Too Much Election and other stuff!

WOW!

I am sick of this election season. Enough is enough! I can't wait to get this over with and see some normalcy in our lives once again. With that said this is a very important election and we need to really work hard to get out and vote. Looks like Obama has inspired lots of folks to get out and vote be it for or against him.

I was telling my wife last night I would love to see a black President some day as I think the example would be great for some black Americans and perhaps it would really spark many folks to try and do better in their lives if they had that kind of a black role model. However I do not want it to be this one. and here is why.

He is obviously a Socialist and if you look at the people he has had relationships with over the years he is either the poorest judge of character in the universe or he believes as these associates do, or something akin to what they do and that is just unacceptable. He is also a wealth redistributer and that is Socialism plain and simple, that is NOT the American way of Capitalism. Unfortunately circumstances may usher him right into office. I suppose we will have to wait and see.

On the other hand John McCain is not my first choice for President but at least he will try and continue to capitalistic system that has made America the most wealthy country in the world and not tear it apart piece by piece. He is a brave soldier and will also fight for America not bow down to the terrorists around the world. I think Obama is a passivist and it is too dangerous a world to allow him to kneel before the bad guys and allow the liberals to run amuk in Congress.

OK, nuff said.

A friend of mine named Jim and I performed a song or two at church this past Sunday along with a fellow named Grey. I want to post the video here so I will try and do that now. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=956580821544314190 It is a little small but you might enjoy it!

Janet and I had a great vacation a month or so ago in Sedona, Arizona. WOW! I can't say enough about that place! I will post a few pics here.

Obama's Speech

First of all allow me to take a moment to congratulate Mr. Obama for what he has achieved here. Although I think he has done this by not being completely truthful about who he really is, he has managed to make history and allot of people, especially black Americans have seen the fruition of a lifetime of hopes and dreams in this man. Congratulations sir, you have become a historic figure in America.

Now, after reading the transcript of Obama’s speech for the second time today, I have many comments but the first thing that really stands out as a grave omission is the fact that he never mentions God until the very end and he uses the standard, “God Bless America” line as just a cookie cutter, political ending of a speech.

The reason I question this is that Obama has worked fairly hard to convince the American people that he is a born again Christian who attends Church regularly and has brought his family up in the Church. Now I am also a born again Christian and when anything good happens to me I always give God credit for it. You would think that this man would have found a place to thank God in his speech, for his current position as the Democratic nominee, a historical moment for all America, for all African Americans and certainly in his life but alas he failed to do so. That leads me to wonder if God really does play an important role in his life at all.

Another thought that dawned on me about this whole affair is this. I think it is quite obvious that Obama is the affirmative action candidate. He comes to this position as the less qualified person beside Hillary Clinton. Were they both to apply for a job and he was hired over her, it may well be to fill a quota for hiring minorities over whites. She has much more experience than he does in the Senate and she lived in the White House for eight years as the “Co-President” First Lady. She has been a staunch Democrat all her adult life working in and around Washington. The real ironic part is that she and her husband Bill have fought for affirmative action their whole political careers and now when it comes down to her and Obama, the less experienced black guy gets the job! I would say that is the MOST ironic thing I have ever seen in Washington politics. To top it all off, she should really have no reason to complain because she is now seeing, in this historical event, her life’s work coming to fruition!

The speech itself was a bit lack luster from the way I read it and from what I heard about it in the news today. It was a good speech but not a great speech. I think Bill Clinton’s speech earlier in the week was rated much higher than this one.

Much of what he said in the speech itself was just not plausible or true. For example: In my opinion and many experts agree, it is completely impossible to get us off of foreign oil supplies in 10 years. It will NEVER happen. The more realistic number would be 25 years or even longer.
To say that John McCain would not even go after Osama Bin Laden in his cave is ridiculous. First of all we bombed the crap out of the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan when we thought he was there and since then it is thought that he is hiding in Pakistan. We can’t invade Pakistan to look for Osama. That would be a major, foreign policy blunder.

There is much to criticize here but I will just add this. The Obama - Biden ticket is a weak ticket to say the least. With McCain’s new running mate, Sara Palin, I think the Republicans can win this election hands down. Perhaps Obama will be a formidable candidate down the road but for now he is just too young and inexperienced to be Commander and Chief of our armed forces and the President of this United States.

In closing I will add I am still not convinced that Obama is not brainwashed by his former pastor, Reverend Wright. Considering his relationships with so many radicals over the years and his mentors all being extreme socialists. Obama may be much more dangerous than we even think. The fact that he is this close to being President of our country should be a wake-up call for all Americans who love their country. The apathy must end here and we all need to get more involved!

I will quote my good friend Poppa Flagg -

Peace through Preparedness!

JD for President!

Well I finally did it!

I am sick and tired of the same old same old in Washington!

It is time for REAL Change!

Vote for me,

JD Pearce for President!

Hope and Change

It is August and things are getting hot, not only here in the Charlotte but up in Washington as Republican leaders stand up and deliver messages of hope and change.

We need hope and change if we are to get a Congress that will listen to the people of America when it comes to our energy needs, not the same old same old. Instead of working to resolve a serious energy problem for the American people the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, decides to go on a book tour. I think instead of touring the country trying to fatten her purse she should be in Washington allowing our Congress men and women vote on some new energy legislation. I hear her book tour is really making quite and impact! Thud might be a better term in this case.

It seems pretty obvious we need to drill here and drill now in America. We also need to conserve the resources we have and do our best to come up with alternate sources of energy but the Democrats have decided to take a five week vacation instead. They ride in their private jets and take limos back and forth to book tours while we are stuck out here in the real world paying nearly $4.00 a gallon for gasoline and our truckers and airlines are going bust over $5.00 a gallon and higher diesel and jet fuel.

I guess the Democrats are so confident that they will win BIG in November that they can just do what they want and ignore John and Jane Doe American. OK so be it. In November we will have a chance to really tell the Democrats what we think of their apathy towards the problems we face when it comes to energy.

Now I hear the Senate has come up with a plan and five Republicans have joined hands with five Democrats to try and work something out. WAIT A MINUTE!

Hold it right there guys! We have a winning issue here and you are compromising with the Democrats and caving in to their demends? DON'T DO IT! From what I have read the legislation they are proposing is terrible. I hope like heck this does not pass. We need to drill off of each coast, in the gulf and in Anwar. We also need the oils shale fields opened up for exploration so we can continue to perfect the technology needed to acquire the billions of barrels of crude available in the midwest! This is a must!

Moving right along.

Now I also hear the vacation bug is catching. It seems Obama is going on a week long vacation to Hawaii for some much needed R&R. With McCain closing in on him in the polls he is taking a break. This is either the epitome of arrogance or the essence of stupidity on his part. I am not sure which but I suppose it could be a combination of the two.

