Here are some pics from the Seminar and from my latest workout at the Flagg Dojo. I have decided to go ahead and start the Combat Hapiko system this month. I have trained 4 times in the past two months and am ready to get the process started so I can get my belts and certificates so I can use the training I have up to this point. It is somewhat costly but I think I can work it out.

The belts are:

white

yellow

orange

green

purple

blue

brown

red

red w/black stripe

black w/white stripe

black

1st dan

2nd dan

etc...

It will take about 3 years or more to get to shodan or black belt. This is of course if all goes well and I can stay on course and injury free (Praise God). Once shodan is reached then it is only the beginning! (smile)

I have been working on the twenty two of the Tomiki Aikido system on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past couple of weeks. I am learning these quite well and hope to get the first two sets (11) down in a couple more weeks and then work on the next two sets. It is very exciting to delve into the martial arts finally. At my age it is good to have so many things to learn and to keep me working hard and staying in shape. It is so easy to get out of shape and can happen very quickly. You have to mantain a regular routine of working out to keep fit these days. If I can get control of my diet I will have it knocked! That seems to be the hardest part for me. I travel a lot and it is so easy to eat badly. Yet I am more determined than ever!

Grace and Peace

4th Kyu Test

Greetings

An update on my Aikido training. As of 9/17/09 I have been training at Carolina Martial Arts under Sensei Orlando for 6 months. I was tested for 4th kyu on Tuesday night of this week and received my new stripe last night. Now it is onto the next step which will be brown belt. The new techniques are the twenty two. At this point we go from a static starting position to Uke attacking from a moving or fluid attack. This should really help me to improve my free style and become more fluid myself. Hopefully the next six months will allow me to learn to relax more, be less stiff and more circular in my movements...

I have enjoyed the first six months, the class is good. Maybe a bit too slow paced at times for me but overall I am well pleased. I intend to train hard and reach brown belt as soon as I can, perhaps in six months or less.

I have stayed injury free for the past few months and I hope it continues. I really need to work on my cardio but my flexibility is really good now compared to the beginning. My goal of black belt is in sight and I hope to reach it in three years or less. Many have said that this particular martial art is very difficult to learn and I felt that way at first but now I am feeling much more confident about my own ability to learn Aikido.

I am also working with another friend of mine who is a 2nd dan in Combat Hapkido. I attended a seminar in High Point NC about a month ago where I met and trained with Sensei John Pellegrini, Grand Master of Combat Aikido. It was a great seminar and I am now working with Sensei Flagg to learn this art too. I hope to move into this art as soon as I can for certification. I will train in both arts for now but my goal is to reach shodan in both forms of Tomiki Aikido and Combat Hapkido.

In fact I am traveling to Mooresville tomorrow morning for a two hour work out with Sensei Flagg, this will be my second work out with him since the seminar.

Peace

Conservative America awakened?

I have often wondered what it would take to wake America up. Many of us said before the election of President Obama that we believed it might take America, seeing first hand what a true radical liberal would do to our blessed country, before we would truly wake up and then stand up to these secular progressive liberals and take our country back.

Well it looks as though we were right. Obama and his radical ideas as well as the leftists and communists he has surrounding him in the Whites House and in Congress are pushing the limits of what regular hard working Americans can stand and I believe the sleeping Dragon has awakened. You are now seeing the beginnings of a revolution stirring at these town hall meetings across the nation. I say this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Obama and the liberal left are not only pushing the envelope they have gone over the cliff and are trying to take the country with them. The policies they are forcing on America make no sense whatsoever. Instead of doing what we know would stimulate the economy today they are enacting policies that is crippling America. Many of us believe they are trying to create a vast number of Americans, even more dependent on government for their sustenance so that they in turn can offer more policies like universal health care, welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and all of the new deal type social programs that have put America in debt to the tune of 100 trillion dollars! Yes, it is true! 100 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities are tied to just three of these programs. Now that our unemployment is over 10% they try and push through cap & trade as well as universal health care two programs that will increase our debt and tax burden by trillions more. This is a purposeful plan to ruin the American economic infrastructure so that they can rebuild it in their own way, a dependent America who can do nothing without the government providing for all the people's needs.

Is that the America you want???

