Why can't I be this eloquent?

This sums up my take on Democrats completely and succinctly. I wish I'd come up with it myself. Actually, I wish our CURRENT President could come up with something this good.

"[Democrats] are the same people who rediscover poverty every election and promise to cure it. They’ve cured it so often that they’ve now made a profession of it. They thrive on failures, on righting wrongs, aiding victims, and so forth. It must be understood that success in those tasks would put them out of business. No matter how many programs are set up and operating, their proponents never claim success for them. To do so would be to say the problems have been solved, meaning the programs are no longer needed. And the programs, not the problems, are their very reason for being.” —Ronald Reagan

Perfect.

Real Thanksgiving

God:
Thank you. I don't know how I ended up in a family like the one I have, but thank you. Today was a great day. You've given us all so much -- not cars, boats and iPods, but love, patience, and joy. And good cooking!
When Thursday rolls around and everyone (hopefully) stops to think about what they are (and should be) thankful for, I know that some are going to have to struggle to come up with things. I thank you that not only is my life full of incredible gifts, but that they're blatantly obvious so even a shallow thinker like myself can see them.
Thanks again.

I'm catching up on my bloggin'... can you tell?

Muslims are trying to take over France.

Extreme statement? Nah. Once you've claimed a land for Allah, if you ever lose it, you are required to take it back. So it's been a few hundred years. The poor, "disenfranchised" (I really don't like that word, sounds like someone took your Taco Bell) youth are rioting, burning cars & shops, shooting at police in an organized fashion... and for what? Because they are "tired of being discriminated against"? That might be what the press is saying, but wake up and smell the Opium. The Muslims have been burning synagogues, Kosher delis, and other Jewish-owned businesses for years in and around Paris (and other European cities). But, hey, it was just the Jews getting it. No one likes them, anyway, right? At least not in our enlightened, secular Paris! Only now that regular Parisians are losing their Renaults to molotov cocktails is it a problem. Too late, Frogs! You should have put down the uprising the minute it started. A curfew, shoot-to-kill orders with Marines (do the French have Marines?) patrolling the streets... it would have stopped in one night. By the way, to any would-be hoodlums out there, don't go into electrical substations. The signs that say "Danger: High Voltage" are there for a reason. Morons. But I digress.
Radical Islam (and I am not so sure the word "radical" really needs to be there) is bent on world domination. It's in their holy book, it's preached (indoctrinated) to them from birth, and the evidence is so blatant that only the worst type of coward would dare couch this as "unrest". They're learning that terrorism works, they're not afraid to die, their religion gives them carte blanche (a French term! How apropos.. Wait, is that another one?) to "Slay the infidels where you may find them" (and conveniently, an 'infidel' is anyone who doesn't believe as you do! Won't be long before George Soros and Michael Moore start using the term for Republicans). What do you expect? Did you think that refusing to support the US invasion of Iraq would buy you some loyalty? Did you think your thinly veiled anti-semitism would keep your chalets safe? Do you really think Muslims are going to "live peacefully side by side" with ANYONE??? What do you think nearly all the major conflicts are about? It's Muslims who can't get along with their neighbors.
The Islamic curriculum in no particular order:
TEST: bomb a bunch of places in Israel. Women, children, worshipper, pizza-eaters, doesn't matter who. RESULT: The USA and other countries tell Israel not to retaliate. Israel listens. PASS.
TEST: bomb the World Trade Center, albeit fairly ineffectively. RESULT: Some people get arrested, no countries get turned into glass. INCOMPLETE.
TEST: Hijack a cruise ship. For fun, throw a crippled Jew overboard. RESULT: People help you escape justice. No countries get turned into glass. PASS.
TEST: Blow a hole in an American Destroyer in Yemen. RESULT: A handful of dead Americans, no countries get turned into glass. PASS.
TEST: Bomb a couple of American Embassies. RESULT: Somewhat of a body count, no countries get turned into glass. PASS.
TEST: Find a disgruntled American & help him take out a Federal building in Oklahoma City. RESULT: Horrific body count on American Soil. FBI/Justice Dept. cover up any and all leads dealing with "Middle Eastern men". Government lays all the blame on Timothy McVeigh and decries 'homegrown terrorism' and nearly demonizes (of all things) talk radio in the process! PASS. A++.
TEST: Burn down Jewish Synagogues and businesses in major European cities. RESULT: Nothing. PASS
TEST: Hijack several American Airliners, crash them into The World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and nearly... The White House? The Capitol building? Thank God we at least didn't find that out. RESULT: America decides to finally strike back. The despotic Theocratic lunatics of the Taliban are routed, Afghanistan is turned towards freedom and democracy. Depose Saddam Hussein, allow Iraq to come up with a Constitution and hold elections in the process. FAIL? Not so fast... test America's resolve. With the help of the international press and America's own enemies within, (that includes you, Cindy Sheehan) watch the stories of only the American body count become news. Ignore the opening of schools, the starting of new businesses, rights and education available to women for the first time in 40 years, power and water restored to hundreds of thousands, the end of the slaughter of political enemies both real and imagined. The end of gang rapes by the ruling party and its military. INCOMPLETE.
TEST: Right before an election, blow up some trains in Spain to spread misery and pain (sorry, had to do it). RESULT: Watch the cowardly appeaser get elected. PASS
TEST: Blow up some subways and a double-decker bus in London. RESULT: a pretty quick roundup of the ones who didn't die in the explosions... BUT watch the tide of appeasement grow! INCOMPLETE
TEST: Use any excuse to start rioting and destroying the self-made ghettos of Paris. Chant "Jihad!", fire up the idiots who are brainwashed into believing this is some sort of holy war. Use your text-message enabled cell phones (OH would Allah approve of this technology? I think not) to coordinate your riots. Shoot at the Police. Heck, even use an abandoned police station as your "molotov cocktail factory"(Irony, anyone?). Chant "We rule this place". RESULT: platitudes as the media stress the discrimination and the impoverished plight of.... Oh yeah, immigrants who refuse to assimilate into the culture of their new country. GEE, no wonder you aren't getting a job. SO FAR... PASS.