All I can say is McCain better take advantage of this opportunity that Obama has laid right in his lap. In Fact I am quite sure that Obama has already dealt his campaign a near fatal blow and perhaps this is a sign that he is giving in. It all started when he stumbled his way through a question by a seven year old girl earlier in the week and he basically told her America is a terrible place and he has to fix it before he can allow his kids to grow up here.

WOW!

This is the same America where a young 47 year old black man can win the nomination of the Democratic party for President. A country where he could grow up and go to an elite North Eastern law college and become a lawyer, marry another lawyer and live in a gated neighborhood in a 1.6 million dollar home. Yeah I would have to agree he has it rough and changes need to be made. In fact until he can live in a ten million dollar mansion it is obvious we need more hope and change.

All I can say is I hope he doesn’t change his current campaign strategy because it is a BIG loser from where I sit!

RIP Mac Man

Peace out!
JD

Another day in America!

I Love America!

There I said it. I'm sorry if I hurt any one's feelings. NOT!

What a great country we live in. It is such a privilege to live here and to have the opportunities that come with being an American. Praise the Lord!

Well Congress is about to adjourn for the summer and Nancy Pelosi will not allow a vote to come to the floor on drilling. She knows it will pass, that is why she keeps fighting it, hoping prices will go down so she can say the crisis is over. I have news for her. Prices may come down some and have for that matter but the American people are fed up with her and we are demanding action on this subject. The Pelosi do nothing Congress better get it in gear or they will pay come November!

Now Mr. Obama and his supporters are out there saying if we just inflate our tires and get a tune up we could save about as much oil as we could get at if we drilled offshore. To use a modern term, OMG! Can you believe this guy? He has a Harvard education but obviously has no common sense.

Truth is we have more oil here in America than all of Saudi Arabia! All we need is the OK from Congress to go and get it.

Well on to more local issues. Janet is doing much better. On cast is off and one left to go. She is driving and working again and will be back to normal in a month, maybe two.

I'm working hard and have noticed a slow down on the printing side of my business. Most of my customers who are printers or printing related have really slowed down. Fortunately the Telecom business is booming and that is keep me busy.

I sang my first solo at Church last Sunday. "Peace In The Valley" and old gospel song from the 1950's and covered by Elvis in the 60's. It went over well and I had Lot's of great feedback. The Lord really worked through me that day!

Now some Tech News!

I finally got a flat screen TV! A Samsung 40" LCD-HD 720DP. It was on sale for a very cheap price at Circuit City and I could not pass it up. It was less than half the 46" model and the 720 dp I am told is just as good as the 1080 dp if your not watching blue ray, so I went for it. I love it!

The picture is great and the sound is too. We have really been enjoying it and I am now not going to see certain movies on the big screen that I otherwise would have gone to see just so I can see them first on my big TV. I will eventually save enough money that way to pay for it! I found a real nice stand for half price too so we are set!

Well before I go I will end with this. I donated money to the John McCain campaign this year and it is the first time I have ever donated to a Presidential campaign. I would have never believed that I would be supporting McCain even six months ago but I have decided an Obama Presidency is just too dangerous in this day and age, so I am pulling for the old guy.

Right now he is holding his own in the polls even though the MSM is in love with Obama and have been giving him more coverage than Micheal Jackson at a pre-school sleepover! Yet Old Man McCain is nearly dead even in the polls. If he gets tough and really hammers Obama between now and November I think we can win.

So if you want Sky-high taxes, Government run health care (puke), constitutional rights for terrorists, more libs on the Supreme Court and socialists running all three branches of government then vote for change and hope. If you want an America we can be proud of with a President who will fight the war to win, keep taxes low and will continue to put strict constitutionalists on the court then vote McCain.

See you in November!


Peace


JD

A day in the life

Greetings friends

WOW! Life is interesting sometimes. Keeps us on our toes dealing with what each day throws at us. First off I want to say to my friend Doug I am praying for you and your family. I hope your Dad can come through this chemo with flying colors. Good luck my friend!

Next I want to let all my friends and Church family know how much Janet and I appreciate the cards, food and prayers since Janet (my wife) broke both her arms two weeks past. Yes, she did. A sudden fall and life changed drastically for us. Fortunately her bones will mend and she will be back in action in a couple of months. It has been a challenge but not one we can't overcome.

Now on to the news of the day.

I just read where Nancy Pelosi has asked the President to release oil from our petroleum reserves to help bring down the price of crude oil in America so that our gasoline prices can also go down. I know crazy Aunt Nancy is not the sharpest drill bit in the pack but does she even realize that she is admitting that if we had access to more oil that gas prices would go down, yet she and her fellow Democrats will not allow us to go after and use our own natural resources here in America.

We have more oil reserves in our country than all of Saudi Arabia and possibly the entire middle east if you combine Alaska, both continental shelves, all of the gulf and the oil shale and tar sands of the mid west. Unfortunately our highly esteemed (9% approval ratings) Democrat Congress will not open up any of this for exploration or drilling so we will have to sit and wait for the country to wise up and elect Republicans back to the Congress so we can have a common sense energy policy.

On another note:

I was thinking about the wildfires in California just yesterday. The wacky liberals in that state keep re-electing the same nut jobs to the legislator who will not allow logging companies to go into these forest lands and clean out the undergrowth and dead wood. They will not even allow home owners to clear out dead wood and undergrowth on their own properties. This stuff fuels these fires and makes them burn uncontrollably. This in turn destroys peoples homes and lives as well as pumping millions of tons of carbon into the air, the stuff the left is blaming global warming on. So it is pretty obvious that the libs out in California hate your SUV's and air conditioning but do not have enough sense to pass legislation to really do anything to help stop global warming when it comes to these fires.

Is is a law you have to be an idiot to be a politician or does it just work out that way in California due to the public school system?

By the way, I have read allot of good news coming out of Iraq lately. Looks like General Petraeus has really worked wonders in that battle field. We have nearly wiped out Al Qeada in Iraq. I hope he turns his sites towards Afghanistan next.
God Bless him and all our troops for doing a great job and defending our freedoms from radical Islamic nutcases.

Seems like we live in an alternate universe sometimes when it comes to politics.

I could be wrong.

What do you think.

Peace


JD

Why liberal democrats HATE America and poor people!

It occurred to me while perusing the news the other day and after reading many articles about oil prices and energy policy in America I could reach only one sensible conclusion.

Liberal Democrats Hate Poor People (and America)!

How did I come to this conclusion you might ask, well it is really quite simple. Let's look at our current energy policy. If you do the research you will find that we have billions, even trillions of barrels of untapped crude oil just waiting for us to unleash it's energy right here in the good old USA. That's right I said TRILLIONS. By some estimates just the crude from oil shale in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado would be enough to power American auto's for 200 years. Yet liberals, mostly from the Democratic party but some Republicans too (John McCain) will not allow us access to that precious energy. So what is the cause and effect?

