Terrorist have no rights to protect.

Since my posting last night I have had the chance to hear from some of my more liberally oriented friends about the absolute necessity now of protecting the rights of the accused. And how foundational this is to the constitutional freedoms we enjoy as American's. (Side note: The terrorist in question is not an American)

It is always amusing to me to hear from these friends and to engage them in debate. Because in the face of reason and logic their bleeding hearts begin to coagulate. I tell my Bill-Maher-tree-hugging-whale-saving-friend the following illustration: Assume for the moment, I'm asleep in my bed in my home in the middle of the night. An intruder breaks into my home. I hear the door being busted open. I arise and take my two friends Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson with me to greet my "visitor". And there in the living room, I encounter Mr. John Wannatakemylife with my Bose Stereo system in his arms and a 9mm Glock in the waist band of his shorts that are hanging down off his butt. Small problem though for John. I have come into the room under the assumptions that 1. this intruder was bold enough to break in while I was in the house, so 2. he's probably carrying a fire arm. I also assume 3. that if he might be carrying a fire arm that I should 4. probably confront him with mine pointed straight at his chest (note: the chest being a larger target to aim for than the bridge of a nose).

John on the other hand, is a bit intellectually challenged at the moment. Because he is more interested in looting my property than having the sense to protect himself by having his weapon in one hand and the loot in the other. Now. With the light turned on John can see that something is wrong (for him) with this picture. I have my long barrel 44 magnum pointed at him and he has a Bose speaker pointed at me.

He might be saying to himself that he has nothing to fear because he was born with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of his happiness in being a thief and bottom-feeding-scum-sucking-break-in-my-house-lazy-fool? He might also think that I have no right to shoot him, because he is entitled to a trial by a jury of his peers to determine whether or not he is actually committing armed robbery? But whatever he thinks of himself or his predicament, John is faced with a great moral dilemma at the moment? He must ask himself exactly how much that Bose stereo is worth to him and is it worth his life? And then he has to decide if he can drop the stereo and run to freedom, or drop the stereo and grab his gun and raise it and shoot me, . . . .faster than I can pull the trigger of my already-cocked-and-loaded gun?

MMMMMMMMMM? Not a difficult choice for a person of average intelligence. But then again, John doesn't have average intelligence or he wouldn't have broken into my home with the possibility that I might be either 1. armed, or 2. more heavily armed than himself? (Note: He might have average intelligence if he lived in Washington D.C. since he would believe that as a law abiding citizen I was not allowed to have a gun . . but this is Missouri)

Personally, I have already answered . . in my mind . . these questions for him. He believed the decision was worth his life. Just as I have realized by seeing the 9mm Glock in his about-to-fall-down pants that he believed the Bose system is also worth MY life to him? Now at this point, exactly what rights does John actually have? The answer is None. He left ALL his rights on my front porch at the moment he burst into my home. EMPHASIS ALL. You see, at this moment, John is not entitled anymore to the pursuit of happiness, and he is not entitled to my Bose system. He is not entitled to a jury trial by his peers. He is not entitled to evaluation? He is not even entitled to his life. And (damn the bad luck) he is not even going to be entitled to his choice of his last meal. And . . .though he may have thought so a few moments before . . . he is certainly not entitled to my life.

As I stand there confronting him, I am not wondering what great wrongs society might have done to John to influence him toward this life of criminal behavior. I am not feeling any guilt that perhaps life is not fair and that I have more than John. I am not wondering if perhaps he should have my stereo so that my wealth might be redistributed among him and his crackwhore spouse. All I am wondering is how stupid John really is and whether or not he is going to drop the stereo and reach for his gun?

I have already made in mind all of the decisions that need to be made. I realize that John came into my house and has made a decision that he is willing for one of us to die. He of course . . . incorrectly . . .has assumed that it would be me. Poor John. John is having to make a decision about how fast or lucky he might be. I am not having to wonder.

And then finally, when he makes the decision to drop the Bose and reach for the gun, the entire matter is settled in the flash of a barrel. John should have kept his rights and left my front porch with them. John did not choose wisely when he broke into my home. And the last decision of his life was the most foolish. Now, John was granted a fair and speedy trial. Except in this case, since he had given up all his rights when he broke in, I . . . . his victim . . .was granted the right to be his jury, his judge, and his executioner. He granted me these rights the exact same moment as he surrendered all of his.

With a terrorist, the same is true. When Abdul Mutallab made his decision to get on the plane with the Modern Binary Explosives to blow up the Detroit bound plane, he gave up any rights that he had. Actually he gave up all his rights the moment he entered the airport with even just the intention to board the plane. He did not give up his rights when he made his bumbled attempt to blow it up. He gave it up the moment he made the decision to try and carry it out. Just as John gave up his rights when he came in my front door. Mr. Mutallab had no rights from that point on.

He is not a soldier in a war against other soldiers in a war between nations and protected by the Geneva convention. He's certainly not protected by the Constitution of the United States of America. He was not pitted in battle against another enemy under orders from his commander. Mr. Muttallab was a man on a mission to kill innocent men, women, and children. He was not on the plane to steal their stereo system. He was there to steal their very lives. It was a simple matter when the plane arrived of there being 300 witnesses to the event and to Mr. Mutallab's evil intentions. Nothing more needed to be said. He could have been removed from the plane and executed immediately as a terrorist.

Of course though a better plan would be to have interrogated him first to find out what rocks his other terrorist co-conspirators were hiding under. And then he could be executed. It is interesting that in a CNN poll taken in the days after his attempt to blow up the plane, that 58% of American's now think he should be "waterboarded" as his interrogation. That is up from 32% a year ago.

For those who think that now justice must take its course, and Mr. Muttallab is entitled to a trial and due process of the law, I must ask, would you 1. feel the same social compassion for this murderer as you were falling from 35,000 feet after he had blown up the plane you were flying on and 2. Would you feel the same if John were standing in your living room and about to point a gun at you and kill you?

It is easy for liberals to be liberals from a distance. They can always recite beatitudes and beautiful and flowery excuses for protecting the rights of the accused. And I am the first to agree that rights or law-abiding citizens are to be protected and defended. But this is not the case with Muttalab. When reasoned through, it is simple logic to see that he gave all his rights up on the day he went to the airport.

So please spare me your left-leaning-liberal-whinings and tell me that a man with a gun in your living room about to kill you has the right to do so. Or that he has any rights at all? And then tell me that if by chance he accidentally misses your heart and you live, that you want to be sure that he has a trial so a jury can decide if he really shot you or not, when you know that he did.