What's next? They're already chanting "this is our land" in Denmark... Germany is expecting a similar situation as Paris...

Europe, you gave your own continent away. France, you really blew it. Your idiotic immigration policies and greed for cheap servant labor allowed MILLIONS of people WHO HATE YOU AND WANT TO KILL YOU to move in next door. You have turned your back on God, closed your churches by the thousands, decided on a laissez-faire (OH, another one) attitude instead of nationalist pride, and strict policies on immigration (wow, am I yelling at the Eurotrash or my own President here?), and now that your churches are turning in to Mosques, who preach pure HATE in a foreign tongue (makes it easy for them to tell you they are preaching tolerance and peace, huh?), you are surprised at this latest outburst of violence? You let it happen right under your upturned noses. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see our military come in and save your Vichy asses once again, and that's what it will end up taking. Maybe this time we'll get a "merci" out of you.

'tis sad, indeed. If anyone still thinks that Islam is "a religion of peace" -- read some history. The FOUNDING and the tradition of Islam is soaked in blood. NOT the blood of martyrs, lest you start throwing around remarks about atrocities committed by madmen in the name of Christianity (who were clearly acting AGAINST the teachings of Christ). NO, this was the blood of the 'infidel', the ones whose crime was only not being a Muslim. Mohammed was a sick (epileptic) man who appropriated convenient traditions, places and even a god (the moon god, Allah) to create his own religion... conveniently put in "divine instruction" that anyone who spoke against Allah or his prophet should be put to death. Kind of puts the kaybosh on open and honest debate, huh? Oh yeah, and he conveniently added that Islam had to be the GOVERNMENT as well as the religion. Seems like the Liberals here in the US would be a little more leery of such a theocratic ideology, since they work really hard to make sure we have no acknowledgement of religion in any government building here! They sure are in love with all things Islam these days, even Oprah took it upon herself to have an "Islam 101" episode so we could all "understand" this peaceful religion. Oh, it's peaceful, all right. What could be more peaceful than hacking off the head of an innocent bystander with a dull knife, on videotape, while praising your god, claiming that what you're doing is commanded by the same? What could be more peaceful than targeting women and children OF YOUR OWN RELIGION along with your supposed enemy? What could be more peaceful than convincing the dim-witted that strapping a bomb to their chest will give them a free pass to heaven? What could be more peaceful than beating your wife at will, or killing your daughter or sister if she "shames" the family? I guess it's obvious that "Islam is peace". I just wasn't seeing it. Silly me.

