Where did our government's common sense go? It escaped and I can't find it but in a few places.
Last week President Bush requested that congress lift the ban on off shore drilling of oil on the outer continental shelf (which would double the current oil production of the US), recommended that we aggressively research drilling for the oil shale deposits in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming (which experts say holds deposits larger than Saudi Arabia has!!), and drill in ANWR. Why didn't he do this 6 months ago? Wouldn't that have made sense? I voted for Bush and still like him as President. However, I believe Washington common sense (or lack of) has rubbed off on him.
Just one example of lack of common sense: In response to Bush's request, a democratic Florida Congresswoman said she was totally against it because Florida's main source of income is tourism and drilling off the coast would be a threat to the pristine Florida beaches. First of all, there are many oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana and during hurricane Katrina there were no incidents of oil spills. Secondly, If we don't do something to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and the price of gas continues to increase, no one will be driving or flying to Florida because they will not be able to afford it. Makes sense to me but apparently not to a politician. Especially a democratic politician.
It seems the Supreme Court has lost their common sense also. They ruled that the death penalty for the brutal crime of child rape is "unconstitutional". This is terrible. Do these people even have a brain? Do they have children or grandchildren? Regardless of what they say or rule, although I am a Christian man from a Christian family, do something like this to my child and you will invoke the death penalty on yourself.
This Supreme Court lack of common sense brought my attention to Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana and prospective Republican VP candidate. Gov. Jindal outwardly opposed the Supreme Court ruling (click on his name for his words). He also said on Fox News that if the Court ruled against the death penalty in child rape and other cases such as these, they should consider chemical or physical castration as an alternative. When he said this the Fox News reporter said, "don't you think this statement will hurt you politically because some people will look on you as being a radical or extremist?". Jindal told the reporter, "I don't care how it effects me politically, it is the right thing to do". You go Bobby! I'm going to do some more research on Gov. Jindal, but for now I believe he is my favorite along with Huckabee as a McCain running mate. The US government needs to find it's common sense again.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Dad
Father's Day is tomorrow and even though my dad isn't computer literate and will probably never see this, I am going to write about him anyway.
Dad was born in Ellijay, GA (in the N. GA mountains) back in the "moonshine" days. His mother was a God-fearing, praying woman, who is responsible for all of her kids (and probably grand kids) coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. My dad's father was a moonshiner and stayed in prison most of his life. I've heard stories good and bad about my grandfather. The good was that he was a giving man and would see men walking on the side of the road, down on their luck, and let them stay in his house until they got their feet on the ground.
My grandmother passed away due to cancer when my dad was 12. He was raised by one of his older sisters.
A few of things my dad taught me by example or by discipline:
1. He taught me to work. When I was 13 dad came in from work and told me he had me a job. It wasn't "I got you a job if you want it", it was "I got you a job". The job was delivering newspapers. I would deliver them after school Monday-Friday and at 4am on Sunday morning. Accept for the money that I made, I can remember thinking of this as some kind of torture. Today I look at it as one of the best things my dad could have done for me. Even though I don't have any formal education except for High School, I have had a job ever since that paper route. That was 30 years ago.
2. He taught me to go to church and had us there every time the door was opened. Your personal relationship with Jesus Christ should be the first priority in your life. One time when I got old enough to think that it was my decision where to go to church or not I decided I wasn't going and told my mother this when she came to wake me up on Sunday morning. She told my dad, he came to my room and told me I didn't have to go but I would need to pack my clothes because whoever lived in his house was going to church. Needless to say, I went to church.
3. He prayed for me and still does. He doesn't tell me he prays for me. I know because I feel those prayers.
I wish all dads could be like mine and I hope I can be half the man he is.
To all those fathers out there, Happy Father's Day!
Dad was born in Ellijay, GA (in the N. GA mountains) back in the "moonshine" days. His mother was a God-fearing, praying woman, who is responsible for all of her kids (and probably grand kids) coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. My dad's father was a moonshiner and stayed in prison most of his life. I've heard stories good and bad about my grandfather. The good was that he was a giving man and would see men walking on the side of the road, down on their luck, and let them stay in his house until they got their feet on the ground.
