Top Anti-USA Terrorist captured

KISS and no makeup for soldiers

I have never been a big KISS fan and even less of a fan of frontman Gene Simmons but I have a new respect for him as he has a new respect for our troops. Some people may say he would only do it when the cameras are rolling but there is no denying he was different when he left than we he went in. Watch the video here...

My hero

I often hear people lament the lack of heroes in our world today and I understand their concern. Where did all the heroes go? In what era did they live and what did they do to deserve being labeled heroes? The dictionary defines a hero as a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. That definition certainly minimizes the impact of so-called "sports heroes", does it not? Maybe we call them heroes because we, as a society, are in desperate need of having someone to idolize. We realize the importance of someone showing us how to be better than average; better than we are naturally inclined to be.

I submit that we still have heroes today and they are all around us as well as many miles away. They will tell you that they are just doing their job or just following orders. They rarely go into detail about the things that have done or are doing that deserves them the label 'hero". They quietly show courage and nobility of purpose, risking and sacrificing their lives even today and from hundreds of years past. If anybody has ever deserved to be called a hero it is the American soldier. Who better to be idolized and emulated than our nation's fighting men and women, fighting around the world so we do not have to, either here or there. No matter what one's political views or ideas, one has to appreciate the courage and sacrifice that they show every day from door-to-door combat in Iraq to pushing a pencil in North Carolina or cooking meals in Japan. These heroes sacrifice more in a day than most us do in years and I and many others are very grateful.

I have several friends and family members that have served in the military, many volunteering very young and serving bravely in World War II, but one of my favorites is my good friend and hero Bud Elkins. Bud and his precious wife Dorothy go to my church and it is one of the highlights of a Sunday to see and talk to Bud. Bud was one who joined the military very early in life. He says he was just wanting to see the country and get out of his small Pennsylvania town but I recognize in him the natural patriotism that motivated many just like him to allow themselves to be taken to a foreign country away from friends and family to protect those friends and family when they were able to do so. Bud was sent to North Africa to serve on a B-24 Liberator airplane. He has told me stories of being very scared in the middle of heavy enemy artillery seeing planes and friends being blown out of the sky right next to him, wondering when would be his time, but while scared, continuing to do his job and doing it well. No brag - just fact. Just doing his job, he says.

I talked to Bud this morning, this Memorial Day morning. I called him and told him that I appreciated him and what he did many years ago in uniform and for the bravery that he still shows today as an elderly man with lots of aches and pains that he rarely mentions. We were both moved as he quickly shared some war memories that made me even more grateful for his service and for the fact that he is with us today. Bud has told me several times that he is no hero and he gets embarrassed when that honor is given to him but to me that is just more proof that Bud is a hero. He is my hero and I will forever be indebted to him. Thank you Bud!

You asked, Homer...

Question: http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/?id=bst&media=WAVS&type=TV_Shows&movie=Simpsons"e=anykey.txt&file=anykey.wav

Answer:
http://www29.compaq.com/falco/detail.asp?FAQnum=FAQ2859

Happy birthday to The Duke

"Courage is being scared to death — but saddling up anyway."

— John Wayne

John Wayne would have been 100 years old today.

John Bernard Books (The Shootist):
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them."

Capt. Rockwell Torrey (In Harm's Way):
"All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be some place else."

Colonel Madden (Back to Bataan):
"This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for."

John T. Chance (Rio Bravo):
"Sorry don't get it done, Dude."

My ex-girlfriend

I've never been very good with the ladies. I don't know how I married my beautiful wife. This is a picture of me with my first girlfriend. We broke up because I couldn't afford to take her out to eat.

Question

If Mexicans will do the jobs Americans won't do, will they secure our borders?

Mama

I've been thinking alot about my mother lately. Mother's Day has come and gone and I never wrote here anything really about her. I make no claims about being any kind of writer but I enjoy expressing my opinions here and would love to write a long, beautiful tribute to my Mother that would really express my feelings for her. How do you do that? How do you put into writing what she has done for me and now my own family for so long? Do I love her? Of course. Do I appreciate her? I'm sure I do but I know I take a lot of things for granted. Is she perfect? Mmm, I'm sure she's not but she's doing better than most. My Mom is very gentle, generous, Godly, and caring. She's also the best listener and cook I have ever met. I'm glad when my kids get to be around her. I also wish you could meet her. I wish I had the words to express it all. Thank you, Mama, for all you have done.

