Mitt's the man!!!
Romney’s health plan is no sop to socialism.
By Edmund F. Haislmaier
Monday, January 30, 2006
Friday, January 27, 2006
My choice for President in 2008
This is the man that I want to see on the Republican ticket. This is the man I want to vote for.
Mr. Romney Goes To Washington.
With this man as the Republican nominee for president, it won't matter if Mrs. Bill Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it won't matter who their nominee is.
Romney in '08!!!!
Mr. Romney Goes To Washington.
With this man as the Republican nominee for president, it won't matter if Mrs. Bill Clinton is the Democratic nominee, it won't matter who their nominee is.
Romney in '08!!!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Libraries of Eternity
I once had a dream. I dreamt of a library. In this library were the works of all the greatest authors in history. The titles of the books were unfamiliar to me, however. The Return of the Third Son by Charles Dickens, In Pursuit of Peace by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., The King's Last Order by Alexander Dumas. Being an enormous fan of Dumas and Dickens, I was understandably confused that here were books I had never heard of, written by my favorite authors.
I sought out the librarian to inquire as to the origin of these books and if perhaps they were mislabeled. The librarian was an impossibly tall, lean fellow whose mere presence inspired silence and respect for his august position. I asked of this great man how it is that there were books here on his shelves that appeared to be written by my favorite authors but were nevertheless unheard of by me. He responded by asking me a question. "What was Charles Dickens final written work?" Well, that would of course be the mystery of Edwin Drood, which was unfortunately left unfinished when Charles Dickens died. The librarian took me in hand and led me to a shelf at the heart of the library. He removed a volume and handed it to me. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
"Yes, that's the one," I remarked.
"Take a look at it."
I thumbed through the book for a moment, then flipped to the book's list of contents. This book contained 12 chapters. Now I knew that at the time of Charles Dickens death he had only written 6 of the planned 12 parts of this story. I pointed this out to the Librarian.
"This library in which you now stand contains the works of the greatest authors ever to live on the Earth. However, you will not find here a single book written during their mortal lives. The books contained on these shelves before you were all written after the author had completed their mortal probation."
At this revelation I took a look again and the sheer size of the library. It was vast, I looked down between the enormous shelves and could not see an end to the aisle in which I stood. Finally it dawned on me, why would an author stop writing, stop creating, stop imagining, simply because he or she had passed from this mortal world into the next.
The libraries of Eternity await us, a place where there is no end, no limit, to the contributions of humans to literature, music, art, theater, film, etc.
I sought out the librarian to inquire as to the origin of these books and if perhaps they were mislabeled. The librarian was an impossibly tall, lean fellow whose mere presence inspired silence and respect for his august position. I asked of this great man how it is that there were books here on his shelves that appeared to be written by my favorite authors but were nevertheless unheard of by me. He responded by asking me a question. "What was Charles Dickens final written work?" Well, that would of course be the mystery of Edwin Drood, which was unfortunately left unfinished when Charles Dickens died. The librarian took me in hand and led me to a shelf at the heart of the library. He removed a volume and handed it to me. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"
"Yes, that's the one," I remarked.
"Take a look at it."
I thumbed through the book for a moment, then flipped to the book's list of contents. This book contained 12 chapters. Now I knew that at the time of Charles Dickens death he had only written 6 of the planned 12 parts of this story. I pointed this out to the Librarian.
"This library in which you now stand contains the works of the greatest authors ever to live on the Earth. However, you will not find here a single book written during their mortal lives. The books contained on these shelves before you were all written after the author had completed their mortal probation."
At this revelation I took a look again and the sheer size of the library. It was vast, I looked down between the enormous shelves and could not see an end to the aisle in which I stood. Finally it dawned on me, why would an author stop writing, stop creating, stop imagining, simply because he or she had passed from this mortal world into the next.
