” chanted the protesters. Outside the temple, graffiti was scrawled on the walls and signs hung, “Go back to Utah,” and “Go to hell Mormons.” Their signs said, “No on H8.”” (emphasis added)

This type of activity went beyond civil protest and into the area of criminal behavior which should have been acted upon by the local police department; but the police simply stood by and watched.

“One LDS member in the area said, “I don't quite understand our police response (even though I'm one of the police). If this was happening at a Jewish synagogue or a Catholic church, we would be arresting people for hate crimes. As it is at the moment, protestors are sitting on the walls of the temple and the police are on the grounds inside. Church members in our area were called last night to come down to the stake center and spend the night protecting the building from vandalism -- it's like 150 years ago.””

Worldnetdaily found some rather disturbing threats on the Internet/Blogoshere directing violence toward members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, threats which need to be investigated and the instigators brought up on charges.

“"Burn their f---ing churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers," wrote "World O Jeff" on the JoeMyGod blogspot today within hours of California officials declaring Proposition 8 had been approved by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. Confirmation on voter approval of amendments in Florida and Arizona came earlier.”

A little further down in the article was this gem, “On yet another site, "Americablog," "scottinsf" wrote, "Trust me. I've got a big list of names of mormons and catholics that were big supporters of Prop 8. … As far as mormons and catholics … I warn them to watch their backs."”

“Liberty Counsel's Barber said, "This is not free speech; these are 'hate crimes' under the existing definition. Imagine if Christian websites were advocating such violence against homosexuals. There'd be outrage, and rightfully so. It'd be national front-page news. Federal authorities should immediately investigate these threats and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law."”

I have to ask the question, perhaps it’s already been answered somewhere else in one of the major newspapers, an obscure article on the 24th page tucked in between a story about the elk not coming down from the mountains because there hasn’t been enough early snow and another story warning customers that this years crop of Pecans will have thicker shells and so you won’t be able to shell them as easily as last years crop.

Why haven’t we heard about Muslim Mosques being targeted by these same homosexual miscreants, after all, Islam has provided that homosexuals should be hanged publicly for crimes against Allah. I haven’t heard about marches in the streets against Islam or threats against anyone who practices that particular faith by discontented homosexuals. I guess you don’t get up in the face of any religion which promises to hang you for being a deviant, or am I wrong?

“"If you're planning a heterosexual wedding in California … be prepared for picketers. Designate someone to watch the parking lot … You're going to have lots of unexpected expenses. Add $500 to your budget for security. … Be prepared for the flowers not lasting to the reception or the tuxedos showing up two sizes too small or the music at the reception being a way too loud or the cake tasting a little funny," stated another threat. "Be afraid. Be very afraid. We are everywhere."”

Yes, these are the remarks of a tolerant, civilized American homosexually oriented citizen simply expressing his God given right as covered under the Constitution. Where is the condemnation being expressed for this in the major news outlets? The answer is, there isn’t any!

Department of Energy is an Absolute Joke

Absolutely, and the joke is . . . on us! Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? Anybody? Anything? No? Didn't think so.

Bottom line . . we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember.

Ready? It was very simple, and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted 8-04-1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. HEY, PRETTY EFFICIENT, HUH?

AND NOW IT'S 2008, 31 YEARS LATER, AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR, THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?'

Ah yes, good ole bureaucracy. And now we are going to turn the Banking system over to them? God Help us, and this is just the beginning; Universal Health Care, “and you thought the HMO management team was out of touch”, Cap and Spend policy on Energy intended to promote a better environment by bankrupting the coal industry, Immigration or what it really is, “open the boarders and let those future voters in”, and let’s not forget how well the national program of education has helped with No Child Left Behind, which translated into reality means, “Throw some more money down the toilet”.

Improbable Progress

Hair is growing on my right leg on the very spot where I’ve had a psoriasis spot for the last fifteen years. I know this information doesn’t rate as high as the first Black man getting elected to the Oval Office; but good news is good news. There hasn’t been hair on that part of my leg for fifteen years or more, only an ugly spot which flakes off skin every other day, appears to heal a bit then itches to the point of unconscious scratching which makes it inflamed and the process repeats.

Think about how marvelous the human body is, its regenerative abilities and the miracle of it all; the idea that dormant hair follicles would spring to life after all these years was more than improbable, down right unimaginable. I went to brush away what I thought were scales of dead skin and found a cushion of new hair instead.

I don’t believe in coincidence, this having taken place at the same time the Great One was elected. I had my doubts about Obama and his promise of Change; well slap me on the knee and shout “Halleluiah”, I’ve got hair on my right leg once again.

Dear President Obama,

I’ve been having my barber clip the hair that grows inside the opening of my ears and nose for some time now, a disgusting burst of unsightly salt and pepper. Would it be too much to ask for a reduction, sort of a cap and spend trade off; more hair on my right leg in exchange for less growth in other areas. I know you plan to bankrupt the coal industry and move our nation towards other energy forms; could you do the same for unsightly hair, a redistribution of follicles, think of them as capitalists in need of governmental help.

Thank you and looking forward to Change oh Great One

TF Stern

A Carefully Orchestrated Election

My dad used to tell a story, more of a joke; something about a couple of base player in an orchestra who got bored in the middle of playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Apparently there’s a section where they had little if anything to do so they decided to quietly exit through the back area of the concert hall, walk across to a tavern on the other side of the street and tilt back a few. They got carried away and forgot how much time had gone by and nearly missed staggering back for the finish. Imagine the dilemma the conductor was in as he looked down, noticed the score was tied in the bottom of the 9th and the bases were loaded…

This morning should have been tougher on my conservative frame than it is. Obama waltzed through the election without the media exposing him for what he is, a Marxist Socialist with holes in his character that would make Swiss Cheese envious. Don’t get me wrong, I was never a supporter of McCain either, McCain being the DNC pick to be an “also ran” candidate for the Republican Party. Neal Boortz got it right when he said that conservatives got left behind when the Republican Party decided to go off on a spending binge after acquiring power back in the 90’s; kind of how the old time Democrats must feel when they realize their party was hijacked by the New Socialist Party.