Small amount of controversy won't kill us...

The question is: Can you be a Christian and be a Democrat?

Your response now please...

I appreciate this guy...

As one who feels passionately about the war and as a guy who cries way too easily, I appreciate Democratic Representative John Boehner for saying what he means with passion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSF4O8BYq4s

Are humans good or bad?

I received this response to my "Easing back into it" blog:

Read the first few chapters of Romans and then tell me that humans are basically good.

There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one.
Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.
The poison of vipers is on their lips.
Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Wow, I was not expecting this response at all, especially since these were my exact words,

"I still have faith in people in general and believe that there is good in everyone and I try to look for that good instead of always focusing on the negative."

To begin with, I never said I thought humans were basically good but what is interesting is that I do think humans are good even though that had nothing to do with my point in the original blog. Confused yet? You probably will be soon because to carry this out further, I believe this response was not only an incorrect reading of my blog but also an incorrect reading of the Bible. This passage from Romans 3:9-18 is taken in part from another passage in Psalms and should, like all passages, be taken in context. Without context, many passages can be used to justify almost anything.

I am far from being a Biblical or theological expert and I am not well-educated and I am not even very smart but I am a thinker and as I read this passage and the verses directly after it, I think that this speaks to God's incredible grace more than to our unworthiness of it. In fact, if one reads the two verses immediately following you see that only under the law are we considered to be evil and since we as Jesus-followers are not under the law but as the author Paul says so many times not just in this book but practically all of his other books included in the Bible, like this from Ephesians 2:8 and 9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

We are not under the law but under grace because Jesus died on the cross to pay the price it took to satisfy the cost of our sin. But because we all have that sin nature with which we are born and is a part of us as much as our own personalities in and of ourselves we are evil and that passage from verses nine to eighteen applies to everyone of us. So, in a nutshell, we are not righteous but are saved because of God's love for us anyway.

Now, back to the original blog. I never said anything about righteousness. Please understand the difference between my off-hand comment about there being good in everyone and about humans being righteous. I do believe that there is good in everyone and even though it was not my point, I also believe in a very general way, not Biblically or theologically necessarily, that people are good. Again, I may not be smart but I can see and what I see so many times is people reaching out to people. I see it in my church (you would hope you would see it there) but I also see it in on the news. Believe it or not I see people being good to other people on the news! Sorry, mainstream news stations but in spite of your negative reporting I saw people after 9/11 waiting in line to give blood. After the recent Virginia Tech massacre people from all over the world sent condolences and more to the families of the victims. It does not take a crisis of this nature to bring out the goodness in people either. What about all the people who volunteer in nursing homes or dog pounds or bring presents to orphans? The list is thankfully long of all the good things people do everyday and as I tend to be cynical sometimes I hope we all never forget it and continue to do our part.

Not gonna work...

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to drive back through the little town in which I grew up. I drove past our old house, the church, and even my old kindergarten. I pulled into the parking lot of what is now an abandoned school and had memories come flooding back. The memory that made me laugh out loud was thinking about playing chase with the other kids in my class. I only played it one time as I remember. I decided to join in and chase the girls like the other boys were doing. It looked pretty easy. They did not run very fast and spent more energy giggling than running. I remember running and catching some girl right off and quickly formulated a plan in my little brain to become king of the playground. I would just catch the girls and put them all in one spot until all of them were captured and it would be obvious that I was the best chase-player. So, I led the first girl to the nearest tree and put her back against it and sternly told her to stay right there. This was going to be easy! I started off to get the next girl and as soon as I did the first girl just ran off giggling. She did not follow the rules even for a second! It finally dawned on me that none of the girls would follow the rules and this stupid game of chase was just anarchy! What was the point? I walked off the playground in disgust.