If we do not throw the liberals out of office in 2010 we are in deep trouble. I myself am a Glenn Beck fan as well as Rush Limbaugh. Although I don't always agree with everything anyone says I think these two for the most part have it right about Obama and the radical left. They must be stopped. Their polices will destroy America as we know it so it is time America to stand up and shout! We must not be afraid to speak our minds and to go down to City Hall or wherever we have to go to make our voices heard. We must let the liberal politicians know that we the people want our country back and we will do what we must do to protect the Constitution of the United States of America!

Let's go America! Obama has also said he wants to build his own civil army as large and well funded as the military. What does he mean by that? Let's not wait to find out. Let's throw these liberals out of office in 2010 and in 2012 we will put a real conservative in the White House! We must start today!

Update on Aikido and life

I'm back! I have ignored this blog too long. It is time for an update.

Aikido training is progressing at a slow but steady pace. I thought I would have tested by now but it looks like it could be another month or so. I just past the four month mark and it looks like six months is a more realistic time frame for the second test. I am on number eleven (Kote mawashi, hiki taoshi) of the fifteen basics and still need much work on these in order to do well on the test yet I am getting much better each time we work on these techniques. Numbers eight, nine and ten are somewhat complicated and it is taking me some time to really get the mechanics worked out.

I am also working out with Jeff now one night per week until further notice. I have to start choir practice again in a few weeks on Wednesday so that will throw a monkey wrench into the schedule but I will still try and go at least once or twice a month if I can work it out. Jeff just began teaching at a school in Monroe a few weeks ago and I made it to his class last week. We had been working out at his house previous to that. The other Jeff and I had lunch Friday and I hope to attend a Hapkido seminar with him and the guys later this fall.

Life is good right now although a bit complicated and busy. Allot going on between Aikido, Church, Business and life in general. I suppose it is good to stay busy, keeps one on his toes! I am in the process of trying to sell one business and start up another, this too is keeping me very active these days.

So that is it for the update. I hope that by the next time I write here I will be 4th kyu and on my way to brown belt.

Peace

Aikido Update!

Greetings

Just dropped in to update on my progress in the dojo.

I am very pleased to say I am still hanging in there and very eager to go each week to learn more and work towards my next test. I am studying the 15 basics in the dojo and enjoying the company of many other students at all different levels of the art. Sensei Tony is a super guy and his wife Maryann is also very nice and personable. It is a great pleasure to work out with this bunch and I am progressing well with no major injuries so far (knock on wood) to prevent me from continuing. I have learned about 6 of the first 15 so I hope to be ready to test in about a month. My birthday is in 5 weeks so perhaps it will be a nice birthday surprise to be able to test for my next stripe.

I also am working out again with my friend Jeff who is a 4th degree Shodan in Tomiki Aikido, one hour every two weeks. He is teaching me some more advanced techniques I will encounter later on to give me a head start on my testing at the dojo and some good street self defense.

Peace and Prosperity!


JD

Aikido is like Marriage

Greetings!

It is Saturday and the weekend brings time to do some work around the house and reflect on the week past. It was a slow work week for me which is good and bad. Joe, my main IC, was out all week due to his wife being hospitalized, we certainly wish her a speedy recovery and pray for God's healing. Since Joe was out it seems that it was a good time for business to slow down. I hope it is not a trend however since the bills must be paid and therefore business must pick up to get it all done. Let's hope that May will see a nice pick up and we can all get back on track in this withering economy.

Business and life are challenging at times and we have to learn from the good and bad experiences, very much like a marriage. Marriage is not always good, so to make it work a man and woman have to learn to blend with his/her spouse. This is the essence of Aikido, blending with Uke or your partner.

For those who are not familiar with Aikido it is a martial art that teaches us to blend with our attacker and use their energy and momentum to our advantage. We do not confront power head on and collide but circumvent and blend using our opponents energy to our own advantage or to diffuse the attack. Like in marriage when confronted with a problem you do not crash into your spouse you find a way to avoid the pain of a collision by blending and diffusing. It is simple and effective.

I have recently passed my first test that takes my rank up a notch to 5th Kyu. I am now learning the first set of techniques that I will test on for the next stage of the Kyu system. I have been working on the first 15 techniques for one week now and have learned the first eight of the 15. Hopefully I can learn the rest in the next two to three weeks, take another week or two to polish them and then test by the end of May or early June for my 4th Kyu. I am very excited (and sore) form all the workouts and back falls. (smile) It is challenging for me but I am very eager for each class and really hope to continue this for a lifetime. I think Aikido will be the key to keeping me focused on my health and living a better life into my 50's and beyond. I have lost about 15 pounds and am feeling pretty good. I still have some issues I am working through, neck and shoulder, hip and lower abdominal but I will continue to fight through the pain and make it work, no excuses.