The libraries of Eternity await us, a place where there is no end, no limit, to the contributions of humans to literature, music, art, theater, film, etc.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Some Christmas thoughts
I'm sure you've seen the news reports. People complaining about certain retail stores posting "Happy Holidays" messages, and front door greeters expressing "Holiday" wishes. Sure, it bothers me too that Christ is being left out of Christmas, but I think Christians are fighting the wrong battles. Christmas doesn't belong in a retail store anyway.
Christmas belongs in our homes.
What we should be trying to change are the minds of those people who read "The Night Before Christmas" to their children instead of Luke Chapter 2, on Christmas Eve.
We should be trying to change people that teach their children about Santa Claus, but don't teach their children about the birth of Jesus.
We should be changing the hearts of people who sing "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer," while forgetting to sing the praises of our Lord in hymns like "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" or "Silent night".
What we should be trying to change are people who pride themselves on all the gifts they purchased for their friends and family, but fail to share with their loved ones the greatest gift ever given to humanity by our Lord Jesus Christ. When you give your gifts this year, tell the people you love that your gift is in rememberance of the gifts of God. Of the gift of His only begotten Son.
We are so blessed to live at a time and in a nation where we can worship freely and openly. We should remember that so many of our Christmas traditions were adopted by Christians who were desperate to hide the fact that they were celebrating the birth of our Lord, under fear of death. I will gladly display a Christmas tree, and decorate it with tinsel and lights, and remember those brave people who found a way worship the Lord even in times of persecution.
And I will remember that the Lord himself was humble enough to come into the world as a helpless infant, that we could learn from his example. That God loved us enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son, that we may be forgiven of our sins, that we will be ressurrected, and that if we choose to, we can live with Him again someday.
Merry Christmas.
Christmas belongs in our homes.
What we should be trying to change are the minds of those people who read "The Night Before Christmas" to their children instead of Luke Chapter 2, on Christmas Eve.
We should be trying to change people that teach their children about Santa Claus, but don't teach their children about the birth of Jesus.
We should be changing the hearts of people who sing "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer," while forgetting to sing the praises of our Lord in hymns like "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" or "Silent night".
What we should be trying to change are people who pride themselves on all the gifts they purchased for their friends and family, but fail to share with their loved ones the greatest gift ever given to humanity by our Lord Jesus Christ. When you give your gifts this year, tell the people you love that your gift is in rememberance of the gifts of God. Of the gift of His only begotten Son.
We are so blessed to live at a time and in a nation where we can worship freely and openly. We should remember that so many of our Christmas traditions were adopted by Christians who were desperate to hide the fact that they were celebrating the birth of our Lord, under fear of death. I will gladly display a Christmas tree, and decorate it with tinsel and lights, and remember those brave people who found a way worship the Lord even in times of persecution.
And I will remember that the Lord himself was humble enough to come into the world as a helpless infant, that we could learn from his example. That God loved us enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son, that we may be forgiven of our sins, that we will be ressurrected, and that if we choose to, we can live with Him again someday.
Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Sariah and Aaron's song
Extraordinary Way by Conjure One
What I have is nothing to my name
No property to speak of
And no trophy for my game
Intangible and worthless
My assets on the page
My coffers are empty
Any offer of safety has faded away
But what I have
What I have is
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God, I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have (what I have)
Means so very little to this world
A promise that I kept and a bridge that I saved before it burned
The sacrifice that I made
Brought me to my knees
A choice that cost me everything and set somebody else free
But what I have
Is the value that you see in these things
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God I'm lucky, so much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
'Cause what I have
Is the value that you see in these things
And everytime I forget those things you bring them right back to me
With your patience
When I'm blinding mad
And your passion
When I'm really, really bad
And your eyes
Taking in everything I am
And your body and soul and the way that you know
How I treasure you
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
That makes me lucky
God I'm so lucky
So much luckier than I ever thought I'd be
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You take what I can give and you treasure it
On an ordinary day
The extraordinary way
You turn to me and say, I believe in this
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!!
Hey, enough negativity already.
It's the holidays, and I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you spend it with friends or family, enjoy the holiday. Give thanks to God for all we have been given.