I once told a group of high school boys who were sitting in my living room with my daughters that I had no problem at all with having seen a father go free after having shot . . . at point blank range . . . the man who had raped his 8 year old daughter. The high school boys were aghast and said that the father was wrong too because he had murdered the rapist. I simply explained to them that I had no problem with it, because it was not murder. They tried to tell me that it certainly was because many people saw him just walk up to the man and kill him. I told them that I would certainly do the same if someone hurt one of my daughters. And that it would not be murder. It would be an execution. Plain and simple. The boys were silent. (And I assume thoughtfully intent on how not to hurt my children).

When Muttalab, entered the airport with his jockey shorts full of explosives, he made a decision for himself that day. He gave up all his rights, and said to the world. I will kill you or I am willing for you to kill me. He failed in his attempt. We should not fail in ours.

For those who say that executing Mr. No-Writes-Today Muttalab would not be a deterent to other terrorists and murderers (though I disagree), I say . . . fine . . ."maybe you're right". Executing him though would be a definate, and permanent deterent to Mr. Muttalab killing or attempting to kill anyone else. And certainly the number of terrorists is not infinite. In time, if they were all simply executed, their reign of terror would stop too.

Our current administration though, who thinks Guantanamo was a disgrace to our American system of individual liberties and who thinks it should be dismantled and ship the terrorists home with a little spank on the buttocks, will fail. Because they believe that a terrorist retains his rights throughout his reign of terror. Somehow I don't imagine that my liberal friends hearts will bleed so freely, if they were the ones to find themselves freefalling from 35,000 feet?

B. McElhaney December 30, 2009
(note: it is interesting to me that most or all of the family survivors of the victims of 9/11 were from the New York city and surrounding areas. And that most of the people who live in that geographic area would proclaim themselves as liberals. And yet, in the outcry from liberals for the shut down of Guantanamo we did not hear any calls for mercy from the 9/11 families? Could it be that they are only liberals when it is someone else who's blood is bleeding?)

Where is the public outrage?

I WILL NOT BE SILENT.

I have been waiting for three days now to see if there was some mass outpouring of public rage about something that has been in the news lately. And yet there is none that I've heard. In case you missed the significance of this event, on the day after Christmas . . I DID NOT.

These are my opinions. You may disagree. But if you cannot see that a major shift in our political landscape has taken place, you are not paying attention. This shift in policy does not bode well for the future of myself, my children, my grandchildren, or this county. On Sunday December 26th, 2009, I know that there was major chaos, as a terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, 23, tried to set off a sophisticated explosive device strapped to his body, inside his underwear, as his flight from Amsterdam to Detroit was over US soil and about one hour from landing. You may notice that I say terrorist. He is not an alleged terrorist. He is a terrorist. Thank goodness he is a bumbling, stupid, and incompetent terrorist. But he is a terrorist and was intent on killing a plane load of people.

Mutallab is directly linked to the terrorist organization Al Qaeda. Fortunately a fast-thinking, and fast-acting Dutch man realized what was happening and literally flew across four rows of seats, subdued the man, and extinguished the flames of the device with his bare hands before it could detonate. He then dragged the man into the aisle and hauled him in a choke hold up to the first-class section and held him for the remaining hour of the flight to Detroit. I hope he poured some alcohol on the terrorist's burns as treatment. So? Great . . . we say! How fortunate. But what happened after the plane landed is a big sign of a dramatic . . VERY DRAMATIC . . shift that has taken place in our war against terrorism since January 20th of this year.

Prior to January 20th, this terrorist would have been yanked off the plane and turned over directly to the CIA and the FBI and detained as an enemy combatant. I hope he would have been taken to Guantanamo and water-boarded for days and days until he had snitched out every associate he had. For certain, he would have been directly interrogated over and over and over. I was in interrogation in the army. I know what information can be obtained. Even without the most severe tactics. Sodium pentothal works wonders. So does sleep deprivation and minimal starvation. Hypnosis. Red ants. Noxious, but non-toxic odors. Firm pinching. Ear twisting. Yelling and screaming and threatening. Good cop and bad cop. The interrogation arsenal we have is very large. And ALL of them justified to not just defeat our enemies . . .but more importantly to keep them from destroying us. And you can use all those tactics and methods on the enemy. How far would any of you go if you thought it would have stopped 9/11?

The CIA might have discovered information from him about other attacks that are being planned? Where did he get his funding? Where was he trained? Where was his headquarters? Who gave him his mission? Why this mission? Who assisted him in this suicide bombing? But instead, he was taken off the plane to a waiting ambulance and carried to a hospital.

He was treated for his burns at taxpayer expense and the FBI was allowed to question him, as they might any US citizen would be. And since he is now under the protection of, and in the hands of our own US civil and criminal court system, he immediately had a court-appointed lawyer provided for him at taxpayer expense. Probably even a team of lawyers? And of course . . he froze up and went silent. He has NOTHING to say to the FBI or anyone else. Nor can he be compelled to say a single thing. He has now been arrested and is in jail for no more than attempting to shoot at a US Marshall and missing. Attempted murder. Or holding up an armored car.

I am sure he will be subjected now to a variety of psychiatric evaluations to find out if there was some deep-seeded reasoning for his actions? Maybe his mommy took her nipple away from him too soon? Maybe his daddy spanked him too much? Maybe he was bullied too much in elementary school? Maybe he was ostracized by his playmates? Maybe he had too much poverty influencing his life? Maybe he was a victim of racial prejudice? Maybe he didn't have government provided health care? Maybe global warming melted his brain-cells? Maybe this is society's own creation? Maybe he watched too much Fox News or listened to Rush Limbaugh too much? Maybe he was temporarily insane?

One thing is for certain my friends, THE PAST FEW DAYS reflects a serious shift in our nation's strategy to win the war on terror. And one in which the terrorists themselves will learn from. And if you don't at least care or mind that this shift has taken place, then you will not be able to complain or moan when something more serious happens. We are not a safer nation today than we were in the days and years prior to January 20, 2009. We are not even AS safe. We have a greater threat to our safety. We are in more peril.

To do nothing, or to say nothing about this is to be no different than England's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain saying that Hitler was not a bad man and certainly England had nothing to fear from the man's goal to reestablish a strong German nation. To not protest . . for me, is to acquiesce and say that I don't mind or care. I will not be silent.

