A snowstorm too pathetic to wear that title of honor.

I was keyed up about the forecast of the first snowstorm of the year. It is snowing, I will give you that, but it doesn’t look to be a wicked snowstorm as the early predictions said. Bummer. I am ready for snow falling in extremes measured in feet, not inches!

We are at last getting the zone valve replaced for the basement. We will be able to keep the basement toasty warm for the birds while not sweltering upstairs. Our first gas bill had a sighting of the ghost of Christmas future: this is going to be a pricey heating season. Hopefully, the plumber will show up today. We hire a retired old duffer, but Heather says he is a pleasant gentleman, so if we can supplement his retirement income while getting quality work done economically, that is even better!

The water and sewer project is almost complete. The subcontractor paved our driveway on Friday. Yesterday, they tore up the new asphalt around the (buried) manholes so that they can pour concrete around the access points. If they pour concrete today, they are determined manly men who will, no doubt, look like snowmen out there before long. They will be finishing two weeks late. This project was slated to be complete already. Typical, but the taxpayers are footing the bill, so who cares, eh? Not the shitty, er, city council. Those guys are little aspirant Nazis with control issues: "You can't do this; you can't do that", blah blah blah, "not without our express permission! Don’t forget to bow down to your councilmen!" During council meetings, they tell private citizens with contrasting viewpoints to "sit down and shut up." The city council spends like drunken sailors, never bearing in mind that taxpayers foot the ever-increasing bill, taking a larger percentage of our income for their pet projects, just like that embarassment called the United States Congress. On a local, state, and federal level, these guys are all the same bunch of con artists and liars, working diligently to protect their nefarious interests and line their bottomless pockets. As for John Q. Citizen, do we have an authentic representative government? The answer is barefaced in its self-important gauche vulgarity ... representative government? Not anymore.

How would you answer this question?

Are you a conservative or a liberal? Okay, lets stick to one philosophical area. Are you a fiscal conservative or a fiscal liberal? To find out, choose a multiple-choice answer to the following: The United States Congress passed a budget for this year that includes a total of $3,700,000,000 of spending. Do you say this is:

A) Geez, Hoss, that is a lot of money.
B) That is enough money for me to gamble at casinos every day for years.
C) We can give a free house to every person in New Orleans who didn’t evacuate, and give them free healthcare with that much money.
D) That is a frightening, horrific amount of government, dude.

If you answered (A), you are likely under 25 and do not have a mortgage or children yet. If you answered (B), you may be a liberal but you actually have a job and no government benefits. If your answer was (C), you are definitely a liberal. And, if you answered (D), you are one of the mainstream conservatives who are terrified by the government bureaucracy that is destroying the economic future of America. That annual budget is so much that the budget deficits and the national debt, will never, ever be repaid. Not in my lifetime, not in yours, not in my great-grandchildren’s grandchildren’s lifetime. It will not be repaid. Ever. The nations holding the notes the United States owes will not wait forever to be repaid. Can you say “bankruptcy on a national scale” and the end of freedom as we know it?

By the way, the annual budget of 3.7 trillion dollars, if that money actually wasn’t just IOUs, would, if made of one dollar bills stacked in a pile, stretch to the moon and back more than two times. That is, a pile of one dollar bills in a pile standing over 717 thousand miles tall! That is also a budget for one fiscal year. If that doesn’t scare the shit out of any taxpaying American, what will?

These elitist morons in Congress really need to be taken down a notch or three. What can a person do? For starters, as Americans, we can throw the bums out and stop voting for incumbents. The problem is that there are only a statistical handful of people who stay informed enough to actually know the issues and what the incumbent self-anointed gods of power stand for. Most people these days have forgotten that these spendthrift idiots, both Republicans and Democrats, work for us. We do not work for them! That tax money belongs to the people. A little accountability would be nice, but then again, the economic future of this country is already on very thin ice... and I hear the cracks forming now.

The civil rights movement and the Republican Party

Did you know that the Republican Party was created to end slavery?

Did you know that major legal reforms and acts of legislation passed to give black Americans the vote, and full civil rights, equal to whites, were created and passed by Republican legislators?

Did you know that most of the legislators who raucously and fanatically railed against the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 were… southern DEMOCRATS, also lovingly referred to as Dixiecrats at that time?

Did you know that every black American elected to Congress immediately after the Civil War was a Republican?

Did you know that Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., was a social and political conservative who wanted Blacks to succeed fairly, based on merit and hard work?

Did you know that President Eisenhower, a Republican president, signed into law some of the 20th century's most important civil rights reforms?

Did you know that most black Americans up until the 1960s were Republicans?

What does all of this mean? Does it mean that the mainstream media are a bunch of sanctimonious, prejudicially predisposed con artists and liars perhaps? Hell yes.

Why do you suppose that Black Americans today are not usually given this information about their own history?

Why? In large part to protect a 'civil rights' establishment that is beholden to the Democratic Party and that is committed to keeping black Americans on the liberal 'plantation.'

Who is working to set these people free from insolvency and economic subjugation? It isn’t a system of quotas, it isn’t the de facto reverse discrimination proffered by extremists like the so-called reverends, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, whose power-mad extortion is dividing this nation along racial lines, and it sure as hell isn’t the Democrat party. Now, you do the math.

Did you know... these jackasses are throwing away our children's future?

Did you know that Congress has gone insane, spending more money than ever before? They seem to forget that the money they are spending isn't even their money. It is OUR money. I keep praying that more people will educate themselves to the issues and the candidates in the very important elections of 2006. It is not too early to start thinking about it, and the mantra should probably be "Throw the bums out!"

How about a completely nonpartisan look at the jackasses who are throwing away our future? If this doesn't make you sick to your stomach, financially speaking, what will? Some statistics:

The average Senator voted for $471.0 billion in annual non-entitlement spending during the 108th Congress (2003-2004), an 83 percent increase over the 107th Congress (2001-2002). House Members supported, on average, a yearly expenditure boost of $386.9 billion - a 101 percent jump compared to the same period in the previous Congress.

Spending totals were nearly identical for Democrats ($397.0 billion) and Republicans ($378.1 billion) in the House, although party differences were somewhat greater in the Senate ($599.3 billion for Democrats versus $353.3 billion for Republicans).

The House and Senate considered a total of just 39 spending reductions in 2003-2004, worth a combined savings of $63.3 billion. Just five of the amendments were adopted, for a potential cut of $5.04 billion. Excluding the Senate's decision to convert part of Iraq's reconstruction aid to a loan would cause the savings to shrink to a barely-perceptible $41 million.

The phrases "fiscally responsible," "fiscal discipline," "fiscal responsibility," "fiscal irresponsibility," and "fiscally irresponsible" appeared 2,740 times in the 2003-2004 Congressional Record, an increase of nearly 53 percent compared to the 107th Congress. Yet, for the fourth year running, no one in Congress had a net voting record that would actually have cut overall federal discretionary spending - down from a high of 512 Members in 1996.

The House and Senate were in session for 1,893 hours and 2,485 hours, respectively, during the 108th Congress. Based on averages for their chambers, House Members voted for $204 million in spending hikes each hour they met, while Senators voted to spend at an equivalent rate of $190 million per hour.

Does that piss you off? If you are an American taxpayer, it should! The problem is that it isn't about Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative anymore. These morons are out of touch with reality and they don't care. Why? Because virtually no incumbent is ever defeated. Out of 430 members of the House of Representatives, how many were defeated in their last elections? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Zippo. NONE.

So... Coming soon to the last Superpower in the world soon... total economic ruin, courtesy of the guys who represent you.


Data source: The National Taxpayer's Union Study Report on Congressional Fiscal Discipline. September, 2005.

