Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone has a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. I hope you get to spend time with family and friends. Even in difficult times such as these there are reasons to be thankful. One such reason for me is all of the terrific people I have met through blogging. I appreciate everyone who visits my site and puts up with my ranting and raving. Enjoy the day and BE SAFE!

Looking For God? Try The Gym!

This is not just the same old story about  a school deciding to appease a few children (or, more likely, the childrens' parents), who do not believe in God, by banning the Pledge of Allegiance.   In most of the disputes about reciting this traditional oath the schools allow children who do not wish to participate in the recital to stand silently, in order not to offend their belief that God does not exist and, therefore, they should not be forced to profess allegiance to "One Nation Under God".   However, in this story the school (in Vermont, of course) decided to take a bold step across the line of discrimination and common sense.

School officials, in their infinite wisdom, not only banned the recital of the Pledge in classrooms they decided that any students who still wished to recite the Pledge before class would have to go up to a second floor gym to do so, where they could not be heard by those students who do not believe in God.  This act of stupidity is so egregious, in my opinion, that the school officials were either purposely trying to alienate and mock those students who believe in God, or they were seeking their fifteen minutes of fame, knowing the act would stir up controversy across the country.  

The biggest issue I have with it is that they would never consider sending the non-believing students up to the gym while the rest of the students recited the pledge.  There would be so many law suits filed against the school for discrimination if that happened, but they apparently thought nothing of alienating the Christian children.  And this is exactly what is happening across the country.  It is perfectly alright to discriminate against Christians but you don't dare discriminate against any other faith or non-believers.  The hypocrisy is so thick you can cut it with a knife.  And, unless I am mistaken, this country is still made up of more than three-quarters Christians.  That is roughly 250 million Christians.  

Of course, I realize that people will say that this is not a discriminatory issue, that it is a separation of Church and State issue.  I say baloney!  The school officials made that fact perfectly clear with their incredibly insensitive actions.  And, if it was not an attempt on their part to mock the Christian students, lets see them turn the tables and send the non-believers to the gym while the rest of the students recite the Pledge in the classroom (where it has been done for 116 years).  I bet you'll never see that happen.

An Angel Forced To Make A "Devilish" Decision!

UPDATE: Hear Hannah explain in her own words why she made her decision.





I know this is not a typical post for me, but after I saw this story I was so moved by it that I wanted to get others' views on it.  Some of you probably have seen this story, but for those who have not it involves a thirteen year old Herefordshire, England girl who has just won the right to refuse a potential life-saving heart transplant surgery.  Hannah Jones was diagnosed at age five with a rare form of leukemia, and has undergone numerous procedures and operations, including being given three doses of a high-strength drug designed to kill off an infection.  The problem with the drug, however, was that it also caused a hole to form in her heart, causing her to need the heart transplant.

Citing the fact that she has been through "too much trauma", Hannah refused to have the operation.  "I just decided there were too many risks and even if I took it there might be a bad outcome afterwards.  I have been in hospital too much", she said.   I think many people, upon reading this, will immediately conclude that, at thirteen, Hannah is too young too make such a decision about her life.  Probably, for many thirteen year-olds, this is true; however, I am not so certain about Hannah.  That's where the dilemma begins for me.  I have always felt that people should have more control of their own lives and when to end their lives (under certain conditions), religious implications not-withstanding.

I am not implying that people should be given the right to "check out" of life anytime they feel like it, just because they are going through tough times.  However, think about what we put our terminally ill and elderly citizens through.  Medical science has progressed to the point where we can keep a "body" alive for an indeterminate amount of time, even if the life within that body has ceased to exist.  And in more and more cases, especially with terminally ill patients, the amount of suffering they are being forced to undergo is increasing because we can hook them up to machines to keep them alive, seemingly giving little regard to the fact that often they are in great pain.  Is this the most humane way to treat our loved ones?  We would never think of putting our pets through this kind of misery, we would immediately take them to the vet to be euthanized in order to "put them out of their misery".  But, with people, we have surpassed the point where our own common sense would normally dictate that we just let our loved ones pass.