First of all it leaves us dependent on foreign sources of oil which is a National Security nightmare! Second it has lead to high oil prices and $4.00 a gallon gasoline. Now who is hit worse by this high priced fuel? You guessed it, poor people. People who struggle from week to week to pay the bills are now paying two and three times what they were just a few short years ago to fill up the tanks of their SUV's and other vehicles.

Keep in mind poor people also are the ones who cannot afford to take their cars to the shop on a regular basis and have the kind of work done to make sure it gets optimum gas mileage like regular tune ups, oil and filter changes, fuel injection cleaning, etc. So, may of these folks are riding around in vehicles that get 10 or 15 miles to the gallon or worse. The guy who used to live across the street from me a couple of years ago drove a Ford Excursion and had a job where he commuted 200 miles per day. Can you imagine what happened? He had to sell his SUV, buy a used compact and get a job closer to home making much less money. How terrible!

Now I read today that the current do nothing but screw up Pelosi Congress is trying to pass legislation re-regulating the railroad business. The railroads are able to ship freight very inexpensively moving, get this, one ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of fuel. It is estimated that the railroad industry has reduced it's fuel consumption over 48 billion gallons since 1980 and reduced carbon emission by 538 million tons! You would think the Democrats would be screaming this from the rooftops with all their man made global warming hyperbole but no, they are quietly trying to put the railroads in the same shape as the airlines and trucking industries...

There is a lot more I could add but I think this is enough to prove my point.

What do you think?

Pray for our country!


Peace


JD

Do you complain about gas prices?

If you are a Democrat, Independent or a Republican who has voted for or supported in any way the people who have blocked drilling in ANWAR (mostly Democrats) or off-shore or anywhere else in the USA, then how can you complain about soaring gas prices?

It is obvious that the left has an energy strategy in America and part of that strategy is to see gas prices go as high as possible, damn the consequences! You see they are accomplishing some goals here. First they are forcing many folks to take public transportation. Since they can no longer afford to drive they WILL take buses, trains and light rail.

Second they high gas prices are forcing US Auto companies to STOP making large trucks and SUV's. This is a big WIN for the liberal left as they have HATED SUV's since they first came out. That is of course unless they drive one themselves then they only hate yours.

Next it gives them ample opportunity to demonize the BIG OIL companies they hate so much for making profits of about 7.5 percent. Oh how terrible!

Finally it gives the left fodder for arguments that we need to make alternative energies like bio-fuels, solar, wind, hydrogen, etc. Now don't get me wrong I am a big alternative fuel fan and I am ready to see some new solar plants being built in the desert as well as a hydrogen powered vehicle in my driveway but until then we need to use the oil we have in America to help ease the pain of the current pump prices.

Why do you think they are trying to push through this cap and trade idiocy in the Senate today which has been estimated will raise the price of gasoline from .40 to 1.00 per gallon?

They WANT high gas prices to force us to behave in certain ways....


Here is a column by George Will from Townhall.com that I read this morning prompting me to write this little blurb up above. If you don't believe me take it from an expert.

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Holding the Key to Gas PricesGeorge WillThursday, June 05, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Rising in the Senate on May 13, Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, explained: "I rise to discuss rising energy prices." The president was heading to Saudi Arabia to seek an increase in its oil production, and Schumer's gorge was rising.

Saudi Arabia, he said, "holds the key to reducing gasoline prices at home in the short term." Therefore arms sales to that kingdom should be blocked unless it "increases its oil production by one million barrels per day," which would cause the price of gasoline to fall "50 cents a gallon almost immediately."

Can a senator, with so many things on his mind, know so precisely how the price of gasoline would respond to that increase in the oil supply? Schumer does know that if you increase the supply of something, the price of it probably will fall. That is why he and 96 other senators recently voted to increase the supply of oil on the market by stopping the flow of oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which protects against major physical interruptions. Seventy-one of the 97 senators who voted to stop filling the SPR also oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

One million barrels is what might today be flowing from ANWR if in 1995 President Clinton had not vetoed legislation to permit drilling there. One million barrels produce 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. Seventy-two of today's senators -- including Schumer, of course, and 38 other Democrats, including Barack Obama, and 33 Republicans, including John McCain -- have voted to keep ANWR's estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil off the market.

So Schumer, according to Schumer, is complicit in taking $10 away from every American who buys 20 gallons of gasoline. "Democracy," said H.L. Mencken, "is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." The common people of New York want Schumer to be their senator, so they should pipe down about gasoline prices, which are a predictable consequence of their political choice.

Also disqualified from complaining are all voters who sent to Washington senators and representatives who have voted to keep ANWR's oil in the ground, and who voted to put 85 percent of America's offshore territory off-limits to drilling. The U.S. Minerals Management Service says that restricted area contains perhaps 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- 10 times the oil and 20 times the natural gas Americans use in a year.
Drilling is under way 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are.

ANWR is larger than the combined areas of five states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware) and drilling along its coastal plain would be confined to a space one-sixth the size of Washington's Dulles Airport. Offshore? Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed or damaged hundreds of drilling rigs without causing a large spill. There has not been a significant spill from an offshore U.S. well since 1969. Of the more than 7 billion barrels of oil pumped offshore in the past 25 years, 0.001 percent -- that is one-thousandth of 1 percent -- has been spilled. Louisiana has more than 3,200 rigs offshore -- and a thriving commercial fishing industry.

In his "Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of 'Energy Independence,'" Robert Bryce says Brazil's energy success has little to do with its much-discussed ethanol production and much to do with its increased oil production, the vast majority of which comes from off Brazil's shore. Investor's Business Daily reports that Brazil, "which recently made a major oil discovery almost in sight of Rio's beaches," has leased most of the world's deep-sea drilling rigs.

In September 2006, two U.S. companies announced that their "Jack No. 2" well, in the Gulf 270 miles southwest of New Orleans, had tapped a field with perhaps 15 billion barrels of oil, which would increase America's proven reserves by 50 percent. Just probing four miles below the Gulf's floor costs $100 million. Congress' response to such expenditures is to propose increasing the oil companies' tax burdens.

America says to foreign producers: We prefer not to pump our oil, so please pump more of yours, thereby lowering its value, for our benefit. Let it not be said that America has no energy policy.

Copyright © 2008 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.

The Future of Energy

I was watching Glenn Beck tonight and he interviewed a guy named "Raymond Kurzweil". This guy is some kind of genius inventor and idea man who is also somewhat of a futurist.

He is big into technology and he explained how technology is growing exponentially and how that will lead to the rise of solar power as our number one source of energy for the planet. I have always thought this was our true source of energy and have wondered why we have not reached that point in our technology yet.

This guy says that in seven years we will have reached that point and by building massive solar plants in the desert we will be able to generate enough electricity to power the country. He also stated that the sun provides us with 10,000 times more energy than we need to consume worldwide....