So the Republicans had a middle of the road Democrat to lead them to defeat while the Socialist Party ran an end around, with the help of the mass media and an adoring mesmerized stampede of sheeple. The handwriting was on the wall months ago and all I could do was sit back and preach to the choir while waiting for the house of cards to cave in on itself.

What do I do now, other than congratulate my liberal left leaning friends for having turned the direction of America from one of self sufficiency toward the chasm of socialistic despair? The first Black President of the United States is a feather in the cap of any Black person, of that they have every right to celebrate and even snicker at their White neighbors; to the victor go the spoils and all that.

Now, my Black American friends, it will be time for you to figure out just what kind of sorry SOB you’ve put in the White House. All the covering up of Obama’s character flaws, of which there are many; but which the drive by media willingly left out of their reports, all the ugly ties to crooks, home grown terrorists, black militants with no intention of unifying Black and White America and the rest of the Middle East ties which sent millions of illegal political donations in small increments so as to fly under the radar; all of these issues just might cause some problems for America in the near future.

What do I do; nothing much different than I did the day before or the year before. I will continue to work each day to provide for the needs of my family; only now “I won’t have to worry about buying gasoline or paying the mortgage”; sorry, couldn’t resist highlighting one of the more ignorant voter responses when she was asked why she was voting for Obama.

I’m afraid the America I learned about, "who more than self their country loved", that country which I learned to love and respect may only be a memory as entitlements replace self sufficiency and my fellow Americans grow more comfortable accepting a mediocre existence rather than fighting for individual achievement.

The lazy and incompetent will find it easier to maintain the appearance of achievement, even though dependence on the government’s dipping into my wallet makes such a travesty possible. We will all become a little less hopeful about achieving personal financial security, something of a punch line to a bad joke since Obama’s campaign was all about hope as government intervention into almost every facet of our lives will pour cold water on most efforts; it will be ever so much easier to just go with the flow.

The Universal Environmental Church will become the State religion with forced contributions collected to cover such things as exhaled CO2, imposed user fees for anyone with an internal combustion engine with extra fees for trips lasting more than four miles, mandated thermostatic controls in the warmer months not to fall below 81 degrees with a similar mandate not to rise above 68 degrees in the colder months.

There is always the chance to stick it to the rich folks, determined by comparing the living space of a single family dwelling with the living space of a standard government subsidized housing project unit; those with excessive waste will be penalized so as to bring about a more fair and equitable community. One way or the other, parity will prevail; I could be wrong but the machinery is already in place and those leading our nation head long into the chasm are more than willing participants.

So, it was the bottom of the 9th, the score was tied and the bases were loaded; all the conductor could do was keep playing and hope for the best. This tune popped into my head and a tear fell down my cheek…

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

Oh, beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine.

Oh, beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

Tax Reductions and the Wealthy Explained

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

· The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
· The fifth would pay $1.
· The sixth would pay $3.
· The seventh would pay $7.
· The eighth would pay $12.
· The ninth would pay $18.
· The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers”, he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20”. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.

But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:

· The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
· The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
· The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
· The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
· The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
· The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20”, declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right”, exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Cory the Well Driller Letter to Obama

Take the time to read this all the way through if you have the willingness to do so. This was a letter sent to Obama by Cory Miller. It is long, but he has a lot to say. Even if you support Obama, you should give some thought to what he has to say. Is where we are going better than where we've been? I called and got permission to share this letter and found that Cory Miller was going to be on the Fox network later today (10/31/2008)

Mr. Obama,

Given the uproar about the simple question asked you by Joe the plumber, and the persecution that has been heaped on him because he dared to question you, I find myself motivated to say a few things to you myself. While Joe aspires to start a business someday, I already have started not one, but 4 businesses. But first, let me introduce myself. You can call me "Cory the well driller". I am a 54 year old high school graduate. I didn't go to college like you, I was too ready to go "conquer the world" when I finished high school. 25 years ago at age 29, I started my own water well drilling business at a time when the economy here in East Texas was in a tailspin from the crash of the early 80's oil boom. I didn't get any help from the government, nor did I look for any. I borrowed what I could from my sister, my uncle, and even the pawn shop and managed to scrape together a homemade drill rig and a few tools to do my first job. My businesses did not start not a result of privilege. It is the result of my personal drive, personal ambition, self discipline, self reliance, and a determination to treat my customers fairly. From the very start my business provided one other (than myself) East Texan a full time job. I couldn't afford a backhoe the first few years (something every well drilling business had), so I and my helper had to dig the mud pits that are necessary for each and every job with hand shovels. I had to use my 10 year old, 1/2 ton pickup truck for my water tank truck (normally a job for at least a 2 ton truck).

A year and a half after I started the business, I scraped together a 20% down payment to get a modest bank loan and bought a (28 year) old, worn out, slightly bigger drilling rig to allow me to drill the deeper water wells in my area. I spent the next few years drilling wells with the rig while simultaneously rebuilding it between jobs. Through these years I never knew from one month to the next if I would have any work or be able to pay the bills. I got behind on my income taxes one year, and spent the next two years paying that back (with penalty and interest) while keeping up with ongoing taxes. I got behind on my water well supply bill 2 different years (way behind the second time... $80,000.00), and spent over a year paying it back (each time) while continuing to pay for ongoing supplies C.O.D.. Of course, the personal stress endured through these experiences and years is hard to measure. I do have a stent in my heart now to memorialize it all.