Yesterday Congress, Republicans and Democrats both, came together to put together a so-called comprehensive immigration plan. I have not read the document and at approximately six-hundred pages, the document will not be read by me or most other people that do not absolutely have to. Given the track record of previous immigration reform attempts, though, I do not have my hopes up about this one stopping the hemorrhaging into our country of illegal aliens. Supposedly, this would tighten our borders and put restrictions on who comes into our country and imposing fines and penalties on those already here. I am not an expert on this by any means but I do have eyes and I can see that our government has not enforced the laws that we already have on the books and the illegal aliens have no motivation for following the rules. Our borders have become a big playground with the giggling coming from the millions that run away from the law and cross into the United States. How much longer can we expect not to have anarchy?

For Mothers Day

With Mothers Day coming up in just a few days, I am reminded of some words sung by the great balladist Jerry Jeff Walker who penned these lyrics years ago to pay homage to his mother.

Well,
M is for the mudflaps you give me for my pickup truck
O is for the Oil I put on my hair
T is for T-bird
H is for Haggard
E is for eggs, and
R is for REDNECK

Sniffle, sniffle...thinkin' of you Mama.

Mrs. Overman, is that you?!

This comment is in response to my "Mayday" blog:

Waive or wave? Do not confuse the spelling of waive and wave, which sound similar. Waive is a verb meaning "surrender or refrain from enforcing something": She waived her right to remain silent. They decided to waive the restrictions. The related noun is spelled waiver. Wave is a noun and verb with various meanings, usually involving ridge-shaped or undulating motion, as in the waves of the ocean, radio waves, waved goodbye. The noun waver is unrelated to wave: it corresponds to the verb waver meaning "go back and forth between possibilities."
-- MSN Dictionary

This comment is from someone who says they are Your English Teacher. I assume this person must be Ida Overman from high school and it is so good to hear from her! I always liked Mrs. Overman! She was so sweet and she really tried to help me truly learn, not just pass tests. Mrs. Overman was very gentle and sweet-spirited and so I have to wonder if this is truly her making a comment on my blog. I think, though, that it must be someone else because not only did Mrs. Overman correct me lovingly but she also knew to write in complete sentences. So, Your English Teacher, I am glad you are there to keep me honest with my spelling. If you read more you will probably be very bizzy.

Shameful

Evidently, some of the protests yesterday got out of hand and several people were hurt. What a shame that the police did not take that time to arrest them.

Mayday

Mayday: international distress signal used by ships and aircraft. How appropriate that illegal aliens would use this day May 1st, Mayday as they call it, to protest and demonstrate. All over the United States today thousands have gathered to march and waive banners and to waive flags of the United States and other countrys as well hoping to gain support for being illegal. How much longer before our great country is forced to scream, "Mayday, mayday!" in distress when people who have committed a crime are able to assemble and demand their rights? Am I missing something? Am I being insensitive? Look at it this way. What if next month all the baby-rapers marched in the street demanding their rights? Then next month the bank robbers waived their flags and said they wanted "justice". Too harsh of an analogy? Insert any criminal activity in the place of "baby-raper" and it is the same. Criminals forfeit their rights when they become criminals and crossing the United States border without showing proper identification is a crime.

Easing back into it

( OK, Todd, you can do this. Take a deep breath...) Been a while since I last posted anything. (Come on, big boy, you can do it.) I have been pretty busy lately, ah! that's not the truth!! (Easy, easy!) Actually, I have been busy but that is not the only reason for not writing anything for so long. Please bear with me as I try to get through this as I have alot running through my mind right now and writing without it all spilling out on to your monitor is difficult. (That a boy! One paragraph down, you can do it, I know you can!)