Thoughts for today

Here you go: my usual comments and then a quote that I thought was perfect while the GOP-controlled Congress is spending money like a bunch of drunken sailors. Does it occur to these inexplicably elected but unaccountable fiscal malfeasants that, hey, somebody, someday, is going to have to pay for all of this government waste? Yes, the debtors will be our grandchildren, their grandchildren, and every generation for the rest of history. Our legislators are living with a de facto unaccountable status and the representative electoral system is completely out of control. Why? Two reasons: special interest groups are buying the elections, making it nearly impossible for anyone outside the political establishment to ever get elected, and secondly, because ignorant people who do not educate themselves to the issues before the elections are reelecting incompetent incumbents. That is where the blame lies for the common people: blissfully dim-witted ignorance and voting like mindless robots, incumbent, incumbent, incumbent. Think, people! The folks in Congress would be fired for their fiscal incompetence post haste in corporate America, on both sides of the aisle. The liberals are wackos who care only about their lust for power through socialist enabling of the welfare state, while the so-called conservatives do not represent conservativism whatsoever! With the exception of a few good people as yet untainted by greed and power-mad depravity, the members of Congress do not represent the mainstream interests of America. Period.

As for Judge Roberts, I hear many people saying he should not be confirmed because he hasn't elucidated his personal beliefs and how he would rule on various issues. Duh! The man is a philosophical conservative, but he also understands the law and he doesn't play games with constitutional duties. Judge Roberts may well be more qualified to be chief justice of the Supreme Court than any other person in the last hundred years, even his mentor, the late Justice Rehnquist. He is prohibited from stating how he would rule on issues, because he may have to rule on those same issues in the future. By answering the questions of these wackos like Ted "Hiccup" Kennedy, Diane Feinstein, and Chuck Schumer, he would be compromising the actions of the Supreme Court, and also his current judgeship in the circuit court system. He is not allowed to answer your questions about abortion and states rights. Get over it already!

The mainstream media, hypocrites, phonies, and brainwashing specialists that they are, make comments about Judge Roberts and women's rights, in an intellectually dishonest way of saying that he will overturn Roe vs. Wade. He has said plainly that it is settled legal precedent, for one. For two, a woman has the same reproductive rights as a man. She, or he, has a right to responsible sexual activity, and that is that. Any person, female OR male, who is out sleeping around, is playing Russian roulette with the odds. If a woman and a man are being reckless and negligent and a pregnancy results, well, there you go. That is the normal and expected biological result. The answer? Stop screwing around and start acting responsible. These big babies want to blame everyone else when their actions result in something they did not want. Your reproductive rights include regular medical examinations and the right to refuse to have sex. Period. Stop executing innocent children in the name of reproductive rights. By definition? Murder. Sue me if you don't like my honesty. It is the truth, and the truth can stand on its own, no matter who says it.

And finally, finally, a quote.... I love this. Decades of liberal buying votes through social experimentation, trumpeting nonexistent economic barriers, and systemic behavior modification, making people believe that they actually need government handouts (which is, money taken from one person and given to another person... unconstitutional by the way, but so is much of what Congress does. What's new?)

"Consider that black households that are headed by married couples have median incomes almost 90 percent that of white households headed by married couples. The problem in the black community is that far too few black households are headed by married couples. Black social reality in New Orleans at the moment when the floodwaters started pouring in was fairly typical of black inner-city social reality around the country. Upwards of 70 percent of the households were headed by single parents, mostly women. When I discuss social statistics with audiences around the country, I invariably hear gasps when I point out that the out-of-wedlock birthrate today among young white women (30 percent) is higher than it was among black women 50 years ago. There, of course, remain residuals of racism in America today, and it's news to a lot of whites that black families were relatively intact, headed by married couples, in the '40s and '50s. Today's out-of-wedlock black births and single-parent households are triple what they were then. The collapse of the black family took off when big government programs, particularly welfare, were launched, compliments of black and white liberals, after the civil-rights movement." --Star Parker

Not that it matters to the impact of that quote, but here is an ethnic qualifier for the 'Doubting Thomas' crowd: Star Parker is a mom and she is black. Here is some relevant information about her background.

Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing, and launched an urban Christian magazine. The 1992 Los Angeles riots destroyed her business, yet served as a springboard for her focus on faith-based and free market alternatives to empower the lives of the poor.

Star Parker went to college and worked herself out of welfare. She realized the government cannot guarantee you anything. Only hard work can change personal reality. The blame game does nothing but keep a pessimist stuck in their woes and unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions. She said it perfectly. The United States Congress is a mighty drug dealer, pushing their "what's in it for me?" entitlement mentality, a powerful drug. The result? A bunch of shiftless whiners who are only in it for what they can get for free, without work, or by looting their neighbors. This socialist mindset and agenda is a heartbreaking tragedy and one of the root causes of the disaster in New Orleans. If you disagree, congratulations. You have a right to dissent in America. It isn't perfect, but I love this place. A bad day in America is better than a good day elsewhere. If you hate America so bad, you have a choice. There is plenty of room in France, so hit the road, Jack.

Just too busy to blog, I guess...

After a long-term sabbatical from the Lake Country Zoo blog due to circumstances both within and without my control, I made the time to write on this Labor Day weekend. It is still morning, so there is a good chance the call center will dispatch me to some wayward location. If that doesn’t happen, I hope to work on the yard and catch up on the housekeeping. Since this is a 3-day weekend, I am hoping to have at least one uninterrupted day off. Oh crap, I just cursed myself… the telephone will ring anytime now.

Oh well… I can use the money.

There is so much that has happened that I don’t know where to start, and if I covered it all, anyone who took the time to read this would be bored to tears. Josh (the brother-in-law) is here for the weekend with his dog, Caleb. He is a good boy, just big and he is a drool machine. Uh, the dog, not the brother-in-law (who incidentally, is a good boy, too). We are probably going to fire up that beautiful Husqvarna to drop a jack pine or two to make room for the eventual relocation of the dog kennel. The woods are being developed and the dog kennel is too close to the new lots being created. I hate that, but such is life. They call it progress... I do not. But since I don’t own the land adjoining our property, it is out of my hands anyway.

Gabriel is 7-months old. He weighs 19 pounds and is building a regular vocabulary, if one can call babbling a conversation (the politicians do, after all). Gabriel is a happy baby most of the time. He began teething at 2-months, but remains a joyful kiddo. His first word was “Hi!” which he said for the first time when he was 3-months old. We thought it was pure coincidence at first, but Gabriel gave me the same greeting as I entered the room enough times that we concluded his little hello was his first word. He said “Daddy” at 5 months, which rocks, if you ask me. Heather was thrilled when Gabriel said “Momma” last weekend. He isn’t entirely sure when to stop though. Sometimes, he says “Mommamamamamama…” Heather loves hearing that. The funny thing? Gabriel said “Heather” a few weeks before he said “Momma.” I love the irony, but that is just because I am who I am, much like Popeye, but without the spinach and the suspiciously distended forearms. [Those hefty muscles could be due to illegal steroid use, you know].

We found out this week that my nephew, Marty, and his wife, Tara, are expecting a baby. Whoohoo! They will make excellent parents, no doubt about that. I am sure that their child will be wearing the Minnesota Twins colors frequently. Congratulations to Tara and Marty! I wonder how Karen feels about the idea of being a grandmother. This is very exciting for the family, and will be the first great-grandchild. I will soon be a great uncle, a new title I can wear proudly, since my last “new” title is becoming comfortable for me. I am no longer a rookie dad. The time really flies so fast, and Gabriel will soon be a year old. I think we should have another little one soon, but it isn’t entirely up to me. =)

Dave started his college "career" in August. I think that is fantastic. Everyone should get a higher education and have marketable skills. His college program is business-related, but I think he is focusing on business accounting. My program is business admin.