I spent the next 10 years developing the reputation for being the most competent and most honest water well driller in East Texas . 2 years along the way, I hired another full time employee for the drilling business so that we could provide full time water well pump service as well as the well drilling. Also, 3 years along the path, I bought a water well screen service machine from a friend, starting business # 2. 5 years later I made a business loan for $100,000.00 to build a new, higher production, computer controlled screen service machine. I had designed the machine myself, and it didn't work out for 3 years so I had to make the loan payments without the benefit of any added income from the new machine. No government program was there to help me with the payments, or to help me sleep at night as I lay awake wondering how I would solve my machine problems or pay my bills. Finally, after 3 years, I got the screen machine working properly, and that provided another full time job for an East Texan in the screen service business.

2 years after that, I made another business loan, this time for $250,000.00, to buy another used drilling rig and all the support equipment needed to run another, larger, drill rig. This provided another 2 full time jobs for East Texans. Again, I spent a couple of years not knowing if I had made a smart move, or a move that would bankrupt me. For the third time in 13 years, I had placed everything I owned on the line, risking everything, in order to build a business.

A couple of years into this, I came up with a bright idea for a new kind of mud pump, a fundamentally necessary pump used on water well drill rigs. I spent my entire life savings to date (just $30,000.00), building a prototype of the pump and took it to the national water well convention to show it off. Customers immediately started coming out of the woodworks to buy the pumps, but there was a problem. I had depleted my assets making the prototype, and nobody would make me a business loan to start production of the new pumps. With several deposits for pump orders in hand, and nowhere to go, I finally started applying for as many credit card as I could find and took cash withdrawals on these cards to the tune of over $150,000.00 (including modest loans from my dear sister and brother), to get this 3rd business going.

Yes, once again, I had everything hanging over the line in an effort to start another business. I had never manufactured anything, and I had to design and bring into production a complex hydraulic machine from an untested prototype to a reliable production model (in six months). How many nights I lay awake wondering if I had just made the paramount mistake of my life I cannot tell you, but there were plenty. I managed to get the pumps into production, which immediately created another 2 full time jobs in East Texas . Some of the models in the first year suffered from quality issues due to the poor workmanship of one of my key suppliers, so I and an employee (another East Texan employed) had to drive across the country to repair customers' pumps, practically from coast to coast. I stood behind the product, and made payments to all the credit cards that had financed me (and my brother and sister). I spent the next 5 years improving and refining the product, building a reputation for the pump and the company, working to get the pump into drill rig manufacturers' product lines, and paying back credit cards. During all this time I continued to manage a growing water well business that was now operating 3 drill rig crews, and 2 well service crews. Also, the screen service business continued to grow. No government programs were there to help me, Mr. Obama, but that's ok, I didn't expect any, nor did I want any. I was too busy fighting to make success happen to sit around waiting for the government to help me.

Now, we have been manufacturing the mud pumps for 7 years, my combined businesses employ 32 full time employees, and distribute $5,000,000.00 annually through the local economy. Now, just 4 months ago I borrowed $1,254,000.00, purchasing computer controlled machining equipment to start my 4th business, a production machine shop. The machine shop will serve the mud pump company so that we can better manufacture our pumps that are being shipped worldwide. Of course, the machine shop will also do work for outside companies as well. This has already produced 2 more full time jobs, and 2 more should develop out of it in the next few months. This should work out, but if it doesn't it will be because you, and the other professional politicians like yourself, will have destroyed our countrys' (and the world) economy with your meddling with mortgage loan programs through your liberal manipulation and intimidation of loaning institutions to make sure that unqualified borrowers could get mortgages. You see, at the very time when I couldn't get a business loan to get my mud pumps into production, you were working with Acorn and the Community Reinvestment Act programs to make sure that unqualified borrowers could buy homes with no down payment, and even no credit or worse yet, bad credit. Even the infamous, liberal, Ninja loans (No Income, No Job or Assets). While these unqualified borrowers were enjoying unrealistically low interest rates, I was paying 22% to 24% interest on the credit cards that I had used to provide me the funds for the mud pump business that has created jobs for more East Texans. It's funny, because after 25 years of turning almost every dime of extra money back into my businesses to grow them, it has been only in the last two years that I have finally made enough money to be able to put a little away for retirement, and now the value of that has dropped 40% because of the policies you and your ilk have perpetrated on our country.

You see, Mr. Obama, I'm the guy you intend to raise taxes on. I'm the guy who has spent 25 years toiling and sweating, fretting and fighting, stressing and risking, to build a business and get ahead. I'm the guy who has been on the very edge of bankruptcy more than a dozen times over the last 25 years, and all the while creating more and more jobs for East Texans who didn't want to take a risk, and wouldn't demand from themselves what I have demanded from myself. I'm the guy you characterize as "the Americans who can afford it the most" that you believe should be taxed more to provide income redistribution "to spread the wealth" to those who have never toiled, sweated, fretted, fought, stressed, or risked anything. You want to characterize me as someone who has enjoyed a life of privilege and who needs to pay a higher percentage of my income than those who have bought into your entitlement culture. I resent you, Mr. Obama, as I resent all who want to use class warfare as a tool to advance their political career. What's worse, each year more Americans buy into your liberal entitlement culture, and turn to the government for their hope of a better life instead of themselves. Liberals are succeeding through more than 40 years of collaborative effort between the predominant liberal media, and liberal indoctrination programs in the public school systems across our land.

