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.