Bill Clinton's Legacy

To begin with, let me state for the record, that I can’t fault Clinton for having sex with Monica Lewinsky. He is after all, a man, with a typical man’s natural instincts. And I don’t care what the comedians and journalists say, Monica is an attractive woman. I don’t think she is fat at all, as they say.

I know that it is indeed hard to turn free sex with an attractive woman down, especially when said woman is throwing herself at you. Even if you are married. The temptation is daunting. Being a man, and a single man at that, I don’t know if I could resist such a tempting offer. But he should have been able to.

And in addition to that, it is generally recognized that important powerful men have, for the most part, an overactive libido, further complicating the matter. So I understand that it would be hard for Clinton to resist.

That said, we must also remember that this man was the most powerful man in the world at the time, and as such, had an obligation to eschew all appearances of impropriety. My concern was, at the time, that if the man cannot control his own sexual urges, how can he be trusted to control his emotions in a pressure situation such as the outbreak of war? If a nation with a death wish had launched an all out offensive against the United States, could a man with so little control over his own urges be up to the task?

I think we are fortunate that we never had to find out the hard way.

Lets look at what things Clinton did in his 8 year tenure as our nation’s leader that assured his place in history:

1. He gave missile technology to Communist China that would perfect the pinpoint accuracy of Nuclear missiles which would undoubtedly be used against the United States should Global thermo-nuclear war break out between us and them.

2. In 1994, Clinton brokered a one sided pact with North Korea, buying a promise from Kim il Sung with 500,000 tons of fuel oil annually and $4 billion to construct a pair of nuclear reactors for “electricity”, and, in exchange, North Korea promised not to build nuclear weapons.

As is now well-known, about six seconds after the deal was signed the North Koreans began feverishly building nuclear bombs. In October 2002, the regime admitted it had in fact been working on them since the mid or late 1990’s. But up until the North Koreans were caught red handed, the “experts” were assuring us that the 1994 peace deal had been a smashing success.

3. During the aforementioned Lewinsky scandal, he issued an edict declaring oral sex to not really be considered sex at all, insuring American 15-19 year old girls for generations to come that they can indiscriminately and promiscuously engage in oral sex, because if President Clinton says so, it must be fact.

So now, the percentage of underage girls in America routinely having oral sex has skyrocketed. Slightly more than half of American teenagers ages 15 to 19 have engaged in oral sex, with females and males reporting similar levels of experience, according to the most comprehensive national survey of sexual behaviors ever released by the federal government.
The report released September 15 by the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the proportion increases with age to about 70 percent of all 18- and 19-year-olds. That figure is considerably higher for those who also have engaged in intercourse.


Arguably, it can be said that the internet culture in America, as well as other factors, has contributed significantly to the rise in the percentage of teens engaging in oral sex, but I have personally heard teen age girls say it was Clinton that convinced them that oral sex wasn’t really sex. Basically, he has legitimized the practice. And yesterday, it was announced that the Chinese will be marketing condoms named after Clinton. They will be called "Clinton Condoms". They are also planning to market "Monica" brand condoms. So we know now what kind of legacy he has left the Chinese.

4. He lowered the bar for what constitutes “high crimes and misdemeanors”, in regards to what is an impeachable offense, relegating perjury before a grand jury to the status of a “little white lie“.

5. In 1998 Clinton bombed Iraq. Coincidently, It just happened to be on the day scheduled for his impeachment. I’m sure this wasn’t a “Wag the Dog” type thing. He wouldn’t try to distract America would he? Naw, probably just a coincidence.

6. He also bombed an aspirin factory in Khartoum, Sudan on the flawed intelligence information that it was a crucial link to Osama bin Laden.

This flawed information, by the way, is not considered as important a blunder as that which President Bush used to justify the invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deposition of a murderous, sadistically tyrannical dictator, who was known to have used WMD in the past against his own people as well as Iran.

Of course, possibly the interruption of the aspirin trade in the Sudan made Osama have to resort to more primitive methods of soothing his headaches, so that is probably a good thing, too, but somewhat less effective than capturing him as we did with Saddam.

7. By his declaration that he had smoked pot before but hadn’t inhaled, he empowered at least two different and disparate groups - Pot smokers and conservative critics who considered the statement to be proof positive that he is a liar. Now, it’s not only OK to engage in oral sex out of wedlock, it’s also OK to abuse illegal drugs.

8. He had an opportunity to capture Osama bin Ladin but decided against it preferring to leave him to the Saudis. He reportedly said that bin Ladin had committed no crimes against America yet, and we had no basis with which to hold him. Consequently, 5 years later bin Ladin orchestrated the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon that killed 3,000 non-combatant men, women, and children. As a side note to this, It has recently come to light that Mohammed Atta, the leader of the terrorists that piloted the planes into those buildings, was known to staffers in Clinton’s Whitehouse as a potential terrorist threat to America, but would not allow a full investigation.

(On a personal note, I think that if Atta had been detained and prevented from carrying out the attacks, another of bin Ladens soldiers would have taken his place, and the attacks likely would have come off as planned anyway.)

9. Then there was the matter of the Rose Law Firm documents that disappeared and then mysteriously reappeared (by a fortuitous coincidence that could only happen in bad novels) the day after the statute of limitations ran out on the investigation.

The untimely deaths of Ron Brown and Vince Foster. I don’t believe that Clinton had anything to do with those two deaths,( I have a hard time believing anyone could be that cold blooded, although there are some that would accuse Bush of being that, and more) but there exists some conspiracy theorists that do.

Now, personally, I think Clinton is a good man overall, but he got himself in some pretty sticky situations and instead of taking the bull by the tail and facing the situation with aplomb, he attempted to cover up his colossal blunders and by doing so, made things infinitely worse.

Thus did Clinton etch his name into the unforgiving stone tablets of history, but not in the way he had originally envisioned.

Integrity

I came across this news story this morning. I think it illustrates perfectly what I've been saying all along.

"Thirty-six hours after ex-president Bill Clinton bashed and trashed his son on everything from his handling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis to the Iraq war, former president George H.W. Bush says he still likes Clinton.
Appearing during commercial breaks on ABC's "Monday Night Football," the president's father was asked how he and Clinton managed to get along.

"I like him," Bush 41 said, despite the verbal thrashing Clinton administered to his son on ABC's "This Week" the day before.

Given two more opportunities to comment on his relationship with Clinton, Bush Sr. declined to say a single negative word about his successor.

Mr. Clinton, on the other hand, demonstrated no such graciousness when asked on Sunday about the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina."

Both Bush 41 and his son have integrity.

Clinton bashes Bush. Kerry bashes Bush. Former President Carter bashes Bush.

"Given two more opportunities to comment on his relationship with Clinton, Bush Sr. declined to say a single negative word about his successor."

See the difference?

Do you think maybe the 2 Bushes don't have reason to bash Clinton? Has Clinton always conducted himself with decorum and grace? How about Kerry?

Remember the 2004 Presidential campaign? Who was slinging the mud and who was talking about the issues?

Think hard.

When the 527 groups were squabbling with each other, Kerry went right along with the accusations that Bush had gone AWOL from the national guard during Vietnam.

Bush praised Kerry's service in Vietnam and thanked him for his service, while publicly rebuking the very 527 groups that were attacking Kerry on his behalf.

See the difference?

Now George W. Bush has twice enlisted the aid of Bill Clinton to help with recovery efforts in the wake of the Tsunami and hurricane Katrina, without having to remind the world that Clinton committed perjury while in office, which was an impeachable offense.

No, Bush has had nothing to say about Clinton that isn't positive.

What a stark contrast! Do you know what the real difference is?

What is it called when someone steadfastly refuses to bash the ones who bash him out of respect and courtesy?

It's called integrity.

A Moral Dilemma

Before I discuss today's topic, I first want to acknowledge Pastor Timothy. I just recently discovered his blog, and I was impressed. When y'all are done reading this you might want to cruise on over to his place and see what he has to say. I read some of his posts and found one in which he discusses his objection to those church signs with silly, trite messages on them.

Here is a gift from me to you, Pastor. Forgive me.

Today's post:

The last few weeks have been difficult for me and my son. Financially, I mean.

I make a pretty good income overall, but I am an independent contractor and I drive for a living, which means I pay my own expenses. And with the gas prices shooting up like Roman Candles lately, my expenses have gone up significantly. To go along with that, just when it was time to get my son school supplies and school clothes, I had unexpected car trouble that costs me almost 300 dollars itself.

This past paycheck was a day short because I didn't work Labor day and when I don't work, I don't get paid.

Needless to say, for one who lives pretty much paycheck to paycheck, my budget has become very strained. My rent is late and so is my car payment.

Now that you know something of my predicament, You may appreciate the unique dilemma I had to deal with over the weekend.