What is so terribly sad about this is this. America was made great by people who embraced the one-time American culture of self reliance, self motivation, self determination, self discipline, personal betterment, hard work, risk taking. A culture built around the concept that success was in reach on every able bodied American who would strive for it. Each year that less Americans embrace that culture, we all descend together. We descend down the socialist path that has brought country after country ultimately to bitter and unremarkable states. If you and your liberal comrades in the media and school systems would spend half as much effort cultivating a culture of can-do across America as you do cultivating your entitlement culture, we could see Americans at large embracing the conviction that they can elevate themselves through personal betterment, personal achievement, and self reliance. You see, when people embrace such ideals, they act on them. When people act on such ideals, they succeed. All of America could find herself elevating instead of deteriorating. But that would eliminate the need for liberal politicians, wouldn't it, Mr. Obama? The country would not need you if the country was convinced that problem solving was best left with individuals instead of the government. You and all your liberal comrades have got a vested interested in creating a dependent class in our country. It is the very business of liberals to create an ever expanding dependence on government. What's remarkable is that you, who have never produced a job in your life, are going to tax me to take more of my money and give it to people who wouldn't need my money if they would get off their entitlement mentality asses and apply themselves at work, demand more from themselves, and quit looking to liberal politicians to raise their station in life.

You see, I know because I've had them work for me before. Hundreds of them over these 25 years. People who simply will not show up to work on time. People who just will not work 5 days in a week, much less, 6 days. People always looking for a way to put less effort out. People who actually tell me that they would do more if I just would first pay them more. People who take off work to sit in government offices to apply to get free government handouts (gee, I wonder how things would have turned out for them if they had spent that time earning money and pleasing their employer?). You see, all of this comes from your entitlement mentality culture.

Oh, I know you will say I am uncompassionate. Sorry, Mr. Obama, wrong again. You see, I've seen what the average percentage of your income has been given to charities over the years of 2000 to 2004 (ignoring the years you started running for office - can you pronounce "politically motivated"), you averaged of less than 1% annually. And your running mate, Joe Biden, averaged less than ¼% of his annual income in charitable contributions over the last 10 years. Like so many liberals, the two of you want to give to the needy, just as long as it is someone else's money you are giving to them. I won't say what I have given to charities over the last 25 years, but the percentage is several times more than you or Joe Biden (don't you just hate Google?). Tell me again how you feel my pain.

In short, Mr. Obama, your political philosophies represent everything that is wrong with our country. You represent the culture of government dependence instead of self reliance; Entitlement mentality instead of personal achievement; Penalization of the successful to reward the unmotivated; Political correctness instead of open mindedness and open debate. If you are successful, you may preside over the final transformation of America from being the greatest and most self-reliant culture on earth, to just another country of whiners and wimps, who sit around looking to the government to solve their problems. Like all of western Europe. All countries on the decline. All countries that, because of liberal socialistic mentalities, have a little less to offer mankind every year.
God help us...

Cory Miller
Just a ordinary, extraordinary American, the way a lot of Americans used to be.

P.S. Yes, Mr. Obama, I am a real American... www.cmillerdrilling.com

Obama Unmasked

Do Americans really want socialism? Call it what you will; but having your neighbor pay for things you should be paying for is wrong. There is a danger in asking government to help because somewhere the money has to come from one of your neighbors; socialism permits us to forget that fact.

“When you are skinning your customers, you should leave some skin on to heal, so that you can skin them again.” Nikita Krushchev

“This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.” Barack Obama

“I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change” Barack Obama

I’ve included a short talk by former Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, also former President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Listen to the last part of this talk, pay attention to the warning by Ezra Taft Benson as he explains how America will be taken down a piece at a time by the snares of socialism.

Obama’s Wealthspread

I have to give credit where it is deserved, this came from The Peoples Cube in an article posted by Red Square. I stumbled upon it via yet another blogger, David Zincavage, one of my regular reads at Never Yet Melted. David’s blog is what the New York Times wishes it were, thoughtful and informative journalism.

“It’s not that I want to punish your success,” Obama responded. “I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance for success too ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Random Thoughts October 28th 2008

My grandson has a birthday this week, seven years old on the 29th. I have a picture of him in his first Halloween costume that I’ll share.

Talking with a friend over the telephone the other day yielded an interesting conversation, something about “raising the dead”; except what he’d actually said was, he was building raised planter boxes. We had a good laugh regarding my bad hearing. I’ve heard it said that some pain pills may be responsible for a loss of hearing, “What’s that you say?”

I was reminded this past week about how unstable my back is as a group of muscles started giving me grief. The first time my back ever gave me a problem happened while we were living in our first house on Curtin Street. The phone rang and, as I turned to answer it from where I lay in bed, twisting and reaching over to the night stand, every muscle in my back rejected my choice of movement. When I tried to get out of bed to collect myself, instead of standing upright, I found myself on the floor looking at the ceiling.

Lucy came in wondering what was going on and our dog, a huge Black Lab was curious as well, lying on the tile floor of the bathroom directly across from where I was. The best I could do was pull my knees up to take some of the pain away, still trying to get upright.

I should explain one of the rules regarding Oscar, our Black Lab; “rough housing” was only permitted if I instigated it due to his size. Lucy wasn’t a “dog person” and tearing up the house, wrestling and cavorting in general was on the wrong side of her list of things to do inside the house; outside was marginally acceptable, inside was unacceptable.

While on the floor and struggling to get up I figured out how to get to my knees, only a little more effort and I’d be standing up. Oscar had been watching the whole time and when I got to my knees, grunts and groans from the pain in my back must have been interpreted as, “Now I get it, he wants to play!” Oscar’s confused look changed into a “dog smile”, an exuberating willingness to participate; the short distance from the bathroom to where I crouched over being only a split second.

Oscar’s head pushed in under my chest and as he continued the head on tackle, flipped me over onto my back. I’m not sure how long it took, half a second or so; but the pain was intense, Oscar licking my face for having scored a direct hit was ready for another round.

Lucy came running and got the dog by the collar; poor Oscar had no idea why he was being hauled off to the back yard. “Hey, he wanted to play and all I did was jump in.”

That’s when the x-ray’s found I had a sixth Lumbar vertebrae; you’re only supposed to have five. The nerves going in between get pinched easier and so every now and again the back muscles get a reminder. “Take two of these and try not to operate any heavy machinery.”