Here is a link if you want to read more about him. He has been inventing stuff for years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil

Times up!

Well folks, the time has come for us to stand up and do something about our government. The incompetance and stupidity, the greed and gall of these people who are supposed to represent us is just way out of control.

They have allowed us to get into this mess concerning energy prices by dragging their feet, fighting against energy independence, cutting back room deals with whacko's and just plain being too stupid to see the what's right in front of them.

We must make our voices heard in this election and toss them all out!

Here is a link to a website that has it right. The common sense is refreshing.

Take a look... http://www.americansolutions.com/

Energy solutions

I had to share this cartoon. It is halarious!!!!

WOW! I have been away from blogging for too long!

Good to be back. I think if we could harness the energy Hillary has put into her campaign we could run the country for another year or two! Yet I digress and here is why.

I am really irrititated by something I read last night about congress so I got up this morning and started writing to all my legislators and to some talk show hosts I listen to.

Here is basically what I have sent out, of course I modified it depending on who I sent it to.

Dear NC Legislators

I drive for a living and it is now costing me $65 a day on average to run my Delivery Van. That's over $15,000 a year and it is having a tremendous negative impact on my small business and so many others in the transportation industry in our great country.

I urge you to focus your attention on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), and push Congress to continue to pass legislation allowing the US oil companies to work the vast amounts of oil in the Western United States Oil Shale deposits. Your positions have a tremendous influence in our country and perhaps other legislators will follow suit if you take up this challenge. Our Congress passed this legislation in 2005 opening the door to this potential American energy solution but the current Congress is now trying to stop it.
Please help your fellow Americans by shedding more light on this subject!!!!!

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1146906/oil_shale_the_future_of_us_energy_security/index.html

Here are a few excerpts from the above linked article that explains all of this in detail.

While oil shale occurs in much of the world, the western United States is home to the world's largest deposits. Most oil shales are fine-grained sedimentary rock containing high amounts of organic matter from which oil and gas may be extracted via a distillation (heating) process.

Oil shale was formed millions of years ago by the deposition of silt and organic debris on lake beds and sea bottoms. During time, heat and pressure transformed the materials into oil shale in a process similar to that which forms oil; however, the heat and pressure were not as great. Oil shale can contain enough oil to burn without additional processing, so it is also known as "the rock that burns."

Total world resources of oil shale are estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels of oil, with the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming containing an estimated 1.2 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels- the largest deposits in the world.
Even by conservative estimates, there are 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from oil shale in the area, an amount three times greater than the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.

In public opinion poll after poll, an overwhelming majority of citizens-nearly 85%-express strong support for weaning the U.S. from increasing foreign energy addiction. They want America to be as energy independent as possible. Soon, new American technologies can help Western oil shale do just that.

The greatest challenge to realizing the vast potential of oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming has been technology, extracting the resource in an economically viable and environmentally responsible way. With U.S. demand for petroleum products topping 20 million barrels per day, oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand-800 billion barrels of recoverable resources, which would last more than 400 years.

Please help us out.
JD Pearce - A very concerned citizen
Charlotte, NC

So there you go. I believe we must reach out to our legislators from time to time and let them hear from us. I also sent it to our President and Governor. Speaking of Governor, I hope pat McCrory wins the office in the upcoming election in NC because I know him personally and I think he will be a great asset to Charlotte and Mecklenburg county. We have been ignored in Raliegh for far too long.

Anyway what do you think about Oil Shale?

I will be posting more about it in the coming days.

Peace be with you all

JD

Christmas 2007

Greetings and salutations this Christmas season

I hope this message finds you all well and enjoying the experience. It is a wonderful time of year for many folks although a bit stressful for some. Life is often full of stress and we have to deal with problems from day to day that make things a bit tough on us as individuals or as families. I have found as a Christian that the best way to deal with trouble and turmoil in my life is to ask Christ to takes those burdens from me and help me deal with it all. Once you do that, give it all up to him you will find a peace you have never known before.

Let me tell you a story about an experience I had recently. It was a few weeks ago. My dear, sweet grandmother Grace Britt, God rest her soul, had passed and life was knocking me around a bit. My wife had wrecked her car (she was not injured thank goodness) and a large tree had fallen in the back yard onto the neighbors shed. I had also had a minor accident in my van and I was in training to become an Elder at Church while my only son was in Navy boot camp near Chicago. Of course all this was on top of the normal day to day stress of running a small courier business where I am the CEO, salesman and accountant as well as the primary driver who does the bulk of the deliveries. So needless to say I had allot on my plate and was becoming kind of frazzled around the ends.

One morning I walked out on my deck at home and it was a cloudy day. I raised my head up to the sky and spoke a silent prayer asking our Lord Jesus to please help me shoulder all that was burdening me. I said I knew I was unable to handle it all without his help. With me eyes still closed I suddenly felt a warmth on my cheek as if a hand was caressing my face and in my heart I could hear the words do not be troubled my son I am here with you. I opened my eyes and looked up and the sun had just peaked through the clouds shinning down on me for a few minutes. It truly felt like the hand of God on me, as a father would caress his child.

Of course I knew then I would get through it and all has turned out well. My wife has her car back, my son has graduated and moved on to Florida, I am now a fully ordained Elder and the neighbor said do not worry about the tree. Finally of course Grace Britt is with the Lord preparing for the day we will all meet her there together with many others that have gone before, singing praises to God in our mansions beyond this earthly realm.

Life is good if you have the proper perspective and know who to turn to when the going gets rough.

Have a blessed Christmas and a safe and happy new year!

Peace to you all!

Changing and evolving

The world changes, evolves, moves on. Each of us who live here upon this planet have some kind of destiny or fate I presume. Why else would we be here if it is not to complete a task or mission while here on earth? The sad thing is many if not most of us do not know what our mission is. We must learn this as we grow older and with age comes wisdom and enlightenment. The purpose becomes evident as time goes by and we learn from the mistakes made in our youthful arrogance and ignorance.

What part does God play in this? As a Christian he is the central figure in my world. He is the great creator of all things in the universe and gives me life and hope. His love is the most powerful force in this universe and it was proven when he became flesh and died on the cross to exonerate me from my sinful ways. Blessed be the name of the Lord! Once I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior it opened up a whole new existence for me and I found the way or the path. The void within me was no longer aching to be filled with carnal or worldly goods but is now overflowing with pure love and truth. Amen!

Now my path is clear. I have accepted my fate and I am pursuing it. As a leader, an Elder, a Christian, a Father, Husband, Brother, Son and Friend. I am many things in this life and have begun to walk the true path. In life we take many roads and one of these roads has lead me to meet a man who has become a friend. I will not name him here as I do not have his permission at this time but needless to say he is a wise man and has become somewhat of a mentor and teacher to me. He is a devote Christian and was an instrumental part of me turning my life around and receiving Christ. Since that time I learned that he was a Sifu (teacher) in Aikido and I have begun training in this martial art under his tutelage. I have wanted to learn a martial art since I was a teenager and have dabbled in it from time to time over the years but never found a school that I felt comfortable in. However I truly believe that now I have found the right art and the right teacher to advance within the world of these ancient martial skills.

