Robert Craig 'Evel' Knievel October 17, 1938 - November 30, 2007

"If you don't know about pain and trouble, you're in sad shape. They make you appreciate life."
- Robert Craig 'Evel' Knievel

Going To Jail

Yep, you read that right. Today I have to go to jail. It's not really as dramatic as it sounds (I hope), though it may be fun to imagine up some great and tragic story about how trying to develop a web page sent me over the edge....

Actually, I will be going to take a look at the inmates' furniture manufacturing operation in Taylorsville for another venture that I am a part of. Did you know that the NC Correctional System has numerous inmate operated manufacturing facilities around the state? Their products are available to government agencies and not-for-profit entities. It turns out that these facilities generate millions of dollars of revenue for the correctional system and even pay into a restitution fund for the victims. I think it is a great idea.

Hmmm...

I am starting to realize that hardball political activism has a cost conservatives don't think enough about. It costs you a lot of quality liberal acquaintances. And the reverse is true for liberal agitators. Liberals may be wrong about everything, but there are a lot of wonderful people who are way out on the left, and if you're constantly ridiculing liberals and the left, you make it hard to have those people in your life. Reaming out moonbats is fun, I know, but maybe the cost is too high. The more you abuse and humiliate people, the harder it is for them to agree that you're right. If we really care about winning converts, maybe we need to focus on effective persuasion instead of just trying to score points. What's the real, fundamental goal? Making liberals look silly, or helping people believe the truth? I know what you're all thinking. "Making liberals look silly." But somewhere deep down in your heart, you don't really believe it.

Steve Graham @ Hog On Ice

iHay CARAMBA!

Well, things MAY be moving forward again on the website... MAY. My friend DavidP sent me a link to a good Joomla tutorial today that is proving to be very informational. (And he also sent me a link to the mental hospital at Broughton just in case that doesn't work!)

I must say that I do feel vindicated somewhat after working through some of the tutorial. There is absolutely NO WAY that I would have been able to figure out what I was doing on my own. If Joomla is the most user-friendly CMS software available I certainly don't want to see or use any of the rest of it. I wonder if part of the difficulty is that I am familiar with Windows programming standards. Perhaps this software is adhering to Unix standards? Regardless, the software is not intuitive at all.

I come back to my earlier lament that this would be so much easier if I knew HTML. But I don't, so I have to make do with what I do know, and I'm learning new stuff every day. I even learned a couple of new Windows tricks today.



DavidP, I already owe you at least a case of Little Debbie Nutty Bars and a gallon of whole milk. It may be a truckload and a cow by the time this project is finished! Thanks for your help.

Yet One More Reason I Don't Want To Live In Massachusetts

"Lawmakers To Consider Spanking Ban - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston"

Click HERE for the story.

According to the article a Massachusetts nurse has decided that the practice of spanking should be outlawed. I sure hope this misguided piece of legislation doesn't pass. I am sure that the intent was good. This nurse is most likely trying to prevent child abuse and save someone's life. But the problem is that banning spanking isn't the answer. (Besides the fact that such a law would be a gross violation of parental rights.) The physical discipline of a child is a very useful tool in the behavioral development of that child.

I have seen this play out in both my niece and my nephew. When my niece was little she was just plain mean, but as spanking was applied not only did she become more obedient, she also became sweeter. My nephew learned to obey through the discipline he received.

Following are several Scriptures about spanking:

He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. Proverbs 13:24


Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Proverbs 22:15

Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death. Proverbs 23:13-14

The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 29:15

You KNOW that last one is true. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a child acting out somewhere and the mother is the one who gets the blame for that child's misbehavior. There was one child at one of my Thanksgiving celebrations that needed a spanking some kind of bad.

Spanking works. Spanking helps a child to realize that there are consequences for his actions. Spanking helps to establish who is in authority when a child inevitably challenges that authority - and through that establishment of authority the child is made more secure because he knows that there are boundaries that are defended by his parents, the ones that he is counting on to protect him. When spanking is used, the effectiveness of less stringent forms of discipline increase many fold.

Many people are afraid of the potential for abuse with spanking. Well, the potential for abuse is even greater from people who yell at their children and belittle them. That abuse is FAR worse than the momentary pain a child will feel when being spanked. Many people who would never DREAM of spanking a child will crush that same child's self image with their words.

The problem that most parents run into with any form of discipline is that they are not consistent with the administration of that discipline. Since the child is going to try to find and test the boundary for his own security (and to satisfy his own fallen nature,) inconsistent parents find that they are pushed beyond the point of their ability to render a calm and impartial judgment and become angry or even enraged at the behavior of their child.

I once heard a pastor describe this as the difference between godly discipline and worldly spanking.

Godly discipline helps a child to recognize that disobedience and misbehavior leads to negative consequences. This is a good lesson that our culture seems to have rejected. Disobedience = punishment without any 2nd or 22nd chances that end up leading to the parent's loss of temper. This allows the parent to spank the child without any anger or malice built up by the child's rebellion. They can truly punish and instantly restore the relationship.

On the other hand worldly spanking allows disobedience to continue to the point that the parent's temper is lost and the child is spanked in anger. The anger causes a separation between the parent and the child, and the child is left with the fear of witnessing the parent's loss of control exacerbated by the distance felt between the two. Reconciliation is difficult.

While I do not have children of my own, as I have helped to raise my niece and nephew I have witnessed first hand how spanking helps a child to modify his behavior for the better, and if applied correctly, it doesn't instill an unhealthy fear for the disciplinarian in the child. I have found it to be quite the contrary. A child who knows that a parent loves them enough to punish them when they need it is far more affectionate, trusting and respectful of the parent than the child that is allowed to have his own way.

While You Are Shopping This Holiday Season...

Did you know that Sears supports the troops? You may not be aware of it, but Sears pays its active duty National Guard and Reserve employees the difference between their Sears salary and their military pay while they have been called up. They also maintain the employee benefits for these patriots. You can read about it at Snopes HERE. According to the article at Snopes they aren't the only ones who do this. HERE is a link to the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website. They maintain a list of the other employers who maintain the same policy.

I am still on the warpath with Target stores over their ouster of the Salvation Army during the Christmas season. They won't be getting any of my money, but I will do whatever possible to spend some money at Sears. I hope you will too.

Back In The USSR...

It looks like Putin is playing things "old school" over in Russia:

Bush 'Deeply Concerned' About Russian Political Arrests

Apparently they arrest you in Russia if you campaign against the incumbent. It's a good thing that it hasn't gotten that bad here. I'd NEVER get out of jail with all the stuff I have posted here! Putin has been warning President Bush to not interfere in their "elections." Ah, 'democracy' at work!

More Wonderful Welcome Wet Weather

Like my alliteration? Give me a break! It's after 3:30 in the morning!

We've had more wonderful rain. I wish it could have been for longer, but it has once again been a good, soaking rain. The verdict is in - looks like prayer works. No apologies to the Atlanta Freethought Society. God is real. God controls everything. Deal with it.

I know I'm busting AFS's chops a little bit, but I really want them to see how good God is. Life is tough and then you die. It's that way for everyone Christian and pagan alike, but it certainly isn't equal.