Speaking of getting pinched, has anyone been able to figure out the price of gasoline? Yesterday I paid $2.14 a gallon for regular at the local Murphy’s station where I fill up. Not too long ago I was paying $4.14 for that same gallon of gas.

The fellow on the news said there was a 4-5% drop off in gasoline use since a year ago this same time. I never was that good at math; but how does 4-5% figure in with a 50% change in price? My guess would be along the line of, “Sucker”! They will bleed us again later; for now they want us to forget while we go to the voting stalls. “There is no energy issue, there is no energy issue, there is no energy issue…” The price of gasoline is an annoyance; not near as important as national security as long as we keep having to buy our energy from the Middle East; drill here, drill now and get on with it!

Next week we get to find out who the next president, the next batch of crooks in the Senate and Congress, the next local robbers and thieves; is my attitude adjustment knob set on “sour”? I’m not so sure any of these folks would pass the security screening it takes to become a police officer; and here we are turning the whole country over to them.

I read an Obama interview from several years ago, Obama explaining how the Constitution was a flawed document, how the judiciary never has addressed the need for redistribution of wealth; this is the fellow who, if elected president, will place his hand on the Bible (Koran) and swear to uphold that very same Constitution; go figure.

I wonder if there’s a pain pill we can buy at the local pharmacy, one that will make the next four years bearable regardless of who gets to sit in the Oval Office, regardless of which crooks occupy the Senate, the Congress or which thieves float to the surface locally. Remember, Hillary is still out there; Happy Halloween!

Twelve Minutes

It boils down to this, either you want to live in an America which holds to the principles our Founding Fathers outlined for us or you want to change it into something else, something alien to American principles. Thanks to Stop the ACLU for posting this video.

What Obama Reads

I have to wonder, is Fareed Zakaria just another “neighbor”, a casual acquaintance of Barack Hussein Obama. The Post American World, by Fareed Zakaria, is a book of wishful thinking by the Muslim world. Yea, I really want this guy leading America; and if you believe that I have some ocean front property in West Texas up for sale.

Republican Vs Democrat

This one makes its way around the “forwards” in my email about this time every election year; still worth taking a few moments to take it in.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self- professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”

She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.”

Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That's a crazy idea, and how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the Republican party.”If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.

Letter from Ireland

This is an e-mail from Ireland, found it in the stack of stuff to read from a friend, to all of our Irish brethren living in the States. A point to ponder despite your political affiliation.

Over here in Ireland we can't figure out why you people are fretting about who to elect for your president there in the United States.

For a while you had a pants wearing female lawyer who was married to another lawyer who can't keep his pants on, but she lost a long, heated and very expensive primary against a lawyer who is married to yet another lawyer who doesn't like the country she thinks her husband ought to run and who goes to anti-American church and hates your military.

Now on the other side you have a war hero whose last name starts with 'Mc' and who is married to a good looking, rich younger woman who owns a beer distributorship.

What in God's name is the matter we' ye lads over there in the colonies?

This Election is About Race

I listened to a Black woman being interviewed as she stood in line for early voting. Her voice cracked with emotion as she explained how momentous the occasion was, a chance to vote a Black man into the highest office, how her grandmother never saw the day, God rest her soul; but that her grandchildren would have this election to talk about how the first Black man was elected President of the United States. Praise Jesus, we finally have a Black man who can win. I find it sad in so many ways that this election will turn on one issue and one issue only; the color of a person’s skin.

I don’t care how you slice it, the election is about race with the Democrats holding a trump card knowing, or expecting as if duty bound, that most Black people will vote for Obama regardless of any of the important issues which have been swept under the rug. I feel sorry for the whole damn country if this is how the next President is determined; but it would seem to be true.

I never thought of myself as a racist; but putting someone with Obama’s qualifications into the White House, just because he’s Black; folks you’ve shown that ignorance is bliss and that a well trained Parrot could become President if there are enough birds voting. “Polly wants to share all those crackers you earned with those who are less fortunate”

Hay There

What is it about hay fields that draw me to them like a magnet? Here in the Houston metropolitan area there are still a few hay fields around, small family owned pastures where concrete and steel have yet to trample nature.

There’s a hay field on my way to church that sits within ear shot of Interstate 45. The field is on the east side of Hafer Road just before it changes its name to Moonglow, where the subdivision starts; my church is on the west side of the road on the other side. Several of the photographs I’ve taken catch a glimpse of a freeway light standard in the background ( top left corner just above the tree line); often unrecognizable mixed in with other elements.

This morning I’d hoped to catch ground fog in the low grasses in the meadows at a different location, the tops of the natural uncut grass are the stuff purple mountains majesty are made of, unobtrusive and yet breath taking when observed. It wasn’t meant to be; the sun light’s angle wasn’t right and I’d picked the wrong meadow as it had recently been mowed around the edges so it looked more like a front yard than a meadow.

When working night shift I would appreciate the fall change each morning on my way home. Most folks were hustling off to work while I simple wanted to catch a few hours sleep as we passed on the roadway. The undeveloped land parcels offered vistas of natural growth; tall grasses, brambles and low bushes where birds found refuge. The autumn mornings made these meadows come alive with soft colors and helped me enjoy the short distance home.

I wonder if the fellow who did all the work, preparing the meadow and then gathering the hay into the huge balls that will later be lifted onto a trailer; I wonder if he appreciates the natural beauty of his efforts as much as I do. I bet he does.

October Rush

This past week I got to watch the movie, August Rush, something I’d been told was worth the effort; they were right. Having DVR made it possible to record it so it’s there for as long as wanted or until we get around to buying it on DVD.

There was one scene in particular which got to me, not that the whole movie wasn’t well done; but the place in the movie where the young boy first sat behind the great organ and let loose with his talents caused shivers to run down my spine. I remember hearing Zig Ziglar speak; it might have been a different motivational speaker, but I think it was Zig, as he told of a young Johann Sebastian Bach walking into a cathedral and sitting in the master organist’s chair.