I want to thank all my new friends at Carolina Martial Arts for being so supportive and teaching me each week as we all prepare to advance to our next levels. I also want to thank Mr. Handy for working with me and giving me a head start. I hope that he and I will be able to continue our advanced Aikido workouts beginning sometime this month.

By the way ~ I have a family reunion coming up May 23rd. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. I am bringing my guitar and have learned a bunch of songs for the event. I hope to get a sing-along going and some of the other folks will also have their guitars. Should be lots of fun!

The very next week I will be going to Jacksonville Florida for my Son's graduation from Navy Air School. I am also looking forward to that. In other news I have a colonoscopy scheduled next week, not so much looking forward to that. Getting old is fun! (grin)

Peace and Grace

JD

Torture vs Morality

As I rode around today in the Van I listened to NPR and a show concerning the release of some classified memos by the Obama administration. The pundits on the show debated the issue of torture and whether it was a good idea to release these memos. At least two of the debaters made statements on several occasions that America, under the Bush administration had lost it's moral bearings by using harsh interrogation techniques to gain information from captured terrorists. They in essence were lecturing those who think it is OK to use enhanced techniques on these people in order to get information that could save lives.

Now from what I gather the techniques used included water boarding, slapping, humiliation, sleep deprivation and even caterpillars. Now from what I have been told our soldiers go through training that is worse than this in their military careers to prepare them for the battlefield, especially Navy Seals, Army Rangers and other Special Ops soldiers. Not to mention we have people in our culture that pay to have stuff worse than this done to them in fetish type sex businesses.

Now here's where I get angry! I am sick and tired of being lectured by a bunch of people who support murdering tiny babies in the womb and outside the womb in abortion clinics yet they want to tell me I have lost my moral bearings!

Give me a break!

(AP) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may have a lot of explaining to do.He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive. He supported allowing retired police officers to carry concealed weapons, but opposed allowing people to use banned handguns to defend against intruders in their homes. And the list of sensitive topics goes on.

Someone needs to get a clue and speak the truth to these elitists liberals and tell Obama and the rest of his minions to their faces what hypocrites they really are on this subject. The truth is 99% of those people would sacrifice or torture anyone of us to save the lives of their loved ones if it came down to it. Yet they want to preach to use how morally Superior they are on this subject....

I hate to say it but this one really burns me up!

What say you?

Greetings

After only three full weeks of Aikido I am progressing well. I have begun preparing for the test which will grant me the 5th Kyu or first stripe on my belt. It will be another 4 weeks or so before I have the time in to test according to the requirements. That should give me enough to to try and gain a better understanding and practical application of each hand and foot movement, judo taiso and the first eight quick release techniques. I feel sure I will be able to perform these requirements in that allotted time.

I have enjoyed each class and look forward to each new workout. Although I am working through some injuries I hope that I will be able to attend each class without missing any until at least May when I have to go out of town to see my son graduate air school in the Navy.

Our class is a good one and all the people are very easy to get along with and helpful. I hope to make some lifelong friendships here. The Sensei and his wife are both really good people and fun to work with.

I will continue to post as I progress.


Peace

Recently I was chatting with a friend and told him I was taking Aikido lessons. He responded negatively which surprised me some but I tried to explain to him why a man my age, 47 , would want to do this.

There are many reasons:

One ~ It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be an expert martial artist but one I have failed at achieving so far and I want to rectify that failure.

Two ~ I like the discipline that it brings to my life when I am part of a Dojo and practicing on a regular basis. I leads me to be more responsible in my eating habits as well as exercising and keeps me in much better shape.

Three ~ I have always been a big proponent of self defense, especially in such a violent culture as we live in today. The wife and I like to travel and we often find ourselves in places we have never been. Over the past several years we have been to Memphis, Chicago, Nashville, Washington, Sedona, San Francisco and many other places. I have been in situations where I was not totally comfortable with my surroundings as we explored these cities. If I were to be attacked I want to be able to protect my wife and myself from harm. It would be easy to just not go places that might be dangerous but I am an explorer at heart so this is really not an option for me.