Wow. I drove through a shooting scene

So, I finally get out of work at about 7:45 tonight. Sadly, I am frustrated, afraid I'm not going to make it home in time for "Prison Break". Lame, I know. I am coming down Shepherd and there are a gazillion flashing lights at the intersection of Shepherd and 34th. What the...? Of course, I can't tell what's going on, there's an officer directing me to turn right on 34th (not a big deal, but I had intended on going straight). So I'm mildly perturbed until I realize that they are not tidying up after a "Houston Handshake" (a fender bender to the rest of the world... by the way, I just coined that term. You heard it here first!), because there are too many cruisers spread in 3 directions. I just cruised through, trying not to rubberneck -- didn't seem to be anything but police, no wrecked vehicles, no one getting cuffed, nothing on fire.
Well, I made it home in time to see Prison Break (just barely!). And when Prison Break was over, the local Fox news teaser says "Houston Police kill a woman after a chase" -- and it was what I had driven through an hour earlier. Actually the shooting occurred some hours previous and I drove through the investigation site. Creepy story so far. You just don't hear many stories about (a) DPS employees getting into dust-ups with the police, (b) women weilding guns, (c) Police shooting women, but the wierdest of all -- the woman got shot while pointing the gun at... her SISTER!! What the...? Apparently the sister was in the passenger seat of this pickup (which, by the way had come to a stop in an abandoned Texaco station parking lot after the police had thrown out tire spikes), threw a 9mm pistol out the window... and the driver got out of the truck, ran around to the gun, picked it up and began pointing it at her sister! That's when "officers discharged their weapons" (euphemisms provided by the Houston Police Department). Strange, sad, and... HEY, when is someone going to reopen that gas station? It was the closest one to work!

Busy busy busy

I guess I didn't really realize how much free time I had until I lost it. Ain't that always the way. I don't know how married people, especially those with children, ever get anything done. When work puts demands on you keeping you at the office until late in the evening, and you have laundry, homework, cleaning and reading to do, and you've got obligations on several nights a week... when are you supposed to sleep?
Maybe I like sleep too much. I'm not one of those people who can get 4 hours a night and be fine. I can pull that off for about 2 days.
Maybe I like 'down time' too much. Sometimes you need to sit and and just surf the web, or draw something. Or play your guitar.
Yep, time is a valuable commodity. I need to figure out a way to keep work from taking so much of it.

Am I a Racist? Part II

Busing. Or is it Bussing. Either way, I mean the kind where you get put on a bus and sent far from your neighborhood school to another school in the holy name of diversity. I, thankfully, was never bused.

However, one of my older sisters was. She was in fifth grade and got bused to Glen Oak Elementary. To this day I have no idea where in our town that school is. She was quick to make friends and I'm really glad she got exposed to what the kids at Glen Oak were listening to music-wise. She brought home some 45's that opened my ears to stuff I'd never heard before. Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair", Diana Ross' "Stoned Love" and "Touch Me In the Morning", The Stylistics "Betcha By Golly Wow", and some others.

SOUL music? In our house?

My mother listened only to Classical/Opera/Sacred (did I mention this was a Southern Baptist household?), my dad didn't listen to anything but I later found out he was a fan of the big band era. We heard the top 40 station, but it was heavy on Carpenters, Donny Osmond, Cher, and other white-bread drivel. Yeah, you heard Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five and an occasional R&B tune like "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers, but 'really black stuff' didn't cross over too much. My sisters, up until this time, were listening to the Partridge Family (and I remember my oldest sister getting really excited about getting the soundrack to "Oliver!" one Christmas). We also had a copy of "Snoopy and the Royal Guardsmen". So we weren't exactly schooled in soul.

That was the good part. The music, and I suppose some new girlfriends I never met.

The bad part was when my sister and her best friend Sandy were sitting in an outside area after school giggling about whatever it is little girls giggle about, and a young man (in sixth grade but old enough to be in high school) decided that they were giggling about him. He proceeded to beat them both up pretty badly. No hospital, but lots of bruises and a busted lip.

Again, at the time, I didn't think anything about it in racial terms (I was horrified that someone had beaten up my sister) and my folks didn't ever say anything other than express some vehement concern over the safety of their daughter at school. Understand, this was before the days where you sued everyone in sight for the slightest offense, real or imagined. So this experience, retold to by my sister a few times after I was older, was filed away with the others.

And there were others...