I did not agree with George W. Bush on many, many, issues. He was not a great President. He had many serious flaws and made many bad decisions for our country's economy. Sometimes the apple falls far from the tree? But it is very significant that since September 11, 2001, there has not been one single attempt of a terrorist attack on US soil. In fact, as a result of interrogations at Guantanomo, numerous other attacks were thwarted before they could take place. We were a safer nation. I fear the tide has turned. This fact did not elude me over the weekend. I will remember it. I will proclaim it.

I only hope now that Mutallab does not decide to sue Delta and the Dutchman for civil damages or for physical pain and suffering being dragged down the isle of the plane and restrained. Perhaps he will sue them for failing to treat him more quickly? He has that option. I know that if I were the Dutchman I would be moving my personal assets out of harm's way before I was sued. I am sure that in some boardroom right now, Delta's lawyers are scrambling to determine what their liability is to the ticket-holding "passenger".

This administration will certainly protect Mr. Mutallab's interest in his right to defend himself. I fear that I cannot count on them to guard my own.

B. McElhaney
December 29, 2009

(postscript: As I said, these opinions are my own. I would have been very happy . . if it could have been done safely . . to take a vote of the passengers and judge him before landing, open the door and toss him out from 30,000 feet).

postscript added January 1, 2010. In a recent CNN poll taken the week after Mutallab's bumbled attempt to blow up the plane, 58% of American's now believe that "waterboarding" is an acceptable form of interrogation. That is up from 32% one year ago. It's amazing to me how much people's moral judgements change when their is an action and not just a threat.

Repeating rumors and Gossip

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear, or are about to repeat a rumor.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's correct," Socrates continued.

"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

A Frightening President

The following is an Open Letter from a Procter and Gamble executive to President Obama written by Mr. Lou Pritchett in May 2009. Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends - an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman toVice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter andGamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.



I have confirmed the authenticity of this letter through Snopes.com. Click here if you would like to read the confirmation yourself.



Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others. You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America 'crowd and deliver this message abroad. You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations. You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.



Lou Pritchett

A Christmas Eve defense of Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor wrote a Christmas-related column for Salon Magazine that has kicked up unusual sand. Keillor, not really known for being a bashion of Christian conservativism, has come under much fire in the past few days from numerous liberal writers and commentators.
I say "Bravo" to you Garrison. You go dude!

Here are the key paragraphs:
"You can blame Ralph Waldo Emerson for the brazen foolishness of the elite. He preached at the First Church of Cambridge, a Unitarian outfit where I discovered that "Silent Night" has been cleverly rewritten to make it more about silence and night and not so much about God . . . Unitarians listen to the Inner Voice and so they have no creed that they all stand up and recite in unison, and that's their perfect right, but it is wrong, wrong, wrong to rewrite "Silent Night." If you don't believe Jesus was God, OK, go write your own damn "Silent Night" and leave ours alone. This is spiritual piracy and cultural elitism and we Christians have stood for it long enough. And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write "Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we'll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah"? No, we didn't."Christmas is a Christian holiday -- if you're not in the club, then buzz off. Celebrate Yule instead or dance around in druid robes for the solstice. Go light a big log, go wassailing and falalaing until you fall down, eat figgy pudding until you puke, but don't mess with the Messiah."

Overcoming life's challenges and disabilities

Life is tough. And sometimes doesn't seem to follow the path of fairness. It's easy to look at others and compare my particular situation to theirs and think to myself "what if . . . . ?". Or to look at opportunities others have and say "well, they were able to succeed because they had . . .?" But in the end, life is what you make of it. And obstacles, hurtles and my own disabilities . . whatever they may be . . . are just opportunities for me to learn a new way of doing something. I remember reading a book almost 25 years ago that I still enjoy reading today. The Seeds of Greatness by Dennis Waitley. In that book, he interviewed highly successful people from a variety of fields and endeavors. Not all were measured by financial success. Some might have been great educators, scientists, investors, corporate titans, or clergy. And he tried to identify in each the common denominators that each had and shared with the others. He found several common characteristics. But the one that I remember most was that they all had an attitude about adversity that was unique to successful people. They each expressed it in their own way, but it could be summarized by saying that each looked at adversity and disability as an opportunity to learn a new way of doing something. This point was driven home even more recently when it was discovered that my 7 year old grandson is dyslexic. He's a remarkable, bright, and very smart young boy. But it seems life has thrown him a little curve and my first thought was that this was going to be a great hurtle for him to overcome in the future as he goes through school. And then the same day I heard of his disability I happened to tune into a television program that night with an interview of a best selling author, Vince Flynn. And during the interview (click here for the video and written transcript) he began to talk about how he came to realize that his own disability of dyslexia was actually a gifting and gave him the ability to do visualize things that others couldn't. In fact, he attributed his greatness at writing to being dyslexic. And he also talked about children with Attention Deficit Disorder and how that can become a gift and asset in an adult's life and not a disability. It was . . for me . . a very insightful interview. And it renewed in me that attitude of realizing that challenges and adversity were not just things to overcome, but were opportunities for me to learn a new or better way of doing something. Today I saw an interview with another man, who has his own disabilities that he's overcome. Very challenging. And yet . . this man . . .that many would pitty, has actually become the one to be a teacher and inspiration to others. It's a wonderful video, whether you play golf or not. And it inspires me to press on. As I sit here today thinking about how much I have to do, and how hard I have to work and how full my hands are . . . I am most grateful that I have two hands to be full in the first place. If you will watch this, you will agree with me, that it's not about Golf. It's a video about life.

Click here: Butch Lumpkin and His own Seed of Greatness

Are you going to finish strong?

The year is drawing to a close. And I have to ask myself . . how am I going to finish? Will I finish strong? Or choose to be beaten by the year's adversities and trials? Nope. I will finish strong. As a friend told me recently, I will go on eating my vegetables, dealing with life, suck it up, and go on. Crap happens. Just clean it up and move on to a better day. I can do it. If I piled up up my problems and aggravations and disappointments in one pile and put my pile next to this guy's, . . . I'll choose to keep mine.

Click here: Are you going to finish strong?

You just gotta love Los Angeles Valley girls!

Ever wondered where wool and mohair come from?

O Holy Night

In lieu of Christmas cards this year, I'm posting this link and hoping that my friends and family can take the time to watch it. It's been the most difficult year of my life financially. The tests and trials have . . at times . . been mentally and emotionally overwhelming. This is not shaping up to be the happiest Christmas season of my life. And yet . . I am happy, content, and well in the knowledge that there was a Holy Night that occurred many years ago, that gives me a promise of a Paradise and eternal joy that will eclipse all heartache and pain and hardship. I am reminded each time I listen to this that my soul has a true worth and the Slave has become my brother. His Name shall break all of my oppressions. I will fall on my knees before Him. I will receive this Christmas . . .again . . the best gift I could receive. And I will give back to Him the gift of my Love.