The sheer impudence of the young man to sit there and play at that honored position; but when the master organist heard the music which sprang from the keyboards he fell silent, having recognized the genius which was present. What if he’d stepped in without first hearing Bach’s music; that’s the magic which August Rush brought to me in that moment while watching the other night.

Lucy had a Ham radio meeting tonight so I broke out a favorite of mine, Ton Koopman playing, “J. S. Bach: Orgelwerke”. When I say I broke out, that should read, cranked up in full surround sound. The first cut is the Toccata und Fuge d-moll, familiar to most folks with a classical background; but the next two cuts show off the heart and soul of the human race as the organ soars with each passing moment; the word “glorious” was put in the dictionary after this music was played for the first time.

Lucy’s on the other side of town wondering why the windows of her building are shaking; my fault, the music made me do it. Maybe there’s a reason I need to wear hearing aids; perhaps it had something to do with cranking up the volume all these years. No time to cry about spilt milk, Bach should be played very loud; can’t be enjoyed unless the flooring nails pop up or the wall panels don’t bend.

Tracy Coat of Arms

Last night JJ needed help with his homework, “It’s too hard Pepaw.” I took a few minutes to read the assignment which had been stapled to another sheet where he was to originate a family coat of arms.

There was a banner where he was to put his last name and below that a shield with four separate areas to fill in with important information. He was to draw or paste a picture of his family, show where his family came from, put two words describing his family and something the family does for fun.

JJ and I looked through the digital images on my computer and found a group picture taken after Thanksgiving from a year ago. I showed him how to import that to a blank
Word document and size it down so it would fit within the borders on the coat of arms.

JJ was worried about how to show where all his family came from until I explained all he needed was a big map of the US and another of Mexico. The internet took us to several maps which we then shrunk down to size and printed so he could paste them in yet a different block. The smile returned to JJ’s face as the light at the end of the tunnel of success appeared.

What does your family do for fun? “We play video games on the Wii.” JJ was off to the races with his marking pen making the best letters he knew how. The temptation was to print out the information on the computer and let him paste it like he’d done with the other information; but that wouldn’t have helped JJ practice making beautiful easy to read letters. Being a grandparent has its responsibilities; a tough life but somebody has to do it.

Communist Goals in America – A Done Deal

Cleon Skousen, author of The Naked Communist, listed and enumerated many of the goals of the Communist agenda; take a moment to look them up and see how far along they have come. I’ll only take one for my article today, the use of school books to indoctrinate the next generation, or as Skousen put it when he listed the 17th goal:

“Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.”

This morning John Ray, Stop the ACLU, had a piece which falls into the category of pure propaganda for the Communist movement, all about an 8th grade English text book up in Racine Wisconsin which has 15 pages dedicated to the Great One, Obama. No, I’m not making this up, 15 pages complete with a full color photograph of Obama standing in front of a jubilant convention crowd.

There are so many issues, red flags (pardon the bad pun); I hardly know where to begin. My first thought was to wonder, “did this book include Washington’s First Inaugural Address, Washington’s Farewell Address, Patrick Henry’s Liberty or Death ( complete rather than shortened version ) ; my bet would be, no this book would only push a certain socialist agenda.” I left that as a comment to John’s article. I keep forgetting; this was an English text book intended to teach proper composition, not political or social engineering.

Let’s, for the moment, suppose that George Washington’s or Patrick Henry’s great speeches were included somewhere in the book; not having a copy of the book for closer examination makes it speculative at best. Who would have the audacity to include Obama’s work at this time; a transparent propaganda stunt at best, a more sinister agenda for those paying attention.

Gumption, or as the Yiddish would more accurately describe, chutzpah! Maybe that should have been in capital letters with bold typeface, CHUTZPAH! These folks at McDougal Littell Literature, where the 8th grade English book was published have taken a virtual empty suit, Obama, and gone far beyond recognition of a first term U. S. Senator and presidential candidate; something which would more appropriately have appeared in a text book for government, civics or social engineering and elevated his value far beyond anything he has actually accomplished.

While I’m thinking about it, there’s some hint that someone other than the Great One actually wrote the books credited to Obama. I read where some credit the unrepentant terrorist Ayers as Obama’s ghost writer after a careful comparison to writing style and syntax. If this is in deed true it would make perfect sense; William Ayers being associated closely with the radical transformation of structured teaching environments, the Chicago Annenberg Challenge connection and the make up of its board of directors all fit the possibility of such a collaborative effort.

Dick Morris wrote on the Obama-Ayers connection:

“After Walter Annenberg’s foundation offered several hundred million dollars to American public schools in the mid-’90s, William Ayers applied for $50 million for Chicago. The purpose of his application was to secure funds to “raise political consciousness” in Chicago’s public schools. After he won the grant, Ayers’s group chose Barack Obama to distribute the money. Between 1995 and 1999, Obama distributed the $50 million and raised another $60 million from other civic groups to augment it. In doing so, he was following Ayers’s admonition to grant the funds to “external” organizations, like American Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to pair with schools and conduct programs to radicalize the students and politicize them.”

What’s the old saying about trees, “An apple doesn't fall far from the tree”, an indicator of similarities between the student and the teacher; which Obama managed to alter, “An Acorn Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree.” You have to wonder was there some kind of subliminal slip of the tongue on that one.

I suppose we need to discount all the teachers in Obama’s life, the associations Obama has made and which he feels comfortable with. There’s his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who has gone so far as to damn America, William Ayers, a Weatherman Underground terrorist who has stated publicly that not enough was done as he had his picture taken stomping on the American Flag, convicted felon Tony Rezko who sold Obama a piece of prime land far below market value. None of these associations matter unless you believe that, “the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

AIG - Bail Out - Fuzzy Thinking Explained

In our locksmith business we keep track of how much comes in and how much goes out; call it an old fashioned principle which permits us to understand whether or not the business is making money. I actually record the cost of goods sold on each work order; making it easier at the end of the month when entering the sales figures into the computer. We’ve been doing this for quite some time and found it helpful; especially at the end of the year when it comes time to square up with the IRS and the State Comptroller (the sales tax folks).