My wife told me I write too much about things that I don't like; things that are bad or that I think are stupid like the show "24" whose ratings are DOWN this season!! HAHAHA Jack Bauer, take th(OK, settle, settle down, deep breath...) So, anyhow, I want to tell you about some good things that have been going on in my world and my goal is to not to dwell on the craziness that I see all around me. To tell you the truth, I wonder sometimes if it is not me that has gone crazy. My therapist says "crazy" is not the right word for it but WHAT DOES SHE KNOW? ALL SHE DOES IS SAY "HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?" I COULD DO HER JOB AND SAVE ALOT OF (ok, Todd, calm down, breathe, find your happy place.) Sorry. A couple of anger management two-day follow-ups and I'll be right as rain. (Smile, breathe.)

I took a little time off from work lately. My therapist was probably right about my need for that. Something about my co-workers appreciating it. I took my motorcycle for a nine-day southern state tour partly to see my sister and her family in Georgia and partly to silence the voices in my, well, nevermind, I wanted to see some new country. And I saw some gorgeous country, too! And when I have to find my happy place, it could very well be Deal's Gap, North Carolina next to the little brook in the mountains. That is, before it stormed and the tree nearly fell on me in my tent. I survived (but didn't sleep that night) and had some great adventures that I will never forget. My Dad called me an idiot for going. Yes, my own flesh and blood father. But he also told me to make sure I kept gas in the motorcycle so the "idiot" thing sluffed off pretty easily. (Now you're in the flow, kid, keep going, breathe.) Hang on, it makes me wonder about people calling other people names. (Don't go there! Go back to Deal's Gap!) No, of course it's wrong but what's the big deal? People have called other people names since at least Noah's day and only recently have people been so "sensitive" about it. When someone calls someone else a derogatory name or describes them unfairly that says alot about that person saying it. Don Imus is a bitter old man who used his microphone to disparage everybody and my point is: Who cares what he says or even what he thinks? Who is he to cast judgement on anybody? He's the idiot! So quit worrying your nappy heads about what other people that do not even know you say about you or yours! Should everybody that says something unflattering about another person be fired?! THEN GET TO FIRING THE POLITICIANS AND ALL THE KIDS ON THE PLAYGROUND AND SHOOT ROSIE O'DONNELL IN THE BIG, FAT HE--oh, my brain hurts! (take a break, lay down.)

Believe it or not, the list of people I do no like is not a very long one. I still have faith in people in general and believe that there is good in everyone and I try to look for that good instead of always focusing on the negative. I am a very "glass is half full" kind of guy even in these days when just watching the news can be hazardous to your health. I like nothing better to hear about talented and courageous cops, soldiers and teachers who do their job everyday for little pay and everyday are part of at least minor miracles. The problem seems to be that there is not enough time on stations like CNN to run all the news like that. You know, because we need to hear for two straight months about the death, albeit tragic, of a no-talent, physically over-enhanced, blond "bombshell" and, you know, we need to see 24/7 news showing our political leaders demoralizing our troops in Iraq and, sure, we need to spend every spare second FORCE-FEEDING OURSELVES ON THE COTTON CANDY ISSUE OF GLOB (Oh, no, not yet, please stop!) ....... What are we thinking? What kind of garbage are we allowing into our houses and into our minds? Tell you what. You say you care about our kids. You say you support our troops. Turn off the television news and prove it!

I admit I may have some anger issues but I promise that most of the time I am a very laid-back, fun-loving guy who my wife thinks does not worry about much of anything. Most of the time she is right. I find worrying doesn't seem to help much but I do have issues about which I am concerned. I have faith in sovereign God that He will protect me and that nothing will happen to me or my family that He does not allow. I cannot explain how God chooses to work and to tell the truth, that should make us all feel good! If I was able to explain God, He would not be much of a God. I do know, though, that God does not want us to be doormats and patsies lazily sitting on the couch waiting for the world to collapse. Some righteous anger placed in precise places can be as wonderfully effective as dynamite to blow away the complacency of a distracted life. I also realize that because I am human my anger is not always 100% righteous. (OK, sorry Rosie.)