The art that I am now studying is called Aikido. This is one of many arts such as Judo, Jujutsu, Karate, Kung Fu, and there are many more. These are some of the more well known arts in America. Aikido was created by a Japanese man who is now referred to as simply O'Sensei or Great Master. His true name is Morihei Ueshiba and he was a very religious man. He was born in 1883 and died in 1969, it is said he trained until his last days and was always in great fighting shape. He began training in his late teens in traditional jujutsu and kenjutsu he joined the military soon after that and was a great soldier known for his toughness and character. He continued his study of martial arts during that time and after he left the military. He studied under many masters where he learned various styles including the kodokan style of judo. He also earned a certificate in yagyuryu jujutsu.

O'Sensei eventually began to mix his considerable martial arts skills with a more spiritual philosophy and developed his own methods then known as aiki-bujutsu as he continued to hone his skills and develop his system it became known as aiki-budo and around 1941 his art had become known as Aikido. Ai (joining or harmonizing) Ki (energy or spirit) Do (the way or path). Needless to say he was revered in Japan as a great master of martial arts and many people came to train under him.

One of his students was Kenji Tomiki. This man also studied under the founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano. Sifu Tomiki was a great martial artist who founded the style of Aikido known as Shodakan. He wanted to incorporate some competition into the art so that his students could test their skills. It is said that he and O'Sensei
had a disagreement over this and parted ways. He was awarded the first 8th dan in Aikido and also held a 8th dan in Judo. He like O'Sensei was a superior martial artist who was renowned in Japan and around the world. He was born in 1900 and died in 1979. It is the Tomiki or Shodokon style that I now am learning.

What I have learned about Aikido so far is that it is more of a defensive art than an offensive style such as some of the Karate styles I have studied. Where many Karate arts use kicks and punches to decimate your opponent, Aikido uses your opponents energy and aggressiveness against him. Many joint locks and throws are used in Aikido that were derived from O'Sensei's training in jujutsu and judo. The training allows the Nage to flow with the energy brought by the Uke when attacked. If you use these skills properly you can easily subdue your opponent with minimal force in various ways. However depending on the force needed in any particular situation Aikido can be applied with deadly force that can easily break bones and dislocate joints causing very painful injuries or even death. We are taught only to use this kind of force if our lives or the lives of the innocent are threatened. Each situation is different in the world but if attacked, a skilled Aikido practitoner can size up the situation and decide what kind of force is needed. Aikido also teaches one to deal with multiple attackers.

Of course I am just a novice and have many years of training to develop the skills to become proficient, however I am eagerly learning and hope to continue training for many years to come.

Peace be with you.

October and Fall is finally winding it's way down into the Carolina's. It is still too hot for this time of year but it has cooled substantially from what it was last month. However now that Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize I am sure that the man who invented the Internet will find a way to stop global warming an all will be right with the world. Just think, if he had been elected President in 2000 he would not have been able to win this prize or make his movie that won the Oscar and Emmy. So do you think he would trade all that in for the Oval Office? Who knows but I digress.

Things are going well for me these days. Work is steady and life is chugging right along like an old steam engine train moving down the tracks. Church is really good. I have my last week of Elder training coming up and I will be ordained soon. Then I will find out what committee I will be placed on. The Choir is sounding great and we are preparing for the holiday season. Operation Christmas Child is under way and we brought our boxes home last Sunday.

The biggest news is that Jason (my son) has joined the Navy and is in boot camp. In fact today is the first day of his third week. He has about five more weeks then he will graduate. I am very happy and excited for him. I hope he does well and I am praying hard for him every day! I'll bet he's doing more push ups than I am these days!

Janet and I are doing great and really enjoying our new house. The dogs have adjusted and are lazier than ever! I have increased my workouts and am up to 60 push ups a day, I made 70 one morning but I have to do them first to make that many at one time. I am benching again too. Still working on the diet. That's that hardest part to control. I am at 185 steady now. I have cut way back on the juicing and it is taking it's toll. I need to get back into it again. The move kind of discombobulated my schedule and I never have gotten back on track. Shame on me! I will get back to every other day soon. I have been taking Aikido lessons from a private instructor who is a good friend of mine. I guess we have been doing this for about four month maybe five now. I have another lesson on Thursday. I am really enjoying this martial art more than any I have studied. I hope to stick with this one for many years. It is more a defensive art than offensive but it is very effective.

The Lord has blessed me no doubt. My life is great and I thank him for it. I am having Thanksgiving here this year and inviting the family up for a feast! Janet and I are going to the mountains this weekend to enjoy the scenery and eat at the Daniel Boone Inn. We have scheduled our next vacation for Sedona Arizona next September. I am finally going to get to the Grand Canyon! Yahooo!


I'll check back in later.

Peace be with you!

A fool such as I?

I must be a fool to come back from such a great vacation.

Maybe I should just pack my bags and go back to Nashville tonight!

WOW!

It's tough to go from a relaxing seven day vacation to a hectic work day in just a matter of hours but that's the way it is. After leaving Nashville, Tennessee Wednesday afternoon we arrived back in Charlotte around 10:30 PM. In bed by 12:00, I was up early and back at it making deliveries and picking up where I left off the week before. Thursday and Friday were both hectic and very busy days. I have to close my eyes and only believe I am back in my cozy hotel room in Memphis to get away from it all but hey, that's alright.

The guys who took care of things for me while I was away did a great job with little or no trouble although they were very busy. Looks like I picked a bad week to go away but it is hard to predict when business will be slow or hot in this line of work. My hat's off to Bob, Ken and Harry for taking care of business while I was away.

Janet, my good luck charm, and I went to Memphis Tennessee for a few days, had a side trip to Tunica, Mississippi and then finished up our vacation in Nashville. The Memphis part of the trip was centered around the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. We went to the BIG concert at the fed ex forum on the 16th after visiting Graceland that morning. This was my fourth trip to Graceland and Janet's first. She really enjoyed it and so did I. We will have great memories from this trip for a long time to come. Check out this site to see more.

Graceland - Elvis

Here is a couple of pics from inside Graceland I took.


The concert was fantastic and we met people from all over. I plan to do an in depth review of the concert later but for now trust me it was Awesome! There were fan clubs there from nearly every country in the world. To name just a few there were folks from Canada, Japan, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, and many more of course. Many folks decided to follow that dream and come to Memphis for this one and I am sure they all found it too much to handle in one trip. Many will return again once they have been to Graceland, the promised land of rock and roll.

Here's some from the concert.