During any given week I already know if the amount coming in matches up to the average known expenses; I call it minimum budget. The old saying, “Some days chicken, some days feathers”, fits our roller coaster of recorded sales; however, these figures tend to average out in the long run.

I try not to waste much money eating out for lunch; but, when business is good I’ll have extra spending money for things like a roast beef sandwich at Lenny’s. Lucy and I know how much money is available for our Saturday night date; are we having steak or hamburger? We live within our means and consider ourselves blessed for having enough and then some.

We set money aside for a special extended weekend; usually looking at the calendar to coincide with locksmith convention where we can see new products for a few minutes and spend the rest of the time relaxing under the umbrella of “business expense”. Knowing how much money we have available makes all this possible.

I read where the folks at AIG spent a considerable chunk of change, around $440,000 ( nearly half a million dollars ), rewarding some of their top producers at a fancy retreat. They didn’t stay at the Holiday Inn or Motel 6; no, they required one of the best and most expensive, the St. Regis Monarch beach resort in Dana Point, California.

AIG issued a statement saying that “This type of gathering is standard practice in the industry and was planned a year advance of the Federal Reserve's loan to AIG. We recognize, however, that even activities that have long been considered standard practice may be perceived negatively. As a result, we are reevaluating various aspects of our operations in light of the new times in which we operate.”

I recognize how different businesses operate and how closing a deal on the golf course makes perfect sense, or making sure the client gets a nice juicy steak and a couple of extra Margaritas might grease the wheels on the way to productivity; however, none of this goes down too easily now that I’m the one picking up the tab; remember me, I’m John Q. Taxpayer; remember the bail out? I’m glad they’re reevaluating aspects of their operations in light of the new times; a fancy way of saying we had a great time, thanks for the ride.

If this was a telegram, “To: Step Children, We’ll try to be more discreet (stop) It runs against our up bringing (stop) Don’t expect too much too soon (stop) Send more money (never stop).”

AIG, along with some other huge corporate entities ( some loan sharking firms, Fannie and Freddie comes to mind ) can’t seem to manage the amount of money coming in with the amount of money going out. The top executives all require the best in clothing, the fanciest restaurants, exclusive golf courses and the list is endless when it comes to “the best life has to offer”. They live in houses which are featured in the Life Styles of the Rich and Shameless, have country vacation houses and get away condos and never stand in line to board since they all get to use the corporate jet. Is this class envy or just a complaint from Joe Lunchbox who now gets to pick up the tab?

Maybe I’m suffering from fuzzy thinking, maybe not; but how come some among us, those on shaky ground for quite some time, unable to determine whether or not their company makes a profit due to inept or flat out dishonest bookkeeping practices, how come these folks are living like kings while the rest of us are happy to have an extra ten bucks to splurge at Lenny’s Sandwich Shop every now and again? Why is that?

Sub Prime Wizards of Wall Street

I found this little video on Never Yet Melted’s site and decided to “borrow” it.

Obama is for Change

“Obama is the most progressive candidate for the US presidency”, a quote from Castro printed in the Cuban newspaper Granma. What is the real meaning of progressive?

Why are all the wrong people hoping Obama wins? The tyrants of the Middle East want Obama to win, the socialists in Europe want Obama to win, that lunatic, Kim Jong-il, who runs North Korea wants Obama to win; again I ask, why are all the wrong people hoping Obama wins?

Post Turtle

I got this from a good friend in my email and had to pass it along; hope it makes you scratch your head at least once.

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, whose hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our president.

The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a 'Post Turtle''.

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.

The old rancher said, 'When your driving down a country road on you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain… 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belongup there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb persons put him up there to begin with'.

Google This!

To Our Representatives - No Bail Out

The loud noise you’re hearing is the sound of an angry public, one which has been crossed and double crossed by Congress too many times. Read my lips, “No Bail Out!”

This country is in trouble because of Congress playing with the free market, not because of the free market. Stop screwing things up and we may survive. I found this picture on Michelle Malkin’s website; says everything I needed to say.

Bail-Out - Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn Gets It

I caught a portion of the Rush Limbaugh talk show yesterday while driving between locksmith jobs. I heard Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn explain in clear and simple language what the major problem is with America; the abuse of the Constitution by those who have taken an oath to uphold it, imagine that.

We, as Americans, have the right to pursue happiness; however we are not entitled, through act of Congress, to guaranteed home ownership, free medical services or any other structured socialisms intended to even the playing field of life. Everything below is a direct “snatch off” from Rush’s website.

“COBURN: We have a patient with cancer, and they have secondary pneumonia because of the cancer and we're going to treat the pneumonia. But we're not going to fix the cancer. We're gonna ignore the cancer. Let me tell you what the cancer is. The cancer is Congresses for years upon years have totally ignored the Constitution of the United States and taken to us areas where we have no business being. There is no way you can justify in the US Constitution that the country ought to be the source of mortgages for homeowners in this country, and yet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac control 70% of the mortgages in this country.

RUSH: He then continued.

COBURN: If anybody in America is mad about this situation, there's only one place they need to direct their anger, and it's right in the Congress of the United States. What we're going to do is we're going to continue to treat the symptoms rather than directly go after the cause that has created the greatest financial risk and peril this country has ever seen. We're not going after the cause. The cause is get back within the bounds of the Constitution that very specifically says where we have business working and where we don't. We decided that we would ignore the wisdom of our founders and create systems that are outside the enumerated powers that were given to us because we know better, we know better. We don't know better, it is obvious.

RUSH: This is Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn. He finally said this.