Saturday, I took my dog, Beast, for a walk. I first walked him over to the post office and checked my mail. (We don't have mailboxes at the house, we have to go to the post office for it) Then, I needed some cash for the Laundromat and for my son's school lunches, so I walked on over to the building next to the post office, which happens to be the bank in which I have an account.

The bank has a drive up ATM, and as I approached on foot, a car was just pulling away, the driver having just made a transaction. At first, I didn't understand why the screen on the ATM had the message, "Would you like to make another transaction?"

And then I realized that the driver who had just left had left his ATM card in the machine. I looked, and he was nowhere in sight. I had walked up to the machine so my face was high enough over the video camera, that I knew I couldn't be identified if I decided to make "another transaction". The bank was closed.

No one was around.

Suddenly I realized that I could possibly solve my current money problems, at least I could withdraw enough to pay my rent.

I pressed the "yes" button.

I was offered choices. Withdrawal, Deposit, Money Transfer, etc.

At this moment a wave of uncertainty swept over me. If I hit that withdrawal button, there was little chance, if any, that I would ever get caught. I looked all around. A sweat broke out on my brow. I was suddenly aware that I was shaking. My mouth was dry.

I hesitated. A million thoughts flashed through my mind. Should I or shouldn't I? Would it place a hardship on the true owners of the money? Would they even miss the money? Maybe they were wealthy. Maybe they weren't.

I was facing a moral dilemma. I know there are those who are reading this who would say, "How could you even consider that? An honest person wouldn't think twice. They would absolutely not touch that money."

There may be those who are reading this who would say, "Take the money. No one will ever know and besides, it's their own fault for being irresponsible."

What do you think I did? What would you do?

Admittedly reluctant, I forced myself to press the cancel button and removed the card, without withdrawing any cash. Then I inserted my own ATM card and withdrew 20 bucks for myself. From MY account.

I went home and told my son what happened. He asked me, "Why didn't you take some money if no one would have known?"

I replied, "Because I would know."

And so would God.

Why Blog?

Sometimes I tend to forget why I created a weblog in the first place. I think sometimes I start considering what kinds of subjects will get the most reaction from the readers. What will get my blog, among the thousands of blogs out there, the most readers? Not the most readers of any blog. The most readers of mine.

And that's another thing.

How important to me is it that I even have readers? The answer to that is -- very important. But that goes to why I started blogging. Here is a short explanation behind the reason I started blogging:

I am a very opinionated guy. As if you didn't know that. I foolishly think my opinion matters. Call me an egotist. I've been called worse.

My father was fond of saying, "This might come as a surprise to you, but nobody really cares what you think." As ego deflating as that is, he was probably right.

But I work alone with no one but myself for company and no one to share my opinions with, and when I hear something on the radio or on TV that I have an opinion about, I want to tell someone. Originally, my intent was to say something about things I heard in the news that make me say, "What the....?". So blogging is a perfect forum. I want people to know what I think. My ex-wife hated hearing my opinions. She had this to say about all my opinions:

"Shut up!"

That may be one reason her and I aren't married anymore.

Probably many are like me and just wanted a forum to voice their opinion. But I have read others that are like short stories, others that are diary's. Why would someone want to share with the world their personal diary's? Remember when diaries were secret?

Now, I am curious. Why have others started blogging? Why have you? Answer me in comments.

And no, this isn't a poorly disguised effort to get a long thread of comments. I really want to know.

Note: I just got a pop up that said I am the 1,000,000th visitor to my site. I feel honored. And just yesterday I had only had 20,000+ visits to my site.

Fiscal Responsibility

There have been reports that some of the $2,000.00 debit cards that FEMA handed out to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina have been used to buy designer clothes, Louie Viutton handbags, and even spent at some Houston strip clubs.

So some of the survivors are irresponsible with money. Who knew?

I can identify with that. I am irresponsible with money. Not as much as I used to be, but I still make stupid decisions on how to spend my money at times. I think of all the ways I can waste money if I were to win a lottery or something and the possibilities are endless. And, interestingly enough, I always consider those plans first. I would like to think I am a good steward of the gifts God gives me but I think He knows me better than I know myself, and that is probably why I never win a lottery.

Fiscal irresponsibility is one reason why some of them are poor in the first place. Not all, but some.

This news makes the point to us that government welfare programs do not work. You can give and give and give, and some people will take and take and take.

And remain poor.

Now, if the government (that means you and I) wants to institute programs that make some effort to teach fiscal responsibility along with the welfare checks, or hold the recipients accountable for what they do with the money, that is something I can get behind. How they can do that without going overboard in the typical governmental method of overkill, is quite another problem.

I think this idea bears further study.

Testimony

In my last posting, I mentioned a life changing experience I had, and promised I would give details on another post. I suppose this would be as good a time as any.

Unlike almost everyone I know, I don't recall the exact day of my conversion, but it was in the late summer of my 21st year.

I was fully involved in the drug culture by this time, and had taken to hanging out at a downtown park by the river side with many other druggie friends (I use the term "friends" loosely). I would spend nearly every night there until the early hours of the morning, or until we were "asked" to leave by the police.

We spent our evenings sitting on the ground in small groups sampling the various types of illegal drugs. I was addicted, at least psychologically, to amphetamines, commonly referred to as "speed". So, when Rich Bachelor calls me a freak, he is half right. I was a speed freak. Now, I suppose I could be called a Jesus freak by some, although I am not really that devout, as I should be.

I had also done a little dealing, but it wasn't for the money. It was to help others enjoy the same euphoria I did. Once, I sold a guy, whom I only knew as "Pepper", a fist full of red capsules cheap. I made no profit.

Later, he and another guy, whom I didn't know but knew of, nicknamed "Fast Eddie", Tied another acquaintance of mine to a chair and injected him with enough barbituates to kill a horse.

They killed him. Literally. On purpose.

The killed him because they suspected him of being a narcotics informer, or "narc". He wasn't.

The acquaintance Fast Eddie and Pepper killed was nicknamed "Lucky".

Ironic.

Okay, I told you all that to illustrate how far I had plunged into the maelstrom. And I was still living with my parents at the time! My father was an ordained minister, though he wasn't a pastor, just a Sunday school teacher at the time, but he had pastored before and would again eventually. My mother was the associational director of the Girl's auxiliary. We were a very church oriented family. My parents made me go to church reguarly no matter how I fought them.

My one tenuous connection with reality.

I was sufficiently independent by now, so I had managed to distance myself from my family and their church while attempting to fool my Christian peers into thinking I was one of them.

I lived a double life! Forgive me the exclamation point, but I just now realized that fact.

My parents, specifically, my mother, talked me into attending services at a city wide revival meeting, known as a "Crusade". The evangelist conducting the revival was Rev. James Robison. Here is a picture of him and his wife, Betty.

He has a syndicated program on Christian TV stations now.

All that week I had attended, but paid no attention to the sermons preached. I watched hundreds of people make personal decisions of conversion and rededication. It had no effect on me.

Until the last night. I remember I was sitting a few rows behind and to the left of my brother, the same one who had introduced me to drugs. The meeting was taking place in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, where the National Baseball Congress had their annual tournament. We were outdoors.

Sometime during Rev. Robison's message that night, an ambulance went screaming by on the street outside the stadium. It interrupted Robison's discourse. Then he said the only sentence I heard that night up until then:

"Whenever I hear an ambulance siren, I wonder if some poor soul is slipping off into eternity without Jesus."

That one statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't know why. Call it divine intervention. To this day, when I hear an ambulance, I wonder the same thing.

That was when I was converted. The stepping out of my seat, walking down the steps to stand in front of the podium when the sermon was over and the invitation had begun, and reciting of "the sinners prayer" were merely formalities. I was convicted, converted, and forgiven by that one statement.

I have, at many times since then, regressed back to a depraved lifestyle, and as many times, upon confession, He has forgiven me.

"But I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day."

Although I'm not religious, I am still a Christian.

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Two days ago, I created a post that consisted mainly of quotes that I had gathered from some Liberal blogs.

I quoted one of the posts which started a short discussion about hallucinogenic drugs, mainly LSD. I stated my opinion that regular use of LSD caused insanity. One might argue that I don't know what I'm talking about, and since I want to lighten up after some contentious comments left on my blog by myself and others, as well as on other blogs, I decided to discuss my own personal experience with illegal mind altering drugs.

35 years ago, I was introduced to drugs for the first time by my brother, who was in the Air Force stationed at George AFB near Victorville California. He had come home to Wichita on leave, and had brought a civilian friend of his with him.

The friends name was Larry.

My brother introduced me to Marijuana, and I liked it.

Larry invited me to ride with him back to his home in North Hollywood, California. His intention was to go home, pack up his belongings and move to my home town of Wichita, Kansas because he thought the girls in Wichita were pretty.

In retrospect, that should have sent up a red flag right there. No one in their right mind would pull up stakes and move all the way across the country on a whim.

As it happened, he wasn't in his right mind, and probably hadn't been for quite some time.