We toured Beale street where the Blues music style was born and later had lunch at Corky's BBQ on Poplar St. We also visited the Peabody Hotel downtown and saw the famous Peabody ducks. We went to Sun Studios waydown Union Ave., where Elvis recorded his first records and was discovered of course by a young lady named Marion Keisker. Sam Phillips owned the studio and was not really interested in Elvis but the persistence of Marion finally broke Sam's will and he had Elvis come in about a year later and record some songs. One thing led to another and Elvis started singing "That's Alright Mama" and Rock and Roll history was begun. It was fun to see all the history of Rock music right there including the very same microphone Elvis sang into. I myself was able to sing a few bars from Jailhouse Rock into that very mic Elvis used. I was glad they let me be there do just pretend I was Elvis for a moment in time.

This is the mic as we saw it, standing in the middle of the room and then in the past as Elvis used it.


Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash also used that mic and were artists that got their starts at Sun Studios. You can't really mention Memphis and Sun Studious without mentioning that Sam Phillips was into the Blues. He started the studio to record the black blues artists of the day, living in Memphis playing down on Beale Street. Some of those included BB King, The Howling Wolf and even Ike Turner playing piano with a band who recorded what many call the first ever rock and roll song entitled "Rocket 88". Later when the studio had closed then reopened again in the 80's many more recent artists recorded at Sun Studios like Tom Petty, Def Leopard and U2. Check out the website it is a good one

www.sunstudio.com



Here is an interview with Scotty Moore Elvis's first guitarist if you want to read something nostalgic about the early days of Elvis.

Moving on I must say that Memphis is a nice city in places but all in all it is a poor city with most of the areas we saw being very downtrodden and in need of a Renaissance. It seems that Elvis is bringing a much needed influx of money to the city but I do not see where the local political structure is using it. Perhaps they are spending it all downtown but it is hard to tell. They are in dire need of major change in that city. I would venture to say if it were not for Elvis Presley, Memphis would be in serious trouble and on the verge of becoming like New Orleans before Katrina. There is a great history of the Blues in Memphis and from the looks of the city I can understand why people were always singing the blues. For the most part however when your in any particular part of Memphis you'll find yourself in the ghetto.

We stayed at the Memphis Hilton right off Poplar street and let me tell you it was as nice a Hotel room as I have ever stayed in. The bed was so comfortable I hated to leave. We picked a good place although it was about 8 or 10 miles from downtown. For the price it was more than I expected. It was more for business folks than Graceland tourists but we enjoyed it anyway. Our room was on the 14th floor so we had a nice view out over the area.



We went to Tunica for one evening and gambled a bit. We wound up winning a little money while we were there and ate at one of the buffets. It was fun and I hope to go back there again someday. Tunica was only about 45 minutes from Memphis so it was an easy drive for us. There were three casinos right next to each other in one spot so we settled in there and tried them all out. It was over 100 degrees outside so it was nice to spend the day indoors where the air conditioners were on full blast.

We stayed at the Wyndham Resort of Nasvhille just across from the OpryLand Hotel and where the knew Opryland building is located. The Hotel was amazing, I've never seen anything like it except maybe in Vegas. I would like to stay there next time I go to Nashville.

Inside the Opryland Hotel complex.


While in downtown Nashville we toured a place that is legendary to Country music and Elvis fans alike. It is called Studio B and Elvis recorded over 250 songs there. many more folks recorded there including Jim Reeves, Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison, Charlie Pride, Chet atkins, Floyd Cramer and Dolly Parton to name only a few. The tour guide told us about Dolly's first recording session. She was so nervous when she pulled into the parking lot she hit the wall and knocked some of the blocks out. In other words she had a tremendous impact on country music and the studio itself! (hehehe) They had some of the original equipment set up in the studio that these famous artists used to record with. There is a 1939 piano that Floyd Cramer used and Elvis also played many times during the 20 years he recorded there.



We walked up and down Broadway which is the main drag where musicians play and various clubs in Nashville. It is full of bars, saloons, souvenir shops, and restaurants. We ran across a small Charlie Daniels museum there while we looked around and I of course had to go in and check it out. He is one of my all time favorites.



The Country Music Hall of Fame was a very interesting place with lots of exhibits and memorabilia. We enjoyed our visit there and it was fun to see the history of the music I grew up with. Here is a link that that website.

Country Music Hall of Fame


We also visited the Zoo while we were there and it was nothing special, just another Zoo. After you have been to the Zoo in any city they all seem to look the same, it was too hot to be walking around outside anyway and since we visited during the week hardly no one was there. Perhaps it's better on the weekend when they gear up for the bigger crowds.



So that's about it. another vacation under our belts. I am thankful to God that he has blessed us with the good fortune to be able to travel and see things we like to see. Next we plan to go to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone Park. Still trying to decide which one to go see first.

Well I hope this little blog allowed you to walk a mile in my shoes even if it was only make believe for a few minutes of your day. For now it's over yet if your ever in Nashville or Memphis Tennessee one night and you run into Elvis just tell him Jim said hello.

He'll know what you mean.

Global Warming VS Global Terrorism

Global Terrorism VS Global Warming


It is said that today we live in a global society. It is a true statement and it seems that two of the biggest problems we face today are global problems. Here I wish to examine which of these two problems we should be most concerned about. If you look at it from a left VS right political perspective then we know which side you probably come down on.


Global Warming.


Many Scientists agree we are currently experiencing a period of global warming. The crux of the problem here is whether it is a natural phenomenon or a man made problem. Many environmentalist groups are certain that this problem is caused by man’s use of fossil fuels and they are determined to disrupt our economy by trying to hinder peoples use of energy derived from those fuels such as oil, natural gas, coal, etc. They insist we are destroying the planet’s atmosphere with our greed and need for bigger vehicles like trucks and SUVs
or sports cars that use more fuel than the smaller more energy efficient cars they tend to drive. They want us to take steps that would certainly do damage to the economy in America in order to preserve the planet (in their view). Many on the other side of the argument disagree and point to science that leads to inconsistencies in their arguments. Many scientists whole heartedly disagree that man’s use of fossil fuels has a veritable impact on the earth’s atmosphere and our need for energy to run the systems that keep our economy moving is more important than their diaphanous theory that we (man) might be causing global warming.

The left has blamed just about every weather condition of late on their global warming theory and has taken and alarmist approach to try and scare the public into believing that the most dire consequences are in store for us all if we do not fall into lock step with them and follow their prescriptions necessary to save the planet and all mankind from certain destruction. One example would be the hurricanes we experienced two years ago, Katrina and Rita. Many of the global warming alarmists said that these were a result of our poor stewardship of the planet and we were in store for even more destruction in the next hurricane seasons to follow. However we did not have one single hurricane touch the US coast the following year and so far this year their predictions of wide spread destruction have been just as paltry.