Speaking of which, in two weeks, I will complete the next series of college courses. I am still maintaining my GPA, somehow, but the last month has been challenging. I have put in a ridiculous number of hours at work, been away more nights than normal lately, and am so looking forward to these classes to be done. The next classes? Environmental science and Humanities/Religions of the world. That should be interesting. I am sure that I will hear about how Islam is a religion of peace, Christianity is being forced on vulnerable atheists and that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for almost everything that has ever gone wrong. That reminds me of the Ethics class I am taking now. For six weeks, I have been reminded that every single thing that is now or has ever been wrong in the world is the fault of the white males in the United States (other than the tribulations that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for, of course). By the way, that whole synergy gibberish (a.k.a. human resources junk science!) was apparently written by the pot-smoking protesters of the 60s. It is euphorian nonsense, prevaricated hypocrisy and out of touch with reality out here in fly-over country. To all the complainers, I say, “Build a bridge and get over it, you big whiners!”

Okay… so I didn’t learn anything in sensitivity training. That is life! In the words of Rod Tidwell, "These are the ABCs of me, baby"!

Tuesday night

We heard back from two of the DVMs in Eden Prairie today. Max is doing okay, relaxing in his oxygen cage. He had a needle biopsy on his liver today and we are waiting on the detailed results from the slides taken today. While we wait, Max is going to be relaxing in his oxygen-rich environment. Tonight, the doctors are going to experiment with the mix a bit, to determine how Max will do without the supplemental oxygen. The hope is that Miracle Max can come home or to the local veterinarian while we wait for the comprehensive biopsy results. Obviously, we would prefer that he comes home, but we will do what is best for his health. You might say this is just a cat, but Max is a beloved member of our family. It sounds the same, but in our home, there is a big difference.

Tuesday morning

This morning, I talked to another veterinarian, the doctor who takes the overnight shift at AEVS. Miracle Max is doing okay, but still in the oxygen cage. Another DVM who is a veterinary radiology specialist is coming in this morning and will do an examination via sonogram on Max, the results of which will help us to decide on the prognosis and what to do next. Max is a member of our family and we aren't going to make any hasty decisions. We want the most complete information available to us and the best care given to our family members, human or otherwise.

Monday, worrying but hopeful.

You know, sometimes it makes me wonder. This is going to be vague for observable reasons, but if someone goes out and gets a cat or a dog, and that creature isn’t fitting their lifestyle, I find it quite ‘interesting’ how it is easy to… eliminate… the animal. Two things come to my mind here. First, things are different from one family to another, and for some, a cat or a dog is like window dressing, a convenience, a decoration, perhaps. How nice. Like all decorations, what-nots, and nick-knacks, it is quite easy to get rid of an animal that is just an object introduced into a family environment for the purpose of ‘decorating’ their household. That isn’t the way it works in our home. Our dogs and cats are our companion animals. We maintain our home for the comfort of our son, Gabriel, and our companions, who are essentially our kids and our family. Species is not a qualifier. Our family is our family, period.

I have heard of some who have a dog or cat that is no longer ‘convenient’ or that chews up a shoe, also known as “doing what puppies naturally do” and what is the response? The simple way out, of course… how about a bullet in the head, a little lead and their annoyingly inconvenient pet is dead? It’s only a stupid cat or a bothersome dog, after all. In our home, that is unacceptable. That is not ‘us.’ Anyone who judges us because of that, we say, “So be it” and “Who cares what they think?” That brings me to my second point. Obviously, emergency care isn’t free. Our cat is ill, but we are spending our money on it. Anyone who says to me, “Why don’t you just let him go? Even if you treat him, he may die anyway, and what a waste of money that would be” just doesn’t get it. Two quick sub-points, to reiterate. One, that is not how we do things around here. And two, if you disagree and think we are wasting our money, well, it isn’t really your business and it isn’t your money… so butt out.


Now that I got that off my chest, I feel a little better. Heather and I are going to continue hoping and praying. I am as German as can be, and anybody who knows me knows that I am not going to give up easily, especially when my cat greets me, purrs, and shows affection when we visit him in the hospital. When I am told to ‘just let him go,’ I think, if we do not look out for those we care about, it doesn’t say much about our human values. Does it? No matter what happens with Miracle Max, he has been a wonderful and loving friend. More importantly, his illness has helped us to reaffirm our faith and the importance of prayer. That is quite an accomplishment for him. After all… he is just a cat, so why bother? Some day, I hope that the human race can learn to share unconditional love, something that our Fuzzman has taught us much about. We aren’t letting him go without a fight and lots of prayers. God knows best, and we are following His lead.

Monday

Very early this morning, we transferred Max to the Veterinary Emergency Center in Eden Prairie. He is doing okay, but has that problem with labored breathing due to his bacterial pneumonia. He spent today in an oxygen cage, where the vets increase the oxygen content to 40 percent (atmospheric air is 20 percent oxygen at ground level). This has helped Max breath a lot easier, but it seems likely he will be on oxygen for at least another day. The doctor on this shift just called and said he is doing okay, relaxing in his oxygen cage, while they are giving him two synergistic antibiotics to cover all the possible types of infection, aerobic, anaerobic, Grams plus and Grams negative. Max’s condition is guarded but we are very hopeful, praying every day with more fervor than ever, and not willing to give up easily. Max is a member of our family, and he is worth every bit of this. Heather and I completely and unequivocally agree.

Sunday

Miracle Max’s breathing is labored again, and at 5:30 this morning, Heather woke me up to tell me that he is open-mouth breathing, which is not a good thing. I called the on-call veterinarian and he met me at 6:00 a.m. He gave Max oxygen but did not have the facilities to properly take care of him. Heather and I took Max to Saint Cloud, and he spent the rest of the day in an oxygen cage. That helped Max breathe a lot easier.

Dave and Josh were here all day, with Josh asking to go to a skateboard shop ad infinitum. He was not too pleased, as most of the ‘mom and pop’ businesses in town are not open on Sundays. For a city of 20,000 people, I guess that is odd, but even the malls close here on weekends at 5:00 p.m. I admit, that is odd, with all the tourists here. I mean, the population of Crow Wing County more than triples on summer weekends. Still… it isn’t summer, yet. Soon, it will be like driving through a metro area, just to go to the grocery store. Oh, joy!

Miracle Max isn't feeling so good.

Miracle Max has been losing weight for a while, and Thursday, he started having problems with labored breathing. I hate when any of our kids are not feeling so well. Max went to the vet on Friday. As it turns out, Max has bacterial pneumonia and an enlarged liver. He tested negative for feline leukemia on 3 occasions and is negative for feline immune deficiency. Those are the ailments that the veterinarians feel would be the obvious causes of his weight loss, but the DVMs have ruled out all of those. Its so much easier with humans… they can tell you what isn’t feeling right.

Visitors coming this weekend

Dave and Josh are coming up this weekend. The house is a bit of a disaster, but that is no news flash, I suppose. Heather is busy being a mom to Gabriel and taking care of things here. I am busy, between my job looking after casinos, being on call 24-7, with the predictable overtime, and my education. My niece, Christina, and a friend are stopping in to visit. They are in the lakes region, staying at one of the “old money” resorts like Craguns’ or Maddens’, for a student government conference or something like that. By the way, in this case, “old money” resorts are those that have been in business since way, way, way before the lakes country was the place to be on weekends, and before everyone and his brother owned a lake-front property. Those resorts have been in business here since the 1930s, and therefore, they are the old money resorts.

Juan Pablo II

I have a road trip of about 600 miles, starting early in the morning. My class schedule this week is heavy with assignments, dealing with APA form, grammatical context, and writing a persuasive essay. I want to wake by 4 in the morning, so I can return home at a reasonable time, especially since Gabriel is not feeling so good right now. I'm a Dad... I worry about my little guy. I wish I had the inspiration to write something great, but my mind is exhausted tonight. Instead, here is something full of meaning, from a brilliant conservative mind, and I give him full credit. Rich Galen, mullmeister extraordinaire, as always, way to go, weaving words, skillfully, into a masterpiece. If you want to read more from him, check out http://www.mullings.com.