I traveled back to California with him to help him pack and move, and on the way out, we picked up a hitchhiker from Ohio named Steve. Larry convinced Steve to stay with us, and the three of us smoked pot all the way to California.

Fast forward to a while later. We were staying in Larry's 2nd floor apartment with an unemployed Larry and his two kittens. None of us had any money. We subsisted on a diet of Twinkies and Kool-Aid, which we bought with the money we earned panhandling on the streets of North Hollywood. Much about the time I spent there is unclear, due to the fact that I was continually high. Somewhere in the three weeks that I was there, Larry gave up on the notion of moving to Wichita. Steve and I were more or less stranded in L.A.

Sometime during our stay, Steve and I decided to hitchhike to San Diego. We had some difficulty getting a ride and gave up after a few hours not getting very far. So we turned back, and succeeded getting a ride back to North Hollywood with a couple of "hippies". During the ride back, we were intimidated into dropping a tab of LSD each. We were told it was a 4-way tab of Orange Sunshine. The hippie that gave it to us watched us to make sure we really took it, saying, "Chew it up, man, I wanna see you chew it up." Those words and his face are forever etched into my memory.

Shortly thereafter, I became aware that what appeared to be a mist was enveloping the world. All lights took on an unnatural extremely bright glow. I began to experience "trails". It suddenly occurs to me that I cannot explain what trails are. You would have to experience them I guess.

I don't recall how we got back to Larry's apartment, but we made it. Upon learning that Steve and I had dropped acid, Larry took some himself.(he had quite a large stash of it in his refrigerator. No food, but plenty of drugs.)

The rest of the evening is understandably fuzzy to me, and no wonder! I had taken a 4-way dose of a very powerful hallucinogen.

At one point, I remember going into the bathroom and attempting to urinate. To this day, I don't know if I actually did urinate or if I imagined I did.

At another point I watched music issuing from the stereo speakers. That's right, I said "watched", not listened. The music was dark purple, and it drifted around in the air of the room in large shapeless masses.

Another time I was laying on the shag carpeted floor, casually petting one of Larry's kittens. I looked down at the animal and I saw it's head lolling back with it's throat torn open. Blood covered everything. I remember saying, "Oh, s**t!"

Steve said, laughing, "What's the matter?"

"I killed Larry's cat."

"You what?"

"I killed ...." I reached down to push the bloody carcass away from me.

The cat got up and walked away. I had imagined it was dead. There was nothing wrong with it at all. "Nevermind." I said.

Later, I imagined an old scar on my foot had opened up and started bleeding profusely. It hadn't.

A few minutes later, or it could have been hours, I don't know, (You have no sense of time when you are on LSD.) I SAW the Heebie Jeebies. Would you like to know what Heebie Jeebies look like?

They are tiny little men about 1 inch high. They are all different colors, the colors of the rainbow.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

They form a virtual wall, by standing on each others shoulders and holding hands. Hundreds of them, taking up a space approximately 2 feet wide and 1 foot high.

Then they jump up and down in unison, chanting, "Heebie Jeebie, Heebie Jeebie", over and over.

The "trip" lasted a total of 24 hours straight. There was a side effect of the particular tab that I had taken. It had been "cut" with amphetamines. I didn't care for the acid trip, but I liked the amphetamines. I wanted more and Larry was happy to accommodate.

Larry was prone to sudden fits of rage, and eventually I felt It was not safe to be around him anymore. LSD use had driven him quite insane. So, after just three weeks in North Hollywood, I hitchhiked back home after first stopping in San Diego to visit 2 girls I knew who lived there, that I had met previously back in Wichita.

That was a memorable night. No memory loss there!

I stayed on amphetamines for the next 2 years, with very few moments when I wasn't high.

After I came back home to Wichita, I experimented with various other kinds of drugs, Mushrooms, Peyote, Mescaline, THC, even smoked crack once, but I didn't know how to do it right and I didn't have the needed paraphanalia to do it right, and I didn't get high.

I never did cocaine or heroin.

I took LSD only once more after that, a single hit of pink microdot. It was mild compared to the Orange Sunshine. The only thing scary about that trip was that I was trying to drive at the time, down a street that ran alongside the Big Arkansas River.
The street seemed to want to lead me into the river but fortunately, I had presence of mind enough to know that was illogical, so I just stayed between the lines and the street magically straightened out ahead of me as I drove.

If you ever take LSD, I recommend you don't attempt to drive under it's influence.

Actually, this account doesn't read as funny as it sounds when I tell it to people in person.

I might have been addicted to amphetamines, I don't know, but I can say, with certainty, that I stopped all drug use when I recieved Christ as my Savior at a city wide evangelistic crusade presented by Rev. James Robinson. But that's another post.

That's it. Back to serious blogging tomorrow.

One Nation, Under What?

Well, here we go again.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge of allegiance reference to one nation "under God" violates school children's right to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."


I don't understand what these people feel they are gaining by seeking to limit the rights of everyone else to pledge, or not pledge allegiance to the flag.

See? That's what this thing is all about. It has nothing to do with coercing children to say words indicating a belief in a supreme being. All people already have the right to refuse to stand, refuse to pledge allegiance, and refuse to say the words, "under God".

The only purpose I can see to bringing this issue before the court is to take our rights away from us. Those two families that sued to have the reciting of the pledge declared unconstitutional have not given themselves any more freedom than they already have under the law.

This was not a matter of personal liberties. It was a matter of making a political statement. Sacramento atheist attorney Michael Newdow wants to legitimize his agenda of removing all mention of God, or religion from our culture.

Nothing more.

It won't work. Atheists throughout history have sought to eliminate religion and failed. Men much more intelligent and influential (in relation to their time and place) than he.

A 19th century atheist ( I forgot his name )in France once attempted to eliminate the Bible. Completely. He said his goal was to eradicate Christianity forever.

Now, after his death, his house is being used as a publishing company. What do you think they publish exclusively?

The Bible.

Senator Lindsay Graham, on the Sean Hannity show today, said, with certainty, that the ruling made by the court would be overturned, that the 9th District court has a history of those types of rulings and they are constantly being overturned.

We'll see.

This may be the one of the first cases in which Justice Roberts, should he be confirmed, may have to rule. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the challenge.

From the Donkey's Mouth

Or: Examples of the Lunatic Left.

My son was staying with friends most of the weekend and I had nothing whatsoever to do, so after I finished checking all the blogs on my blogroll (several times each), I hit the little “next blog” button at the upper right of the page, and discovered some real Liberal “diamonds in the rough”.( I left the misspellings in)

I found this gem at Democratic Underground:

“In the wake of the hurricane, most black and white Americans saw themselves as on the same side, despite the GOP and their PR flaks attempts to create a racial divide and portray the survivors as savage looters and snipers.”

The GOP attempts to create a racial divide ???? I didn’t know Democrat was spelled G.O.P! And, Duh! There was looting and sniping going on, but the only one's that were implying that ALL the survivors were doing that were the Liberals!


Rich Bachelor, a frequent commentor on my blog, made this ridiculous statement about the terrorists attacks on America on 9/11/2001:

“I knew in my bones on that day that the unthinkable but hardly impossible had happened: an unpopular president largely considered to be elected only by judicial coup had done played the only card he had: the Wag The Dog scenario. And he hadn't even been subtle enough to do it right. On that day, Americans killed Americans, this I feel for certain…”


This from Seven Crows:

“It occurred to me last night that Bush was like Nero - playing while a city died. And then this morning I see this picture of Bush playing a guitar yesterday after his visit to Naval Base Coronado. Could it get anymore obvious that this man cares about nothing but his own pleasure? and that the word decorum is not in his vocabulary. Bush Fiddles while New Orleans drowns”

And I suppose that this writer has spent every moment since the hurricane knee deep in brackish water recovering bodies. Or do you suppose he did some things pertaining to his own obligations? Hmmmm, what was it Jesus said about removing the plank from your own eye before worrying about the mote in your brother’s?


From Appledorf:

"Right-wing ideologues, having destroyed Iraq with their experiment in "democracy" and having destroyed New Orleans with their 'small government' experiment in hurricane preparedness, evacuation, and relief, are now poised to destroy the traumatized survivors of Katrina's children's chances experimenting with vouchers and other privatization idiocies.

Only an electoral hurricane in 2006 that sweeps every right-wing nut from the halls of Congress will save this nation from total devastation."


"I find it fascinating that right-wing ideologues believe that evolution is "just a theory", but a basic tenet of the 'culture of life' is that if you can not afford to pay your own way, you are not fit to survive."

And: "Rich people and corporations need as much money as they can possibly get, so they shouldn't pay any taxes. And public money, like the Social Security trust fund (with which there was NO problem before it was looted and replaced with IOU's), is meant to be collected from workers and given as subsidies to the rich."

One more: "In my neighborhood everybody knows that global capitalists and their BushCo puppets do not care who lives and dies."

What neighborhood is that? Fantasyland?