My grandmother passed away due to cancer when my dad was 12. He was raised by one of his older sisters.
A few of things my dad taught me by example or by discipline:
1. He taught me to work. When I was 13 dad came in from work and told me he had me a job. It wasn't "I got you a job if you want it", it was "I got you a job". The job was delivering newspapers. I would deliver them after school Monday-Friday and at 4am on Sunday morning. Accept for the money that I made, I can remember thinking of this as some kind of torture. Today I look at it as one of the best things my dad could have done for me. Even though I don't have any formal education except for High School, I have had a job ever since that paper route. That was 30 years ago.
2. He taught me to go to church and had us there every time the door was opened. Your personal relationship with Jesus Christ should be the first priority in your life. One time when I got old enough to think that it was my decision where to go to church or not I decided I wasn't going and told my mother this when she came to wake me up on Sunday morning. She told my dad, he came to my room and told me I didn't have to go but I would need to pack my clothes because whoever lived in his house was going to church. Needless to say, I went to church.
3. He prayed for me and still does. He doesn't tell me he prays for me. I know because I feel those prayers.
I wish all dads could be like mine and I hope I can be half the man he is.
To all those fathers out there, Happy Father's Day!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Glenn Beck for President
Glenn Beck, if you haven’t heard of him, has a show on headline news. Glenn is a “cut to the chase” kind of guy. You should check out his show on CNN Headline News at 7pm or 9pm EST (I believe it also airs throughout the night). Glenn is probably hated by our politicians because he shows how stupid and without common sense most of them are. I’ve written before about drilling for oil here in the US where there are actually two schools of thought. One being the “Boone Pickens” interview Glenn did a month or so ago. Boone says the only thing left for Americans is to aggressively develop alternative fuels because peak oil production topped out in 2006 and it is now on a downward spiral. Since then there have been other experts who say the US has enough oil in Alaska and offshore to last us 125 to 150 years without any reliance on foreign oil. Regardless of who is correct, is it going to hurt us to drill in the areas around the US to find out? A Democratic subcommittee voted yesterday to basically kill drilling for oil off shore on the outer continental shelf. According to a government report from 1998 there are 78 billion barrels of recoverable oil there. 78 billion barrels would last the US 34 years with no reliance on foreign oil. Get it? We wouldn’t have to buy oil from people who want to kill us. This is not including inland places such as ANWR and the recent finds in the Dakotas where there is even more recoverable oil. Sure, this is not a permanent fix, but it would release us from dependence on foreign oil and allow us to aggressively research and put into use alternative fuels. Oh, and by the way, President Clinton received this report in 1998 about the time he had his mind on Monica. He started it then (not drilling for oil in and around the US) and Democrats are continuing it today. Their reason for not drilling off shore; there could be more chances for oil spills into the ocean. That doesn’t even make sense. I’m just a dumb ole southern boy and I can see where an oil tanker coming from the Persian Gulf (half way around the world) has more chances of colliding with something than it would if it were only traveling 500-1000 miles.
If you’re a reader of this blog you know that I am a no nonsense guy. When I see something stupid happening I want to do something about it.
I found a place where we can do a little something about it. It is a site developed by Newt Gingrich (why isn’t Newt running for president?) called American Solutions. You can go there and sign the Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition. There are already more than 700,000 people who have signed it. Just think if we get 1 million + to sign the petition Congress has to pay attention.
Wonder what our presidential candidates are saying about gas prices?
Obama yesterday said the price of gasoline isn't the problem. $4 a gallon for gasoline isn't the problem. The high price of oil is not the problem. The problem is it's just risen too quickly. Huh!? Does he even have a clue? And to think people are actually going to vote for him!
McCain (I hope he changes his mind) is for cap and trade, which basically penalizes oil companies for making too much money. They don’t penalize Microsoft for making too much money, why should they penalize oil companies.