I have realized that with age comes shifting, not dying, passions and with that shift I no longer care as much about how my hair looks (although I did not really have a choice) and I care more about the future. My future, the future of my wife and kids and the future of my country all weigh on my simple brain. I see all of us making poor choices and focusing on things that do not matter and I have to wonder how much longer this country will be the world leader that it is today. How much longer will the world have any respect left for us as a country? God's Word tells us that there are benefits of obedience and consequences of disobedience for us as individuals but also for our country and my concern is the speed at which our love for ourselves is overtaking our basic goodness. It is starting to make me mad and the problem is, I have to be mad at myself just as much as anybody else! (Hey, maybe I'm making some progress here! The first step is admitting you have a problem...) Hopefully, though, I am getting better all the time and I know I am feeling better just writing about it! In fact, maybe I can write about "it" now. (Oh, please be careful!!)

Here goes. (Easy...breathe...easy) I could get very frustrated with "it". (Take it slow...) "It" is the leading cause of my therapist driving a Jaguar. "It " is probably going to make me shoot blood out of my eyes if I hear anymore about it!! (Go to the happy place for a minute...) "It" is...I hate to even say it...I'll spell it. G-l-o-b-a-l W-a-r-m-i-n-g. AAUGGH!! Am I the only sane person in the world or am I the only crazy person who thinks global warming is a scam and a lie?? Let's just talk about the earth getting warmer. OF COURSE IT IS, AL GORE, YOU INCONVENIENT IDIOT, THE EARTH HAS ALWAYS WARMED AND COOLED IN CYCLES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME!!! (Aaahh!! What does an aneurism feel like?) Look, I am no scientist, but I am a thinker and I think it is great to want to save energy and protect the planet but you are not going to save the world by installing different light bulbs and driving a Prius when there are 1.37 billion people in China alone who couldn't care less! Sure, do your part but shut up already about things that you do not know about! (Oh, gee, I think I just pulled a muscle. I could be out again for a while!)

Jihad for Jesus!

By now you surely have heard the blasphemy. Titanic director James Cameron has produced a documentary that he says will rock the foundation of Christianity. You can read the whole article here about how he has supposedly found the coffin of Jesus Christ. I want all the world to know that this pack of lies will not go unpunished. This is a direct insult to Christians the world over by saying that, in essence, Jesus was not resurrected. This is easily refuted in Don Dodson's excellent blog that you can read at this link but the insult remains! I, for one, will not tolerate this disrespect and now call on all good Christians to stand up and protest! I will not go to work tomorrow so I can join the outcry in the streets of our towns and villages calling on the immediate death of James Cameron! In fact, I will not rest until the whole Cameron family has been removed from this living world! James Cameron! Kirk Cameron! Cameron Diaz! Cameron University! Death to them all! Join me in the streets tomorrow as we burn them in effigy! Give me a few minutes to go to the effigy store and I will lead the crusade jumping up and down chanting a phrase that doesn't make any sense! We will not be dissed!!

Finally...

It is so refreshing to see Britney Spears making some wise choices finally. Obviously, only one day in rehab was all she needed to start turning her life around beginning with adopting my own sensible haircut!

I'm in it to win it!

One of the greatest things that we as Americans have today is the freedom to make our voices heard, the freedom to stand up and be counted with the scores of American men, women and children who have sacrificed so that our vote and our voice will not fall on deaf ears. That very ideal is the defining quality that sets our country apart from every other country on the planet and is why I feel honored to live here and humbled to make this announcement today. I would have you to know in your heart of hearts that I do not take for granted the rights and liberties that come with citizenship in the United States nor the responsibility that comes with it. That is why today I feel it is my resposibility as a citizen and a patriot that has heard your voice to announce my candidacy for President of the United States!

I do not make this decision lightly. After organizing a small exploratory committee and giving them both a dog bone, Bo and Sara both agree that I am the best person to lead this country on a new, unleashed journey to transform this nation in a new generation. I understand the need for an Independant Republican candidate to be able to espouse the views and issues that concern mainstream America in a simple and easy to understand manner or fiord. I hope to make a more hopeful America, one that hopes against hope for the hope that Americans have hoped for for thousands of years and I hope to be the man who brings that hope back to hopeful Americans. I appreciate your support and I look forward to going back to our roots as I address the major issues that have come before us and have backed this great nation down from it's height as a forward-looking super-power.