Let's remember for a moment why we celebrate Thanksgiving.
The true story as chronicled by Governor William Bradford in his book, "Of Plimouth Plantation".
The Pilgrims set up a communist system in which they owned the land in common and would also share the harvests in common. By 1623, it became clear this system was not working out well. The men were not eager to work in the fields, since if they worked hard, they would have to share their produce with everyone else.
Bradford wrote that their experience taught them that communism, meaning sharing all the production, was vain and a failure
The Pilgrims changed their economic system from communism to geoism; the land was still owned in common and could not be sold or inherited, but each family was allotted a portion, and they could keep whatever they grew.
Their new geoist economic system was a great success. It looked like they would have an abundant harvest this time. But then, during the summer, the rains stopped, threatening the crops. The Pilgrims held a "Day of Humiliation" and prayer. The rains came and the harvest was saved. It is logical to surmise that the Pilgrims saw this as a sign that God blessed their new economic system, because Governor Bradford proclaimed November 29, 1623, as a Day of Thanksgiving.
It's the holidays, and I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you spend it with friends or family, enjoy the holiday. Give thanks to God for all we have been given.
Let's remember for a moment why we celebrate Thanksgiving.
The true story as chronicled by Governor William Bradford in his book, "Of Plimouth Plantation".
The Pilgrims set up a communist system in which they owned the land in common and would also share the harvests in common. By 1623, it became clear this system was not working out well. The men were not eager to work in the fields, since if they worked hard, they would have to share their produce with everyone else.
Bradford wrote that their experience taught them that communism, meaning sharing all the production, was vain and a failure
The Pilgrims changed their economic system from communism to geoism; the land was still owned in common and could not be sold or inherited, but each family was allotted a portion, and they could keep whatever they grew.
Their new geoist economic system was a great success. It looked like they would have an abundant harvest this time. But then, during the summer, the rains stopped, threatening the crops. The Pilgrims held a "Day of Humiliation" and prayer. The rains came and the harvest was saved. It is logical to surmise that the Pilgrims saw this as a sign that God blessed their new economic system, because Governor Bradford proclaimed November 29, 1623, as a Day of Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
iPOD Porn
"For the busy pervert who just can't wait 'til he gets home"
There's only one comment I can make -
Is there really a need in this depraved society for pornographic videos on the go?
There's only one comment I can make -
Is there really a need in this depraved society for pornographic videos on the go?
Monday, November 07, 2005
Thou Shalt Not Bootleg
As I've indicated in previous posts I am an enthusiastic lover of music. I especially love live performances, if a group or artist can't give a good performance live then they should find a new career. As such, I attend lots of concerts. Something I enjoy doing is taping the Concerts for my own personal listening for many years to come.
Let's be clear, I have never sold a CD or Tape in my life. I believe music should be shared freely. At no time would I ever tape a show for my own personal financial gain, and would never endorse such a practice. I also avoid copying or downloading music that is copyrighted.
Another thing I want to stress is that this practice, contrary to what some people would have you believe, is not illegal. TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113 > § 2319A of the US code states, "Whoever, without the consent of the performer or performers involved, knowingly and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain fixes the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord..." Therefore, unless you intend to record a show for personal gain, you've got no problem. Unfortunately, each concert venue has their own rules regarding recording shows, as I found out Saturday night.
In 5 years and about 40 concerts worth of recording I have never before been caught. Saturday night, I attended a Journey concert in Houston, and had a couple of disadvantages in trying to conceal my recording devices. One, I was wearing a white shirt, it had been hot earlier in Dallas and I know Houston is usually even hotter, so I chose to wear a short sleeved white shirt. Two, I hung the microphone from a cord around my neck and left it on the outside of my shirt in plain view. I worry that placing the microphone under the shirt might muffle the sound. Third, the seat my ticket put me in was on an aisle, a very busy aisle where lots of ushers and security people passed me all night. So, during the final song of the concert I was approached by a security grunt and asked to come with him.