O Holy Night performed by The Celtic Woman

The Man the Media has never been able to Ridicule

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness
and to seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,'
but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers
and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today;
cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.
Amen!'

Squirrel Remover

If you are having problems with squirrels in your yard and would like to get them to leave you alone and go to your neighbor's, then try this handy, easy-to-make-yourself, device that will get them gone and hopefully send them on to greener yards.

Click here for free demonstration video

Filling your life up.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 hours in a day is not enough;
remember the mayonnaise jar.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and started to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - God, family,children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else -- The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Wholeheartedly worship your God. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. 'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Hallmark Cards you won't see

My tire was thumping.
I thought it was flat
When I looked at the tire...
I noticed your cat.
Sorry!

Looking back over the years
that we've been together,
I can't help but wonder...
‘What the hell was I thinking?'

Congratulations on your wedding day!
Too bad no one likes your husband.

I've always wanted to have
someone to hold,
someone to love.
After having met you ..
I've changed my mind.

I must admit,
you brought Religion into my life.
I never believed in Hell
until I met you.

As the days go by,
I think of how lucky I am...
That you're not here to ruin it for me.

Congratulations on your promotion.
Before you go...
Would you like to take this knife out of my back?
You'll probably need it again.

Happy birthday!
You look great for your age.
Almost Lifelike!

When we were together,
you always said you'd die for me.
Now that we've broken up,
I think it's time you kept your promise.

We have been friends for a very long time.
Let's say we stop?

I'm so miserable without you
it's almost like you're here.

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.
Did you ever find out who the father was?

Your friends and I wanted
to do something special for your birthday.
So we're having you put to sleep.

So your daughter's a hooker,
and it spoiled your day.
Look at the bright side,
it's really good pay.

I will miss you so much
While you're away.
Now do your part.
And go somewhere else.

Swine flu and Baking Soda

It's good for a variety of other ailments.

And much cheaper than branded medications:

Over 150 years ago Dr. Austin Church formed a business to produce and distribute Baking Soda. ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda is derived from a natural occurring mineral called trona. It is 100% pure, safe, and natural. Baking Soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate) is a substance that is found naturally in all living things. Its purpose is to maintain pH balance in the bloodstream, which is necessary to sustain life. Due to its chemical and physical properties, sodium bicarbonate has unique medicinal capabilities that every healthcare practitioner, doctor and patient needs to know about. The only problem is that Arm & Hammer Baking Soda can replace many more expensive medicines and this does not make the medical industrial complex happy.

In today’s modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense and approved as a drug. But this was not always the case and as we can see in the information in this chapter, which is from a 1924 booklet, published by the Arm & Hammer Soda Company. On page 12 the company starts off saying, “The proven value of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda as a therapeutic agent is further evinced by the following evidence of a prominent physician named Dr. Volney S. Cheney, in a letter to the Church & Dwight Company:
“In 1918 and 1919 while fighting the ‘Flu’ with the U. S. Public Health Service it was brought to my attention that rarely any one who had been thoroughly alkalinized with bicarbonate of soda contracted the disease, and those who did contract it, if alkalinized early, would invariably have mild attacks. I have since that time treated all cases of ‘Cold,’ Influenza and LaGripe by first giving generous doses of Bicarbonate of Soda, and in many, many instances within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated. Further, within my own household, before Woman’s Clubs and Parent-Teachers’ Associations, I have advocated the use of Bicarbonate of Soda as a preventive for “Colds,” with the result that now many reports are coming in stating that those who took “Soda” were not affected, while nearly every one around them had the “Flu.”

Recommended dosages from the Arm and Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:

During the first day take six doses of half teaspoonful of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals.
During the second day take four doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals.
During the third day take two doses of half teaspoonful of Arm and Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter half teaspoonful in glass of cool water each morning until cold is cured.

In order to secure the best results with Arm & Hammer Pure Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) when taken internally, certain simple rules must be observed. Materia Medica, pharmacology and Therapeutics (Bastedo, Page 88) clearly outlines these rules to follows:
“The effect of an alkali in the stomach will vary according to the nature of the stomach contents at the time of administration. In the resting period (after food is digested) sodium bicarbonate merely dissolves mucus and is absorbed as bicarbonate into the blood, to increase its alkalinity directly.
“In the digestive period it reduces the secretion of gastric juice, neutralizes a portion of the hydrochloric acid, liberates the carminative carbon dioxide gas, and is absorbed as sodium chloride.
“In cases of fermentation or ‘sour stomach’ it may neutralize the organic acids and so result in the opening of a spasmodically closed pylorus (the opening between the stomach and the small intestine); while at the same time it acts to overcome flatulency (accumulation of gas in the stomach and bowels).
“The time of administration must, therefore, be chosen with a definite purpose. Usually for hyperchlohydria (excess of acid) one hour or two hours after meals will be the period of harmful excess of acid.
“In continuous hyperacidity and in fermentative conditions a dose an hour before meals will tend to prepare the stomach for the next meal; or sometimes a dose will be necessary immediately after eating, because of abnormal acid or base having been present at the commencement of the meal. (For the average person one-half hour after meals is recommended).
“A dose at bedtime tends to check the early morning acidity, or a dose on arising cleans the stomach of acid and mucus before breakfast.”
Whenever taking a bicarbonate solution internally the soda should be dissolved on cold water.

This is all very valuable information coming from the horses own mouth, the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Company, which sells aluminum free baking soda. Clearly they knew what they had in their hands one hundred years ago; and its long use in medicine sustains the companies published medical views: “Besides doing good in respiratory affections, bicarbonate of soda is of inestimable value in the treatment of Alimentary Intoxication, Pyelitis (inflammation of the pelvis of the kidney), Hyper-Acidity of Urine, Uric Acid disturbances, Rheumatism and Burns. An occasional three-day course of Bicarbonate of Soda increases the alkalinity of the blood, assists elimination and increases the resisting power of the body to all Infectious Diseases.”

