Saturday, July 26, 2008

More random passen thots

I have heard, that the only constant in life is change. If that axiom is true, does it mean that since there has been little change in the make-up of con-gress that we are not experiencing life?

B. Hussein O, is correct in his prescription that change is needed. But I don't think it is the change that he is channeling...

I am sure, it will prolly never happen, but how sweet it would be if just this once, every incumbent, up for reelection, were voted out.

Everywhere I look, I am reminded that this current con-gress is the most worthless bunch of elected officials yet.

This con-gress reminds me of the old saying, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned!" Ain't that whats happening here, now?

B. Hussein O is also correct in his prescription of hope for our country.

Oh, how I hope a R.E.A.L. presidential candidate will show up before the November election.

Oh, how I hope con-gress would be cleaned out, and all the riff-raff ran off.

I served 29 years in the U.S. Naval Service {16 in the Marine Corps, and 13 in the Navy} and I still love my country and believe she is the greatest thing this ole world has ever known.

But I gotta tell ya, I am disappointed and ashamed of our legislature and judicial branches of gummint.

How long can we continue to give away the farm, without losing our national identity, and integrity?

Every one I talk with echo the sentiments that this is the worst crowd of presidential wannabees we have ever had.

Yeah, the time is ripe for change and hope...

Friday, July 25, 2008

Reducing insanity

Nightmares are the subject of a dynamite post from yesterday.

Go there and read, and learn...

Morning random thots

It is Friday morning, starting off cool, with scattered rain showers...gotta be close to heaven.

The sky is beginning to clear, now, so, looks like I may be able to get my walk in later this morning.

With mornings like this, it is difficult to think of globull warmen as reality.

You know, my son graduated from college with a degree in chemistry, and a minor in medicine.

While he was in college I asked him once about his studies in chemistry.

He responded that every living organism on this planet has carbon as an integral ingredient: including man and animals.

For us to remove all carbon from the earth, is impossible...again, for those who feel this is the way to go, I only ask that they demonstrate their fidelity to their belief, and be the first to remove their carbon foot-print...perhaps, their zealouness will influence the rest of us to follow suit.

N. O. T. !

Any which way but loose

Well, the local newspaper is jumping out with their poll this morning.

"In light of her recent pregnancy announcement, do you believe Stephanie Herseth Sandlin will run for governor of South Dakota in 2010?"

I really don't think she will run for governor, cuz I think she will jockey to get herself into the running for the Senate.

I really am not so sure that Tim Johnson is going to run for reelection, and since Stephanie has name recognition, she IS a little step ahead of anyone else who would like to run for the seat.

As of 8:06 am the results are 46.8% - yes, and 53.2% - no.

Only time will tell, but I really don't think she will be content to just run for governor, when she has a real good chance of getting into the senate.

Like all good liberals, she is more into power than appearances.

Remember, the way the wind is blowing in this country lately, state gummints are being relegated to back seat status by the federal gummint.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

All the gnus whats phitt to print

Today's local gnus is replete with the information that our sole representative in the House is with child...

How interesting...

Paint me cynical; hello! This is an election year, and she is a 100% liberal...

Nah, the republican running against her probably doesn't have a snowball's chance...

Yeah, right, I am getting pretty cynical in my old age.

Wish her and her husband only the best on their anticipatory blessing.

Tireder n tireder

As I was looking around the blogosphere today, I realized that just about every blog has at least one post, if not multiple posts, regarding B. Hussein Obama... except for Mamacita, gotta love her, she don't get caught up in that garbage, and that is a big reason why I really love her blog and mind.

As I was sitting here roaming through the internet, I was reminded of the time, a few years ago, when Rush Limbaugh used to say on his radio program, "NO OJ, NONE OF THE TIME" or words to that effect.

Remember? It sure didn't take long to get tired of 24/7 news coverage of the white SUV driving along and being followed by the policia and the gnus media. Back then we were inundated with OJ coverage...a lot like what we are experiencing today with B. Hussein Obama coverage. Is there any doubt in anybody's mind why news outlets are feeling the crunch of loss of viewership?

Sheeeshhhhhhhh!!!!

OK Scotty, beam me up...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

My two sense worth at twice the price

Sense one, we are experiencing an unprecedented run for power from all levels of elected officials; both in office and those running for office.

Sense two, we are seeing an unprecedented aversion to Christianity from all levels of elected officials and the main streem media.

As Christians, we recognize we have no intrinsic power. We choose, instead, to acknowledge God as the ultimate power in the universe.

The defining moment in a Christian's life is when he realizes, and admits, that he cannot change who he is, or what he does, and chooses to trust God to change him, and make him what he could be.

Alcoholics Annonymous (AA) has had an enormous impact on alcoholics' out-of-control behavior by encouraging followers to recognize that they are out-of-control, and have no power to stop or control their drinking.

Contrast this with what we find in so many people today. There are people who realize they are powerless over themselves, and in order to assuage their guilt, demand that others change their ways.

An argument could be made that someone could feel better about theirself, and their powerlessness by refusing another to choose how they will live their life.

The key to helping a drowning man, is to grab him from behind, basically, in a head lock, because when you are drowning, and you cannot help yourself, you will grab and flounder around, and could possibly cause your rescuer to drown while trying to save you.