I've tried life without God and life with God, and WITH is infinitely better. If I could get over myself and my hangups and fears and unbelief there is this incredible ABUNDANT life that is available to me. I hope that I am able to achieve that place before I die! LONG before I die. But even if I don't, what is waiting for me afterwards as a Christian is ASTOUNDINGLY GOOD.

Not so much for non-Christians. It is sad that some will actively choose to reject God and His great gift to us and choose to suffer God's justifiable wrath. Others will apathetically follow the herd down the path of least resistance right over the cliff. If you're on the "wrath" side of the coin right now, don't be offended. God is extremely patient and is offering the chance for you to be whole and free and joyful. All you have to do is accept the gift. You don't have to clean yourself up first - He takes care of that later, you just come. I cannot understand how someone could turn such a great deal down, but the Bible says that many will. It's tragic really.

If you haven't accepted God's gift of salvation, please do. I assure you that you'll be glad you did.

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep praying for rain!

This One's Gonna Be Short

Perhaps you are wondering why I am posting at 3 in the morning. Me too. I was busy working on the website and, well, you know how those things go. I finally got to a stopping place a few minutes ago and foolishly went to check out the blogs. It's not quite an addiction, but I want to make sure everyone has something to read with the morning coffee.

This whole website thing has really bogged down. I think that the technical documentation for the software that I am trying to use was written by savant chimpanzees on a banana-induced fructose buzz. I am beyond frustrated.

I have at least figured out how to make parts of the web page in one program. The problem is I am having a hard time figuring out a couple of things: #1 Why isn't the FTP transfer working correctly? #2 Why can't the design program that I am using find an internet connection? #3 How do I make the CMS software talk to my design software? and #4 Why didn't I go ahead and check myself into Broughton when I came up with this hair-brained scheme? Those are the basic questions as of now. I have loaded Joomla and a couple other programs on the server that I think will be of use, but I have no road map and, frankly, I may be trying to drive to Hawaii.

I think I am going to try to bribe all of my developer friends with pizza and beer - or if they're not into that, whole milk and Little Debbies! Heck, I might even go so far as to offer all four! Maybe not all at once, though. Ewww.

Too Funny

You have to check THIS link and look at the picture. Priceless...

The Least Of These

The past week has been a little disappointing. I had such high hopes for a spiritual feast on Thanksgiving. My heart was so full last Sunday night at the joint Thanksgiving service done by the three local PCA churches that I was eagerly anticipating Thanksgiving Day and some great connection with God. I had even been meditating on some scriptures that the Lord seemed to be bringing to my attention. Yet each day closer to Thanksgiving my soul felt drier and drier - like a turkey baked too long without being basted. In fact, even this morning on my way to church my attitude was so far from where I had hoped that it would be. When the time to worship started I was distracted and mildly frustrated. (Not a good place for the worship leader to be!)

I can't say that things got any better during my part of the service. My guitar strings were buzzing and sounded terrible. I couldn't get it positioned correctly and my arm and hand began to fatigue. It was some rough plowing. Thank God I have a great band behind me. Fortunately things picked up with the pastor's sermon. He has been challenging us as a church to reach out to our neighbors and used as his text the first half or so of Matthew 22.

God has truly called us to a great celebration. His party will blow all other parties away. He even provides everything that we need to be acceptable at His bash, and yet there are so many who refuse to come. Weird. And yet, how guilty are we - the invited - of acting like we are going to be scourged instead of going to a celebration? If we truly believed that God and His reward for us were all that, wouldn't we be eager to tell others? Wouldn't our lives be so full of joy and excitement that others would want to come? And then there are others who try to come but refuse His "party clothes." Thinking about this made me think of some of my loved ones who want to "come to the feast" but don't want to dress according to the code. It makes me shudder for them. Do I say that they aren't saved? I can't make that call, but I can't help but believe that they are in very dangerous waters.

Our church is at a place where I believe that God is calling us to reach out like most of us have never done before. I look at my sister's life and how God has strategically placed her in a neighborhood full of lost folk who love her to death. I look at my own neighborhood and realize that although there are some Christians living around me that there are many who don't know God at all living within a close walk of my house. This is what I am dealing with - breaking the inertia that keeps me from being a good neighbor and friend to the people who live close by. Dealing with the fear of sharing the gospel with anyone. I know it is an absurd fear - most fears are - but it is where I am.

I was talking with my good friend Bruce after the service and we were both feeling kind of low and worn out. We've both been taking a little time in the Lord's crucible lately, and I confessed to him how dry I had been feeling this past week - lonely for the Lord's presence. (Isn't it funny how being lonely for the Lord will often disguise itself as loneliness for other company? But I digress.) He suggested that it was perhaps the enemy's attack. We talked for a little bit longer and in the course of that discussion decided that we should do some servant evangelism together soon. (See Steve Sjogren's book Conspiracy Of Kindness.) As we left the church we passed a car broken down in the middle of the road. I stopped to ask if the guy driving needed help, and he could only answer me in Spanish. I went to park the car and looked up and there was Bruce! He was stopping to help too.

Now you need to understand, I am utterly NOT mechanical. I know next to NOTHING about what is going on under the hood of a car - especially if it isn't doing what it is supposed to be doing. However, Bruce is VERY mechanical. We helped the fellow to get his car out of the road and then Bruce went to work on the car. I used the little Spanish I knew to talk to Carlos and before you knew it Bruce had the car running again! We didn't say a word to Carlos about God or Jesus - I probably could have if I had been in practice - but as we went on our way I felt like I had just touched the Lord's fellowship for the first time in the past seven days. Is it possible that we met the Lord broken down on the road? Matthew 25:40 would seem to indicate that we did.

Perhaps God let me get dry and hungry for His presence so that I would sense it so clearly when I encountered it with Carlos this afternoon. If so, may He not let me forget to seek His presence even amongst "the least of these."

And God, please bless Carlos and help him to learn who You are!

The Feasting Has Ended... (For A Bit)

Well, Thanksgiving went great again. Lots and lots of really good food. Dinner at my Grandmother's house made Rockwell's "Freedom From Want" look like a light mid-afternoon snack! The table was literally full of food. I didn't even get to taste everything. I was stuffed after one trip to the table. Prior to the meal the kitchen was as busy as a beehive - and just as crowded. There were so many family members there that there was hardly a place to sit - so many, that I was looking for a quiet place away from the madness.

As I have just finished writing this I can't help but think that it would be hard for some people to comprehend this extravagance and abundance. Perhaps my description sounds like arrogant boasting. If your experience this past week wasn't like mine, I am sorry, and I truly wish that it had been that way for you too. These thoughts humble me and cause me to reflect on the blessings that God has lavished on me and make me remember that the reason that God blesses us is that we can be a blessing to the world. I pray that He will help me to do a better job of that this year.

On a somewhat different note, I wasn't in much of a posting mood on Thanksgiving. For some reason words just didn't seem to be flowing very well, so although I did manage to post a Thanksgiving message, it really didn't come very close to what I had hoped to publish for you.

Here are a couple of good Thanksgiving Day Posts that I wish that I had written:

The Real Meaning Of Thanksgiving from over at the Bear Creek Ledger

and

Gratitude over at Conspiracy Of Kindness

I hope that your Thanksgiving was great.