Oh, This is really a good one. First, this guy (he claims to be a best selling author and screen writer, but I never heard of him) at Darkush says:

“I would love a non-politicized view of what this means, considering that this is the third strong suggestion I've seen (and I haven't really been searching) that the consequences of Katrina should have been understood at the local, state, and Federal levels. Because lives are at stake here, please keep the conversation polite.”

Then, he says: “For both Liberals and Conservatives: if Clinton had been in office under similar conditions, how would you feel, knowing that this information was running around? Personally, I would have been DEEPLY disappointed, and feel that a vital ball had been dropped. That vital resources had been diverted for a questionable war, and that cronyism had weakened our national vision."

"There is no way in hell that, were the position reversed, Republicans would not SHRED Clinton for gross neglegence. On vacation? Jeeze, they implied that Clinton's sexual dalliances, which, in toto, could not possibly add up to more than 24 hours of his time, had distracted him from his duties. What in the hell would be made of THIS?”

Note: Seems to me that Mr. Steve Barnes has an odd idea of what a “non-politicized view” is.


There is just so much lunacy in this blog, you just have to go read it yourself, if you can get through it without vomiting, including the obligatory comparison to the Nazi’s:

“I don't know about you but this sounds an awful lot like Hitler's Germany.”


I realize that some of these comments don't seem crazy to many of my readers, but the things they say about conservatives certainly don't represent me, and I am conservative. I left out a lot of my own commentary because I feel the lunacy pretty well speak for itself.

Another thing I read said Halliburton has been awarded the contract to do the clean up after hurricane Katrina. I don’t know if this is accurate or not, But if it is…Well, I don’t have anything against Halliburton, but if the Bush Administration wants to cause even more dissension they couldn’t come up with a better plan.


Note to whoever awards contracts in the Bush administration: Give someone else the contract if for no other reason than to avoid giving the Democrats any more ammo.

And here's Laura Ingraham's contribution to this issue:

Lie Of The Day:
"[Gasoline prices] are ridiculous. I had to take out a loan to fill up my minivan. It's crazy," claimed Katie Couric.


THE TRUTH:
Katie, you make $15 million dollars a year!

A Government of the People

Listening to the Laura Ingraham program, I heard a sound bite from someone who shall remain nameless, because who said it is not the point.

What was said was “the Government” is responsible for helping the victims in national emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina.

I agree. This is true.

So while Mayor Nagin debated with himself about whether he had the authority to use the school and the metropolitan buses to evacuate the people of New Orleans before they were flooded, and whether it was even legal to do so, thousands of American people were already coordinating emergency relief efforts.

While Governor Blanco was considering the possibility that the Federal Government might declare martial law and in so doing, step on her political toes, Americans all over the country were setting up disaster relief funds.

While FEMA director Michael Brown was waiting for permission from the governor of Louisiana to move in and take over rescue efforts, faith based organizations were already on their way to New Orleans with truckloads of supplies and volunteer workers.

While Some Democrat leaders were examining the timetable of the storm to see if they could find something to blame President Bush for, ordinary American citizens set up the “blog for relief weekend” to collect charitable contributions to send to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

While Red Cross workers were prevented from delivering emergency relief supplies by representatives of the State of Louisiana’s Department of Homeland security because they were afraid more hurricane victims would come to the Superdome requesting assistance instead of leaving, American people were boating through the flooded streets of New Orleans searching for survivors and distributing food and water.

While President Bush was conferring with his advisors about God knows what and, in so doing, delayed any action by about a full day, ordinary Americans were stuffing donation boxes at retail stores all over the country to help the survivors of the disaster.

While some Senators and Congressmen were busy blaming Bush for several things, including causing the hurricane and hating poor black people, individual Americans, black, white, and brown, were donating blood and living space for the displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. Some even furnished entire homes.

While Mary Landrieu, on Fox News Sunday was making excuses, ordinary Americans were offering the displaced people of New Orleans jobs to help them get back on their feet.

Yes, the Government is indeed responsible for helping the victims of national disasters.

Thank God the people of the United States don’t wait for the government to act before they do.

Ill Wind May not Blow to the Whitehouse

While cruising around the blogosphere this weekend, I came across this blog, which is usually about Northern Ireland politics, but this post addresses the latest news in America. I think it is worth reprinting in full. It comes from this site here.

By Newton Emerson:

As the full horror of Hurricane Katrina sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if this is the end of George Bush's presidency. The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that every copy of the US Constitution was destroyed in the storm. Otherwise President Bush will remain in office until noon on January 20th, 2009, as required by the 20th Amendment, after which he is barred from seeking a third term anyway under the 22nd Amendment.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the entire political agenda of George Bush's second term will not still be damaged in some terribly satisfying way.
The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that the entire political agenda of George Bush's second term consists of repealing the 22nd Amendment. Otherwise, with a clear Republican majority in both Houses of Congress, he can carry on doing pretty much whatever he likes.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if the Republican Party itself will now suffer a setback at the congressional mid-term elections next November.
The answer is almost certainly yes, provided that people outside the disaster zone punish their local representatives for events elsewhere a year previously, both beyond their control and outside their remit, while people inside the disaster zone reward their local representatives for an ongoing calamity they were supposed to prevent. Otherwise, the Democratic Party will suffer a setback at the next congressional election.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if an official inquiry will shift the blame for poor planning and inadequate flood defences on to the White House. The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody admits that emergency planning is largely the responsibility of city and state agencies, and nobody notices that the main levee which broke was the only levee recently modernised with federal funds. Otherwise, an official inquiry will pin most of the blame on the notoriously corrupt and incompetent local governments of New Orleans and Louisiana.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush contributed to the death toll by sending so many national guard units to Iraq.
The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody recalls that those same columnists have spent the past two years blaming George Bush for another death toll by not sending enough national guard units to Iraq. Otherwise, people might wonder why they have never previously read a single article advocating large-scale military redeployment during the Caribbean hurricane season.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnist are asking how a civilized city can descend into anarchy.
The answer is that only a civilised city can descend into anarchy.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush should be held responsible for the terrible poverty in the southern states revealed by the flooding.
The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody holds Bill Clinton responsible for making Mississippi the poorest state in the union throughout his entire term as president, or for making Arkansas the second-poorest state in the union throughout his entire term as governor. Otherwise, people might suspect that it is a bit more complicated than that.


As the full horror of this sinks in, thousands of desperate columnists are asking if George Bush should not be concerned by accusations of racism against the federal government.
The answer is almost certainly yes, provided nobody remembers that Jesse Jackson once called New York "Hymietown" and everybody thinks Condoleezza Rice went shopping for shoes when the hurricane struck because she cannot stand black people.
Otherwise sensible Americans of all races will be more concerned by trite, cynical and dangerous political opportunism.


As the full horror of that sinks in, this columnist is simply glad that everybody cares.

Just a note from your humble friend and blogger: I am often surprised at how much people from other countries know about us and how little we know about them, and even about ourselves, in comparison. And how clearly they see through the political rhetoric and see only the facts.

I also find it interesting that blogger.com spellcheck thinks the words "blog" and "blogger" are spelled wrong, but that's just me.

9/11 Memories

I was working 2nd shift at that time, so I was sleeping when the call came on that Tuesday morning. The answering machine picked it up, because I was sleeping and I didn’t hear the phone ring.

Groggily, I slowly came to myself and I became aware of the sound of a juvenile voice issuing from the speaker of the answering machine. Then the voice stopped, followed by the unmistakable sound of the phone line being disconnected.

Although I had barely heard the voice, and was still half asleep to the point that I could make nothing of it, there was something about the tone of that voice that seemed strangely urgent and ominous. Even so, I checked the clock for the time. It was around 10:00. I don’t remember exactly. Then I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, with a mental note to check the messages on the answering machine.

After attending to the obligatory morning ritual, I remember going to the window, and looking out to see what kind of day it was outside. Sunny, with little wind. A seemingly normal late summer day.

I opened the fridge, and grabbed a can of Diet Mountain Dew, and popped the top. I don’t drink coffee, so I get my morning caffeine buzz from Diet Mountain Dew.

So sue me.

As I sipped the drink, I reached over and punched the button on the playback feature of the answering machine.

“You have…one new message.”

The voice that had awakened me was that of the 12 year old boy who lived next door, my son’s best friend. He is black, his voice singularly recognizable by the typical African American accent. My first thought was, “why is he not in school?”

My son, who is the same age, was in school. The kid next door was an honor student but sometimes he just decided he didn’t want to go to school and his father didn’t seem to care if he stayed home.

That day, he was home.

His voice was urging the listener to turn on the television. He sounded somberly excited, if that is possible.

He said a plane had crashed into the World Trade center, in New York City.


I turned on the television. I didn’t have to search for the right channel. The news was on every channel. The images were shocking. I was stunned. A tower was on fire. The news commentator was saying a small plane had crashed into the tower. It was too early to know what exactly had happened, but it looked to me like something bigger than a small plane.