Magnesium chloride is the only form of magnesium that has been reported to increase immune system strength though all forms of magnesium need to be counted in this regard. When one adds magnesium chloride to ones baths, puts it on the skin like suntan screen, or takes it orally with sodium bicarbonate one supercharges their defensive perimeter or what is called the anti-pathogen factor in Chinese Medicine. Add Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin C and some healthy sun exposure or Vitamin D and we have the heart of army we need to array against viral invaders. Magnesium Bicarbonate – Ultimate Mitochondrial Cocktail is the name of one of my chapters that explains why both these essential mineral ions need to be present in sufficient concentrations.

The addition of a cup of baking soda to a hot bath after a long exhausting day alleviates tension and muscle aches. It exfoliates the skin to remove dead dry skin leaving fresh bright youthful skin behind without the high cost of the commercial skin exfoliates. The addition of baking soda to foot baths help with tired, achy feet when working in jobs such as waitressing or other heavy-walking type jobs. Combining the baking soda with magnesium chloride brings dramatic changes to human physiology and the only thing making this formula even better would be the addition of some sodium thiosulfate for a full hot springs therapeutic treatment.

The Official Proclamation of Thanksgiving

By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

Government stimulus tutorial

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive an Economic Stimulus payment. This is a very exciting program. I'll explain it using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers....

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, cars, or clothes, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that mainly stimulating the economy of foreign countries since they supply us with most of those things ?
A. Shut up or you don't get your check.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

1. If you spend the stimulus money at Walmart, your money will go to China .

2. If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to Saudi Arabia .

3. If you purchase a computer, it will go to India .

4. If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala .

5. If you buy a car, it will go to Japan or Korea .

6. If you purchase useless plastic stuff, it will go to Taiwan .

My advice. Don't spend it. Save it. Or pay off debt. Or save it to send back to the Government when your taxes are due.

Saint Theresa Olive

Lessons in living a life of peacefulness and surrender.

How to be an Angel

Christmas is coming soon. Everyone talks a lot about whether there are angels? Some fools even wonder if there is a God. I know there is a God. And He's alive and living and still performing miracles. And sometimes he uses angels to deliver them. So . . can you see angels? Yes. I think so. You just have to keep your eyes open and see them when the fly into and out of our lives. Sometimes they don't always appear with wings. But they always perform angelic deeds. I think I want to be an angel when I grow up. And as Christmas approaches, this story from a young mother years ago, is giving me some ideas about how to begin my training. I think to be an angel, you have to practice at it. And I hope in the coming 6 weeks I can find some ways to spread my wings a bit.

A Story of a Mother and the Angels who visited her.
She saw them. Would you?

In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket.Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries.Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it.I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurantin our small town. No luck. The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince who ever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in h that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night.I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids wouldalready be asleep This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money-- fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to mymeager wage. The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak.. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires!There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana ? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires. I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing andpainting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair. On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffeethe Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up. When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock onChristmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling andflour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll. As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my littleones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December.And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop....

some good stuff for my life.

ONE. Give people more than they expect for less than they expect it to cost and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a someone you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR . When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye. .
FIVE. When someone says "I'm sorry", say the words "I forgive you"
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Talk slowly but think quickly.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. People who dream a lot, have a lot of dreams come true.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. If you get hurt, love again.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives, pets, neighborhoods, or car they drive.
TWELVE. When someone starts out by saying "I shouldn't be saying this", then quickly say "well don't".
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone... The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone and just be quiet sometimes.
TWENTY-TWO. If someone tries to tell you something unflattering about someone else, stop them and ask "am I part of the problem here or part of the solution?". If neither, then it's just gossip and you're part of it.
TWENTY-THREE. Look for pennies and coins on the parking lot. And when you pick one up, take the time to read In God We Trust. And consider it as a little note that God sent you that day as a reminder. He doesn't forget He loves us, even if we do.
TWENTY-FOUR. Tip the busboy/girl and leave a tip for the cook who fixed your meal.
TWENTY-FIVE. Just refuse to listen to bad comments about your friends. There are plenty of other people who will.
TWENTY-SIX. Get up in the morning and be determined to make at least one person's day brighter, happier, or better. If you go to bed at night and realize that you haven't . . . get up and go do it. Waffle House is open 24 hours and there is always someone there to bless.

The Road not Taken

A favorite poem of mine by:
Robert Frost (1874–1963).

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Some more ideas for young people on life

There are a few more basic rules of life that young people seem to need to learn.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 7: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 8: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 9: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 10: The Government can not give you anything. Food, health care, or housing. Because the government doesn't produce anything, then the only way they can provide something for you is by taking it away from someone else. If they "give" one person money, they took that money from someone else.
Rule 11: Saving whales or protesting for world peace is very nice. But it won't pay the electric bill.
Rule 10: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Am I going to finish Strong?

Life is always challenging. But I have never been faced with challenges as hard as many others.
I try to watch this video every week to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. (and fortunately I have two feet). I remember my mother telling me as a child when I complained about not having new shoes, that I should be grateful for the shoes that I had because some people had no feet to wear even old shoes.

The world is a very rapidly changing place

The momentum of the changes in the world is mind-staggering to me. I have sent this link to my children and told them to take this into consideration in raising my grandchildren. A majority of the jobs that children should be preparing for the future don't even exist today. China will soon be the largest English speaking population in the world. The status-quo is disappearing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY We will be eclipsed by the rest of the world in technology and achievement unless we learn to adapt to the ever-changing environment. Those who believe that they can just grow up and do what their parents did, and save and invest and that the world will reward them are mistaken. Success in the future and financial prosperity will go to those who have a keener sense of how to use the changes in the world-to-come, to their own benefit.

Free Markets are a joke?

In a speech to a trade union group, President Obama's manufacturing Czar was quoted as saying they (the administration) agree with Mao? Do you want a glimpse into where this administration is heading us as an economy? Click the link below and see a clip from his speech. It's frightening, to say the least. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27cXXirAIw4

This morning the administration also announced that companies which took bailout money last year will be forced to cut executive compensation up to 90%. What is happening here is a rapid dismantling of the American institution of free markets into a system driven by Washington (state-owned-and-controlled) authority.