The two biggest issues that I will face as President will, in my opinion, be the war on terror and illegal immigration. I have a plenary plan to place at the plantarie of placating people all over the planet that will solve both perplexities. For years, we as Americans have tried to put a band-aid on the broken leg of illegal immigration by trying to physically stop people from crossing the border when what they need is the mental and financial persuasion to make them stay where they are. Mexico is the fourth richest country in the world with export amounts of oil second only to Middle-Eastern countries and produce export amounts behind only the United States. The problem is and always has been governmental corruption that steals the resources and motivation from its citizens by taxes and tariffs that line the pockets of government officials and especially President Vicente Fox. Mexico's underfunded, unmotivated army is in shambles and would be no more than a speedbump to the Army of the United States which has always been the policeman for the world community. The win-win situation would be to merge the two countries with control resting with the United States government. This would completely and finally solve the immigration problem. With the increase in revenue and decrease in liabilities this would free up billions of dollars that could be used for a massive troop surge into the Middle East. In fact, since nothing ever newsworthy ever comes out of Canada we could secede them as well and as the new United States of Amexada we could become the kings of the world like we are entitled to become.

As President, there are other vital issues to address such as the pandemic of Bird Flu and Mad Cow Disease. Never again will these diseases kill another American! And since no American has yet been killed by either of these horrible diseases that just shows that my plan is working and will continue to work with your help. This will be a long, difficult battle and Americans need to ready themselves for tough times in the days ahead but I have faith in the American people as overcomers.

Global warming is not just an American problem but as the name suggests is a global problem and as such will require a global effort to reverse. Our world has never seen a potential disaster of this magnitude and, if elected, I have a plan to deal with it. All scientists agree that the earth is getting warmer. In fact, in the past one hundred years the temperature has increased seven-tenths of one degree and at this rate my great, great, great, great children will have to leave their air conditioners on longer and that is a price I am not willing to leave for future generations to pay. We have all seen the pictures of the polar bears trapped on the melting icebergs. How many more polar bears have to float off before we decide to make some changes?! My administration will be the administration of change and we look forward to tackling global warming by taking the extremes of nature and using them for our benefit. My committe has released its findings on this and what became obvious is that global warming is significantly reduced in winter and significantly higher in the summer months. It also shows that the warming is more pronounced in the southern regions as opposed to northern where it stays colder a lot longer. My plan will be to take the massive ice and snow build-ups in the far north and spread it out over the southern parts of the country creating a cooling effect to counterbalance the effects of global warming. This is also my employment plan as it will require massive amounts of manpower that will obviously benefit the unemployed by giving even unskilled workers jobs.

Many of you have asked about my plan for health care and I am excited to now reveal it on this exciting web site. All Americans, regardless of age, income or nationality, deserve quality health care at an affordable price and with my plan we can all have it and not just affordably but completely free. There are even two options from which to choose. Option number one is to be included in a totally free health plan that the only time you have to pay any money is after you see the doctor of your choice you would pay a tax of equal to or no less than 100% of the bill the doctor issues. This is an exciting new way of providing health care to the less fortuunate by assuring that only those with the need to see a doctor are actually paying the taxes. You only pay for what you use. My second option is what I like to call the Blair-Witch plan. You can choose to opt out of the medical tax all together if you see a certified witch doctor as witch doctors usually only take payment in farm animals or blood. So obviously either choice will save Americans money in the long run and that is one of my main platforms on which I am running this race.

This is a very exciting time for me and my family as I press toward my lifelong goal of becoming the leader of the greatest and most powerful nation on the planet but I cannot do it without you. I have many more ideas that I am anxious to share but I need your help. I know that it will take resources (money) and commitment (future money) from all of us but I am hoping that most of it comes from the citizens of these United States who I hope to represent. I pray that you will join me in my fight to further liberty and that you will stand beside me as we shout with one voice the slogan of this campaign, "Todd! He makes as much sense as anybody else"! I am excited about this slogan as it is considerably better than the Democrats slogan which is "Hey, I'm not Bush"!