There are other reasons but I will leave it at this for now. Aikido is a very effective art from what I can tell. It is so much different than the other forms I have seen and participated in and I really enjoy the sense of camaraderie at this Dojo. With me getting close to 50, this seems like the right time in my life to try and kick things up a notch or two and be more active and healthy. I am looking forward to some day achieving the goal of black belt and then progressing even further in the art. Wish me luck!

The Martial Way

Aikido, "The Way of Harmonious Spirit".

Ai = Harmony

Ki = Spirit or Energy

Do = The Way

I have been interested in Aikido for over 20 years and have been a martial arts fan since the days Bruce Lee was introduced to America as "Kato" in the "Green Hornet" TV show back in the 60's. Unfortunately that show was canceled but Bruce Lee went on to become a legend in the area of martial arts and still 35 years after his death is talked about and seen in martial arts magazines around the world.

Steven Segal brought us Aikido back in the late 80's with his first movie "Above the Law". He, being a 7th degree black belt and Aikido Master was the first westerner to open a Dojo in Japan. I had dabbled in jujitsu and karate but never seemed to find my place in the world of martial arts until a few years ago. I met a fellow who is a 3rd dan in Tomiki Aikido and he and I started working out together. We did this off and on for a couple of years and I recently joined an Aikido Dojo here in the Charlotte area where I am starting from scratch to earn my credentials in Aikido.

Although I have some serious training like anything else you must practice constantly and often to acquire the skills necessary to achieve a high level of skill. I will be documenting my progress through this Aikido school here from time to time so check back in when you can to see what happens next.

One thing I like about Aikido is that it is a defensive art. The training provides you with a way to neutralize and attack from one person or multiple attackers, yet it allows you to defend yourself without causing serious injury to the attacker unless you choose to do so. In most cases it is not necessary to break and arm or dislocate a joint but if your life or the life of a loved one is in jeopardy then you do have the skills to eliminate the threat completely.

Aikido teaches you to evade and attack and re-direct the attackers energy and momentum. The key is the balance point and Aikido training teaches you to know where that point is and to take advantage of your opponents weakness in this regard. One other key to Aikido is recognizing that your strength comes from your core or center. This is where the Ki originates and is the fulcrum for all your Aikido techniques to be performed.

I Am looking forward to each training session as I try and learn these skills and perfect each technique available to me. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn from an experienced Sensei and some of his excellent black belts.

I am not mentioning any names as I do not have permission to do so and it would be disrespectful to the both Sensie's and the Dojo until I have that permission.

Aikido is also an art that promotes peace and well being, as a harmonious spirit is a peaceful spirit.


Peace be with you!

By the way it snowed here a couple of weeks ago. Got some good pics! Wanted to share.

It is nearly March and I have not blogged since Thanksgiving! What's up with that? Guess I have been too busy playing WOW! As always I have just about gotten my fill of that and have begun to read more news and do more emailing. I signed up for Twitter and have been playing around with that.

So, on to the news of the day! (uuugh)

It seems we are living in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone! I half way keep expecting Rod Serling to show up any minute now and tell me what's going to happen next. I guess Obama is Seriling in this new 2009 version of that show.

I sent this email out to some friends the other day and wanted to post it here.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Do you see the fruition of a pattern of behavior here? Looks like their diabolical plan has finally worked!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7PZO..IJU.s&refer=worldwide


It starts when they are born. First they pay young mothers to have more babies, and incentive to get pregnant and stay single by offering more money for each dependent child. Then as they begin school they (the government) say, we can't let our people go without a hot meal each day so we will give all those who can't afford it a free lunch, soon they added breakfast. Then it was, we can't hurt their self esteem so no more F's on the graded papers or report cards. Soon they even changed ink color because RED was just too confrontational. After that they stopped playing games that had winners and losers because it just wasn't right for some kids to be better than others at a sport. Then after they were out of K-12 school and on to college they said we have to make sure they get a fair shake in college so we will pass laws forcing Universities allow for a certain amount of minorities so it will be fair. Then in the job market they said we can't let out people go out and not be able to get a job so we will make it easier by instituting quotas, mandating that companies hire so many of this color and that color. We do not care about the content of their character or the quality of their work, just give them a job. Then they said we can't allow these folks to live on the street or walk to work so we will subsidize their housing and transportation. After that they said it is not fair that some folks own homes and others have to rent so we will force banks to give them loans even if they don't qualify. Now they say it is not fair that some folks can't pay for their house and others can, so we will force the banks to let them stay in the houses that they can't afford by giving them billions of dollars and then we will act shocked when the money disappears and the banks say well, you really didn't tell us how we had to spend that money you only suggested that we lend it to folks.