And Another

I use recipes as general guides. I tasted the pie filling as I was mixing it, and I decided it needed a few more things, and I put them in. That's the difference between cooking and unskilled labor. If you refuse to be satisfied with what other people tell you to put in dishes, you'll eventually be a real cook.

-Steve H. Graham @ Hog On Ice

A Quote For Today

Republicans used to have leaders and role models like Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole. Now it's Rudy Giuliani and Britney Spears. Far better than Barbara Streisand and her idiot "Happy 911" husband. Far better than Al Sharpton and Dick Durbin. But not the kind of people a religious person can get excited about supporting. I may be a pretty weak Christian, but I would never help women hold onto the right to have convenience abortions, and I don't like knowing I may eventually have to vote for a person who did. Either him or a guy who belongs to a heretical cult. Or Fred Thompson, who will have to have a special Secret Service detail to roll him out of bed at noon. Thompson is a disgrace. I actually took his campaign seriously; it's too bad he'll never be able to say the same. A prominent conservative media figure used the word "pathetic" to describe Thompson to me in an email. I thought that was harsh, but as time passes, it seems more and more appropriate.

When politics and religion agree, it's purely coincidental, so I should have known a long time ago that my love affair with the GOP was not going to last. The GOP is by far the lesser of two evils, but it's not worth my full-time support.

- Steve H. Graham @ Hog On Ice

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that all of you are enjoying time and good food with family and friends and that you have taken some time today to reflect on the things that you are thankful for. It is so easy to spend the day cooking, eating, talking, sleeping, watching TV, breaking up fights, etc and get to the end of the day and realize that you have neglected the very purpose of Thanksgiving - giving thanks.

E. P. Powell, a 19th century pastor once said, "Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the heart of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."

I have so many things to be thankful for. Have you ever taken time to list what you are thankful for? I'll admit that sometimes it comes off sounding trite. Of course we are thankful for friends and family, health, safety, our freedoms. It almost sounds silly to say it, but I encourage you to say it anyway. Thank God for the smallest things and for the big things too.

Here are just a few things that I am thankful for: God's forgiveness, abundant life, God's provision, God's protection, God's love, God's discipline, God's patience, my family, my friends, my home, the food I eat, my health, freedom to worship God without fear, my other freedoms as an American, the rain that we got this morning, transportation, the air I breathe, my guitar, music, my talents, our troops, the fall colors, victory over my adversary, the Bible, and you, my readers. I could go on and on, but I won't - not here anyway.

Have a very blessed Thanksgiving. I'm going to take a little break to enjoy the holiday, but should be back on Saturday.

I'll leave you with this quote by Tony Snow:

"If you think Independence Day is America's defining holiday, think again. Thanksgiving deserves that title, hands-down."

The Age Of Fantasy

I saw a headline over the weekend that nearly sent me through the roof:

Global Warming's Trillion Dollar Debate

TRILLION DOLLAR DEBATE?!!!!! I can feel my blood pressure getting up already.

The subtitle read, "UN scientists say climate change is happening faster than thought as politicians head to Bali to hammer out Kyoto's successor."

This is wrong on so many levels it is just hard to know where to start.

Let me remind you of the words of the founder of the Weather Channel, John Coleman, that I shared HERE last week:

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend. (emphasis mine)

"Global warming" "man-made climate change" or whatever alarmist title you want to put on it is an utter, total, and complete sham.

First of all to use "global warming" and "debate" in the same sentence requires some fairly restrictive rules. It is OK to talk about the debate between gullible junk scientists about how long it will take for "global warming" to destroy all life on the planet. However, you cannot use "global warming" in conjunction with "debate" in a way that would indicate any meaningful dialog between scientists who support the fantasy of global warming and those scientists whose research indicates that the aforementioned scientists are full of beans. For example, you can say "Scientists who believe in global warming are afraid of scientific debate on the subject." But you couldn't legitimately say, "The facts of global warming have reached scientific consensus through the application of scientific method and open scientific debate."

Let it suffice for this portion of the rant to say that no consensus has been reached in the scientific community about catastrophic climate change as a result of application of the scientific method and scientific debate based on the data collected via objective observation. That's the truth no matter what Comrade Gore says. (I don't care if he DID invent the internet!) What a jerk.

OK, so I managed to look over this article (by liberal CNN) and see that the whole article is about an urgent reworking of the Kyoto treaty that the US never ratified. They're trying to make it even MORE restrictive.

Kyoto, the far-reaching agreement reached in 1997 intended to reduce global carbon emissions, is nothing compared to what could be coming next as the world's governments confront the ecological damage from global warming and debate what needs to be done to fix it.

I love it when journalists lie right off the bat, don't you? While many nations did buy into all of this nonsense, the US did not - of course the writer of this article didn't make it sound that way, did he? (He did, MUCH later in the article, acknowledge that President Bush wouldn't ratify the treaty.)

The fourth and final UN report on climate change, due Saturday, is expected to emphasize that the warming of the planet is "unequivocal" and that humans are the main cause. That report will act as a blueprint for the next crucial round of climate talks starting next month in Bali, Indonesia.

Thank God, it is the LAST report. We couldn't handle any more misinformation.

Scientists say up to an 85 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions is needed to head off potential catastrophic changes that could lead to more floods and famine. How to best achieve those cuts is where the fight begins. (emphases mine)

Is it just me, or are these "scientists" being mighty vague? Even they don't have the gall to boldfaced lie! They are even hedging their words here so that when Mr. Coleman's prophecy comes to pass they will be able to back out of it and try to salvage a modicum of credibility. Weenies!

The Bush administration has so far resisted mandatory caps, and all eyes will be watching to see if White House negotiators hold up the Bali talks.

THANK GOD!!! I'm glad someone is finally giving President Bush credit for doing something smart. Oh wait, this guy (and apparently the rest of the world) blames President Bush for blocking the caps that will save us all from ourselves. History will vindicate him on this one. "Global warming" is the new "acid rain."

Our intrepid reporter goes on to say:

Previous versions of the report, written in the 1990s, said global warming was likely happening and likely caused by humans but acknowledged that the science was not yet certain. The latest report, released in three parts over the course of this year, took away practically all that uncertainty.

Written by over 2,500 top government-appointed scientists from around the world, the fourth report is a user-friendly version that will be used by politicians and bureaucrats as a blueprint during negotiations next month in Bali and beyond.

"Gawrsh, Mickey! It MUST be true then."

Reality check (with much thanks again to John Coleman):

I suspect you might like to say to me, "John, look the research that supports the case for global warming was done by research scientists; people with PH D's in Meteorology. They are employed by major universities and important research institutions. Their work has been reviewed by other scientists with PH D's. They have to know a lot more about it than you do. Come on, John, get with it. The experts say our pollution has created an strong and increasing greenhouse effect and a rapid, out of control global warming is underway that will sky rocket temperatures, destroy agriculture, melt the ice caps, flood the coastlines and end life as we know it. How can you dissent from this crisis? You must be a bit nutty.

Allow me, please, to explain how I think this all came about. Our universities have become somewhat isolated from the rest of us. There is a culture and attitudes and values and pressures on campus that are very different. I know this group well. My father and my older brother were both PHD-University types. I was raised in the university culture. Any person who spends a decade at a university obtaining a PHD in Meteorology and become a research scientist, more likely than not, becomes a part of that single minded culture. They all look askance at the rest of us, certain of their superiority. They respect government and disrespect business, particularly big business. They are environmentalists above all else.