I could write all day about this, but for now I’m just going to give Glenn Beck my vote. Wait just a minute. I can’t because he isn’t one of our politicians. He makes too much sense. God Bless the USA!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
While We Are Sleeping
While we are "asleep" wondering who will be our next president with all the political mumbo jumbo taking over much of the time on our TV news channels. While we are focused on rising oil prices or, as most do in America, just ignoring all of this altogether while we are in our comfort zone (asleep), there is a growing threat on the very near horizon. I have mentioned Ahmadinejad (the Iranian President) before and how he has stated he "will wipe Israel off the face of the earth". I don't know if I mentioned what else he says. His fight is not only with the "little satan" (Israel) but also with the "big satan" (the US). In his blog Joel Rosenberg says it a lot better than me. Check it our for yourself.
You may think that this is all just normal radical Islamic rhetoric, but keep in mind that Russia signed a $1 billion dollar arms alliance with Iran in 2005. This is not something we need to take lightly. I'm afraid that even our government is not taking this as seriously as they should. I'm just glad that I am awake and won't be surprised when Ahmadinejad's threats become realities. Wake up America!
You may think that this is all just normal radical Islamic rhetoric, but keep in mind that Russia signed a $1 billion dollar arms alliance with Iran in 2005. This is not something we need to take lightly. I'm afraid that even our government is not taking this as seriously as they should. I'm just glad that I am awake and won't be surprised when Ahmadinejad's threats become realities. Wake up America!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
An Example of the Financial State of Southern Gospel
As it says in the header of this blog, I am a weekend warrior (ie; hold a full time job and sing on the weekends) Southern Gospel singer. I do not take this calling on my life lightly and I don't want this article to diminish the importance of this great music for our society. We need Jesus. Southern Gospel and other Christian music touches the soul of believers and non-believers alike. It is a great avenue for non-believers to learn the hope, love, and truth of Jesus Christ.
I've written for years of the sad financial state of Southern Gospel Music. Like the oil and energy crisis in our country, no one wants to talk about it. When bringing up this topic most want to say, "the Lord will provide". This goes without saying. What most who say this don't understand is that the Lord provides through them, the fans.
Recently a story was brought to my attention by Averyfineline . It seems that Kasey Kemp and Judson Horner, who sing (or did sing) with gospel music legend Naomi Sego, not only put in their resignations to leave Naomi, but also (after resigning) filed an article of organization to create a limited liability company called "The Segos LLC". In other words they were going to steal Naomi's name, use it as their own, and she would no longer be able to use it. You can read the letter that Kemp and Horner released. The letter implies that they were "helping" Naomi out and also plugs their new CD duplication company (don't be looking for my business).
This not only shows that Kemp and Horner apparently were not raised to respect their elders, value Christian principles ("ill-gotten treasures are of no value"), or even respect themselves. It also shows how far the financial state of Southern Gospel can push individuals to make a living. In no way does this dilute the wrong that has been done (and now wants to be taken back, bottom of page) by Kemp and Horner, but it shows how desperate the financial situation of Southern Gospel is. Even honest individuals who have been responsible for bringing many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Southern Gospel "elite", are poor and struggle to make a living. Add rising fuel costs and it even makes it harder for groups to make a living. This is sad to me. I have to keep reminding myself that God is bigger than the oil situation and He is in control. He also gives us common sense. Groups should use this common sense to make sound business decisions concerning their ministry and fans should use this common sense to realize that they can be used to help groups minister.
I've written for years of the sad financial state of Southern Gospel Music. Like the oil and energy crisis in our country, no one wants to talk about it. When bringing up this topic most want to say, "the Lord will provide". This goes without saying. What most who say this don't understand is that the Lord provides through them, the fans.
Recently a story was brought to my attention by Averyfineline . It seems that Kasey Kemp and Judson Horner, who sing (or did sing) with gospel music legend Naomi Sego, not only put in their resignations to leave Naomi, but also (after resigning) filed an article of organization to create a limited liability company called "The Segos LLC". In other words they were going to steal Naomi's name, use it as their own, and she would no longer be able to use it. You can read the letter that Kemp and Horner released. The letter implies that they were "helping" Naomi out and also plugs their new CD duplication company (don't be looking for my business).