I would be one of the first to say that there have been many failures during the past ten years in the free market system to regulate itself. And there have been abuses. Primarily caused by individual greed. But the miracle of the free market system itself is that eventually abuses are punished and penalized by the system itself when certain parts of the system die or disintegrate (via Bankruptcy). But the system itself is still good. No where else in the world, does a system allow a "no-body" to rise up from poverty and through individual self achievement accumulate wealth to their own limits and ability. This Obama administration seeks though, to overturn this system we have and give us a system of government owned and government control industry and manufacturing and health care. That system did not work in the Soviet Union or in Communist China. This philosophy does sound good to the "have-nots" because it promises to "take from the rich" and "give to the poor". But if you remove the potential of reward for individual self-achievement you remove the potential for greatness that this country has always given each working American. I want to eliminate poverty as much as the next person. But you do that by giving people an opportunity to rise above their economic circumstances and achieve their own future greatness. You do not do it by redistributing wealth and taking from those who have earned their money and give it to those who have not. What will happen . . . and in fact is already happening . . .is that those individuals who have accumulated wealth of any amount will begin to flee this country with their money and capital and seek to deposit it and store it in off-shore locations that are outside the reach of Washington. It is a financial disease that feeds on itself. As the capital begins to leave this country, then so does manufacturing and other economic opportunity. I . . .for one . . . have already begun a systematic relocation of my own financial assets to non-American depositories. And I'm really just a small fish in the sea. But I will not sit by and have Washington take away from me what I've worked my entire life to accumulate . . .starting with nothing . . . .and give it to the poor and homeless until we all have the same. When that day comes, we will all have nothing. That's my opinion.

Mao said . . .as the video quoted . . .that power comes from the barrel of a gun. He was . . ultimately . . proven wrong. Power comes from an individuals desire to overcome their own present situation and rise above the circumstances they find themselves in. All the gun barrel does is impede or advance that destiny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27cXXirAIw4

Grandparents can be so retarded

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child wrote the following:

We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida ...Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass.

They ride around on their bicycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but all they do is jump up and down in it...with hats on.

At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.

Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night -- early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.

My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

The Recession is causing a Cultural Shift

Sometimes, our economy . . . and employers are forced to adapt to the ever-changing financial environment surrounding us. In this time of extreme financial pull back and the higher and higher rates of unemployment, it is also becoming important for the individual to learn to market themselves "outside the box". This "can-do" attitude will be what determines who gets the jobs in today's market.

Gosh I miss this guy.

I had the rare priviledge in 1985 of meeting President Ronald Reagan face to face and having a portrait photographed with him. He stood like a giant in front of me when I approached him. And I will always remember stepping up to the platform where he was giving each of us Congressional candidates a short "photo op". When I stepped up he leaned over to me and took my hand in his as a handshake and to help me up on the platform with him. I looked up at him and said "hello Mr. President. I'm Bud McElhaney." And he smiled so big at me and said back "well of course you are Bud, and I'm Ronald Reagan". He made me feel just like I was an old friend that he hadn't seen for years. And then he pulled me over close to him and put his arm around me and smiled again and said "now let's give them something to talk about!". Wow! I'll never forget him. And I'll never forget the pride he gave me for being an American. And the inspiration he gave me for trying to make a difference. I miss him. And America misses him. We were better with him as a leader. And we have become worse for having lost him.

For those who don't remember him so well, his quotes will give a good insight into his personna and his belief that the best government is the government that governs least.

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose." - Ronald Reagan

"There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect." - Ronald Reagan

"Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." - Ronald Reagan

"There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder." - Ronald Reagan

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Ronald Reagan

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong." - Ronald Reagan

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress." - Ronald Reagan

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination." - Ronald Reagan

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other." - Ronald Reagan

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program."
- Ronald Reagan

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first." - Ronald Reagan

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it.. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book." - Ronald Reagan

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women." - Ronald Reagan

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." - Ronald Reagan

Mary Jo Kopechne Health Care Reform Act of 2009

Barack Ozymandias By J.R. Dunn
September 09, 2009
J.R. Dunn is consulting editor of American Thinker.

OZYMANDIAS (Published by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1818)

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.





"News is the first draft of history", or so we're told. In truth, the "news" reported by mass media seldom reflects the crucial events of the moment. News reports of the summer of 1914 treated the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as a trivial Balkan matter, of little interest to anyone in the more civilized areas of Europe. Similarly, you'd look long and hard in the late spring of 1950 for any mention of a place called "Korea" in U.S. papers. "News", as the major media describes it, is almost without exception trivia.

Nothing has changed. In the summer of 2009 we're overwhelmed with stories about the death of the most notable trainee since Elagabalus, followed in short order by solemn meditations on the demise of a criminal politician, along with a few sidebars devoted to the imperial vacation at Martha's Vineyard. And oh yeah -- Michelle's shorts. How could I have overlooked them? But none of that, needless to say, will go into the books. The real story this summer, the one that the scholars will be pondering for decades to come, concerns the absolute collapse of the American messiah.

It looks as if Rush can rest easy -- the Big O has failed, and failed completely. You couldn't say the same about an ordinary president at this stage of his first term. At eight months after inauguration, the run-of-the-mill chief exec is still gearing up, getting a feel for things, beginning to put his plans into motion. But Obama, as we have been told time and again, is in no way ordinary. He is a man spoken of in religious terms -- the One, the Messiah, the Lightbringer. On the stage of history, we do not create our roles. We fill them as they have been previously established through repeated human activity across the millennia. Obama's role is one familiar to anyone versed in the history of the ancient world: he is the god-emperor. Obama was elected to do more than was possible for any ordinary president, and to do it more quickly than is possible for the merely human. His apotheosis was to be like nothing else in history, a redemption of promises so deeply pledged as to have become axiomatic. The age of Obama was to be a time of sweeping, an epoch of transformation. When he strode across our horizon, nothing would remain unchanged.

Now, unless I've been paying too much attention the New York Dolls reunion to notice, nothing of the sort has occurred. It's been a dull summer on the messiah front. In fact, Obama's performance so far has been dramatically below average even for the sorry run of mortal presidents. We have, in the past few months, witnessed one of the great anticlimaxes of political history. The god-emperor has failed, and no one can deny it.

Obama's template was the New Deal. The country was in a similar state of crisis, enduring the worst economic slump since the 30s (or the 70s, or the medieval depression, depending on who you talked to). Desperate voters were willing to accept measures that they would have found intolerable at any other time. As in 1933, there existed a brief window for dramatic transformation, one that might not reappear for generations.

The New Deal was intended, if not by FDR himself, then by the Brain Trust, specifically Adolf Berle and Rexford G. Tugwell, as a means of reworking American society from the ground up. Both men believed they could recast the U.S. in the mold of fascist Italy and the Soviet Union, but without such unappealing features as concentration camps, massacres, artificial famines, and the like.