And, there is something else. These scientists know that if they do research and results are in no way alarming, their research will gather dust on the shelf and their research careers will languish. But if they do research that sounds alarms, they will become well known and respected and receive scholarly awards and, very importantly, more research dollars will come flooding their way. (Don't pretend they don't. JDE)

So when these researchers did climate change studies in the late 90's they were eager to produce findings that would be important and be widely noticed and trigger more research funding. It was easy for them to manipulate the data to come up with the results they wanted to make headlines and at the same time drive their environmental agendas. Then their like minded PHD colleagues reviewed their work and hastened to endorse it without question.

There were a few who didn't fit the mold. They did ask questions and raised objections. They did research with contradictory results. The environmental elitists berated them brushed their studies aside. (Isn't this what Al Gore has done? JDE)

I have learned since the Ice Age is coming scare in the 1970's to always be a skeptic about research. (Remember that? I'm still bummed that didn't happen... JDE) In the case of global warming, I didn't accept media accounts. Instead I read dozens of the scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct when I assure you there is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. It is all a scam, the result of bad science. (all emphases and asides mine)

The thing that really makes me mad is that this "scam" based on "bad science" is going to cost TRILLIONS of dollars. Let that word trill off your tongue. It incenses me that bureaucrats and politicians throw numbers like this around so carelessly about an utter prevarication.

Let me put this all in perspective. Let's consider just how much money is being wasted on this post-digestive male bovine silage. According to Compassion International it is possible to feed clothe and educate a child on $32 a month. That would be $384 a year and $6912 to raise a child from birth to age 18. If only 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) were wasted - and it will be FAR more - on global warming you could have fed, clothed and educated one hundred forty-four million, six hundred seventy-five thousand, nine hundred twenty six (144,675,926) children from birth until their 19th birthday. God will hold these liars accountable for their malfeasance.

Ever wonder why Al Gore has been such a crusader? According to THIS article, he has a vested interest in the global warming lie. Apparently, there is big money in global catastrophe.

Perhaps you wonder how I, with no Ph.D. in anything - a former English major, can be so confident that global warming is a hoax. I am certain it is a hoax because I know what the Bible says about mankind's (and the world's) end. If the increased temperatures shown in the data used by global warming's champions are to result in mankind's demise then there is nothing that can be done to avert disaster, and we might as well enjoy the air conditioning, warm heat, and fast cars that carbon-based energy has gotten us.

Once, back when Western Civilization's underpinnings were still Christian, mankind made huge strides in science and thought and the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment were born. Now our atheistic scientists have sacrificed scientific method and objectivity on the altars of Darwinism, greed, and vanity, giving birth to the Age of Fantasy.

I think Steve Graham over at Hog On Ice said it best:

It just occurred to me: isn't Al Gore's idiotic theory the epitome of God-denying humanism? The ancients realized that the weather was something man could not control, so they appeased their heathen gods as well as the actual, correct God. Now a certain segment of society thinks God is unfashionable. So they're looking for a way to turn man into the shaper of storms and droughts. Man, who can barely program his clock radio...

Dude, This Just LOOKS Wicked

The Navy is testing a new weapons technology that is astounding.

Metal Storm Reaches Navy Test Range

Brisbane, Australia-based Metal Storm has delivered a four-barrel weapon to the Naval Surface Warfare Center for testing that uses a small electrical current instead a conventional firing pin to deliver stacked rounds at an astounding rate.

How astounding? Try 1 million rounds per minute. That's the rate, by the way, not the volume; still, there's no way you want to be anywhere near the wrong end of one of these puppies.

…The projectiles are stacked in-line in the barrel--nose to tail--so there are no magazines, no shell casings and no mechanical components.

There is footage of some of the testing embedded in the linked article. You really ought to watch it. It is mind blowing. It would be a bad day indeed to be downrange from this weapon. I would think that they would eventually be able to fire on simultaneous targets. The thought of being downrange is not pleasant at all.

US Pilots Forced To Undergo Hideous Genetic Experiments!!!!

No, not really. What you see above is not a minotaur recruited by the US Air Force (although that is exactly what it looks like to me.) It is a picture of a cool new helmet that could be gracing the heads of our pilots in the near future. The new helmet has some pretty cool features: it replaces the heads up display that has been in US fighter aircraft since WWII, it allows the pilot to "see" through the floor of the plane just by looking down, and it has infrared vision, and I think that it can read minds too... Maybe not, but you can read about it HERE.

Website Coming Along Nicely

Well, I have made some good strides forward on the website. I am learning a lot. The thing that seems to take the most time so far is the layout. There is really no way around it. You have to take the time to think it through and to think about how many layers deep you are going to go. I am realizing that this could be very time consuming... and that it will be easy to make mistakes that will leave buttons unlinked and stuff like that.

Yesterday I created the second-tier pages for the website and learned how to link them to the homepage. Today I did the layout for the second-tier page for Real Estate and created one set of the third-tier pages for that section. Tomorrow I'll be working on the second (and the much larger) set of third-tier pages for the Real Estate section of the website.

I started working on the news section of the site yesterday, but discovered that I didn't like the format of the newsreader that I have. I'm going to have to find one that has a better layout. I also have to find some search code to help people find what they are looking for - especially on the real estate part of the site. I have a module in the bundle that I got with my web hosting, but I don't know if it will do what I want. This would be so much easier if I knew HTML.

Of course, there is the concern that I may be doing all of this using much more memory and bandwidth than is necessary (or prudent). And there is the nagging conviction that I am probably doing some of this the hard way. That was definitely the case 2 days ago, when I had to manually lay out a grid on the worksheet to assist in my layouts. (I had to do it manually because there isn't an automated way to do it, but I ended up sticking with laying out every 10x10 pixel block far longer than I needed to.) I abandoned that approach today and things went a bit faster.

I showed the site design to my dad yesterday and he was really shocked by what I had accomplished. It was very gratifying to receive his praise for what I had created.

Well, I will be continuing on. My goal is to have a functional website done by the end of the month. Perhaps that is a little aggressive and optimistic. I hope not. I need some revenue!

Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. Have a blessed day!

Just When You Think They Have Reached The Apex Of Stupidity...

More asininity, y'all...

Santas Warned 'Ho Ho Ho' Offensive To Women

Click HERE for the whole stupid story.

Perhaps the story about the emergence of two human species wasn't so far off after all. The people I know aren't this brain dead. It would seem that there is a whole Cro-Magnon subspecies still out there.

Anybody who could possibly be offended by Santa saying "Ho, Ho, Ho" needs the special white sweater with the extra-long sleeves that buckles in the back and some time in the padded play room.

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Barry Bonds

According to THIS article,

"Baseball superstar Barry Bonds was charged Thursday with perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying when he said he did not use performance-enhancing drugs.

The indictment, unsealed Thursday by federal prosecutors in San Francisco, is the culmination of a four-year federal probe into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury investigating steroid use by elite athletes."

I guess it would be an understatement to say that he has probably had better days.