Then, as I watched, another plane struck the other tower.

No doubt now. America was under attack.

Time stood still.

How do I describe the remainder of my day? I cannot. I was in shock. I could not think. The only thing I remember was that I couldn’t cope with the reality of the situation. I merely went through the motions of my everyday life. The world was crumbling yet I still had to eat, conduct daily business, whatever it was, and later, go to work.

After a while, I turned the TV off. There was no further information other than the news that there were 2 more plane crashes, one into the Pentagon and one into a field in Pennsylvania. It was ascertained that the President was safe, but after that, there was little more to be learned as of yet.

This is what I do. I don’t linger too long during breaking news. I prefer to wait until all or most of the details are known and then I have the whole story. I hate being fed tidbits of information a little at a time. It is frustrating.

Outside, in Kansas City, it was a beautiful late summer day. There was a chill in the air, nevertheless, but it wasn’t a meteorological thing.

Later, I went to work, and I got all the gossip that I missed by not watching the news reports through the day. It was a surreal experience.

That is my remembrance of September 11, 2001.

I wrote a poem about it, but I am not a poet, so I will not present it here. It is woefully inadequate and sophomoric. Maybe I’ll start a new blog for bad poetry. I’ll start with some of Kanye West’s lyrics.

Here is what New Yorkers remember:

http://www.911digitalarchive.org/maps/ground_zero.php

Click on the red and blue balloons.

Can't Cry Hard Enough

UPDATE: My blog has been featured as the "Blog of the week" over at http://theliberalslies.blogspot.com/ I will forgive them for getting my first name wrong. Be sure you head on over there after you check out the moving tribute links on this site and give them your support.

Here and here are two more very good memories of 9/11/2001

No More Mr. Nice Guy

In my last post I mentioned that I quit. That I lose, and the Liberals win. I am aware that my comments, borne out of frustration, may be taken out of context. I did not mean that I am not going to comment on what my opinion is regarding political ideology or what I consider to be unacceptable behavior and/or rhetoric from the Left.

Or the Right, for that matter.

Quite the contrary. I am more resolved than ever to continue the good fight in exposing Liberal lunacy. For those of you who were ecstatic that I may have given in, I’m sorry to disappoint you. I am merely stating that I have given up trying to convince those who disagree with me that I am right and they are wrong. Had I offered up documented proof positive that they are all 100% wrong on everything they say, They would not change their opinions.

Within such opinion breathes the soul of the American spirit.

But in spite of those who wish I would just shut up, I offer this explanation, in the words of Cyrano De Bergerac:

“What would you have me do? Seek for the patronage of some great man, and like a creeping vine on a tall tree, crawl up where I cannot stand alone?

No, thank you!

Be a buffoon in the vile hope of teasing out a smile on some cold face?

No, thank you!

Eat a toad for breakfast every morning? Make my knees calloused, cultivate a supple spine, wear out my belly groveling in the dust?

No, thank you!

With my left hand, scratch the back of any swine that roots up gold for me, while my right, too proud to know his partner’s business, takes in the fee?

No, thank you!

Shall I use the fire God gave me to burn incense all day long?

No, thank you!

Struggle to insinuate my name into the columns of the Gazette? Calculate? Scheme? Be afraid? Love more to make a visit than a poem? Seek introductions? Favors? Influences?

No, thank you! No, I thank you, and again, I thank you!

But to sing, to laugh, to dream. To walk in my own way. Free! With an eye to see things as they are. A voice that means manhood. To cut my hat where I choose. Not a word. A yes? A no? To fight….Or write. But never to make a line I have not heard in my own heart. To travel any road under the sun, under the stars. Nor care if fame or fortune lie beyond the borne. Yet, with all modesty to say, ‘My soul be satisfied with flowers. With weeds. With thorns, even.’ But gather them in the one garden you may call your own.

In a word, I’m too proud to be a parasite. And if my needs are like the germ that grows towering to heaven like the mountain pine, I stand not high, it may be, but alone.”


Bottom line is this: I am not going to worry anymore about offending people. As long as I am expressing an honest opinion and I am respectful, I would expect my friends to understand that. If they aren't my friends then I don't care.

But no pulling punches.

I Lose....Liberals Win.

I keep trying to be fair and impartial. Even though I lean pretty far to the right, I try to see things from the other side's point of view. I often say I am both blessed and cursed with the ability to see both sides of an issue.

Ha ha ha. I didn't think about this until right this minute but I have a keychain that has these words on it:

"I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my ass."

But I digress.

So, to be absolutely fair to the other side,(the left) I am going to discuss what I think is wrong with President Bush.


1) He spends too much. I cannot right now think of any spending bill that has come across his desk that he hasn't signed.

2) When he and/or his administration is attacked, instead of acknowledging the possibility that he may be wrong or has used bad judgment, They circle the wagons and go into defense mode. They seldom, if ever, attack back even when they are correct.

3) He has still failed to do anything about the borders, which in my opinion is the biggest problem America has to face right now, Katrina and Iraq not withstanding. I am completely baffled about the apparent apathy on that one.

4) He sometimes lets the minority party dictate his agenda. He is the President and his party is in the majority. He doesn't have to go along with anything they want if he doesn't want to. You can bet if the Democrats were in charge the President would not be so easily influenced.

Okay?

Still think I'm too biased?

Whether we want to admit it or not, we voice our opinions, especially in the blogosphere, To convince those that disagree with us that we are right and they are wrong. The ones that have the advantage are the ones that are diligent in doing exhaustive research and can find several concurring legitimate opinions.

There is a frequent commentator over at ER's place that is so good at expressing herself that I shy away from arguing with her, even though I am 100% convinced she is dead wrong. She does the research and she has the education and the verbosity to overwhelm me with what sound like infallible arguments. I can't compete. ER is very good in his own right at that but he sometimes, like me, lets his heart override his sense of logic. If he is honest with himself, I think he would tend to agree.

I want to win these arguments, but I am just not smart or educated enough to compete.

Here are some words to a song that explains partly what I am trying to say, but in a more entertaining style:

"...Son, you look like a scrapper,
So just before you fall
I'm gonna explain to you about all I got by being the winner.

You see these bright white smiling teeth,
You know they aint my own
Mine rolled away like Chiclets
Down a street in San Antone.
But I left that person cursing, nursing,
Seven broken bones
And he only broke about three of mine
So I guess that makes me a winner.

Now, behind this grin I got a steel pin
That holds my jaw in place
A trophy of my most successful
Motorcycle race.
And every morning, when I get up
And touch this scar across my face
I'm reminded of all I got by being a winner.

You have to talk loud when you challenge me, son
Cause it's hard for me to hear
With this twisted neck, and these migraine pains
And this old cauliflower ear
And if it wasn't for this glass eye of mine
Well, I'd shed a happy tear
Just to know what you're gonna get by being a winner.

Now, this broken back was the dyin' act
Of handsome Harry Clay
That sticky Cincinnati night
I stole his wife away
But that woman, she gets uglier
And she gets meaner every day
But I got her, boy, and that makes me a winner.

Now you remind me a lot of my younger days
With your knuckles a'clinching white
But I am going to sit right here
And sip this beer all night
And if there's something you have to gain or prove
By winning some silly fight
Then, OK, I quit, I lose. You're the winner."

Yeah, that's right. I quit. I lose. You win.

Let Hillary or Kerry or some other left wing Democrat win the next presidential election. Then I will be vindicated.



Troops will pull out of Iraq, Taxes will bury us, Terrorists will nuke our cities, Christianity will be outlawed, abortions will be mandantory to fill the quotas for stem cells, the aged and infirmed will be euthanized because the "compassionate" government will presume it knows better than they if they are suffering and need to be put out of their misery, we will be out of oil because the environment needs to be protected, and on and on and on, till we are no more.

Ok I realize that is a little too extreme, but there are those who would have it that way. Right, Bruiser? Toad? Anonymous?

I won't care. I am 53 years old. When those things start happening I will most likely be dead, and in Heaven, and looking down on America from above, and saying,

"I told you so"

Good luck.

Of Course...He's Black!

Stay with me on this posting. Read it all the way through. It is important to me for you to understand what I am trying to say, so don't read a few lines and then skip to the comments to leave a comment about how I am a Nazi or something.

The hurricane last week has made me rethink some things. As I said in a previous post, it has laid bare my heart.

Also, in a previous post, I mentioned that my son calls me a racist.

I guess I am.

See, I grew up in a different time, another place. There were no black people where I grew up. At least not any that I knew personally. In the neighborhood where I grew up, there was a low income apartment complex a few blocks away. Only black people lived there. I don't remember my parents ever saying anything about them, good or bad.

All I knew about them was what things I noticed about them:

They stayed up all night.
They slept late in the day.
Their yards were messy.