Nothing actually came of this. Both major aspects of the New Deal, the National Recovery Act (NRA) and the Agricultural Assistance Administration (AAA), were already failing when they were shut down by the Supreme Court in 1935 and 1936 respectively (possibly the most effective exercise of separation of powers in American history). The New Deal continued as a kind of national workfare program, with various "alphabet agencies" such as the WPA and PWA providing make-work jobs for millions across the country. Even that failed in 1937 with the second market crash -- the one usually left out of casual histories of the Depression due to the fact that it can be blamed on no one other than Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Despite its failures, the New Deal remains liberalism's peak, one that they have been trying to retrieve for 75 years and more -- that golden moment in 1933 when they had the world in a vise and all things seemed possible. That's what Camelot was actually all about, and the Great Society as well. Every single Democratic president (with the exception of Harry Truman, too practical and cynical to buy into any such "horse manure") was held up as the great hope who would bring the dream to pass. Obama is simply the latest in a long line.

Obama was supposed to redeem the promises of the New Deal and then some. He could make it work. He had the mojo. He was the One. A god-emperor for the new millennium, the Yankee Augustus who would set down the new pattern for American society for centuries to come.

Well... maybe not this millennium. There's a list floating around the Net, comprised of Obama's achievements thus far, all the "major legislation" overseen by the messiah. It's intended to demonstrate that the new age is too coming to pass, that the Great Work is unfolding right on schedule. This list looks like this:
Cash for Clunkers Extension
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009
Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act
Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act
Small Business Act Temporary Extension
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
DTV Delay Act
Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Now, the first thought that comes to mind is the word "boilerplate". Tobacco control? Public lands management? What other word is there? Throw in the standard Democratic "fair pay" effort, the customary spank-the-Pentagon bill, the "Serve America" bill (not, considering the name attached to it, one devoted to Washington, D.C. waitresses), and we're almost halfway through the list. Adding the "DTV Delay Act", which reset the date for introducing digital TV signals -- it took me a minute, too -- and the credit card act and we're there. This is the lamest, dumbest, most useless list of "major legislation" since the heyday of Warren G. Harding. World-changing political revolution, it is not.

The only two acts of any interest are Cash for Clunkers and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, AKA the "stimulus." Cash for Clunkers has been widely hailed as a success, with auto sales rising across the board (except, interestingly enough, for Obama trophies GM and Chrysler, which slid 20% and 15% respectively). But falling auto sales over the past week have revealed that the program merely "pulled ahead" sales that would have occurred later in the fall in any case. Clunkers will simply go on record as a novel application of that ancient Democratic doctrine of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

As for the stimulus... the revelation that it's going to cost somebody another 2 trillion ten years from now has smoothly dovetailed with news that national unemployment is edging the 10% mark, the very outcome the stimulus was supposed to prevent. As a payoff to Democratic supporters the stimulus is a grand success. As a national rescue effort, it is worse than useless, with the rescuees themselves being the ones left holding the bag. In this case, Peter is being robbed to pay Peter. Nicely done.

But where are all the blockbusters, the bills that were going to send the evil GOP, polluters, reactionaries, and AT writers running for high ground? Where is FOCA? The climate-change bill? Nationalization of health care?

We know where they are -- they're in limbo.

Obama's revolution was divided into three major parts -- government takeover of large industrial sectors, the imposition of a Green ideology to justify government intervention on any scale, and federal takeover of the health-care industry. Once these steps were taken, the result would be state control of American society on an unprecedented scale, along with a state-approved ideological superstructure (environmentalism) to act as the framework for the new system. All this was supposed to be carried out with military swiftness, within weeks or months of Obama's inauguration, before any questions could be asked or opposition mounted.

Thanks to the recession, the takeover of the auto and financial industries went relatively smoothly. The problem lay in the follow-through. GM, the jewel in the government's crown, has staked its fortunes on an economy model car that, since it is powered by battery, happens to cost $40,000, twice as much as any other economy car (it also requires a total battery replacement halfway through its operating lifespan amounting to at least another $16,000. So let's round it off to $60,000 -- three times what any other economy car costs.) Since the Volt can be marketed only to the extremely wealthy clinically insane -- not an enormous market -- it's obvious that GM can be kept afloat only by subsidies, which will end at the same time that Democratic hegemony does. (We'll skip over as irrelevant GM's $4,000 minicar that cannot be sold in the U.S. -- India has been marketing such a car for even less.)

As for the financial industry, much as Treasury Department officials have amused themselves with the fantasy that they are "in control", the bankers have proceeded to do exactly what they please, including paying each other extravagant bonuses, refusing to release funds for the loan markets, and soaking up government subsidies to pay off past losses. Stalin would have had them shot, an alternative currently not open to the Obamiate. I think we can write off industrial centralization.

Cap & Trade, AKA the Waxman-Markey Act, was to be the Trojan horse for Green ideology, an attempt to make environmentalism the basis of most domestic government activity. It was considered an easy sell, with "global warming" having become as key an element of liberalism as gun control and abortion. But when the provisions of Waxman-Markey became known, particularly those implying the shutdown of most American industry to leave the populace living in holes dug in hillsides and chewing bark off trees, the bloom was suddenly off the Green rose. Rising in their mighty fury, the Blue Dogs forced the bill to be set aside. It'll be passed eventually though. Next year, maybe. Or after the glaciers recede. We'll see.

Scratch the new American ideology.

We now turn to health care. The Mary Jo Kopechne Health Care Reform Act of 2009 would have made Obama into a benevolent god-emperor on the most titanic scale. The bill appeared to be evolving into an Obama version of the NRA, with federal control extended into new areas on all levels of society and every Americans subject to some measure of bureaucratic interference from womb to tomb. It would be the closest that a third-millennial American leader could come to the absolute life-and-death rule of the pre-modern ruler, the act that would turn Barack Obama into an American Caesar. (Would all presidents coming after him have to add "Barack" to their names following their inauguration? Just wondering...)

Then came the town halls, and Sarah Palin's revelation that the bill as written would open the door to euthanasia, and the death of Ms. Kopechne's chauffeur, which together served to send the entire effort crashing. The other week none other than Russ Feingold, who yearns for such a bill the way that Gilgamesh yearned for immortality, announced to his constituents that it will not come up for a vote until the end of the year, if then. Delays involving such efforts usually mean that they're finished, at least as they stand. There may be a health-care bill passed somewhere down the line, but it won't be Obama's bill, and it will lack most of the provisions that a Caesar demands -- the euthanasia counseling provisions, the "public option", control of insurance rates, and so on. The Imperator will have to find another means of attaining demigodhood. I suggest an expedition to conquer the Picts.

