My Mom has pancreatic cancer, the one kind of cancer that sucks the life out of you and as we are finding out tests the best of us when it hits us. My Mom is a tough lady though and is making the best of it and teaching us how you handle something like this.
I haven't posted in awhile, the healthcare bill has my family on both sides not equally devided, most are against it but the ones for it are much louder than those against and therefore are heard the most. Kind of how the country goes as well I guess. I have wanted to post but find less and less time for it and less interest as well since those that disagree are the ones who email me the most telling me how insane or ignorant or even stupid I am for what I believe in.
This post, might be the last and then this blog such as it is will die the death many blogs die from and will be deleted from Blogger making many happy I'm sure.
I go now to see to my Mom and to help her have the best days she can before she passes. I pray for her, for my family and our country....
EDIT: To the morons who keep writing me telling me that the movie "Taking Chance" was a Bush propoganda film, please, if you believe that then you need to move in with Mikey Moore, get a life and realize that the military takes loss seriously and the men and women who bring our dead back do that job with respect, honor and do a job you will never be able to understand in your selfish world. Go away.
EDIT: Ok, so I was kidding about not posting anymore, come on, did you really think that calling me names would stop me? Doctor heal thyself!
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Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Taking Chance - When one falls, another brings him home
I purchased this movie this weekend and watched it with several pauses for wiping away tears. I cannot remember a movie that affected me more than this one has. The acting is top notch, the fact it was made honestly was a shock (great job HBO!). The portrayal of our Marines was reflective of how I know them to be. The portrayal of the people that extended a warm greeting to Kevin Bacon's char actor are exactly how Americans behave, it was refreshing to see considering what Hollywood typically shows.
We live in a world of Micheal Moore documentaries where the truth is in how you edit it, not what really happens. We live in a country where the "open minded and tolerant" are actually only open minded and tolerant if you agree with them. Should you disagree then their anger knows no bounds and if the Miss America pageant is any indication of how a woman gets treated for having an opinion we need to start letting Hollywood know exactly how we feel by not watching their shows/movies.
This movie reminds us all about commitment, bravery, loss, country, community, family and patriotism (a dirty word for some) and should be a must watch in every American school.
Thank you HBO for making this movie.
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wise Sayings
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1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress. -- John Adams
2. If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy
7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey
9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -- P.J. O'Rourke
10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -- Frederic Bastiat
11. 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
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. -- P.J. O'Rourke
14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire
15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. -- Pericles (430 B.C.)
16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain
17. Talk is cheap... except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous
18. The government is like a baby's digestive system, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill
20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain
21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer
22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class... save Congress. -- Mark Twain
23. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -- Gerald Ford
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1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress. -- John Adams
2. If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy
7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey
9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -- P.J. O'Rourke
10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -- Frederic Bastiat
11. 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
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers
13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. -- P.J. O'Rourke
14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire
15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. -- Pericles (430 B.C.)
16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain
17. Talk is cheap... except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous
18. The government is like a baby's digestive system, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill
20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain
21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer
22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class... save Congress. -- Mark Twain
23. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -- Gerald Ford
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Friday, March 13, 2009
Half Boys / Half Men - Our Military
This was sent to me by a friend of my wife, thanks Debbie.
The average age of the military man is 19 years.. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us and Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.. Amen.'
Check out this video "19"
The average age of the military man is 19 years.. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away ' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us and Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.. Amen.'
Check out this video "19"
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