From Rich Galen: Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC Saturday night, said he remembered the time in Los Angeles when Pope John Paul II was being fawned over by the LA crowd: the singers, the dancers, the actors.

I had forgotten about this incident, but Olbermann had not.

The Pope singled out a young man who had been born without arms, but who had learned to play the guitar with his feet and toes. The young man played for the Pope. Oscars, Grammies, Golden Globes meant nothing.

A boy who had, through no fault of his own, been visited with what should have been a devastating disability. The boy got to play for the Pope. The Pope chose that boy to perform.

In the first days of the 21st Century there are many things in classical Catholic teachings with which one might disagree. You can disagree with, but not fault, a person who - like John Paul II - speaks from his heart. And from his soul.

Before he was elected Pope, John Paul II was Karol Wojtyla of Poland. While he was the Cardinal of Poland, he gave strength and support to the Solidarity movement in Poland which foreshadowed the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe.

Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt defeated the Nazis; Ronald Reagan and Karol Wojtyla, arguably, defeated Communism.

Pretty good group.

Most of us go through life barely scanning what others write. Some are lucky enough to add commas and semi-colons and page-breaks to the daily discourse.

But men like John Paul II, and before him Churchill, Roosevelt and Reagan, fashion the great works of their times and leave the rest of us to ponder how, in some minute manner, we can be more like them.

Oseh shalom beem'roh'mahv, hoo ya'aseh shalom aleynu' v'eemru:

He who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace upon us... now say:
Amen.

Thanks, Mr. Galen, for helping me out tonight. Okay... it's my pathetic excuse for writing from here 'til the end of this entry.

It occurred to me that Terri Schindler was very possibly holding open the gate, waiting for Pope John Paul to come Home.

I am sure that Juan Pablo II is doing fine now, free of his physical ailments. The bigger question is, how will we do without him? Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, rest in peace.

Rest in peace, Terri Schindler

Today, i have no doubt that Terri Schindler lives on in a much better place. I am sure that she is looking down, wishing her family was in Paradise with her, as her parents and her siblings, who stood by her until the very end, and even in death, are trying to honor her memory with a proper Roman Catholic burial, while Michael Schiavo celebrates her death by tossing her ashes to the wind, and far from home. Did it ever occur to you that Terri's suffering and death was not in vain? If we learn something from this about the sanctity of life, maybe we can follow her example, knowing that she learned from the very paradigm of sacrifice, given about 2035 years ago.

I like this verse, and it says better than me that Terri is doing just fine, maybe even dancing in the presence of the Lord.

“O Death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15: 54b-58)

Judicial Tyranny part 4

Terri Schindler has taught us all, she has spoken volumes without one audible word about the value and dignity of life. God has a place and a purpose for each life. We can learn from Terri, and from the least of our brethren. God gives life, and no one but God can rightfully take life away.

It is time to take America back. Terri Schindler did not have to die. Activist judges and an amoral, untrustworthy, treacherous court system are now espousing repugnance for the most basic of liberties, the right to life. Clearly, these lawyers murdered Terri Schindler. A bunch of wise guys once put pen to paper and declared they were creating a new nation, saying, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Note life is mentioned first. Life is the most basic of all human rights. What part of that is hard to comprehend, judge?

The elected officials who said, “My hands are tied” are accomplices in the death of Terri Schindler, as well. There is a significant difference between the established ‘facts of the case’ and what is the undeniable truth. The definition of truth, in the court’s eyes, is an elastic, amoral piece of trash that can be perverted or disregarded at any time to suit the needs of the oligarchy in their lust for unconstitutional supremacy. By judicial decree, thanks to these lawyers, it is legally acceptable to murder ‘pre-born’ children, since the legal description of an unborn child is as ambiguous as Michael Jackson’s gender. Lawyers bend words to suit their purposes, no matter how disreputable they may be. Remember this, George Felos is an Evangelical Christian. Maybe he needs to look down one time to see the people he is trampling, in his quest for power and influence at any cost. According to that CBS poll, 82 percent of Americans said that the feeding tube should go. Had they educated themselves to the truth, that Terri was not EVER on life support, maybe they would have pangs of guilt for a millisecond before they went back to their reality TV. The 82 percent of Americans who said, “Terri must die,” are wrong, but we all have blood on our hands.

It is time to take America back from this judicial tyranny. This is not the America where I want to raise my children, and yes, we do have a choice in the matter.

Judicial Tyranny part 3

Were you among those who sided with Michael Schiavo, urging the torture of his de facto murder victim? The undertones surrounding George Felos and the ‘right to die’ crowd say she was just a vegetable and not worth saving. Oh really? Who next? How about babies with cleft palates, minor birth defects or the wrong gender? Not in America, not yet, but soon, yes, post-birth terminations for defects. We must follow those who are intellectually gifted, like much of Europe, (NOTE SARCASM). They know so much better than those silly Americans who worship an unconstitutional god, and actually still had a modicum, no, just an infinitesimal shred of respect for life… at least, until Terri Schindler was murdered by judicial diktat with the support of 82 percent of Americans, according to polls. That statement alone, according to polls, requires a huge disclaimer, penitence, atonement, and a tetanus shot. The implications of the brainwashed masses being led to the slaughter by the major media, seeking the poll result they need, to further their indoctrination into the guidelines of death as duty. It is just so foul, I am ashamed to be an American today. For what it is worth, I did not abandon Terri. Did you?

Judicial tyranny part 2

The arguments saying that this is a private matter ring hollow to the intellectually honest. This is a test case for ‘the duty to die’ in America today. Playing devil’s advocate, then, let’s say that Michael Schiavo physically harmed Terri Schiavo, putting her into this so-called persistent vegetative state, and ultimately caused her death by his legal ministrations. How is that remarkably different from Scott Peterson, murdering his wife and unborn son, Connor? That story was splashed on every channel on TV and in every paper for over a year. Wasn’t that a private matter? Or was it enthusiastically sadistic voyeurism?


Speaking further about private matters where the Supremes overstepped their bounds, Terri Schindler and abortion, not related, right? There are bold-faced parallels, as well. After all, children under a few years old are unable to feed themselves. Should they be killed because they are not autonomous beings? Well, yeah, if you are a liberal, your party demands protections of the professed right to have a doctor violate the Hippocratic oath and chop up, then vacuum an innocent child out of the safety of the womb in which he has been sheltered.


Coming soon to America, the right to kill your baby after the birth, but only in the first few years of life. How accomodating. We are civilized, after all. Baby killing is a civil right, according to the likes of Whoopee Goldberg, the Hollywood crowd, and millions of others. After all, unwanted babies should be killed. They are just slugs of flesh anyway. This is insanity, guaranteed to infringe upon the right to life of the least of our brethren. As I said, may God have mercy on America.

Judicial tyranny part 1

I heard that the Congress and the President intervening to save Terri Schindler were overstepping their authority. Oh really? Gee, all you constitutional geniuses who know so much better can answer this, “Whatever happened to ‘separate but equal’ and the ‘balance of power?’ Congress and the judiciary balance the President. The President and the judiciary balance the legislative branch. Who balances out the judiciary? In today’s America, nobody does.


In defense of the Constitution of these United States of America, the judicial branch was not intended to be the final arbiter of all decisions without any recourse. The legislative branch has the constitutional right, and the express written duty, to overrule the judiciary and to constrain the judiciary from acting on specific issues. This is constitutionally written and guaranteed as a balace of the powers of the three branches of federal government.