Am I a Racist? Part 1

Let’s see, I started school in about 1969. Didn’t go to kindergarten, because my parents really hated anything with a German name. OK, I’m kidding about that, I didn’t go to kindergarten because my mother, an English teacher, taught me how to read at age 4, and I was pretty darn good with the finger paints, if I do say so myself (and naps, well I had them nailed). Anyway, due to a very-late-in-the-year birthday, I started first grade at age 5. Integration was in full swing in my home town of St. Petersburg, Florida, so I had plenty of black kids in my class. School was probably the first time I had much interaction with blacks (if you’re waiting for me to use the term “African-American”, you’re going to be disappointed. The only person I know who was born in Africa and moved to the US is my cousin Jim, who is white). I had no preconceived notions, so black kids were just kids in my class. Now, at the time, there weren’t any blacks on my block (which was my world at the time) so I never thought about where they might live, and they didn't come over to play (and 'play dates' were some years in the future - and for someone else's kids). My friends beyond school hours were mostly church friends, and there weren’t any kids my age in the surrounding houses (well, not when I was five).
One day at school (I think this was second grade, sorry for the fuzzy chronology – do you remember what you were doing at age five?), we were coming in from recess and everyone was taking turns at the water fountain (no, there weren’t any separate facilities, not even holdovers from the dark ages). We had a stupid thing we’d do where someone would sneak up behind the person drinking and push their face into the stream of water. Ha-ha, water up the nose. Well, I did that to a little girl in front of me, and she giggled about it and I meandered into the classroom. A couple of minutes later, I found myself yanked out of my seat by my teacher and thrust into the hall, where this little girl is crying her eyes out and holding her bleeding mouth. The teacher asks “Did he do this?” and she pointed and nodded through her tears. I tried to plead my case, that I’d barely touched her and she had even laughed about it (I actually really liked this girl) to no avail. Turns out that another kid in my class named Malcolm (he’s the only one who’s name I remember in this story) had seen what I did, came up after I walked off and had SMASHED her face into the fountain apparatus. I don’t know if she just didn’t realize it was someone else, or if he threatened her, or what, but here was a little black girl protecting a little black boy at a expense of the little white boy. I never thought about this in racial terms until very recently when it just popped into my head one day. Was this the germ of an attitude? I was surely upset that I got the blame for something I didn’t do (a pattern that continued throughout my scholastic career), but I never consciously thought she was doing it on purpose, or that there was any sinister motive behind it.

…to be continued

Bad Ideas for the Baptist Book Store

• "Brimstone" brand Charcoal Briquets
• Collection Plate cigar ashtrays
• 30-pc. Silver Service
• Crucifix bottle opener
• "Hellfire" cigarette lighter
  
• "Lazarus" Air Freshener
  

Why won't people sing?

Had a random thought today:
People often will refuse to sing, even a casual setting with plenty of people around also singing (picture for instance the cliche of the campfire). They'll be self-depricating, saying "Oh, I can't sing"... "Can't carry a tune in a bucket"... "Don't want to peel the paint off the wall", whatever. Well, I'd have to say that most people can't speak like James Earl Jones, John Houseman, or Maya Angelou either -- but it doesn't stop them from flapping their gums all day.

Based on what I've seen of American Idol, however, some people probably should be kept from singing outside of said campfire scenarios.

That first entry...

Naturally, I start this when I really should be in bed.

There are a million people or more trying to see the body of the Pope. Fingernails scraping along the edge of the cliff, hanging on to that last shred of decency, if you ask me.

If the ACLU, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Michael Moore, Al Franken and their pals are on the correct path, the next Pope should definitely be:

• Gay if not 'trans-gendered'
• an enviromentalist activist
• anti-American
• an atheist
• Well, maybe not atheist but definitely anti-Christian. After all, Christians are an intolerant bunch of bigots.

And those people ARE right, aren't they?

Rob Thomas has a new single out, can't remember the name of it. All I know is that this guy who just wooed the women of the world with his vocal on Santana's "Smooth" has gone Backstreet Boy on us. If I hadn't seen the video first, I would have thought New Kids On The Block had made a comeback record. What the? Wasn't Rob supposed to be a rocker?

Ever been up really late at night and seen the infomercial for "Esteban" and his amazing guitar/amp combo? That's some great TV. I always wondered just how great that guitar really is... well, I saw one in a pawn shop the other day. You know how makeup and lights make haggard movie stars look gorgeous? Well, darned if it doesn't work for guitars, too! That's the crappiest excuse for a musical instrument I've ever seen. That guy should be in jail. Going on and on about the quality craftsmanship (can a robot in Taiwan have 'craftsmanship'?).

Those George Foreman grills are pretty cool. My folks got me the little one a couple of years ago for Christmas and I use it all the time. The newer ones even have removeable grill plates to make it easier to clean. Get one. Really.