COBURN: This body continues to spend more, authorize more, and create bigger and more intrusive government, limiting the power of the great American experiment to in fact supply an increased standard of living. We're in tough times, but they're going to get tougher until the American people hold this body accountable to live within the rules set out in a very wise, a very providential way that served this country well. We ignore this book, this Constitution at our peril, we are reaping exactly what we have sown."

Progress Being Made in Houston Area

While there are still plenty of things to repair, fix or replace; Houston has seen much progress towards getting back on its feet after Hurricane Ike. This past week we saw the “big claw” trucks in our neighborhood picking up the mountains of tree limbs stacked at the curb line.

Lucy and I watched as a one man crew arrived at our house. The driver had a huge open top truck with a coupled open top pull along just like it. He climbed onto a control arm apparatus, sitting in the suspended seat at the controls of the big claw which could off load into either of the open top collection areas. He set out riggers that stabilized the truck and swung the claw out and over a pile of debris in my yard.

What had taken me days to haul out to the curb was snatched up in a few moments. I suppose I could have complained that he didn’t replace his divots, leaving a couple of gouge marks in my lawn; but that would show a lack of gratitude for the overall improvement which was derived. Lucy and I thanked him and waved as he moved off to the next house and a chance to see the neighborhood return to normal.

A Brief Explanation is in Order

Some who pass this way might wonder what is going on in the comment section, specifically, “you are an abusive father. go to hell. Anonymous 09.30.08 - 2:36 pm”. I’d not intended to air the family laundry; however, in light of recent actions to destroy me publicly I feel an obligation to defend myself.

My oldest daughter recently had to be forcibly removed from my house in the middle of one of her hissy fits. She has a different accounting of what happened, leaving out anything which would paint her as anything other than a perfect daughter. The briefest of explanations are that my daughter, while living under our roof at no expense in order to facilitate her education and desires to become an engineer, fell into the “entitlement mentality” and no longer regarded our assistance as beneficial along with a decidedly marked drop off in minimal respect for her parent’s rightful position in their own home.

The simple duties of helping set the table or carrying in groceries were no longer on her list of items of obligation as a member of the family. When asked to help she either ignored the requests, claimed to be busy with her studies or flatly turned and called me an asshole because I was just being mean. Lucy and I talked about the fact that Bonnie would be out of the house in a few months, either off to Texas A&M, the University of Texas or Rice; either way we decided to bite our tongues and put up with her insolence for a little longer. We were rewarded with continual insults, often intentionally sprung on us in front of guests, intended to humiliate and demean or position as parents. Her favorite harping point had to do with the fact that our upstairs living area is warmer than the downstairs living areas. Here’s a news flash; if I had money enough and then some, I wouldn’t have spent a penny fixing the insulation, replacing duct work or even putting in a new air conditioning unit to satisfy the demands of a selfish and ungrateful child.

During the time following Hurricane Ike while the power to our house was being supplied via a small generator in my work truck for limited periods in order to keep the refrigerator and freezer cold, we were also able to have a small fan, one light fixture and the computer running. Once the internet connectivity was restored we were able to have short amounts of time spent catching up with the outside world through email and blogs.

I’d posted a blog and was in the middle of editing, my normal means of checking for posting errors, when a lady from church came by to borrow our chain saw. Lucy and I went out to the garage, gave a brief explanation on how to use it and I returned to finish my editing. My oldest daughter had closed off what I was working on, without considering to ask if I was done, and was checking her email. I explained, in harsh terms, that she needed to let me finish what I was working on. I was told. “No! I’m on the computer now.”

I’m not accustomed to being told off in such a manner, much less by my daughter in my own house. There was a short exchange of unpleasant remarks ending with my daughter sitting defiantly in my chair holding the keyboard and glaring at me as if she had a perfect right to anything and everything which I own. I told her to get out and physically took her by the wrist, her dead weight in opposition, as I removed her with as little force as necessary. This is the “assault” which my daughter claims and any marks left on her arm would be a result of her defiance and resistance to get out of the chair.

The verbal assault continued and I told her to leave my house; about the same time she did a round house kick which I was able to block. I then ducked as she threw a shoe at me, one which I had at the front door drying. It flew past the computer and missed both of us. I then escorted her out of the house and told her she was no longer welcome here; again, any marks left on her were not from striking her, rather in containing her rage.

Lucy was outside, still talking with the dear lady from church and putting the chain saw along with an extra container of gasoline mix into her car when the front door slammed. Bonnie, at the top of her lungs yelled, “I hope you f***ing die!” I’m sure that made a lasting impression on the lady from church as she drove off; as well as my neighbors across the street who were cleaning up the mess from a tree having gone through their house. I’m not sure which does more damage, a tree falling through your house or a daughter intent on destroying her father through pure hate.

Bonnie wasn’t finished, picking up a large tree limb from the stack collected and taken to the curb, as she ran screaming unintelligibly toward my work truck. She then struck the hood of my truck leaving a huge dent. I have since been told it will cost nearly $600.00 to repair, and that’s only because it would be done at a friend’s body shop at a significantly lower than normal rate.

Bonnie returned the next day, I was asked to stay away to avoid further confrontations. During the few minutes in our house she took aim at the framed photographs which hang on the wall of the stairs. Any pictures which had my image were smashed. I came home to find pieces of glass scattered up and down the stairs, in the den on the wood flooring and into our bedroom. It took quite a while to pick up the mess; but the damage done to the photographs may be irreparable.

I have to wonder what kind of child we raised, one who saw and recorded only the worst in me over these thirty years. I have to wonder what kind of person ignores all the many blessings poured out on her through her parents in favor of; you know, I’m not even sure if there is a purpose for her being out there on her own. Perhaps it was time for Bonnie to grow up, face the challenges of the world and stand on her own, pay all those bills that up to now magically were taken care of. There are no free rides; somebody has to pay the bills and the entitlement mentality can only get you so far. Bonnie, I still wish for you to succeed; just stay away until the wounds heal.