It's true, Hannah's case is quite different because she is only thirteen and a heart transplant might significantly improve her quality of life, as well as dramatically improving the longevity of her life.  But it's not quite as simple as that.  First, a heart transplant operation involves great risk under the best of circumstances, but in Hannah's case the risk of complication is highly increased due to her state of health.  Second, there is the very real chance that, even if she survived the operation, her body might reject the organ and put her through many more procedures and time in the hospital, decreasing her quality of life even further than the leukemia has already ravaged her.  Hannah stated, "I have had too much trauma.  I didn't want this [heart transplant] and it's my choice not to have it. I have made the right decision at the moment and I am not going to change it." She added, "There's a chance I may be well and there's a chance I may not be as well as I could be.  That's a chance I'm willing to take."  She also said that she wants to die with dignity, surrounded by her family and friends.

I should say that Hannah's parents discussed her choices with her at length, making sure she understood the decision she was making.  And, knowing not only how much suffering she has gone through throughout most of her life, and weighing the possible scenarios of a heart transplant, both good and bad, they decided to leave the ultimate decision in Hannah's hands.  Then, after an attempt by her hospital to force Hannah to have the operation, the court stepped in and ruled in her favor, deciding she was mature enough to decide her own fate for herself.

I believe, after hearing the whole story, that Hannah does, indeed, appear to be mature enough to make this decision on her own.  That doesn't mean, as her parent, I wouldn't try everything in my power to convince her to give the operation a try, but I think I would ultimately give her the final decision, because anyone who has gone through that amount of suffering for eight or nine of her thirteen years has earned the right to decide their own fate.  I would just do everything I could to make her final days as happy and fulfilling as possible, given her condition, and make sure she knows how much she is loved and will be missed.

Do you have an opinion on this story?  Should someone as young as Hannah be given the right to decide their own fate if they show the maturity level needed to make such a decision?  Do you think it is taboo to allow anyone, under any circumstances, to decide when and how they will leave this life?  Do you know anyone who has faced a similar scenario?  How much power should the government have in determining this issue?  I would really love to hear from you.

"Every time I think I'm out...

...they pull me back in!"

I'm sorry, but I just can't hold it in any longer.  I tried telling myself the election is over, just let things take shape and see what happens.  After all, there is always the possibility (however small) that I could be wrong about the man and his vision for America.  No, I don't actually believe that but I am trying my hardest to be fair; after all, it's not like I'm hoping he'll run this country into the ground just to make my point.  The problem is that it doesn't matter if I (and others like me) are being fair; the fact that his own party is not being fair to him does matter.  A lot!

I have already heard Democrats compare Obama to both former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.  Seriously!  I mean, that's not just jumping the gun, that's falling over dead before the trigger is pulled.  How in the hell can anyone in his or her right mind compare a man who is still two and a half months away from spending his first day in office to two of the most respected Presidents in this country's history?  On what basis does he deserve this unprecedented honor?  Did he cure cancer overnight and I just missed it in the morning paper?  Did he solve the Middle East peace crisis and I slept through the news reports?  Oh wait, please tell me he discovered the world's next alternative fuel and told OPEC we no longer need their over-priced, atmosphere-destroying oil.  No?  Not even a new, more fair NAFTA agreement?  Wow, nothing?  Hmm.

And, if that isn't pressure enough, today I ran across a story about a civil rights group in Kansas that is already campaigning to have November 4th designated a national holiday to commemorate Obama becoming the first African American President of the United States.  Well, that argument might hold some weight on it's own, but that incredible honor just wouldn't be good enough for Obamaniacs, would it?  Here is what Lamont Lassiter, host of the group's meetings, had to say about their efforts to have the event memorialized, "We want to try to honor Barack Obama becoming the first African-American president of the United States, and not only that, but also what he's trying to accomplish."  He went on to say that we should celebrate Obama's goals for the country, namely "socialized insurance like Canada and France, he's trying to have all Americans have insurance, he's going to focus on the economy and he's trying to pull our troops out of the war."