The consensus for a long time has been that Barry Bonds has been juicing, whether that is true or not I have no idea. Frankly, I really don't care. Don't get me wrong. I think that it is a travesty that professional athletes are using enhancement-performing drugs. In my opinion it cheapens their achievements. I am glad that Major League Baseball has finally started to open their closed eyes to the use of these drugs. If what they say about the effects of these drugs on the body is true MLB ought to clean up - if for no other reason than the influence these athletes have on the kids that want to follow in their footsteps.

I am also not a big Barry Bonds fan. I have heard so many stories about the man, and most of them haven't been that complimentary. All that to say that I've never met him. I know someone who has met him and talked with him at length. His report was good. So who knows? I might like the guy if I met him.

In a way I feel sorry for Bonds. With the allegations swirling around him for the past several years, his tremendous achievement in setting the career home run record (after setting the single season home run record a few years earlier) has been tainted. I wonder how much of the "consensus" is sour grapes? I am reminded of how "consensus" can be deceived as it has been with the whole global warming lie.

Do you know the part that jumps out at me? It was this line, "The indictment, unsealed Thursday by federal prosecutors in San Francisco, is the culmination of a four-year federal probe into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury investigating steroid use by elite athletes."

Is is just me or does it seem unreasonable to anyone else that they have been pursuing him for 4 YEARS? Were there no national security issues that this group could have been working on? Does it seem unreasonable to anyone else that the government is "investigating steroid use by elite athletes?" It isn't mentioned in these quotes, but this all started with the Congressional hearings on steroid use in baseball.

There really must not be much to do in Washington. Maybe I ought to get me a job there. Congress takes a week off for every holiday, over half the time they are out campaigning, another quarter of the time they are taking bribes, I mean, being wined and dined while listening to compelling reasons to vote in particular ways. (Funny, that SOUNDS like taking bribes to me...) And one eighth of the time they are busy righting the wrongs in the world of professional sports like making sure that athletes aren't using steroids and making sure that NASCAR has enough minority representation. I am actually amazed that they are able to pass as many asininely partisan bills doomed for death by committee or veto as they are.

The article seemed to indicate that some fairly Draconian measures were implemented to get this indictment. It would seem that perhaps there isn't so much difference between us here in the West and the former Soviets as I would like to think that there is.

The greatest travesty of all would be if Barry Bonds were to actually be sentenced for his perjury should he be convicted. It is the height of hypocrisy to go after Barry Bonds when the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was impeached for the same thing without consequence.

Another Reason Not To Live In Massachusetts

Local Boy Scouts Accused of Being Too 'Pro-War' In Cambridge, Massachusetts

Apparently the cradle of the American Revolution has taken a dovish turn. The descendants of the men that died at Bunker Hill and the Boston Massacre, the heirs of the Boston Tea Party have decided that Boy Scouts shouldn't be supporting the troops overseas. They're spinning in their graves. Secession is sounding better and better every day, y'all.

They were just trying to collect donations for American troops. But the Boy Scouts end up getting busted by the City of Cambridge. All their boxes were taken down at polling stations for being too "pro-war." FOX25's Ted Daniel reports from Cambridge with details.

You really ought to click HERE and watch the story if your blood pressure hasn't had a workout today.

Apparently, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry aren't the only lying bureaucrats in MA. (Yeah, yeah, I just KNOW you're shocked....) Anyway the lady in charge of pulling the plug claimed that they hadn't gotten permission before placing the donation boxes. LIE! According to the scoutmaster, they got permission TWICE before bringing out the collection boxes. Hmmm. I wonder which person I will believe. The politician? Or the Boy Scout? Hmmm...

Making matters worse is that only one person complained. One person brought about the end of the project. And even worse than that? The jerk was there to vote.

Here's Hoping...

Know what would make me happy? Joe Torre taking the Dodgers to the World Series in 2008 and defeating the New York Yankees in four games.

I am and will remain a Yankees fan, but I am not a Steinbrenner fan, and I'd like to see a little of that karma that they have been storing up bite them in the butt.

And yes, I am also still a Braves fan, but if they had to wait one more year so that this could happen it would be OK with me.

Bugger...

Arizona Biologist Likely Died of Plague

Man, pretty good reason to not be so tough and go on to the doctor when that cold comes on!

A wildlife biologist at Grand Canyon National Park most likely died from the plague contracted while performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that later tested positive for the disease, officials said Friday.

Eric York, 37, who worked in the park's cougar collaring program, became ill on Oct. 30 and called out sick from for a couple of days before being found dead in his home Nov. 2. Tests were positive for the pneumonic plague.

You can read the entire article HERE.

Did You Hear About This?

Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming ‘Greatest Scam in History’

Here is the lion's share of John Coleman's (John Coleman was the founder of The Weather Channel) article. If you want to see the whole thing you can read it HERE.

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM....(What a great way to start an article! JDE)

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmentally conscientious citizens....

This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.... (This guy is hilarious! JDE)

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril....

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend.

Even without a Ph.D. in meteorology, man-made climate change simply doesn't make sense. There are far too many naturally occurring greenhouse gas producers that exceed our own ability to produce these gases. I just can't believe how many people have fallen for this bold-faced lie. I guess we are back to the philosophies of the leaders of the Third Reich again:

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
- Adolph Hitler

The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.
- Joseph Goebbels

The great problem is that there are too few in the world who use the stuff between their ears for anything but padding to keep their heads from imploding.

I Wonder If It Rained Today In Georgia

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - God

I really meant to write about this this morning, but I wasn't able to get to it before now. Today was the day that the Governor of Georgia, Sonny Purdue, lead a prayer for rain on behalf of the state of Georgia. I was praying right along with him (albeit from a several hours' drive away). I don't know if they got any rain in Georgia, but we got a little here.

There was an article about the impending prayer meeting last night that really ticked me off.

Ga. Governor Prays For Rain Amid Drought
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer Mon Nov 12, 6:15 PM ET


The tone of the article was incredibly cynical and arrogant.

As Georgia descends deeper into drought, Gov. Sonny Perdue has ordered water restrictions, launched a legal battle and asked President Bush for help. On Tuesday, the governor will call on a higher power (emphasis mine).

He will join lawmakers and ministers on the steps of the state Capitol to pray for rain.

While public prayer vigils might raise eyebrows in other parts of the nation, they are mostly shrugged off in the Bible Belt, where turning to the heavens for help is common and sometimes even politically expedient (emphasis mine).

"Christianity has more of a place in the culture here than in some other region," said Ray Van Neste, a professor of Christian studies at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "And it's only natural, in a way, for the public to pray for rain." (Emphases mine.)

First Mr. Bluestein refuses to acknowledge that they are praying to God. No, to him it is just some nebulous "higher power." Then he goes on to suggest that what Governor Purdue is advocating violates the mythical "separation of church and state." Then he suggests that the Governor is merely using this prayer as an opportunity to grandstand and win votes. (I wonder if he would lay this charge against Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama with their newfound religious zeal?) After all, in the poor little backwards South they aren't sophisticated enough to realize that rain doesn't come as a result of prayer, right? It's just a cultural thing. There's nothing to it. It means nothing.

WHAT CONDESCENDING, EQUINE ORGANIC FERTILIZER!

Bluestein went on to say "In the U.S., public expressions of faith are often discouraged as a breach of the separation of church and state."