Following that line, in order to save a drowning person, the person must relinquish all power, and ability to do anything, and turn theirself over to the person who is trying to save them.

When I acknowledge God, I recognize my powerlessness, and my inablitiy to change who I am. On the other hand, when I deny God, I deny my powerlessness, and do all I can to prove I am powerful.

Now, I am getting a little better perspective on why there are so many people supporting the nanny state in this country.

I find it sad, that this great country was founded on Christian principles; and today, we have elected officials, and those seeking elected office, denying God, and denying God's involvement in the formation of this great country.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Respite

I wrote this a number of years ago, and my son, who was rather young, thought it was neat, and pretty simplistic...so, he started writing his own poems.
I often wonder if he still writes any, or has given up on expressing himself this way.

I thought about you yesterday;
and then, I did it again today.
I thought that lunch would be great;
and then you said, you'd already ate.
I thought then, we'd sit and chat;
and then you said, you're not into that.
I thought of a time, way back when;
and then you said, that was way back then.
I thought about you again today;
but then, maybe its better that way.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Picking my brain; or pause for the cause

Clowning in Rome, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Image Books, Garden City, NY, 1979.

I have known of Fr. Nouwen for many years, however, I did not learn of this book until 1996.

In the introduction, He relates how he came to be in Rome, and how he, as a Roman Catholic priest, was affected by his stay.

He then makes a statement that resonated with me, and gave me cause to pause:

"Clowns are not in the center of the events. They appear between the great acts, fumble and fall, and make us smile again after the tensions created by the heroes we came to admire.

"The clowns don't have it together, they do not succeed in what they try, they are awkard, out of balance, and left-handed, but...they are on our side.

"We respond to them not with admiration but with sympathy, not with amazement but with understanding, not with tension but with a smile.

"Of the virtuosi we say, 'How can they do it?'

"Of the clowns we say, 'They are like us.'

"The clowns remind us with a tear and a smile that we share the same human weaknesses" (pg 2).

As a child, I loved horses, and wanted very much to be a cowboy, and ride in the rodeos. I did all I could to make sure I was at the big rodeo that came to Denver every year. I could spend hours and hours among the animals and the events and not sense any boredom.

As I thought on the passage from Fr Nouwen, I was reminded of the clowns at the rodeo. Many of the clowns are former event riders that perhaps have been busted up too much, and can no longer ride. So, they go into the arena, dressed up as clowns, to bring some relief to the audience in between the bull riding events.

But even more important they are in the arena to hopefully keep a cowboy from getting hurt.

Numerous times I have seen a cowboy thrown off a bull, and the bull starts to attack him while he is down, only to have three clowns come running at the bull to distract him, to give the cowboy time to get up and out of the arena.

You know, at the end of the rodeo session, we are told of the stats of the cowboys and the animals involved; but we never hear of how many lives the clowns have saved.

Fr. Nouwen goes on to say: "Between the frightening acts of the heroes of this world, there is a constant need for clowns, people who by their empty, solitary lives of prayer and contemplation reveal to us our 'other side' and thus offer consolation, comfort, hope, and a smile.

"Rome is a good city in which to become aware of the need for clowns. This large, busy, entertaining, and distracting city keeps tempting us to join the lion tamers and trapeze artists who get most of the attention.

"But whenever the clowns appear we are reminded that what really counts is something other than the spectacular and the sensational. It is what happens between the scenes.

"The clowns show us by their 'useless' behavior, not simply that many of our preoccupations, worries, tensions, and anxieties need a smile, but more important that we, too, have white on our faces and that we, too, are called to clown a little" (pg 110).

A year or so later, I read The Humor of Christ, Elton Trueblood, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, NY, 1964.

Between these two books, I came to see that the Christian life is not all straight and narrow, fear of doing wrong; but instead is a life lived knowing that God enjoys a little humor also.

So much of our life is spent in trying to get ahead, trying to keep our head above water.

When I was actively studying psychology, one of the ideas I came to embrace was: "A sure sign of good mental health is being able to laugh at yourself."

I cannot begin to tell how many times I have been walking, and tripped over my own feet, or over an uneven sidewalk, and had people laugh at me. My usual response was to get angry and perhaps yell something at them.

But after seeing other people trip, and stumble, I came to see that there is humor in it, and began to learn to laugh at myself when I would trip, or stumble.

In fact, I came to the point where I would trip, and then say, "Wow! what a trip!" And at times follow up by saying "It wasn't a trip it was an adventure."

In our world today we are surrounded by "preoccupations, tensions, worries, and anxieties" and we are losing it.

A popular song some time ago used the words, "send in the clowns". To my way of thinking we need the clowns right now.

We need to see the humor in the things that so many are trying to corral us over.

Except, it ain't realy funny, when every elected official is doing all they can to gain more power over the individual.

Why do we have high gas prices? Elected officials like it when they can control our freedom, and tell us how to live our lives.

Why are we experiencing high grocery prices? Yup, elected officials again, trying to control our lives.

I think I have said enuff for the time being. Where are the clowns; where is the fun to break the ice and return us to living a life we love?