What we are seeing here is the opening salvo in the battle of the constitutional protections of America, versus the unelected and unaccountable judicial oligarchy. These lawyers in black dresses are completely out of control. They facilitated the murder of Terri Schiavo, and they are as guilty of negligence as George Felos and Michael Schiavo are of murder.


If the idea that a judge can order your death, though you have committed no crime, doesn’t scare the hell out of you, then you scare me more than a little bit.

Judicial Murder

Terri Schindler died today at the age of 41. She did not die a natural death, however. She was tortured in a sick and inhumane way and then, she was killed in a manner that should never be allowed in America. We used to be civilized; today I am not so sure about that. What was her crime? Perhaps, marrying a man who has a heart of stone, who was strongly influenced by George Felos, an insignificant little 'Angel of Death' who truly appears to be one of the minions of evil. Bobby Schindler was right when he said, "I think Mr. Felos has some infatuation with death." Thank goodness for 'soul speak' so that Felos could psychically connect with Terri and hear her trapped and tortured soul cry out, "Somebody, kill me please!"

We treat terrorists better than this. Terrorists are never starved or deprived of water, by virtue of the Geneva Convention, even though terrorists aren't even subject to its rules. It is amazing how Terri Schiavo’s inalienable right to life was not protected by the constitution of America of 2005. Oh, how far we have come, and not in the right direction. If this is progress, we are stuck in reverse and gaining speed. May God have mercy on America.

“Mishkaawiisinidah”

I worked at Red Lake today. It was a surreal day, working in close proximity to the school buildings, with parking lots virtually deserted, with the exception of a larger police presence than I have ever seen in Red Lake. Police cars barricaded the entrances to each school building and police officers stood watch. The high school is next door to the casino, and the middle school is about four blocks west of the casino, but both are on the main street of Red Lake. Both are heavily guarded and off limits to all but the police, until schools re-open, possibly next week.

As it should be, every flag is at half-staff, out of reverence for the dead. There are ten white crosses along the chain link fence in front of the high school, each standing about five feet tall and with the name of one of the victims of the violence of last Monday. For about fifty yards, the fence is completely covered with flowers, signs and posters with messages of support, thoughts and prayers, and there are stuffed animals, teddy bears and other mementos. No one is speaking about the deaths openly, as the tribal customs require the names of the victims to remain unstated during this time of remembrance. The people I worked with were speaking in muted tones and the names remain unspoken, in deference to the customs among the Chippewa regarding mourning.

I did hear that part of the grieving process for the Chippewa Indians, who have a close-knit, family-based culture, is to have a two-day wake. Part of that includes prayers by a holy man, and a fire is built that is kept burning day and night until the wake is over. The logs for the fire are stacked to allow the wind to travel under them and aid in the deceased Chippewa’s journey to the afterlife. After two days, a traditional Christian funeral follows.

All seems to be calm now, but it is surreal, and I am sure that the closeness of the community has been severely shaken. From an outsider’s perspective looking in on a close-knit community, all I can say is, God bless them, and help them to be strong.

“Mishkaawiisinidah” is Ojibwe for “Let’s be strong.”

First Rain/ Thunderstorm

Gabriel slept through his first thunderstorm this morning. It stopped thundering after awhile and continued raining. He did see a bit of that. Being that he was a winter baby like me, this was the first rain he has seen. I credit us making noise while Gabriel sleeps for his ability to sleep through the thunder. I'll like that later when I don't have to share our bed with a scared kid who woke up during a storm. I'm not saying that it will never happen, just that it is less likely. By the way, the rain did more than just entertain Gabriel. It proved to me that the dripping from the skylight that Doug experienced the other day was not leaking. It was just condensation from our inadequately ventilated house.

The hand basket

The political handling of Terri Schindler has come into view as a defining moment in the relentless march toward euthanasia in America. If I were a fervent advocate of "the right to die," I would not be at ease with the legalized murder of Terri Schindler. I say “Terri Schindler” because her so-called husband has forced her into a de facto divorce… either that, or he is a bigamist. Take your pick. Extra-marital affairs are unlawful in Florida, just FYI.

Sometimes, the point in time at which a ventilator should be disengaged is not a clear-cut singular moment, and it is tricky to know if a dearly loved family member should be permitted to depart this life peacefully through choices we make involving their beneficial care, or the lack thereof. This is not such a case in the least.

Terri Schiavo was not going to die, at least not until her so-called husband, his parasitical lawyer, George Felos, and their not at all honorable judicial gangster, Judge Greer, got their demands met and her feeding tube was removed. She was not being kept alive by extraordinary methods. She was not "brain dead" by any characterization of that slick terminology. Her death would be caused not by the termination of medical treatment, but by dehydration and starvation.

From a non-medical standpoint, it was quite obvious that Michael Schiavo had great impetus in his egocentric quest of his wife's premature demise. He stood to collect a considerable fiscal inheritance, and liberty to walk down the aisle with the polluted woman with whom he has carried out a protracted extra-marital affair. He had the cash, until he took the money awarded him to provide for Terri’s therapy and paid his legal team to assure an innocent woman was sentenced to die. What we have here is legally mandated murder. What manner of a woman would covet a man like Michael Schiavo, knowing how unfeeling and despicable he acts toward his suffering in-laws? Doesn’t his common law wife understand that a man who has cheated on his wife has a tendency to do to same thing to the woman who has replaced his wife? Michael Schiavo’s callous antagonism toward his wife's parents shows unmistakably that he is on a vulgar individual drive to terminate Terri Schindler. Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, were sincere and forthright, honestly expressing their unrelenting declaration that Terri wanted to live. She lives on, but not for long.

Isn’t it blatantly obvious that, after 12 days without food, she has the will to live? IF she wanted to die, she would have given up and died. Terri Schindler wants to live, and no willful, legal murder of one so innocent will go unpunished. If we stand by and let this happen, we will rue the day that it comes back to haunt us, and I am speaking to America’s future, to anyone who listens.

This is a dangerous and slippery slope we are trampling, on, what, the road to Nazism and the duty to die? I saw a bumper sticker on the rear bumper of a rice burning four-banger today, driven by some Marxist-Leninist wannabe (judging by the rancorously anti-American slogans and hippy-chick pro-United Nations bumper stickers). While she had her cell phone glued to the side of her head in a semi-permanent and likely carcinogenic position, it occurred to me that here was another stooge who doesn’t understand what she is wishing for. After all, the human race has such malevolent avarice and egotistical deficiencies that collectivism is plainly preposterous and idiotic. The flip side, hard work pays off for those who give it their all. This ‘Blame America’ joker wasn’t an American I can be proud of. It seems ironic she had one bumper sticker that seems absolutely fitting, for some reason.

It said: “Where are you taking me, and why am I in this hand basket?”

Gabriel update

A faithful reader asked for more posts about Gabriel, so here it goes. Gabriel was recently the hit of the family Easter celebration. He got passed around all day. Many commented on how much he has grown. He has, in fact, grown a considerable amount since Doug's family saw him last. They saw him shortly after he was born. The Thursday before Easter Gabriel turned two months old. He went to the doctor for a check-up and vaccinations (my poor baby!). Gabriel weighed in at 12 lbs, 12 ozs and measured 23 1/4 inches. Of all the people who held him on Sunday, Gabriel seemed to particularly fall asleep in the arms of Liz, Doug's niece. Liz seemed slightly hurt by this, especially since her sister, Chris, teased that Liz bored Gabriel to sleep. As I told Doug, you should take it as a compliment if a baby falls asleep in your arms. That baby felt safe enough with that he or she fell asleep. I don't know about you, Liz, but the first time I fell in love was the first time a baby fell asleep in my arms.