Does that just about sum it up? Some use the term from the "cradle to the grave". I'd say it fits quite well.

What ever happened to life being a struggle? That's what builds character in people when they have to overcome obstacles and learn from the hardships. In the Democrats efforts to create some kind of a weird utopia where everyone is the same and government makes sure no one struggles for anything, they are destroying the Great America we have all loved so dearly. What a shame. They have created a bunch of dependent zombies who cannot take care of themselves and each time they get in trouble will reach out to government to solve it for them. What does this do for the Democrats and Republicans in charge of this mess? It keeps them in power for life, which is obviously their goal. They are the elite class in Washington who never have to struggle since they have a Senate or House seat that will be a 30 year career for most. They have a separate pension plan, unlike yours and mine. They have insurance for life and many have a limo to take them back and forth to work. No buses for them. They also have lobbyist who wine and dine them providing luxuries that none of us can have unless we work hard and become wealthy, something they frown on in Washington these days. They now want to pass laws saying you can't make more than X amount of money if you are a CEO because it just isn't fair. Yet they will be pushing through another pay raise for themselves before you know it!

Give me a break! It is time for change people, real change......

8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

OK, I was on somewhat of a roll there and I wanted to share it with more folks. It is time for this madness to stop! We can't allow this government to continue to enslave people to a life of dependency. We have to stand up and fight! We must take this power away from the Democrats and elect some Republicans or other folks with the right conservative principals to take this country in a positive direction. We can't make the entire country a welfare country. This MUST STOP!!!!

We have to pray people and work hard to change this country. I feel confident that in 2010 we will have a great opportunity to take the House back. Perhaps by 2012 we can take back the Senate and the White House. This time we have to elect a President that will not spend us into Oblivion!

God Bless George Bush but he made some grave errors when it comes to the future of this country and our financial state of affairs. The TARP legislation was a terrible mistake on his part and now Obama has run with this idea and is spending 2 Trillion dollars! That's TRILLION!!!!!!

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving!

I am really thankful this year to have the great family and friends that I have and such an awesome Church family too! The fall was extraordinary this year with colors that were amazing! Plus on top of all this, I am and AMERICAN! This is reason enough to be thankful beyond all measure but most of all, I must be thankful to God for his transforminging power and love. He has worked miracles on me and changed me into a man who is striving to be one of his true servants and shake of the dust of the devil's trail, leaving it in my distant past.

Thanks be to God!

So, another Thanksgiving Day is behind us and time to move ahead towards Christmas! This is a great time of year in many respects and in some ways it's not so great. However I am willing to put the bad aside (business is slow this time of year for me) and concentrate on the good. Getting to spend time with family is great! My Mom and sisters came to visit us on Thanksgiving Day and we had a great meal. I cooked the turkey or course, as is my tradition and we had all the trimmings too. Christmas will be extra special as my son will be here for a couple of weeks and we will all drive down togetehr and have dinner with the girls is Spartanburg Christmas Day.

Now there is Church. Always lots of good things going on there this time of year, especially in the choir. We will be singing some beautiful music and we have lots to do as the session meets and discusses Church business. Room In The Inn starts up soon and I will be cooking breakfast again this year. I am also cooking for the Men's Breakfast once a month so that is great fun!

Oh by the way, David, Jim, John and I sang a song at Church the other day called "The Highland Hymn". It was really fun singing in a quartet like that. I want to do more of this kind of music.

OK, that's about it for now. One more thing though.

I may be going out today and picking up my new gear for the DJ/Karaoke business I am putting together. I am finally getting back into the business after about 5 years off. Since I am not sure what the future of the delivery business is I am going to get back into the Entertainment business, something I know and love. I plan a different approach this time. With nearly 12 years under my belt as a DJ/MC/KJ and singer, I intend to use my prior experience and really put together a great show and become a booking agent as well. If this works out well enough I may get out of the delivery business eventually and take up something else during the day to keep me busy. I will have to wait and see what happens. With this uncertainty in the economy all options are on the table.



Grace and Peace to you all


Happy Holidays


JD

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