He makes it sound like it has always been thus. Down through our history Americans have had the good sense to know when they have run afoul of God's favor. Days of called fasting and prayer have been COMMON since the 1600s. Every single year there is a National Day Of Prayer, and every single year our nation celebrates Thanksgiving. That's right, THANKSGIVING, NOT turkey day. Don't get me started on that.

I find it telling that Bluestein didn't find any Christians to talk to. He did, however, manage to find a group of folks that were opposed to the prayer meeting, though.

The loudest opposition to Perdue's move has come from the Atlanta Freethought Society, a secular group that is expecting about a dozen of its 125 members to protest at the vigil.

"The governor can pray when he wants to," said Ed Buckner, who is organizing the protest. "What he can't do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia."…

Well, I reckon he did anyway. Since the Atlanta "Freethought" Society didn't want any rain prayers offered on their behalf, I decided to pray that Governor Purdue's prayers for rain wouldn't benefit any of the Society's members one iota. I guess it might make an impression if everyone around them got rain but their land stayed parched and dry!

I didn't realize it, but the Governor of Alabama has also called for prayer to end the famine.

Perdue won't be the first governor to hold a call for public prayer during the epic drought gripping the Southeast. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley issued a proclamation declaring a week in July as "Days of Prayer for Rain" to "humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady in times of difficulty."

My hat's off to both Governors, who, at least in this case, have proven themselves courageous and wise enough to know from where rain comes. Good job, fellas. My prayers are with you. Oh yeah, and thanks, Lord, for the rain!

Coulter On McCarthy

Ann Coulter has an interesting article out about McCarthy sparked by a new book written on the subject. You can read the article HERE.

I was once talking with a friend about McCarthy and she stunned me by asking me what was wrong with Americans choosing to support Communism. The question struck me as absurd because there is nothing more antithetical to Democracy than Communism. The very pursuit of the one undermines the other. How could anyone pursue a communist agenda in America without committing treason?

Admittedly I need to learn a lot more about what happened during "McCarthyism," but my suspicion is that he was stopped too soon. I plan to read Coulter's Treason and the book Coulter referenced in her article, Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies by M. Stanton Evans.

Ironic, no?

In Land of the Monkey God, a Primate Menaces

More from The Land Of Really Strange Notions... I just find this hilarious: men have allowed themselves to be ruled by monkeys. God has a funny sense of humor. It is as if He said, "OK, you want to worship a monkey? Fine, then I'll give the monkey dominion over you."

It is incomprehensible to me that people still worship literal idols and even more inconceivable that people would consider a monkey a god. There are some seriously messed up folk in this world. What gets me is that we are losing IT jobs to these folks at an alarming rate.

I wonder whatever happened with the menacing wild turkeys in Massachusetts? Remember? I posted about it HERE.



What a great picture!

That's Just Messed Up

Man In India Marries Dog As Atonement

Now I've heard of some beer-goggle inspired weddings, but this dude married an actual pooch. Bizarre just doesn't come close to describing this.

Nailing It On The Head

Phyllis Schlafly wrote a great article over at Townhall that absolutely nails what I am looking for in the next Republican candidate. So far I haven't seen it, but if I do, they are guaranteed my vote. Heck, if a DEMOCRAT could convince me that they feel this way and would act this way I'd vote for them!Click HERE to read the article.

An Amazing Picture

I saw this picture over at Babalu Blog. With the picture was a great post by Val Prieto about his experience in Washington. Val is a great writer and I think that you will enjoy it very much. The title of the post is, Gracias

More Bad News About China's Military

Check out this post from Bear Creel Ledger. I don't know how I missed it in the news.



The US Navy was conducting exercises in the Pacific. Apparently, so were the Chinese. Here is the article that she referenced: The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced

DING, DING, DING!!!! WAKE UP, Y'ALL!

Thank You, Veterans

Thank you for your sacrifice. You are much appreciated. God bless our veterans and troops. America, bless God, and He'll bless us.

SWEET!!!!! WOLFPACK BEATS CAROLINA 31-27!

Eugene, Sutton Lead Pack to 31-27 Win Over Heels

My Wolfpack has managed to salvage what was looking like an AWFUL season by winning their past 4 games including the Heels today.



I would personally like to take some credit for today's win. How did I help? I didn't watch or listen to the game. Well, I watched for just a few minutes and this is what happened:

The third quarter belonged to the Tar Heels. They scored the second half’s first points on a 50-yard touchdown pass from fullback Bobby Rome to wide receiver Brandon Tate. They also had several opportunities to tie the score after two short punts by NC State’s Bradley Pierson that gave the Tar Heels the ball in Wolfpack territory.

But the Wolfpack defense held Carolina’s offense to a single field goal in those two possessions, a 27-yarder by Barth on the first play of the fourth quarter, closing the margin to 24-20.

The Tar Heels took their only lead in the game, 27-24, with 9:40 remaining in the game when redshirt freshman Kendrick Burney picked off a tipped pass and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown. It’s the first time since 1994 that the Tar Heels have returned two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game.

I quickly realized that if the Pack was going to have any chance at all I had to get away from the TV. The rest, as they say, is history.

Eugene, a workhorse for the Wolfpack offense in the absence of injured tailbacks Toney Baker and Andre Brown, scored three rushing touchdowns, including what proved to be the game-winner with 1:41 remaining in the game, to lead the Wolfpack to its first win over the Tar Heels since 2003. Eugene finished the game with a career-high 159 yards on 32 carries and had five catches for 33 yards.

With 20 seconds to play, the Tar Heels had first-and-goal at the NC State 7-yard line, knocking on the door for a game-winning touchdown. But UNC quarterback T.J. Yates threw three consecutive incomplete passes. On fourth down, Yates threw a fade pass to Hakeem Nicks in the end zone that was intercepted out of bounds by cornerback Jimmie Sutton III to end the Tar Heel threat.

I know, I know, Tarheel fans, just wait 'till basketball season. Meanwhile I will gloat! (Perhaps I'll be gloating then too!)

Quote Of The Day

Although my successes and the successes of those I love have brought me tremendous happiness, I have never made the mistake of making them the sources of my joy. Instead, I have found that God’s love for me--and the Sonship I have been granted-- are the continual sources of my joy. I say continual because, like God Himself, they never change.

- Jim Laffoon @ Our Daily Blog

Good Progress

I have made very good progress on my web design project today. I finally have a layout that I am pleased with and will be putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow before I start showing it around some to get others' opinions. There is still much work to be done on it - like making the buttons work, finding the html widgets that I want, and actually publishing it to the site, but I am pleased that I seem to be learning the software at a reasonable pace. I am tired of sitting at the computer, but I am simultaneously pleased with the achieved result. I'm sure that I will be sharing it with you soon.

I have just completed 1776 by David McCullough. I've had it on my "to be read" list for over a year now and finally dove in. It wasn't quite the riveting read that I expected, but was good nonetheless.

I realized quickly how little I actually know about the the Revolutionary War. As a young boy (before I was 7 years old) I had a great interest in the stories about this war, most likely spurred on by re-runs of Daniel Boone. (No, I'm not quite old enough to have seen them first run.) Unfortunately, history books written about the Revolution at an elementary school reading level were pretty hard to come by back then. I doubt it is any different now. How many 7-year-olds are interested in Revolutionary history? I suppose a bit of my interest was also driven by the fact that I was 7-years-old in 1976.