"Supporters of Michael Schiavo's effort to end his wife's life have asked how conservatives, who claim to believe in the sanctity of marriage, can fail to respect his husbandly authority. The most obvious answer is that a man's authority as a husband does not supersede his wife's rights as a human being -- a principle we never thought we'd see liberals question." --James Taranto

You have got to stand for something or you’ll… be an amoral liberal (same thing, amoral EQUALS liberal). Whichever way the pollster wind blows, so goes the belief system of the Socialist Democratic Nazi Party of America (a more accurate name for the Democrap party, since that is basically what they stand for: death to the innocent, absolute taxation without tangible representation, confiscation of the wealth of the hard-working and giving that money to the slothful, idle, and those unlawfully in the United States). Of course, the Democrap Party also stands up for your civil rights, except, of course, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Oh, and the right to defend yourself, to pray anywhere you want, to do just about anything that would cause you to be a reflection on the life that God would want you to live.

The wacko oligarchic blood-sucking lawyers in black dresses who call themselves our judiciary have declared that the hypocrite phony named Michael Shiavo can execute his wife with the support of a judicial diktat, even though hearsay is inadmissible in Florida courts. So, the word of the Schindlers doesn’t count for a thing, but the lying word of Michael Shiavo, wife-abuse enthusiast, is the gospel truth… the gospel of death, and a license to kill, that is. Hearsay is useless in Florida, unless you want to kill your wife, and you have had a common law wife for the last ten years. Not only is that adultery and abandonment, both of which are taboo, but having two wives at the same time is, Michael Shiavo, homicidal megalomaniac that you are, polygamy, which is unlawful in every one of the 50 states of this once-great union. I have got to tell you, that George Felos, "Right to murder your wife" advocate, is one scary little man. He speaks with a forked tongue, just like his master. It is not for me to judge, but i find it hard to imagine that these two will be anywhere but in Hades one day soon. You know the arrogant monsters I am talking about.

If Terri Shiavo dies, after suffering these next few days for critical nourishment, those who have taken Jesus Christ as their savior will go to Golgotha. We will see Terri passing from this mortal subsistence to her great reward, while we who are left behind in this decaying world will see a startling transformation. Maria Esperanza, the distinguished Catholic seer, foretold that the death of an innocent childlike individual would be the harbinger of a long-anticipated swell welcoming God’s purifying Grace.

It is starting to happen. It is in evidence in the natural world. There is chaos and darkness. For now, it seems that Satan is triumphant. He has put the scales of evil blindness before the moral sight of America and the human race. We are consoled in knowing that no matter how sinister it becomes, the anguish and the gloom will be followed by renewal. I would be surprised if Michael Shiavo and his purely malevolent lawyer, George Felos, will allow Terri Schiavo-Schindler to live until Easter Sunday. Somehow, that seems appropriate, should God take her home on Good Friday at 3:00 p.m., by Easter morning, Jesus Christ will roll back the stone from the tomb, taking Terri in the radiance of his Love.

I have no doubt that soon she will be rejoicing in paradise before God in Heaven. My simple prediction, Terri is going home soon, as heartbreaking as that is to those left behind. Terri has an unalienable right to life, something that her so-called husband has no legal or moral right to steal from her, but he already has. Soon, Terri will be whole again. How very appropriate that reward will be.

Recall...and an expert opinion

Yesterday a Sears repairman came to replace a thing on the inside ceiling of the microwave. A recall put out by the company said that the plate thingy trapped grease up there and caused fires. We were more concerned about the state of the cord. The insulation seemed to be melting on its own and exposing the wires. Additionally, the control pad was constantly malfunctioning, the microwave not always heating, and the microwave randomly starting. We kept it unplugged. I told the repairman that if it was left plugged in it might randomly say "PAD". He told me that this meant that the control pad needed to be replaced along with the computer behind it, all to the tune of $150. He followed that up with the revelation that a new microwave like the one we have costs around $300. Do the math. I told him we'd most likely be getting a new one soon because the cord made it unsafe to use. He didn't put the recall repair kit in because he knew that we would throw the microwave away.

I called Doug and told him the news while he was on his way home. He stopped at Best Buy and looked at microwaves before he came home. Doug took me to see them, and we came home with one. The fun of installation commenced and did not end until midnight. I had been hungry since 5pm, so I was the first one to use the microwave. It's nice. I don't have to worry about starting the house on fire now. I like that.

To all my loved ones, family and friends, get a living will or health care proxy in order today! Our government is no longer “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” but in the hands of special interests and lawyers. They cannot handle our money, they are bankrupting our economy and the ideals that made America the greatest nation in the history of the world, and what next? They surely cannot be counted on to defend our liberties or err on the side of life. Trust no one with your life but God. These evil people can not be trusted!

I left just in time

Talk about something that makes a person think. Did anyone watch the news tonight and hear about that school shooting in Red Lake, MN? I was working there today, and I left one hour before the shootings. What is wrong with people these days, especially kids killing kids, and kids with guns? What is that all about? It sounds like eight people have been killed and 15 or so injured, by a student who is probably dead now, too. Apparently, the suspect killed his grandparents first and then headed for the school. It just really makes a person reflect, question and worry.

One of the executive directors for the Red Lake Band gave me what was, in his words, "a bit of friendly advice" to "get off the reservation before the sun goes down." I read an article about the Indian gang that is virulently active in Red Lake and Cass Lake. I can tell you from visiting the casinos on a regular basis that in these communities, hostility and murders aren't even a big deal any longer, as violence is an everyday occurrence. But when people get killed in a school, the news organizations take note. This really got my attention after I heard about it, particularly because I was the only non-Native American I saw in the city of Red Lake and at the casino the entire time I was there, which was about two hours. An hour later... all hell breaks loose.

There are countless news stories to support this thought: the whole world has gone crazy. This is madness. Can the hand of God's justice be far behind?

Today's News

I was happy to wake up and discover that Congress got its act together and passed the same version of Terri's Law so that President Bush could sign it at 1AM this morning. I hope the federal judge will find in favor of Terri. She deserves the right to live and should have had therapy a long time ago. Unfortunately, the randomly picked judge was appointed by Clinton. He may not be as persuaded to err on the side of life. After all, Clinton would never have appointed someone who was pro-life. We'll have to see what happens. Die with dignity, my foot! Being dehydrated and starved to death is not dignified!

On another note, it is obvious what the media thinks America wants to see when you turn on the TV and one of the top stories with as much importance as Terri's murder is Michael Jackson walking into court acting like he is in worse shape than Chief Justice Rehnquist. Who cares? He's a wiener! He's only doing it to get publicity. Quit giving him what he wants!

There is confirmation that innumerable Americans still appreciate our nation's Founding code: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...." What else could account for the sorrowful awareness concerning the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo, who was ordered put to death by dehydration and starvation, beginning Friday under court order?

Within our nation's matchless founding deed, The Declaration of Independence, as upheld by its consequent regulation, The Constitution, there is a momentous idiom, "unalienable." It's a word that delineates certain of our constitutional rights as powerless to be alienated, estranged, surrendered, or reassigned... not even under judicial decree. Life itself is one such unalienable right, and no good administration can reassign the right to life for a category of people into the control of another class of people.

Thomas Jefferson trembled for this nation, in reflecting that God's righteousness cannot slumber without end, presaged, "The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them." For all the prosaic speeches about life's giving way to advance liberty, these unalienable civil liberties will either prosper as one, or perish as one.

WARNING: THIS BLOG ENTRY IS NOT PLEASANT AND MAY BE OFFENSIVE. SO BE IT. READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

For the last time, Terri Schiavo is NOT in a persistent vegetative state, no matter what the hypocrite lairs on CBS and the rest of the propaganda machine tell you. Watch the videos! Investigate the truth! Read the Schindler’s website. I have come to the conclusion that this is all part of a well-orchestrated plan to change "right to die" to "duty to die.” These iniquitous groups might as well be sitting in a clandestine assembly, saying “Hey, how are we going to get the ball rolling to get rid of some of these gimps and cripples?” Then, one of their fanatic automatons will say, “How about starting with a precedent? An example? How about a public execution? Even funnier, we can make it court-ordered! But who would be the perfect example to show others how important it is for useless people to die? How about that Terri Schiavo? She is just lying there, half-dead anyway. She can be the prototype that lets us kill ‘em all.”