He took me out of the main seating area to an open vendor area near the exits. At that point I was surrounded by about 5 of these Security people. I then started telling blatant lies that I had forgot to bring a disc for my minidisc recorder, that I hadn't actually recorded anything, that the mike was hanging around my neck because I had forgotten that it was there. When one of these low wage security punks asked me if I thought they were stupid, I had to fight hard the urge to tell him just how stupid I thought they were. These guys were just absolutely jumping up and down, you'd think they'd caught Osama Bin Laden or something. Now at this point, I realised that the only way I was going to leave without further trouble was to give up the disc I had ejected from my recorder in secret and hidden in my belt.
There is a reason I use a minidisc recorder rather than some kind of digital recorder. With a minidisc recorder you can eject the disc. This comes in handy when you are caught; if you bring an extra disc, you can give the security guys the extra blank disc, and keep the one with the actual show recorded on it. Well after 40 shows and never being caught I had grown complacent and had failed to bring an extra disc. So to get out of there without any more hassle I gave up the disc, even though I was completely within my rights to refuse to give them anything.
Now I confess all this for a reason. I think my days of recording shows like this may be over. Even though this is not a crime, it is certainly against the rules of the venues where these concerts are held, and I'm sure the band and their management would not want this happening either. So, after some weekend soul searching I felt that this form of dishonesty, although a victimless crime in my opinion, isn't in keeping with the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I ask the forgiveness of everyone who feel my actions and dishonest practices have harmed them in any way.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Democrats Are Against Free Speech?
Yesterday, Nov 2nd, the House Democrats successfully voted down the Online Freedom of Speech Act.
77% of the House Democrats voted against the act, or abstained from voting, in contrast to the 78% of House Republicans who voted for it.
The Online Freedom of Speech Act ammends Paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. The 1971 Act regulates disclosure of Election Campaign finances. Paragraph 22 of this act defines Public Communications, such as television, telephone, mail, newspapers, etc. The purpose of the amendment voted on yesterday was to exclude internet communication from the list of Public Communications. Essentially making all internet communications exempt from all Election Campaign finance rules.
I'm inclined to agree with the Democrats on this one. This vote was not about free speech as some people would have you believe. I agree with a lot of the limits set on what candidates can and can't do during Election Campaigns, and I would hate to see the Internet become an unrestrained vehicle for politic ads. Lets keep the internet focused on its main purpose, the distribution of free pornography.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Singing Mice
Here is a really interesting article about mice:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174173,00.html
Apparently male mice sing to the female mice. I guess I must have mice genes in me, because since I found my eternal mate, I can't stop singing.
Music, being the 4th greatest thing in the world, is an important part of my life. Singing is something I enjoy a great deal. But, for the last 3 years I really haven't done much singing. I just haven't been in the right state of mind, or so I thought. Turns out I just hadn't met the right mouse who makes me want to sing.
A little over a week ago I decided that I wanted my future bride to hear my singing, so I spent the weekend recording songs for her. At times I was up until 4:30 in the morning singing for her. I'm sure my neighbors loved that. In the end I ended up with a CD of 14 songs that I was pretty proud of. Some were better than others, and some were off key. But, I felt it was representative of how I've been feeling.
Just call me Mickey and give me some cheese.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,174173,00.html
Apparently male mice sing to the female mice. I guess I must have mice genes in me, because since I found my eternal mate, I can't stop singing.
Music, being the 4th greatest thing in the world, is an important part of my life. Singing is something I enjoy a great deal. But, for the last 3 years I really haven't done much singing. I just haven't been in the right state of mind, or so I thought. Turns out I just hadn't met the right mouse who makes me want to sing.
A little over a week ago I decided that I wanted my future bride to hear my singing, so I spent the weekend recording songs for her. At times I was up until 4:30 in the morning singing for her. I'm sure my neighbors loved that. In the end I ended up with a CD of 14 songs that I was pretty proud of. Some were better than others, and some were off key. But, I felt it was representative of how I've been feeling.
Just call me Mickey and give me some cheese.
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