This not only shows that Kemp and Horner apparently were not raised to respect their elders, value Christian principles ("ill-gotten treasures are of no value"), or even respect themselves. It also shows how far the financial state of Southern Gospel can push individuals to make a living. In no way does this dilute the wrong that has been done (and now wants to be taken back, bottom of page) by Kemp and Horner, but it shows how desperate the financial situation of Southern Gospel is. Even honest individuals who have been responsible for bringing many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Southern Gospel "elite", are poor and struggle to make a living. Add rising fuel costs and it even makes it harder for groups to make a living. This is sad to me. I have to keep reminding myself that God is bigger than the oil situation and He is in control. He also gives us common sense. Groups should use this common sense to make sound business decisions concerning their ministry and fans should use this common sense to realize that they can be used to help groups minister.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
The True Obama- lying down with dogs
I guess many heard the latest Obama "mentor", Father Pfleger, spouting off his almost demonic "sermon" on youtube or the news channels. Just another example of Obama's flawed and seemingly true self. Most of the media (left wing media) is writing it all off as meaningless to the Obama campaign and tells nothing of his true personality. I'm sorry, but if a man has surrounded himself with people such as Rev. Wright and Father Pfleger and even says the latter has been his "moral compass" his integrity has to be questioned. Especially when these two are also supporters of the Nation of Islam leader and anti-semite, Lewis Farrakhan. Wright and Pfleger, when preaching hate and racism (among other things) to their congregations, should look in their bibles and read what it says about those who lead their children (congregations) astray, "it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6) Then we come to Bill Ayers. Ayers is also one of Obama's "old friends". Ayers was part of the Weather Underground which bombed the Pentagon, the Capital, and other government buildings in the 70's. You may as well say Ayers is an American terrorist. (more on Ayers)
Just this short list of supporters of Obama should tell us something:
Rev. Wright
Father Pfleger
Lewis Farrakhan
Fidel Castro
Raul Castro
If they were alive you could probably add Hitler and Stalin to this list. I'm sure if you asked the Iranian president, Ahbaminejad and North Korea's Pyongyang who they wanted for President of the US they would back Obama also.
I ask those Americans who are voting for Obama: Why would you want a man like this to be president? Do you not value the safety, security, and sanctity of life we have? I know things in the US are far from perfect, but I am afraid our nation will fall with a man whose true self is far from what you are seeing on TV. To those who think his friends, mentors, and pastors have nothing to do with who he really is, all I can say is "lie down with dogs and you will get up with fleas".
Just this short list of supporters of Obama should tell us something:
Rev. Wright
Father Pfleger
Lewis Farrakhan
Fidel Castro
Raul Castro
If they were alive you could probably add Hitler and Stalin to this list. I'm sure if you asked the Iranian president, Ahbaminejad and North Korea's Pyongyang who they wanted for President of the US they would back Obama also.
I ask those Americans who are voting for Obama: Why would you want a man like this to be president? Do you not value the safety, security, and sanctity of life we have? I know things in the US are far from perfect, but I am afraid our nation will fall with a man whose true self is far from what you are seeing on TV. To those who think his friends, mentors, and pastors have nothing to do with who he really is, all I can say is "lie down with dogs and you will get up with fleas".
Friday, May 30, 2008
Links from the Right
For those who are conservative, want Washington to do something (right now they are doing nothing at all but doing away with our corn crop for ethanol) about oil prices and alternative energies. Those who believe our country was founded on Christian principles and we need to stick with those principles. Or those who just believe in sound, common sense thinking and applying this thinking to energy, taxation, national security, etc. Check out these links (I will be adding more as I find them)
American Solutions - This site is very informative and involving. It was established by Newt Gingrich (Newt for President!- another topic for another day). You can even sign petitions that are sent to congressmen. The latest: Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
Glenn Beck - You've probably seen Glenn's show on Headline News. Glenn always has common sense people on his show. Glenn seeks solutions to problems facing us all instead of talking about Hillary and Obama all the time the way other shows do.
American Solutions - This site is very informative and involving. It was established by Newt Gingrich (Newt for President!- another topic for another day). You can even sign petitions that are sent to congressmen. The latest: Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
Glenn Beck - You've probably seen Glenn's show on Headline News. Glenn always has common sense people on his show. Glenn seeks solutions to problems facing us all instead of talking about Hillary and Obama all the time the way other shows do.
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