Don't believe me?

Watch what comes to pass in future years as egocentric lawyers who call themselves congressmen take away your right to live if you are handicapped or in poor health. If you aren't one of their ilk, you are taking up breathing space better exploited by one of their radical cronies. This is eerily reminiscent of the Nazi fascist Germany of the 1930s and ‘40s, though no disrespect is intended to the horrific price paid by the Jews. The scary part? The people who claim to represent the downtrodden, the noninterventionist “freethinkers,” (but I jest, saying they think? Ha!) along the lines of Hillary Rodham Criminal, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Ted ‘Hiccup’ Kennedy and Hanoi Jane Kerry, these are the people who will be bringing the Zyklon B. Does your baby have a cleft palate? A birth defect? How inconvenient… die, baby, die! One less defective human to exterminate, one less cripple to eradicate.

The last shred of respect for life is burning in a lake of fire. Coming soon to an American neighborhood near you... fire and brimstone. God help us all. Terri Schiavo deserves to live!

State-ordered execution

Terri Schiavo ought to be cared for by her parents. Clearly, they love her best. "The measure of a society is how they treat the least of us," says Kate Adamson, a former "vegetative state" patient who reports that the eight-day removal of her feeding tube caused her excruciating pain. "Life is sacred or meaningless," she says. "There is nothing in between."

By the way, Kate Adamson, while she was in an alleged vegetative condition, could hear her family and visitors talking around her hospital bed and can remember the things that were said about her, to her, and the exact words that they used. Persistent vegetative state, my foot.

If this insanity is allowed to persist, it will set a standard that doesn’t have a thing to do with “the right to die.” What it is becomes a court-endorsed “duty to die!” Who will be next? Even having a directive in place may not matter, though, as the courts will certainly overturn it in their greater wisdom. Those buffoons are just self-important, corrupt lawyers in black robes. Duh.

If Terri Shiavo dies, it is murder. M-U-R-D-E-R. The murderous three? Michael Shiavo, his sadistic anti-life attorney, and Judge Greer. Amazing, his lawyer said Terri Shiavo is in her “dying process.” Is that what they call court-ordered murder now? Out of curiosity, did you know that Judge Greer is on the board of directors of the hospice facility where Terri Shiavo is now starving to death? Can you say “conflict of interest?”

Furthermore, I find it alarming that the ACLU has strongly sanctioned the court-ordered execution of Terri Shiavo. Isn’t life a civil liberty? Isn’t it about time that the ACLU was considered a for-profit organization, along with Planned “Proudly Had an Abortion” Parenthood? By the way, both get an allocation from America’s confiscated tax dollars, yours and mine. This has got to stop! These sick people do not represent me and they have no right to my money for such malevolent objectives. I am embarrassed and ashamed to be an American with this psychosis in our midst. These evil people do not represent my America. When are we going to take America back? And how?

This isn’t just about Terri Shiavo. She is a victim of a warped America that has turned its back on God and the little bit that he asks of us. This reeks of the decadent selfishness of a people who think that they no longer need God, a people who, in fact, are playing God and taking lives when they so choose. I have no idea what Sodom and Gomorrah were like, but all I have to do to imagine the iniquity is to read the paper, watch that reality TV trash or walk through the mall and see the half-naked pre-teens who shouldn’t even be out on the town without adult supervision. To tell the truth, I can almost smell the brimstone.

confronting fears

Remember the Cathy cartoon in the comics in the Sunday newspaper? Remember how she was always dealing with women's issues like shopping, our weigh, and our relationships with friends, men, and our mothers? I finally got around to taking my maternity clothes out of my closet today. With the reduction of the number of items in my closet, I was able to find my pre-pregnancy jeans. I finally bit the bullet and tried them. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that they didn't fit, and I didn't want to acknowledge it. I felt like Cathy as I did it. I want to get back into those size 8 jeans. I can't stand that they don't fit. I know everyone gains weight during pregnancy. I just don't want it leftover afterwards.

Free Heroin in Canada

Do any people other than legislators think that giving free Heroin to addicts is actually going to help them turn their lives around? I agree with the Vancouver police chief who said that it will decrease crime and prostitution, but I don't agree that the move away from crime for the addicts is the first step to recovery. I think it will just result in the taxpayers shelling out lots of money for very harmful drugs for a bunch of addicts who don't want to get straightened out. The question then becomes : do taxpayers think it is worth it to them to pay to dope up addicts to reduce the crime rate? What do you think? I think the Canucks are crazy.

Day Two

I have survived two days as an undergrad student. One helpful aspect of distance education is that I am not studying with my student peers, face-to-face, and realizing, “Gosh, I am older than dirt!” One bad thing about distance education is that you do not get that personal interaction. However, the method in which we are interacting is well thought out and it seems to work well, even without that “in person” contact. I have made contact with the members of my classes, just the same. The good news tonight is that I have completed my first three (minor) assignments and started on the fourth, which is due tomorrow.

Today, I drove to the office to drop off the non-working machine parts and related service paperwork that were filling my truck to the back doors. Heather and Gabriel came along to keep me company. One thing that is beneficial to the way our lives are mutually supportive is that Heather reads my assigned texts to me while I drive. We then debate the topics she or I take issue with, or the ideas we agree with. It helps me to retain the content better and it saves time reading the material when we get home. I figure that if we continue to do this, it may even be a bonus to Gabriel, since he hears his Mom reading aloud almost every day. At home, we both read aloud from newspapers, books, or whatever we find on the Internet that is of interest or worth debating.

Heather isn’t just my wife. She is my closest friend, confidant, my equal and my learning partner, coach and cheerleader. While Heather is a stay-at-home mom and I am the employed wage earner in this family, working on my AA/BA degree program is, in reality, a team effort. This is advantageous for every member of our family, Mom and Dad, and baby Gabriel, too. We are all in this together, and we are doing just fine.

Hey, our family is going to watch “The Incredibles” before this old man goes off to bed. 10-4. Over and out.

School daze (again)

Today was my first day as a college undergrad. It wasn’t unpleasant, not too harsh. At first, while I was setting up the newsgroups that will be a key component of my educational experience, it seemed a bit overwhelming. After reading the newsgroup threads from my instructors and fellow students, and once I created my replies, it didn’t seem so overpowering. Of course, I haven’t started writing my persuasive thesis yet. Then, all bets may be off, at least for a while until I 'hit my stride' again.

This shouldn’t surprise me, mainly because of the type of people this program is aiming to educate, but it does strike me how the other students come from every walk of life and every level of accomplishment. Most are parents who expressed how they want to make an impression on their children, to set an example of the path they hope their children will follow. There are grandmothers and moms, dads and one or two singles. One or two have held some remarkable leadership positions without the benefit of higher education. These are people who want to cause a change in their lives and they see education as the answer. As for myself, I am looking at the picture of where I want to be in ten years and this is an essential part of the future I am forming in my mind. This is day one of a long-term mission, and something I have wanted to do for years. It is going to take hard work but I can do it, and I will.

Doug's first assignment

Doug's first assignment was to write an autobiography. As usual, it was informative yet entertaining. It cracks me up to see him edit it five times. This is typical of Doug, but it makes me smirk every time. I would only bother to edit twice, at the most. I keep telling him that he would make a great newspaper editor, English professor or high school English teacher. The local newspaper could certainly use better editing than it is getting, and both high school and college students could benefit from his writing and grammar skills. right about now is where Doug would pipe up and say, "Quit talking about my Grammer!" (Grandma, get it?) Needless to say, I like to watch Doug work.