Another example of their trepidation is that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate and that the coastlines of our country and around the world will be submerged within decades if we do not stop our burning of fossil fuels. However it has been proven by scientists in Greenland that the temperature has been steadily decreasing there for the last decade or so and the glaciers are in fact getting larger.


Another bit of information that seems to slip past some of the more prominent media is that the temperature readings being used by the man made global warming theorists have come under scrutiny. It has been pointed out recently that many of the surface temperature stations that are monitored by the government, providing data to the global warming alarmists are returning bad data due to the location of the units themselves. The government has guidelines about where these monitoring stations should be and in many cases they are in violation of these standards which in turn returns bogus temperature readings causing the data to be askew. Here is a link to a web-site that points this out in detail.

http://www.surfacestations.org/


In conclusion the global warming phenomenon is something to be concerned about and monitored but the science behind it is not conclusive enough to determine if it is being caused by man’s use of fossil fuels or if it is just another cycle in the earth’s vast and powerful ecosystem which changes and evolves constantly. The people who want to try and raise taxes and cut our energy use by banning fossil fuels or the systems that use these fuels may well have a different agenda than what they pretend. The UN for example has embraced the global warming theories championed by Al Gore and his supporters. They want to take enormous sums of money from the richer more affluent nations and distribute it to the poorer less affluent countries around the globe. As we have seen with the UN in the past, corruption can run rampant when millions and even billions of dollars are at play and they very well may have the same agenda as the left whose global warming scare tactics are currently at their highest levels.


Global Terrorism


Now lets look at Global Terrorism. Just like Global warming it seems that many people come down on this subject differently. The political sides of the argument or Right VS Left have taken opposite stands. The right, lead by the Bush administration and some of it’s allies is heavily behind fighting what it calls a, “Global War on Terror.” Many on the left however seem to take a position that it is not as big a threat as the Bush team says it is and is more of a law enforcement problem than a military problem. In fact many of these folks believe we should let many of the terror suspects held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba go and bring any that need to be tried here to America and allow them all the civil liberties that our citizens are afforded. Most on the right of course vehemently disagree with this approach and want them to be dealt with as enemy combatants.

Most people who follow the news are aware that terrorism has been a problem around the world for decades. In 1983 over 240 US Marines were killed in a bombing in Lebanon, since then Americans and American interests and allies around the world have been attacked over and over again with terrorist style bombings and even more brutal forms of terrorism on individuals like beheadings. Just to name a few more in 1993 the World Trade Center in New York City was bombed by Islamic terrorists. In 1996, 19 Americans were killed in the Khobar Towers bombings in Saudi Arabia. In 2000 the Navy Vessel, USS Cole was attacked and 17 US Sailors ere killed. Of course the big one was 911 and that needs no further explanation. Here is a link to a web-page that outlines many more terrorist attacks around the world.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html


Needless to say it is obvious we and others around the world are under attack by terrorists and Islamic extremists from the middle east and other Muslim nations around the world. This President decided enough was enough and has taken the fight to them and declared War on Terrorism. I can see no other way to describe this other than a Global War on Terror, considering the terrorists are striking not only here but all over the world where they want to bring their brand of war into communities and countries where the governments do not cooperate with their fundamentalist views. Although many on the left here in America want to say the “War on Terror” is nothing more than a bumper sticker slogan for the right wingers it is far more than that in the view of many if not most Americans and others around the world.

The final question here is which do you find to be the biggest most urgent problem to deal with today?

Is it Global Warming or Global Terrorism?

Global Warming - Again

I read an editirial in the USA Today that set me off. Here is the link to it.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/06/god_goes_green.html

Now of course I just had to respond!

First of all you have to accept the left's premise that global warming (GW) is caused by man to swallow this malarkey. I don't and millions of others do not either.

There are a few points to cover here.

First that the human race is like a cancer on the earth. I can see why some folks would look at it that way since they consider mankind as a pariah anyway but I have come to realize that it is not true. We have advanced tremendously since we came to be and the technological society we have become is learning to live in harmony with mother earth to some degree. We do have a long way to go but America imparticular has done wonders in cleaning up pollution in the lakes, rivers and oceans as well as the air. There are many countries who have a much longer way to go in that respect but in time they can be persuaded to do their part.

The earth is a BIG organism we are but a micro-organism compared to the earth itself and all the other parts and pieces that make up the entire Eco-system including insects, plants and other animals as well as climate and atmosphere. The truth about GW is that we do not know for sure if we have any real impact on it or not and it may well be nothing more than the earth's own built in way to evolve and survive, heating and cooling itself from time to time. Floods, droughts, fires and bad weather on this planet are just normal for the earth. We happen to get in the way of these occurrences because we like to build our houses and business in areas that are prone to these types of natural phenomenon. The left likes to use their associates in the media to hype this stuff up and make it look as if we are on the precipice of disaster each and every day. Why? Because they want your MONEY!

Second let's talk about religion and the earth for a minute. Yes God owns the planet and he has graciously allowed us to live on it and use it for our needs while we are here. So we in turn should be good stewards of the resources. In fact I think many religious people are, especially evangelical Christians. Despite the fact that this clown thinks we are pretty much all Republicans out to destroy the planet for our own greedy purposes many of us are willing to sacrifice and try and do our best to not pollute and to live in a clean safe environment free of toxic chemicals, hazardous waste and other pollution. Just because we do not subscribe to the notion that our cars and SUVs are killing the planet and we are not driving Priuses, riding bikes everywhere and wearing hemp clothing does not mean we all hate the planet and want it to die!

In fact I have read that it takes more pollution causing energy to create a Prius than it does a Hummer, mainly due to the large batteries in them that are made in Canada. Here is some detailed information concerning the left's most prize, environmentally efficient automobile, NOT!

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the 'dead zone' around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles. The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius' battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist's nightmare. "The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside," said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper. All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn't end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce 'nickel foam.' From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

So does that make you greenies feel better about your carbon footprint? I know where I would like to leave my carbon footprint!

Just ask Red!

Now let's look at the compact fluorescent bulbs they have been trying for years to get us to use. Did you know that some of these bulbs contain mercury? Guess what, mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and it's especially dangerous for children and fetuses. Yes and when you dispose of one, or God forbid break one suddenly you have a hazardous waste situation on your hands. One lady in Prospect, Maine found this out the hard way and when she called the Dept of Environmental Protection, to ask advice on what to do, What did THEY do? They quarantined her house and it cost her over $2,000.00 dollars to replace one what used to be .99 cent light bulb before it was all over. How's that for energy efficiency?

In the end this guy admits that the science is confusing. That is his sly way of telling you that it has not been proven that GW has anything to do with what you and I do, there is not data to support that theory, it is only a theory at this point. The climatologists around the world disagree on this subject and many say our burning of fossil fuels has little or no effect on the atmosphere. For a little comparison there seems to be some scientific proof that there is global warming happening on Mars and the last I checked we were not there with our SUVs as of yet. Maybe someday though!