One of the things that struck me as I read was that the British weren't the baby-eating demons that I had imagined them to be (at least not during the period of the war covered by the book - although there was mention of a number of atrocities carried out.) At times their generosity and concern for the well-being of "the colonies" was not unlike our own concern for those that our armies have encountered. The main fault of the British seemed to be their arrogance.

I was also struck by some of the similarities that I saw between America at the time of the Revolution and America today. The British were arrogantly secure in their belief that as the world's greatest superpower they couldn't be beaten by a ragamuffin army like the one fielded by America. They were wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that our military is the greatest on the earth, but we would do well to learn from the lesson we taught the British when they were in a similar situation.

Another similarity is that America was as greatly divided then as it is today. There were major fundamental differences between the Tories (or Loyalists) viewed things and the way that the Patriots (or Rebels) viewed things - Conservative versus Radical all over again. The only difference I would suggest is that the conservatives are on the right side this time. (I dare say they believed that they were on the right side that time!)

Politics was just as convoluted then as it is now. Nobody seemed capable to get anything done in Congress. We KNOW that hasn't changed.

Finally there was also the general apathy of the populace towards victory or defeat. The future lay in the hands of a handful of soldiers - some as young as 14. One quote by Colonel William Tudor about Washington struck me particularly. To his wife he wrote:

I cannot desert a man (and it would certainly be desertion in a court of honor) who has deserted everything to defend his country, and whose chief misfortune, among ten thousand others, is that a large part of it wants spirit to defend itself.

My, my, my, how history does repeat itself. His condemnation could have been written of the defeatists in the Congress, on the campaign trail, and in the media this year, self-serving cowards that they are. It is truly a shame that history is so neglected in our schools (and culture) today, and it is sad that so few realize the dear price payed for our liberties today.

God bless our troops and God bless America. Honor the veterans that you know this weekend.

True Colors

Imagine the scene:

I followed Clinton during a recent bus tour across Iowa, when she and her entourage pulled into a Maid-Rite, a greasy spoon famous for its loose-meat sandwich. Clinton settled into a red stool at the counter, ate a sandwich, chatted with her waitress and then was on her way.

The scene gave Clinton perfect fodder for her next few stump speeches. It turns out her waitress was a single, working mom — just the kind of voter Democrats are courting aggressively this year.

Clinton recalled the meeting for an audience up the road in Boone. "The woman waiting on us — it was her first day," she said, adding, "She was a little nervous. Single mom, raised two boys, works at a nursing home and always has a second job."

If she's elected president, Clinton promised, people like her waitress will have it better….

Hillary Clinton, defender of the little guy, savior of the poor, friend to women... not so much.

Enter Exhibit A: It would seem that neither Hillary or anyone in her entourage believes in tipping.



As was surprisingly reported by NPR reporter David Greene neither Hillary nor anyone else in the entourage left a tip. The waitress that waited on and spoke with Hillary said, "I don't think she understood at all what I was saying. I mean, nobody got left a tip that day."

That's not the worst of it either. Hillary's exploitation caused the waitress even more problems than the work without pay.

The local paper ran photos of her with Clinton. She said her supervisor at the nursing home isn't a big Hillary Clinton fan and she thinks that may be related to why her hours were almost totally cut.

Because of the lost hours she has had to get yet another job. (Just like all of us "rich" people will have to if Hillary gets to tax us like she would like to.) She went on to say, "I wished I would have been asked first. I wish she would have asked if she could talk about me later. I didn't like it when someone called me up and said Hillary Clinton is talking about you. It's like, what'd I do now? What's she saying?"

Since this story aired the Clinton camp vehemently denies its veracity:

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer wrote to NPR in an e-mail: "The campaign spent $157 and left a $100 tip at the Maid-Rite Restaurant. Wish you had checked in with us beforehand."

Esterday said "nobody got tipped that day," and NPR should have checked with the Clinton campaign before the story aired to see if any tip was left and how it was done. We regret that this was not done. On Thursday, Esterday was sticking by her story.

"Why would I lie about not getting a tip?" she told NPR. She also maintained that her co-workers at the restaurant had not received tips.

A Clinton campaign staffer called on Esterday at the restaurant Thursday after the story aired. The staff member apologized to her and gave her a $20 bill, according to Esterday. The Clinton campaign confirmed that visit. The campaign also produced photocopies of receipts showing $157.46 was paid to Maid-Rite on a VISA card on Oct. 8 for meals consumed by the candidate's entourage. The tip was supposed to have been paid in cash, and the campaign insisted such a payment was made but has declined to make available a staff member who was present at Maid-Rite and left tip money.

I bet they do wish they had checked beforehand. This whole thing smells like last week's fish. #1 Why would someone who admitted to liking Clinton in her interview claim that she hadn't been tipped? #2 Why, if they HAD actually tipped Ms. Esterday did someone from the Clinton camp return and give her a $20?

Clinton's claim would be a whole lot more plausible if it hadn't happened before. Enter Exhibit B:

February 11, 2000
It's all the buzz in Albion: Hillary stiffs a single mom
By Barbara J. Saffir
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Maybe it's no big deal elsewhere, but it's all the buzz in Albion.

Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped into the Village House, a favorite diner in this upstate farming town, and ordered two orders of scrambled eggs, home fries and rye toast. So far, so good. The locals appreciate a hearty appetite.

Her breakfast was on the house, and when she left the waitress, a single mom, found not a penny at her plate.

The locals have been talking about little else since Tuesday, when she stopped for breakfast after making a speech about how New York's farmers "are really hurting these days."

I rest my case.

The thing that gets me is that in both of these stories the people who were stiffed were still willing to vote for this fraud. No wonder we have so many bad politicians. There are a lot of stupid people out there voting.

Good News

I've been busy working on website design still. That's why I didn't get any posting done yesterday. But I saw this over at Babalu Blog and thought it was worth sharing.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers.

Now there. Isn't that a much better story than the defeatist headlines yesterday that said, "2007 Is Deadliest Year for US in Iraq"?

I can't tell you how sick I am of the press in our country. Always some alarmist headline that makes it sound like our annihilation is imminent, but never really reporting about the genuine threats to our security. I wish I knew what the solution is. If it weren't for talk radio and the blog world there would be no hope of getting a clear picture of what is really going on. Yes, Fox News pretends to be fair and balanced, but the simple fact of the matter is that they are no better than anyone else.

Whatever happened to journalistic objectivity and responsibility? Whatever happened to "just the facts?" I don't think that the Founders ever intended the First Amendment to allow people to report lies and half-truths as fact. And I, for one, am sick and tired of being spoon fed opinions by people who hate this country and don't have sense enough to pour piss out of a boot with the instructions printed on the heel.

This Is More Like It

I'm glad someone finally had the guts to do this. Lots of people talk a good game about how religious they are and how important prayer is to them, but how many politicians are actually willing to call for prayer to end a famine? Once upon a time it wasn't so rare, now they are like hens' teeth.

Georgia Plans Service to Pray for Rain

What to do when the rain won't come? If you're Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, you pray.