In other words, these people feel that just the fact that Obama has stated that these are things he would like to do as President (regardless of whether he'll actually do them or not, or even if it is actually good for our country) is good enough to have a national holiday in his honor.  Wow!  And what is it that they say about good intentions?  The road to hell is paved with them!  Folks, this goes way beyond disturbing; I would say this borders on blind devotion.  Blind, because they have literally nothing to base this level of trust and expectation on.  Obama simply has no past record of accomplishment or leadership for them to fairly conclude that he is worthy of such lofty expectations.  And aren't they just setting him up for certain failure?  Some of the claims they are making on his behalf are completely unrealistic, if not inhuman.  He cannot possibly live up to the high standards they have set for him, which leaves only one reasonable outcome - they will conclude in the end that he has let them down when, in fact, it is his own party which has let him down.  

They won't even let the man take the oath of office before they have him annointed "The One".  Sean Penn, nut-job that he is, actually said that this is the first President in his lifetime that he could actually call "his" President.  I guess he wasn't as enamored with King Clinton as he let on, was he?  But he thinks Chavez is a great President, so what does that tell you?  

It almost makes me want to wish Obama good luck.  Almost.   

Happy Veterans Day!!

I would like to extend my most sincere THANK YOU! to all veterans on this day that we set aside to honor their incredible sacrifices. Let us never forget what they have done for this country. God bless you all!!!

Introducing "Inside Government"

I would like to introduce you all to a brand new site, entitled "Inside Government". It is a collaborative effort of bloggers whose purpose is to explain the inner workings of our government in political, legislative and judicial terms. After this election season, one of the most contentious and divisive on record, it became apparent that there is a significant need for better understanding by the general public of how our system of government works.

Many claims and accusations were made by both candidates that stretched the boundaries of truth (nearly to the bursting point, in some instances), and many assumptions were made by the public that were directly linked to a lack of understanding of what a candidate can or cannot do upon taking office as President or Vice-President. Therefore, through the hard work and dedication of Matt Urdan of Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta., Inside Government was formed, in an effort to become the primary source for anyone wishing to become more involved in government and /or politics but who are just not sure where to begin.

Along with myself, Matt Urdan has enlisted the services of the following impressive group of contributors:

• Bob O. of The Bobo Files


• Zee Harrison of Black Woman Thinks


• David Lamb of Killer Buffalo


• Jeff Hagen of Read Write React


• Ken Armstrong of Ken's Writing Stuff


• Josh Gillespie of Hoosier Access


• Mike Cavin (no blog)

We already have several informative posts relating both to what President-elect Obama will face as our new President, and to describing in layman's terms what many of the expressions, phrases and titles heard throughout the past election mean. Also, through better understanding of what the laws and regulations of our government mean and how they might affect each of us in our daily lives, we hope to empower more people to become involved in their local and federal governments, especially in deciding who is best equipped to represent them in public office.

The more knowledge we possess the more powerful we become!

We have already embedded EntreCard on the site, so please go check it out and bookmark it; and be one of the first to advertise on it, as well. Thank you in advance for your support. Check it out now here.

Absurd Files: Nudity, Leap of Faith & Other News

With the political races reaching a crescendo, there has been no shortage of absurd news to report. However, not all of the absurd news in this edition is political in nature. Some of it is sad, some of it is disturbing, and some of it is just ridiculous. But put them all together and you have a pretty good idea of how I came up with the name of this regular news feature. It's all just so absurd!

Nudists in Florida fight for right to vote naked. A nudist community in Land O' Lakes, Florida wants a clothing-optional polling place. Good grief, why? Are they afraid Acorn will try to "hide" their identities, and want to make sure no one votes more than once? To me there is no conceivable explanation why these people would insist on voting in the nude, unless they have some unique yet-to-be-announced method of voting that I really don't want to know about!