(But what's this "FOCA", you ask? Well you may. FOCA, or the "Freedom of Choice Act" is a bill that would enshrine abortion as a basic civil right with even greater protection than those given the rights of free speech, worship, or assembly, while also overturning every previous court decision and law dealing with the subject. Obama enjoyed waving it around as a senator, and promised that signing it would be his "first act" in the oval office. That is, until the Catholic bishops threatened him with stern consequences, beginning with the closure of the Catholic hospital network, fully a third of the U.S. health-care system. So FOCA went by the board, along with the promise to overturn the "conscience clause" protecting medical personnel who refuse to assist in abortions. Obama intended to put an end to that by March. It's been a long time since then.)

To cap the redeemer's woes, we have a world-class case of buyer's remorse on the part of the voters, with presidential approval ratings dropping to 50% across the board. Rasmussen has Obama at 46%, a drop of some 30% in little more than six months. Zogby, among the most dependable of pollsters, reveals that Obama is losing support even among his core constituency.

So there it is -- a political agenda in ruins. Massive ruins, awe-inspiring ruins, ruins unprecedented in their size and majesty. For an epitaph we can turn to Shelley:
Nothing beside remains: round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away

So what does he do now? Deliverers cannot simply fail. Jesus cannot shrug and become a Jerusalem rabbi. Moses cannot return to Egypt and open a travel agency for Sinai tours. A fallen messiah does not become half a messiah or a third of a messiah, his original power and influence shrinking to match. He becomes a joke.

Obama will not tolerate becoming a joke. Not with his personality, smug, self-involved, and egotistical as it is. Particularly after being exposed to adulation given to no man since the heyday of Rome (not even Louis XIVth, the Sun King, who embodied the divine right of monarchy, was ever hailed as a "god"). So what are his alternatives?

(And let's hear no more nonsense about "internment camps" or ACORN goofs being issued brown shirts and truncheons such as I've seen from people who really ought to know better. Obama simply doesn't have that in him -- neither the daring and dynamism of the tyrant, nor the brutality and cruelty. Like most Democrats, Obama will take advantage of violence; he will not instigate violence himself.

And besides, have you ever seen any ACORN twits?)

Obama could, and probably will, attempt to sneak aspects of his agenda through riders to unrelated bills and unfunded mandates. But this won't be enough. It would be politically unsatisfying, and would fail to match his bold image of himself. Obama is a man who needs a mission, who must believe he has been touched by fire, reaching for goals beyond those open to ordinary men. The squalid day in/day out of politics so appealing to an FDR or a Lyndon B. Johnson means little to him. So he will search for other possibilities, spectacular, historic tasks that match his self-image.

More Green involvement would be an obvious choice. Al Gore has clearly demonstrated what a salve it can be to the wounded political ego. What better way of offsetting a ruined agenda than by taking up the pose of world savior and servant of Gaia? It's also relatively risk-free. Of the hundreds -- if not thousands -- of public figures who have lied and manipulated on behalf of environmentalism, not a single one -- not Carson, not Ruckelshaus, not Ehrlich, not Streep -- have ever paid a price for it. On the contrary, most have done very well for themselves. Obama could do worse than to continue pushing the warming button -- or whatever may replace it after another couple of bad winters.

He could instead choose to push the race button. Elected as a conciliator, Obama has since demonstrated himself to be anything but. The questions aroused by his twenty-year adherence to Jeremiah Wright have been answered by the appointment of the compulsive Eric Holder and the thuggish Van Jones, now departed. Obama's inept handling of the Gates incident suggests that as a man born in Hawaii and raised in large part overseas, he lacks a truly visceral understanding of American racial matters, instead relying on the kind of empty-headed clichés often seen in European media stories regarding American race relations. Whatever the case, any president who manipulates race for political purposes is putting far more than his reputation on the line. As a liberal, Obama lacks the power to benefit American society. But he can do much to damage it.

No more so than as involves the failure not yet mentioned, that of national security. Here Obama appears to be serving two constituencies: foreign governments and his leftist base. The foreign states wanted a return to an America that doesn't bother them, and that's what they've got. The Move On/DU crowd wants a defeated and chastened country. The decision by Witchfinder General Eric Holder to investigate and prosecute CIA officers, the court-ordered release of terrorist Muhammed Jawad, and the administration's near-silence in response to Scotland's release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi are events that will create their own response. Nothing is easier to foresee, and nothing more need be said. In his willingness, if not eagerness, to acquiesce to the see-no-evil security policy of the Clinton administration, Obama is sliding inexorably toward the greatest presidential failure of all: the failure to protect the American people. Such a failure will be viewed as the act of pure negligence that it is.

Obama could easily prevail by setting aside his status as god-emperor, dropping the effort to leave his imprint on the age and ignoring the cries of his more fanatical followers. In other words, by acting as a president. But this is unlikely on any number of cultural, political, and personal grounds. He is on the descending escalator, and is doomed to take it all the way to the bottom. It is our business to see that he doesn't drag the country down with him. Fortunately, his failures have a flip side. The past few months have shown us that Obama is extremely vulnerable to public pressure, as clearly shown by the town halls. We will have plenty of opportunity to put those tactics into effect in the months and years to come. When would-be imperators appear, the people have to step in. But that's why they call it democracy.

Golden Power. Most incredible demonstration of Human Strength I have witnessed

I have had the privilege of coming to know these two Bulgarian brothers as pen pals. And this video is the greatest demonstration of human strength I have ever witnesses. It is incredible. They are performing in the Paris Circus Nationale at this time.

The Two Golden Men. Up on Four.

my grand daughter's 2 year old Birthday party.

The Saturday after her birthday.

NINE THINGS GOD WON'T ASK ON THAT DAY.

1..... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation. 2... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. 3..... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe. 4... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it. 5... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability. 6..... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend. 7... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors. 8... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character. 9... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

Some life observations

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is Compulsory; growing up is optional..
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from
a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age shows up all by itself.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . .having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . .. . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.

Do, Re, Mi in Antwerp Belgium Rail Station

I've always been a fan of The Sound of Music and even the thought of it brings a smile on any sad or gloomy day. It's funny that I was just thinking of this movie last night while driving and thinking that I'd like to watch it again soon. And then today a friend sent me this link to a video that was made in the Antwerp Belgium railroad station on the 23rd of March 2009.
. . . with no warning to the passengers passing through the station.
At 08:00 am a recording of Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system. As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances. They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals! I hope you smile as I have been. I actually had to stand up from my desk for a bit and do a few dance steps with them.

The Sound of Music in Antwerp