Also it seems that there IS proof that our planet has been through these kinds of warming cycles before and it was well before the industrial age. So that should give you pause to think about if we are causing GW or not.

So in the end yes, I believe God does want us to be good stewards of his creation. I like many other Christians try and do my part. That's why I do not trust or support most Democrats and many Republicans since they tend to lie like so many politicians do out there, yes I know many Republicans lie too but they will tell you the truth more often than a Democrat. The Dems want your money just like the Republicans but they will not be honest with you about how they are going to take it. They will make up stuff like (GW) and tell you we are causing all this havoc and claim that they need to raise your taxes to solve the problem that YOU created by driving your SUV. All the while they will be stuffing their political pockets with PORK projects amounting to millions and billions of dollars of wasted taxpayers money as they cry and moan that they need more and more money to fix the societal problems they have absolutely no intention on fixing!

GW seems to be their religion of choice at the moment and like some unscrupulous ministers they will preach to us about our tainting of the earth and how if we give up our cash they can try and fix what we have broken. The whole time they will not truly fix anything. They will keep the problem alive and well so that they can continue to fleece us for years to come.

Take the Social Security debacle. They have had plenty of time in the past twenty five years to fix that little problem but have they? No, and when the Republicans tried to push legislation through a few years ago to actually do something about it they stopped it dead in it's tracks. They do not care folks, they want to use these issues to keep blaming the other side and taking YOUR money!

The truth as I see it is that we must all use some common sense on this subject which seems to be sorely lacking in the above article and in politics in general, especially on the left.

What say you???

General rantings

Good morning!

I am up early as usual drinking coffee and reading news on the internet. I just wanted to make a few comments about life in general. I have always been a person who tries to be honest with people, I tell the truth and it often gets me in trouble. Especially where liberals are concerned. I have a friend who passed away recently (God bless his soul) who once replied to my negative email about Bill Clinton saying that he did not want to hear my opinion and for me to delete him from my email list. I have had similar emails from other liberals. It seems they just do not want to hear an opposing view. I don't get it. Is that not how we learn in life by listening to and evaluating both sides of an issue before we make up our own minds on the subject? I would hope that people whether liberals, conservatives or moderates for that matter would be a bit more open minded and learn to debate these issues with folks they disagree with and respect others opinions no matter what side they come down on.

No let me say something about Character and honesty. I will not name names but I have encountered some people lately in my life who are just plain dishonest. They seem like nice enough folks but they flat out lie and then do not seem to think twice about it. I do forgive them of course and will pray for them but it is all I can do to keep from really laying into them for their dishonesty and lack of integrity. What is it with folks who do not honor their word? I don't get it!

Well in truth I do get it I suppose. I know that many folks are under the influence of the great deceiver in this world today. They lie and cheat with giving it a second thought because Satan has a tremendous amount of influence over the world we live in. There is no two ways about this one. Most folks just simply do not uphold the teachings of Christ and the commandments God gave us all to live by and yes I mean in and outside of the Church. They live their lives in the world being a part of this culture ignoring the real truths that we as children of God should hold as the most important truths to live by.

Yeah, yeah I know many folks will say there he goes preaching again. Yet the truth is the truth!

Amen...

Global Warming? Really?

Greetings

I just read an article that compared Al Gore to Elmer Gantry who is a fictional preacher in an old movie played by one of my favorite actors of all time Burt Lancaster. Although I find the comparison interesting it is hard to picture AlGore as the character since Burt Lancaster was well Burt Lancaster and AlGore is well you know, he is not quite as handsome as ol' Burt was. Yet the Charlatan that was Elmer Gantry fits the persona of AlGore in many ways. It is quite obvious that he has managed to persuade many Americans with his movie (that I have avoided watching so far) that the world is about to come to a disastrous end due to man made global warming. Yet the truth is that many scientists disagree on his conclusions and this phenomenon we are seeing may be nothing more than a natural process of the earth's climate change. We as the human species and what we do very well could have no impact at all on the earth's very formidable climate apparatus. In fact many scientists say that the climate here on earth is so complex that they do not even begin to understand it all and how it may or may not effect global warming.

One thing that really makes me wonder about all this Global Warming talk is that I can remember when Time magazine published stories about the new Ice Age back in the seventies. How can we go from being nearly extinct by a new Ice Age to being nearly burned up by Global warming in only 25 years? Is that good science? I doubt it. I also understand now how politicians work and I know that environmentalists like AlGore like to take issues that they can peddle to the people like so much snake oil and use it to promote a hidden agenda. These people are tricky and because many Americans seem to fall under their spell for one reason or another they unfortunately are easily persuaded.

All this leads me to compare AlGore to another character played by Burt Lancaster in yet another great movie called "The Rainmaker" where he played a fellow named Bill Starbuck. WOW! What a great movie that was and like Gantry, Starbuck (and AlGore) was a fellow who rode around the countryside convincing people to open their wallets and pay him to do something he knew he could not do, make it rain. This comparison might be even better than the first since it has to do with the climate and he was obviously a BS artist much like our former Vice Perpetrator. If you love old movies this one is a must see, it had Katherine Hepburn as well and was one of Lancaster's best films! I could go on about old movies and Burt but I digress.

These predictions of doom and gloom have been happening since man was young and able to write about the earth. This is just another phase in men trying to fool other men into reaching into thier pockets and handing over the cash.. Mark my words, 30 years from now the left will have found another way to try and squeeze money from their supporters and this global warming farce will be a long forgotten memory...

Peace to you all!

The Move

Finally we are all moved in!

We bought a new house last month and picked up our belongings and moved it all over here over the Fourth. Thanks to some help by very good friends and my trusty van we have managed to get just about everything we owned moved over here and we are no longer living in East Charlotte. As much as I loved it there, the place has changed too much for my liking. No longer the peaceful neighborhood of my youth it was time for a change. Being only a pistol shot away from Eastland Mall you 30 year plus Charlotteans will understand why I had to leave.

Our New home is off Providence Road near the Arboretum. The shopping within a two mile radius is fantastic as well as the fact that I have at least three movie theaters within five miles of me now. The restaurants in the area are great as well. Many places to choose from and on top of that I am now less than ten minutes from Church! The proximity to all these will save us a ton of gas in the long run.

We almost feel like we are on vacation living here. The bedroom is nearly twice the size of our old one it seems and the master bath is awesome! We have less storage space in the house but we now have a two car garage so the trade off it worth it. We also have a HUGE walk in attic. I intend to put in a fan that will cool it off up there so maybe I can use it to make up for the lost storage space.

Anyway I will post some pics soon. I suppose we will be here for the next 15 or 20 years because I DO NOT want to move again! What a pain that was!!!!!

Peace to you all!

JD