Apparently, there is no Florida law prohibiting them from voting au natural, but surely there is some act of human kindness law that the good people of Florida could invoke in order to prevent this em-bareass-ing display from occurring. Now, that's absurd!

Man leaps to his death, leaves note for Obama. A 52 year old El Paso, TX man, who leaped to his death from a freeway overpass into the traffic below, left a note in his near-by vehicle asking Barack Obama to help his family. The note, a one line type-written plea, did not specify what type of help he was seeking from Obama for his family, or give any indication why he decided to take his own life.

It is always tragic when events in one's life become such that a person sees ending his or her life as the only solution. It is not known in this case whether the man left a letter to his family in another location, and neither is it known if he prayed to his god for help or if he even believed in a god. It is not at all my intention to judge this man for his decision to take this drastic action; I believe that is between himself, his family and his god.

However, I find it frightening that, though no one can be certain of his state of mind at the time, he was another example of people who put their mis-guided faith in Barack Obama to answer all of their prayers and solve all of their problems. And in case you think I am being unfair to him, you need to know that he left two of the one-line notes to Obama in his vehicle- one on his dashboard and one in the rear window - for all the world to see. So why ask Obama for help for his family, instead of his god (if he was religious) or County Services, or friends and family?

I'm afraid it appears as if this man was among the throngs of people who have come to place completely unrealistic expectations on Obama, assuring that there will be an inevitable let-down of huge proportions once they realize (if, in fact, he wins the election) that he is not the answer to all their prayers. **note - to those of you who support Obama, this was not an insult to him - no man is capable of fulfilling all the unrealistic expectations people are placing on him.

15 year old girl robbed at gunpoint, waiting for bus. In a despicably desperate act of cowardice, an armed man in Tampa, Florida approached a 15 year old girl at a bus stop and robbed her at gunpoint. How miserable is your life if you have to resort to robbing the lunch money from a defenseless, teenage girl? At gunpoint!!! Couldn't he have just walked up to her and threatened to mess up her hair-do or something? She would gladly have given him the money. What a loser!

Report: Saddam Hussein reportedly stabbed 6 times after execution. So? Okay, I suppose it is absurd to treat a perfectly good knife that way!

Obama's aunt is illegal U.S. resident; campaign refunds donations. Barack Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango of Kenya, has been living illegally in a Boston public housing complex for four years, and Obama claims he knew nothing about it. Onyango was asked to leave the country four years ago when her request for asylum was denied. Obama wrote about his aunt in his memoir, referring to her as "Auntie Zeituni", but says the two have not kept in touch much over the years.

This claim is significant, of course, due to the fact that it is illegal for a candidate running for president of the United States to accept political donations from foreigners. The stakes would be very high for the Obama campaign if it could be proven that he did, in fact, know of his aunt's resident status and accepted donations from her anyway. Of course, the campaign has refunded the $260 dollars she donated. I hope they find a way to carry on without it!

Boy sent home from school for wearing Jesus Christ costume. Alex Woinski, an eighth-grader at West Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey, was sent home from school after he showed up wearing a white robe, red sash, sandals, a fake beard and a crown of thorns on Halloween. Alex has shoulder-length brown hair, which completed the look of his costume. After being told he could stay at school if he removed the fake beard and crown of thorns, Alex refused and was sent home - supposedly because the district doesn't want students wearing costumes that could be distracting. What, are you kidding me? It's Halloween, you idiots! Few Halloween costumes aren't distracting.

It wouldn't be that the fight to remove Jesus Christ completely from our schools has gotten so out of control that it is "offensive" even to wear a Jesus costume on the one day each year when it is supposed to be okay to dress up in all sorts of real, imaginary or fictitious costumes, would it? I suppose he should have donned a pair of extra-large ears, put dark make-up on his face and went as Obamassiah. Then, not only would he have been welcome to stay in school, he would have had lots of other kids at school adoring him and voting for him to be class president. Now, that is really absurd!