The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast.

"The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.

Perdue's office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday

Good job, Governor Perdue. I'll be joining my prayers with yours.

Navy Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Chiarini

As enemy forces ambushed the front of his convoy, and with explosions going off on the road ahead of him, Navy Hospital Corpsman Joshua Chiarini could have remained in his vehicle and waited for the action to pass. Instead, the petty officer bolted from his truck and joined the battle. His ensuing gallantry resulted in a Silver Star and the recovery of several wounded Marines from the line of fire, saving their lives.

Read the entire account HERE.

The enemy, er, I mean the media may try to deny that any good thing can come from America, but here is proof that they are wrong.

There Are Always Consequences

A new UK study says that induced abortion is the best predictor of breast cancer (emphasis mine), and calls the current widespread incidence of breast cancer epidemic. The study appears in the Fall edition of The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, and is authored by Patrick Carroll, M.A., who is the Director of Research for the Pension and Population Research Institute in London.

You really need to read the entire article. Click HERE.

It would seem that there actually are consequences to abortion that threaten the mother's life long after the immediate risk of the abortion. The risks during the abortion are many and are well documented - in spite of Planned Parenthood's claim that they are making abortion safe. (See THIS post from earlier.)

Once again there is evidence that the pro-infanticide group has sold the women of the world a bill of goods. Far from being the quick and easy solution to an unwanted pregnancy it turns out that abortion is THE BEST predictor of breast cancer. Guess what else makes the list of risky behaviors for women in terms of breast cancer: Hormonal contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy.

There are some non-risky behaviors for women who want to avoid breast cancer. Here they are:

1) Bearing children
2) Giving birth at a low age
3) Giving birth to a larger number of children
4) Breastfeeding.

Interesting. I guess God meant what he said when He said, "Be fruitful and multiply." Isn't it interesting that He seems to have set it up so that things are actually better for the health of a woman if she has children (i.e. if she does what He said to do)? Apparently God isn't worried about overpopulation. God set up a natural order for things, and told us what to do yet we in our "cleverness" and "wisdom" think that we know better. In the end we only make it worse.

Building A Website

I have spent all day on the computer. I am in the process of trying to build a website for a business venture that I am working on, and I am finding it to be a bit more challenging than working on the blog. I am learning a lot, but it is slow going.

More than once today I have wanted to throw up my hands and figure out a way to pay someone to do it for me. However, just a little while ago I managed to put some things together that started to look respectable. Granted, I am going to have to figure out how to change the page size to finish making it look the way I want. Oh well, another adventure awaits tomorrow.

In the midst of my frustration this afternoon I decided to Google "cool websites" and spent the rest of the afternoon going through Time's top 50 of a couple years ago. At the very least I saw that you don't have to have a visually impressive website to make the top 50. What I am going for is "user-friendly meets visually-appealing and hooks up with bandwidth-lite."

I am becoming more and more convinced that there really isn't any extremely user-friendly software out there. None of the software that I have been using in the development of this website has been intuitive at all. I have had to resort to reading the help menu to even be able to begin. I guess we can thank Microsoft for that . They have managed to get away with releasing crappy software with more bugs than a New Orleans crack house for so long that more and more companies are wondering why they are spending money on QA. As an out-of-work QA guy, I'm trying to not be bitter about it.

And speaking of the help menus... it is as if they were written by Nepalese kindergarteners and run through an internet translator. The subject-verb agreement is atrocious, the grammar is bizarre, and the spelling often doesn't even approach reality. Seriously, you'd think that someone would actually read back through it before they put it out there for public consumption. I guess they figure that no one reads the things anyway. But as clunky as the programs are you have to read the helps just to make it go!

Hopefully, we'll make better progress tomorrow. Time will tell.

This Kind Of Stupidity Is Why Public Schools Are Failing

If I had children I doubt that I would allow them to go to public school. Stories of THIS kind of stupidity abound.

A 13-year-old junior high school student was given two days of detention after school officials spotted her hugging friends after school last Friday.

Megan Coulter, an eighth-grade student at Mascoutah Middle School, was hugging her friends goodbye after school Friday when vice principal, Randy Blakely, saw her and told her she would receive two after-school detentions.

Blakely had previously warned Coulter that she was in violation of the school's policy on public displays of affection after she was seen hugging a student at a football game.

The school's policy says that “displays of affection should not occur on the campus at any time.”

If the child were tonsil-tickling another student in some passionate embrace it would be one thing, but this is stupid. God help us if this vice principal were ever deputized and allowed to carry a gun! He'd make Barney Fife look like a model of levelheadedness.

How do boobs like this get in these positions? Perhaps it has something to do with the idea that a baseball player can make $8 million a year (or more) but we are straining to pay starting teachers even $30k a year. Our priorities are in the wrong place, and there is little to attract our most qualified people to these jobs. That is not to say that there aren't some wonderful administrators and teachers out there, but sadly, they are becoming fewer and fewer.

There's Something You Don't See Every Day

That picture is so bizarre that it is hard to believe that it is or could be true.

According to THIS article Sgt. Dan Powers of the US Army was stabbed in the head with a 9-inch knife and lived to tell about it:

It takes a few moments to notice the dent in Sgt. Dan Powers' head, a place where he was stabbed with a nine-inch blade while patrolling the streets of the Iraqi capital.

During his dozen years in the Army, Powers has witnessed a lot. But what happened to him this summer is nothing short of miraculous.

On July 2, Powers, a squad leader in the 118th Military Police Company out of Fort Bragg, and his unit were called to investigate a report of a late afternoon explosion in a Baghdad neighborhood. For the unit, it wasn't anything they hadn't seen before. They were on their second tour of duty in Iraq to train Iraqi police officers.

The explosion was minor and Powers walked away from the area to deal with the crowd that had gathered.

It was then that Powers felt something hit his head.

"I wondered briefly if I had been shot," he says.

In reality, Powers had been stabbed in the head. And the nine-inch knife was still stuck into the right side of his cranium....

"I was bleeding," said Powers, "but not in any kind of pain."

... "Everybody in the room thought I wasn't going to make it," Powers said.

Thousands of miles away in Washington, D.C., Lt. Col. Dr. Rocco Armonda, was pulled over on the side of the highway.

An Army vascular neurosurgeon, Armonda was looking at images on his laptop in real time, as the surgery was happening. His advice to the team in Iraq: close the sergeant up and get him to the National Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, immediately.

The non-stop flight from Iraq to the United States took 13 hours.

Once at Bethesda, Powers was rushed into surgery.

The neurosurgical team coiled the carotid artery and performed cranioplasty on Powers' skull. For four days, Powers was in a drug-induced coma. Doctors feared he would wake up with brain damage or blind.

Remarkably, he only had problems with his balance.

Powers spent a month at Bethesda. During that time, he testified via videoconference in the trial of the man who stabbed him.

The Army sergeant is now home in North Carolina. Powers says he still gets pretty bad headaches, but that a couple of aspirin makes them go away. Doctors will perform another surgery in January.

...Powers hopes to rejoin his unit as a squad leader in the spring.

Sounds to me like that Sergeant had some angels looking out for him. It would seem that God likes Sergeant Powers. If he isn't a Christian, I hope he comes to know the Lord soon!