They were scary to me, a child with no knowledge of them. I stayed away from them. I never actually had to interact with a black person until I was in high school, and I was surprised. They were pretty much the same as me, except for their color. And an attitude. I think it was the attitude that made me a racist. They seemed to carry chips on their shoulders. That is, of course, no excuse.

I didn't know at the time that my chip was bigger than theirs.

Anyway, most of my life I have known many African Americans, some good, some bad. Since high school I have had to interact with them more and more as they have assimilated into society. Then, I came to the conclusion that I didn't like them unless I got to know them personally. Once I got to know one, I always liked them. Always. But I had to get to know them first, and I didn't go out of my way to do that.

Still, I was wary of Black people. Distrustful. Even after I learned that there were no big differences between them and me. I learned to get along with them and be nice to them. I learned to interact with them in business, at sporting events, in recreation, and in church. To all observers, I was not prejudiced. I tried hard to treat them with respect, and the way I would want to be treated.

But whenever a crime was committed by a black man or woman, I would think to myself, "Of course, it is a black person". Whenever I found out some black person had a different last name then his daddy, I said, "Of course, he is black." And so on.

I hid my prejudice well.

In spite of my attitude, I began to accept them as equals. I made friends with some of them. Once my black friend Tim and I went to a singles bar. (that was when I drank) He was going to show me how to pick up girls. He had a really good sense of humor and he was slow to anger. That evening someone in the bar called him a nigger to his face. He just smiled and motioned towards me and said, "Yep, and this is my Massa" Later, he told me that whenever some white guy called him a nigger he got himself a white girl just to spite them. Except he didn't say "got himself". I think you know what he really said.

I laughed but secretly I said to myself, "Of course."


I had another black friend when I lived in Lubbock, Texas. His name was Kevin. He took me to Odessa to visit his mom and siblings one time. Man, that woman sure could cook! It was in his mom's living room that he told me that black people were taught from birth that they were supposed to always lie to "whitey".

Stupid me. I believed him. I remember I thought, "Of course...He's black!" He probably laughs about that to this day.

So, over the years I have learned that black people aren't really different than white people. It has been a long difficult lesson to learn. I have lost out on a lot of rewarding experiences because of my prejudice. I have missed out on having a lot of loyal friends, too.

Still, now and then, inside my pointy little head, my racist brain screamed, "Of course. He Is black".

There was one reason that I have continued to be racist over the years. It is those people, white and black, that maintain the division between the races. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Lewis Farrakhan, Teddy Kennedy, Dick Durbin, Robert Byrd, etc. They maintain the division by spreading hatred between the races. They do that by accusing people who aren't in the least racist of being so. It's hard not to be racist with all those influences.

Then came Hurricane Katrina.
Look at this picture. What do you see? Do you see a black woman? So do I. But I see a black woman who is hurting. She hurts. We hurt. I hurt. All God's children hurt.

My heart goes out to this unnamed woman. My heart goes out to all the victims of Hurricane Katarina. It matters not if they are black or white. They are people. People who live, love, hate, laugh, cry, worship, interact, suffer.

People who die.

I don't think I am racist anymore.

Common Sense

All of the finger pointing lately by both Republicans and Democrats has got me to thinking about what they are saying.

The Democrats say that Bush didn't move fast enough to help the victims of Katrina. They say he doesn't care about black people. They say he is only interested in the oil from the gulf. Or Trent Lott's house. They say if the victims of Katrina were rich, he would have been there sooner to help them. And on and on and on.

The Republicans say the snafu over Katrina is the Democrat Mayor's fault. And the Democrat Governor of Louisiana. They accuse the governor of ignoring Bush's plea for her to activate the National Guard, among other things. They say the mayor did not implement all the possible methods of transportation to get the people out of New Orleans. And on and on and on.

I have been thinking about these things.

First, let me address the Republican's accusations:

We need to be reminded that Mayor Nagin is not a professional politician. He was a vice president and general manager of a cable tv company before he ran for office. he was a Republican until just before he entered the race for mayor because he had a better chance to get elected as a Democrat. He is not experienced in these matters.

Who would be?

There have been many storms and hurricanes in New Orleans before and some of them were predicted to be just as bad or worse than Katrina. It is possible that he didn't take the threat seriously enough. I can understand and excuse that.

Why?

New Orleans had never been flooded like that before. And the levees always held in the past. Is anybody aware that the levee that burst in this case was the strongest one in the city? The very last one they would have expected to break.

We humans tend to think there is nothing we can't overcome and nothing that can beat us. We defy God, or nature, or whatever you want to call it. We think, "That will never happen to me". It probably never crossed his mind in the emotion of the moment to use the buses.

The same can be said of Governor Blanco. Can't you just see her point when she turned down the President when he asked her to enact emergency procedures? I do. She said she was concerned that by taking over, the federal government might declare martial law. I can see that. She also underestimated the destructive power of Katrina. And she was unsure that martial law would be necessary.

Okay, so mistakes were made. When I was married and my kids were little tykes, sometimes they would spill their milk or juice. My wife had no patience with childish clumsiness and would yell at them and call them clumsy and stupid. I would say, "now. now, it was only an accident. He didn't do it on purpose." If he had done it on purpose he should have been punished. But since it was an accident he should only be admonished to be more careful in the future.

Still, this isn't spilt milk. Some sort of action needs to be taken. I don't think an admonishment will be enough in this case. People died! I think bad judgment is not a good trait for a leader.

Now, the Democrats accusations:

First, It has been confirmed that Bush declared a state of emergency two days before Katrina made windfall. So, the accusation that he didn't act fast enough is ludicrous. Plus, in any National emergency like this it takes time to get things together in preparation for utilization. As much as we want things to happen yesterday, it just doesn't work that way.

Next, the absolute stupidest accusation being bandied about is the assertion that Bush doesn't care about black people. Aside from the fact that not everyone stranded by the hurricane is black, it doesn't make sense politically for him to turn his back on a large percentage of potential voters. As I stated on ER's blog, I am a virtual idiot compared to Bush and his myriad advisors, and even I know that disregarding African-Americans for any reason is political suicide. Even if he was a card carrying member of the KKK, he wouldn't be stupid enough to show any prejudice against them.

Do the Democrats seriously believe he hates black people? I think not. Sorry, but that just doesn't make any sense at all. In anyone's world.

Oil? Please.

Trent Lotts house. Yes, that probably wasn't the most intelligent thing to say, but it really is a very minor gaffe. Not even worth censuring.

If they were rich. Again, what purpose could it serve Bush to let them die? That's just looking at it from a logical viewpoint.

Then there is basic human compassion. Is there anyone out there who really believes that anyone, even Bush, could possibly be so cruel, cold blooded, and uncaring as to just let thousands of people die a particuarly grievous death?

Anyone that thinks that way must be devoid of any human compassion in their own right.

Maybe an Osama or a Saddam or a Hitler could do that, but we live in a culture of life, not death, and Bush has never ever shown the slightest inclination towards that sort of inhumanity. Why would he all of a sudden start now, at this time?

Let's get serious. Let's use some common sense here.

I wasn't going to make this a long post. It was only supposed to be a few lines. Strange, when i try to write a book, I can't come up with enough words, and when I want to write a few short lines, I end up writing a book. Go figure.

Lie Of The Day (from Laura Ingraham's site)
"I'm not blaming it on anything. I'm just questioning. That's all," claimed Nutty Professor Deepak Chopra, on Hurricane Katrina.


THE TRUTH:
Please! Moments earlier you were listing everything but the kitchen sink as causes for Katrina!

Hearts Laid Bare

It's 6:00 in the morning. I just woke up. With a start. I've had a nightmare. I suppose there are those thinking that's not such a big deal, but I haven't had a nightmare, at least not that I can remember, since before I became a Christian. That was in 1971.

Another benefit of salvation rarely talked about.

I used to have nightmares back then fairly often about being chased by the devil or something of that theme. This one was about getting a flat in a brand new tire.

Not much of a nightmare, I know, but if you have nightmares you know once you awake they're usually not very scary topics.

Anyway, as I lay there fully awake, my mind was racing with disconnected thoughts unrelated to flat tires. And then it suddenly occurred to me that I have been wrong.

I have been writing as of late about the politicising of the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. While it is still wrong to politicise it, by chastising those who do, I have myself politicised it to some degree. My holier-than-thou attitude has caused division between me and a man who I have never met, yet I consider him a very good friend. Someone on another blog, where I left a comment, called me a bigot. Some one else used the term, "people like you", referring to me.

My heart has overridden my mind.

I am sorry, sorry, sorry.
.
ER, Here is a peace offering. It is a picture of my pug, Beast.

Hurricane Katrina has devastated an entire area of the country. Thousands of people may be dead already. Hundreds more will eventually die as a direct result of this storm. Well over a million people have been displaced. It will be months before they will be able to go back home and when they do, to what will they be going back home? They have lost everything. Everything they have worked their whole lives to accumulate. Things you can't place a monetary value on. Things you can.

Everything.

It's not just New Orleans. It is much of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, too.

Blogger friend, Dana, lives (lived) in Slidell, Louisiana. And her last post before the storm made landfall indicated she and her family were going to stay in their home and ride it out, The first day after the hurricane hit, a radio station I was listening to reported that all of Slidell was under water, and my heart went out to her. And my prayers.

Here is some good news:

Dana has returned and had this to say: "I guess that I should start by saying that my immediate family is safe and accounted for." She says her home has been damaged but thankfully, it was not completely destroyed.

She doesn't mention if she is still there. The news reports say everyone in New Orleans must evacuate because the toxic waters will kill them. I don't know if Slidell is included in the evacuation or not. One gets the impression she feels she is just lucky to be alive. Or blessed. I am thankful she is alive, too.

I cannot even imagine the pain and desperation and hopelessness the people of those storm ravaged areas must feel. I know Dana must feel the same as they do, but she hasn't said anything about that, only that her immediate family is safe, and she worries about other family members that she hasn't heard from. Keep her and her family in your prayers.

I guess what I have been trying to say all through this rambling, is that this disaster has laid our hearts bare to the world, and to ourselves, and to each other.

At least it has to mine.

I don't want to politicise this thing, and yet, I know that in the coming weeks, as we receive more information and misinformation, I won't be able to resist commenting on it, and offering my humble opinion. It is what I do and I am very opinionated. And I have passion. And compassion.

Forgive me in retrospect and in advance.

Peace and grace be unto you all.

Of Limericks, Rice, and Roberts

This morning, I found that Blogger.com was not operating, so I took the opportunity to cruise the blogwave and see what other interesting blogs could be found. I stumble across this one which is a very good Republican blog. I recommend it heartily.

I found these Limericks on the site and, being a big fan of limericks myself, I have decided to post them here:

(hide the kiddies)

There once was a gal named Lewinski
Who played on a flute like Stravinsky
Twas Hail to the Chief
On this flute made of beef
That stole the front page from Kaczynski.

Said Clinton to young Ms. Lewinsky,
We don't want to leave clues like Kaczynski,
Since you made such a mess,
Use the hem of your dress
And please wipe that stuff off of your chinsky.

Lewinsky and Clinton have shown
What Kaczynski must surely have known
That an intern is better
Than a bomb in a letter
When deciding how best to be blown.

Here's one that I was going to post on my comment about Pat Robertson but forgot to. It is one of my own:

There was a faith healer from Beal
Who said, although pain isn't real
When I sit on a pin
And it punctures my skin
I dislike what I fancy I feel.

By the way, Did anyone else see the video report about Condoleeza Rice helping to distribute supplies to the victims of Hurricane Katrina? What a class act. I love her.

One final note here:President Bush has announced the appointment of John Roberts as his choice as the replacement for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

I have always thought Roberts would eventually be appointed Chief Justice but I figured he would at least wait until Roberts was confirmed to the Supreme Court first. I am not entirely comfortable with this decision. If the office of Chief Justice has more power than the other justices, I think the appointment to Chief Justice should go to a Judge who we are already familiar with, as far as how he/she will rule.

That said, I believe President Bush has probably made a good decision, since he has no doubt interviewed Mr. Roberts as to his ideological stance.

I just wish I could be as sure as Bush.

Oh, Wait! More good news! My girlfriend's father has made contact. (My girlfriend is the one who sometimes comments on my blog under the name, "Frogs") He and his family are safe in Texas. Also blogger friend Dana, from Slidell, LA has been heard from. Her family is safe also. And my sister, Linda, reports that her home on the Gulf Coast sustained minor damage but is still intact.

William H. Rehnquist 1924-2005

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening at his home in suburban Virginia. He was 80 years old.

Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1971 by President Nixon and took his seat on Jan. 7, 1982. He was elevated to chief justice by President Reagan in 1986.

His death ends a remarkable 33-year Supreme Court career during which Rehnquist oversaw the court's conservative shift. Rehnquist presided over President Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999, helped settle the 2000 presidential election in Bush's favor, and fashioned decisions over the years that diluted the powers of the federal government while strengthening those of the states.

It is your humble friend and uneducated bloggers opinion that the President's appointment of Judge John Roberts by President Bush was delayed because Bush wanted to see whether Rehnquist would retire. There has been some speculation that Bush was considering Roberts for Chief Justice, should Justice Rehnquist place be vacated.

The death of Rehnquist will open yet another seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. There are a number of possible replacements names being bandied about, but my personal choice is Judge Roy Moore, Chief Justice of the State of Alabama's Supreme Court. My 2nd choice is a toss-up between Alan Sears or Jay Sekulow, Sears is the head of the Alliance Defense Fund, and Sekulow is the head of The American Center for Law and Justice.

Of course I don't expect any of those three to be nominated, and if they were, I certainly don't expect them to be confirmed.

But it would most assuredly anger the left, and that is worth the price of admission, in my opinion.

Update: Justice Rehnquist's corpse wasn't even cold yet and already leftist lawyer Alan Dershowitz was calling him a "Republican thug"

Tsk tsk....Now how low will you go?

Politicising Disaster

Okay, let's get this out of the way first.

President George W Bush is solely responsible for the worst natural catastrophe in United States history. That's what a lot of bloggers, newsmen and women, and politicians are saying, so it must be true.

Here is what must have happened:

Sometime last week President Bush sneaked out of his ranch house in Crawford, Tx. under cover of night. He crouched down real low to avoid a possible confrontation with Cindy Sheehan, who we know frightens him to death. Then, he made his way to the Gulf of Mexico, where he somehow conjured up hurricane force winds and sent them spinning towards the coast. When the storm passed Florida, he managed, through some amazing feat of magic, to whip the winds up until they were blowing up a category 5 force. And then he aimed it towards New Orleans. His biggest mistake at this time was not hitting New Orleans dead on, thus not bringing about the destruction he had planned. In order to adjust for this slight miscalculation, he personally grabbed a shovel and proceeded to dig out the levee until it finally burst and in turn, flooded the entire city. By this time, it was almost dawn, so he quickly sneaked back to the ranch just in time to catch a flight to San Diego and make a speech, thus covering up his vicious crime.

But, alas, the dreaded Left wing Liberals found him out.

Apparently his reasons for committing this Nazi-like atrocity on New Orleans is because he hates black people. And because he wants to punish the world for trying to make everyone believe that Global warming is his fault, too.

At least, that's what the Left wingers seem to want us to believe. Do you believe it? They do.

Now. Lets get serious.

I am mad. I am Janet Reno's blind date mad. I am madder than Al Sharpton at the airport having to answer the white courtesy phone.

My readership is down for some reason and people haven't been leaving comments as they used to. That would have upset me until recently. Now I don't really care. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I have something to get off my chest.

We have a major natural disaster on our hands, the worst in history. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are dead. Millions are displaced and homeless as a result of this storm. There is looting and killing and rape going on in the city of New Orleans, and there is much more devastation in Mississippi and Alabama. My girlfriends father, who lives in New Orleans, is still unaccounted for.

And some people want to spend their precious time and energy bashing and blaming the President and his administration. Never mind that there are millions of people that need immediate help. It is more important to these people to question whether the President acted quickly and decisively enough.

The Bush haters have sunk to an all time low.

Robert F Kennedy Jr claims that Hurricane Katrina is Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Bush's fault because Gov. Barbour talked the President out of signing some ineffective agreement in Kyoto, Japan.

Jesse Jackson claims Bush caused the hurricane because 70% of the residents of New Orleans are black.

My teenage son who says he likes black people and also says that I am a "racist" said to me about the people in New Orleans that are suffering, "They are all black people." His "racist" father said this in response:

"They are people who are suffering, and they need help."

And others claim Bush purposely delayed rescue efforts and then lied about them, because...well, I don't quite know the reason he would do that. And apparently, neither do they.

This makes me want to vomit.

JUST HELP THE PEOPLE! PLEASE!

What if all these ridiculous accusations are true? So what? Are the people who are starving and dehydrating and dying from violence going to magically be saved from their unfortunate situation because we now know this?

A blogger friend of mine says he doesn't believe we are in Iraq for the right reasons but he thinks now that we are, we need to finish the job. The same could be said about the tragedy in the Gulf states. Mistakes were made. Miscalculations. At all levels. So I guess we should just pack up everything and leave these people to fend for themselves?

I live near a city of 39,000 people. I was thinking about how this small city would do if it were flooded as bad as New Orleans. I don't think all the people would be rescued within 48 hours, and maybe not in 48 days. It simply is not realistic to assume that had the president acted a few hours sooner that the rescue of those people would be that much faster. Besides, there has to be a plan of action. Meeting with all his advisors and his cabinet takes some time. New Orleans has over a million population. Do they really think that anyone could save those people any faster? Does it occur to people that it will take a very long time to search through every house in the area for survivors?

Someone else said the President didn't send some hospital ship to help until sometime after the storm, not right away, and then claimed he sent them earlier than he actually did. Well, maybe he did. But the hospital ship is on it's way, if not already there. Better late than never I say. Especially in this case.

And that brings up another point.

President Bush has the responsibility of 250 million plus people on his shoulders, not to mention the mantle of keeping the entire world safe from tyranny and oppression. Surely he can be forgiven for a misstatement. Or can he? If you read the newspapers and watch network news, particuarly CNN, apparently even his mispronunciation of some words proves that he is incompetent.

You say tomato, I say tomahto.

Let me address the Presidents detractors now:

You hypocrites. Can you say you could do better and really believe it? By what right do you criticize the leader of the free world while innocent people are suffering a devastating catastrophe? Where does this self righteous arrogance come from? And what is the point?

You complain that the president led our young men into a war to die in Iraq for oil, or worse yet, for a lie that has yet to be explained. Why would he lie about that just so he can kill his own people? It doesn't make sense.

You call him a liar and a terrorist and a hate monger and a thief and a murderer. You call him stupid and ignorant and incompetent and evil. You say you hate him, but you can't say why. Not, at least, for any valid reason.

It has been theorized by some that if Clinton was in charge he would do a better job, and quicker than Bush.

Coulda. shoulda. woulda.

Let me tell you something:

If Clinton was in charge he would have done exactly the same thing as Bush. So would Kerry. So would Gore.

Why?

Because a President recognizes that there some things more important than partisan politics. Like the safety of the people. Like doing everything he can to protect our country and our people. They would all do the same thing in Iraq, too.

There is so much more I can say about all this. I am so angry. No. Not angry. Call it righteous indignation. Point is: Politicising this situation is pointless and serves no purpose other than undermining the efforts of the President to do his duty. In the same way that critisizing the war in Iraq undermines the efforts of our military, except that criticism emboldens and empowers our enemy also.

Come to think of it, possibly criticism of the President in this situation may embolden looters, too. I don't know. It's just a thought.

I want to address one last point. A blogger I read today had this to say:

"I Won't Contribute to Katrina."

I bet you'd like to hear why he won't contribute. It's because he hates Bush. Really. He goes on to explain. I am not going to reprint the whole thing here. You can read it for yourself if you have the stomach.

How cruel. I want to help and I can't. He can help but he won't. What's wrong with this picture?

Anyway, I couldn't resist responding. This what I said to him and what I say to all you Bush haters:

So, because you hate Bush, you will not donate to ease the suffering of thousands of people, the majority of whom probably hate Bush as bad as you do.

That is the most despicable,hateful, insensitive,uncaring,cruel,demonic, non-Christian statement I have heard in a long time. You are selfish at best and ghoulish at worst.

Satan himself has more compassion that you. You would allow poor people to suffer and die because you hate the President. How pathetic.

You should get down on your knees and thank God that you are not one of those people about to die in horrible agony.

God Damn you.

God damn you all to Hell.

Put Up AND Shut Up

The year was 1991. America had entered the first Gulf war, Operation Desert Storm. Back in Kansas City, where I was living at the time, one wealthy woman decided to support the troops in a unique way.

She went out and bought yellow ribbons. Hundreds of them. Then she wrapped them around all the trees all up and down Ward Parkway, a major thoroughfare in Kansas City,. Missouri. She spent hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars. It was her way of showing support of the troops in Kuwait.

Nice gesture, huh?

Wait. There’s more to this story.

Then she called up the news media, and announced what she had done to all within radio and television tower reception distance. She became a local media darling. Soon the act of showing support took second place to the act of self aggrandizement.

Jesus said:

1.“Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven.
2. So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
4. So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” -- Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

It has always been a pet peeve of mine when someone donates to charity and brags about it, then sits back and reaps the accolades of their peers. I have done some charitable things many times, but no one knows. No one but my ex-wife and the ones I helped, and God. And that’s the way it should be.

It is a very good thing to be charitable. And if you want rewards on Earth, it is certainly a good and honorable way to receive them. It certainly beats doing evil things for attention.

But if you want rewards from the only One that matters, keep your mouth shut about it.

Here is a list of some of the charities where you may make donations for relief of the victims left devastated by Hurricane Katrina:

Baptist Men's Disaster Recovery Project.
Feed the Children
Red Cross
Salvation Army
Catholic Charities
Samaritan's Purse
more
Thanks to Tug and Pero

Here are instructions for donating:

1. Choose one, two, or all of the above charities, or any charity of your choice.
2. Make your donations.
3. Keep your mouth shut about it.
4. Feel good about yourself and know that you have a reward in Heaven.

Lie Of The Day (from Laura Ingraham's web site)
"George Bush couldn't come out and talk to me because he doesn't have a noble cause" for the war," claimed Cindy Sheehan, still in Crawford, and obviously peeved that Katrina blew her off the front pages.


THE TRUTH:
She already had her meeting, and she has admitted that she's glad the president didn't meet with her this time. Why? Because it would have destroyed her "momentum." Sad.

The American Spirit

I found this on Lone Ranger’s site yesterday, who in turn, got it from Wonderwoman’s site, who got it from a National Post article:

LONDON - If British Prime Minister Tony Blair had not been vacationing in the Caribbean yesterday, it seems a safe bet he would have announced to the world that Britain feels deep sympathy for its freshly wounded ally, the United States.
He might have been wrong.

In fact, to judge by the reaction of some Londoners yesterday to Katrina's rising death toll, Britons seem to feel the United States is overdrawn on sympathy. In an online discussion group set up by The Guardian newspaper, for example, one man sneered that George W. Bush will "blame global warming, or 'ecological terrorism' for this extreme weather event." Another said the disaster will be all the worse because the National Guard, which so often helps in relief operations, "is in Iraq to provide for the comfort of U.S. occupation forces."

And there was much snickering over which wing nut televangelist will attribute the devastation of New Orleans to Genesis 6:13, in which God, about to flood the sinful Earth, tells Noah: "The end of all flesh is come before me ... behold, I will destroy them with the Earth."

The rest of the article describes the utter indifference that Brits exhibit towards America in the face of the monumental disaster in our gulf states.

One has to wonder if this is the same attitude the rest of the free world has toward the United States. I have yet to see anywhere in any newscast or website where we are being offered help by any of them.

Is this a surprise? No.

Is it troubling? Yes.

Here is the good news:
America doesn’t need their help, nor do we ask for it. One of the many things that make this country great is the willingness of it’s citizens to pull together in times of crisis and despair. Even as the Hurricane moved across the Gulf on it’s way to Louisiana, good people across this nation were preparing to offer their services through the generosity and goodness of their heart.

There are relief organizations, churches, individuals, companies, and government agencies all pulling together to help in the efforts to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. There is no Democrats or Republicans, no Conservatives or Liberals, only Americans. Athiests, Jews and Christians, white, black, and brown, all working together to get the job done. We are all Americans today.

Now I’m not saying that there isn’t any looting going on. Anytime there is a disaster, there will always be selfish, opportunistic, criminally oriented people there to take full advantage of the situation, and damned be anyone who gets hurt. But they are in the minority, no matter what the television newscasts say. The majority of the people are honest hard working people that have found themselves in a desperate situation. And they are the ones that need our help. Many of them would offer help to those less fortunate than themselves even in the situation they are in now.A couple donate money to the Red Cross

That is the American Spirit at it’s finest.

I am reminded of a song written by Phil Coulter called “The Town I Love so Well”. The last verse tells us:

Now the music's gone but they still carry on
For their spirit's been bruised, never broken
They will not forget but their hearts are set
on tomorrow and peace once again
For what's done is done and what's won is won
and what's lost is lost and gone forever
I can only pray for a bright, brand new day
in the town I loved so well.


We did not have to wait to be asked for help. We help because we are Americans. We help because we are civilized. We help because that is what Americans do.

All we ask is where and to whom do we send whatever aid we have to offer.

What will happen the next time a tsunami strikes or terrorists bomb a subway or an earthquake devastates a country? Will America respond the way the British and the others have to America’s need?

Not at all. Again, we will be the first to respond, the first to help, the first to support, the first to pray.

That is why we are the greatest nation on earth. If we ever turn our backs on the world, God help us.

For He is the only One that will.


Lie Of The Day (from Laura Ingraham's website)
Hosting C-Span's "Afterwords" program, in which she interviewed former UPenn President Sheldon Hackney, Janet Cohen (wife of former Clinton Sec-Def Bill Cohen), said, "I'm not accusing the south of being terrorists, although that culture has terrorized a race of people historically...." She continued by saying, "How do we reconcile the very enemy we're fighting whose traits are very similar to our own."


THE TRUTH:
She said earlier in the interview, "I'm seeing parallels between what's going on now as we look at life and our world after 9/11. You talk about an overly religious group, you talk about people who resist modernity, and have a desire to oppress other people." Sounds like equating the South to terrorists to me.