Is it morning already?

I am getting an early start this morning. It seems that a certain tech, who shall remain anonymous, and who is on-call today, is unavailable by telephone to take his calls. Gee, it must be nice to be paid to be on-call and yet, not have to take any calls. Isn’t that like free money? Therefore, I have three service calls to take care of this morning. The first is two hours from home and the rest are in Wisconsin. At times like this, I keep it in the center of my mind that I have a good life, and it doesn’t come free. Long before the sun comes up, I will be on my way to the land of cheese. One thing, that makes me feel fine? Some people get by on silly little things like merit, dependability and experience. The rest kiss ass. You can't fall back on that. Ahhh… I have skills. Whoohoo!

We have visitors this weekend. My brother, Dave, and his son, Josh, are staying with us. Alas, they will have to hang out here without me today. It isn’t a problem, since Heather and Gabriel will be here. This road trip is too long for them to come with me. I imagine they will be heading back before I get home from work, which is too bad, but at least we had Saturday to visit. Dave and Josh have both met Gabriel, so most members of my family have met our son. See? Life is pretty good, even at 4 in the morning. Grumble, grumble… it is time for me to hit the road.

Let our soldiers do their jobs

How can our soldiers get their jobs done and improve life in Iraq if their actions are being second-guessed by authorities here? Specifically, I'm thinking of 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano and any other soldier in the same situation. Lt. Pantano was working in the Sunni Triangle, th most dangerous place to be in Iraq. If he felt that he and his men were in danger, who am I to second-guess his decision to eventually use lethal force to defend himself? I'm not the one putting my butt on the line. Maybe the people responsible for his charges and those involved in his trial should think about that. Also, if we keep the hands of our troops tied, we'll never get the job done. We need to let our troops use the force deemed necessary to send a message to the insurgents/terrorists/bad-guys. Telling the military how to do its job only prolongs the war and creates more casualties. They know what needs to be done and how to do it, so we should all leave President Bush and our fine fighting forces do what they deem necessary. Stop charging our soldiers with murder! Death happens as a matter of course in war, and we are at war against terrorism. Stop giving enemy combatants rights they do not deserve. They are not fighting in a country's uniform, for a country, so the Geneva Convention doesn't apply to them. Finally, tell the UN, and certain members of the media, to go to hell!

And you didn't think there was a political bone in my body! FOOLED YOU!

Ode to Brian: My own personal Geek Squad

Who needs Best Buy when all I have to do is call up my cousin/godfather? Yes, the dual role makes him special. The computer genius makes him even more special. Brian, once again, saved my butt by solving my computer problems. This one was actually Doug's problem, since networking and wireless routers are way over my head, but Brian rescued me. The man has forgotten more about computers than I'll ever know. Of course, that isn't too difficult. I feel like such a dunce when it comes to technology. Anyway, this is a public thank you to the man who spent three hours on the phone long distance to help us when he could have been sleeping or spending quality time with his wife and child, who, by the way, are pretty stellar people. I wonder if he remembers talking me through a computer problem on a long distance phone call to Ireland, where I was in a college study abroad program? Anyway, I just had to mention how great my godfather is. Thanks, Brain...I mean, Brian.

Bored, bored, bored... Not me, not now!

Now that I have relocated Heather’s computer and the network is operating smoothly, I have a deadline to meet, more or less, with regard to my computer. Today, I received the 2005 edition of my operating system with all its annoyingly bloated new features. Microsoft calls it innovation. I call it “software obesity.” As always, there are numerous added services that I will never use. I ultimately disable much of what Microsoft considers essential, but which my computer does not.


Friday morning is my online orientation as a new student of WIU. I will have to use online software as a big part of the virtual classroom, and I need to have my PC “rehabilitated” first. Before Friday, I need to restore my computer, completely wiping the hard drive for a clean start with that new OS software. I have lots to do before Friday, and still haven’t finished my autobiography for Monday’s class. I will get it together before then, though, no worries about that. At least I’m not bored to tears, with nothing to do!

School daze

This weekend, we got our wireless network up and running. I moved Heather's computer into the living room, so that she can get online while Gabriel is sleeping. She hasn't been able to email her family much since Gabriel was born. Of course, that is to be expected, but I wanted to make it more convenient for her to at least send an email now and then. It does help me out, too. With classes starting on Monday, I will be able to study, "attend classes," and enjoy my family, all at the same time, as opposed to playing the hermit, hiding out in my little closet, er, office.

My first assignment is to write an autobiography introducing myself to my virtual class. In a way, I guess it isn't a virtual class, since we will be viewing each other's posted comments and sharing ideas in near-real time. Okay, since I will probably never meet my classmates, it is still a virtual class. Anyway, duty calls. I have a lot of work at the Lights today. Later.

Admissions (If she was? Nope. If she were... )

I "met" my admissions counselor last week. Her name is Andrea. She is feisty, pleasant and has just enough zing to make the process of preparing for years of study (again) seem less painful than it otherwise might be. Even though she is in Arizona, it seems strangely familiar, in this small world, how she has visited many of the casinos I helped set up with new games or get ready to open. She told me that she is a transplant from the Midwest, so that helps. If she were from California, on the other hand, I might be thinking, “Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!” Nah, not really. She is nice. I wonder... if I say enough kind things about her, will it get me any brownie points with my admissions counselor?

I ordered books for the first classes today. It looks like this is really happening, almost as simple and smooth as glass. Andrea told me today that if I wimp out, she is going to kick my, uh... Hi, Counselor. What’s up?

Hey... it was 54 degrees and sunny yesterday. It seems that spring is tipping the scales in the mêlée that is the transition from winter to spring. You know how it is, mild one day, snowing and sub-zero the next. Incidentally, it was snowing when I left on a service call this morning. My seasonal passion for winter is fading, and gardening fever is winning me over.

Sunday, Boring Sunday

Is it just me, or are Sundays really boring when football season ends? I like the ritual of planting on the couch or bed and watching two groups of big, burly guys beat each other up over a ball. I suppose I'll have to replace it with a movie, but it just isn't the same. I can't even say that I'd be satisfied with a Sunday baseball game, because half of the fun is watching the game with Doug. Anyone who knows Doug will tell you that he thinks that baseball ranks right up there with golf and tennis as the most boring sport. I ask you, what is a woman to do? Doug, pick a movie!

How many children will have to die?

The only good things to come out of that tragic story in the last blog? Two things i can think of. One, that the father of the those twins will face capital murder chargers for killing them, born or unborn. And two, that with this law, the fact that unborn children are receiving a modicum of legal protection and recognition is a glimmer of hope in this world gone completely insane.

How many children have died because of abortions? Nobody knows for sure, but a conservative estimate, as of today, in the whole world, including developing countries, is that about 188,182,000 children have been murdered by abortion. Check this link for the source of the numbers. The main thing is, though, abortion should not be used for birth control. Finally, people need to take responsibility for their actions! No whining. If you do the deed, take responsibility for it. As I like to say, build a bridge and get over it!

Just me, ranting again.

Another needless heartbreak comes out of a miracle of life, created through irresponsibility, another moral defeat snatched from an undeserved victorious blessing. Yet again, I ask myself, “What happened to a respect for life?” You know you can count on me to clarify until this is unambiguous.

A Texas man is facing a capital murder charge after his 4-month-pregnant girlfriend convinced him to forcefully step on her stomach in order to kill the unborn twins she was carrying. Authorities believed 16-year-old Erica Basoria had been abused by her boyfriend, 18-year-old Gerardo "Jerry" Flores, indicting him under the Texas Prenatal Protection Act.

This law was passed to protect unborn children in cases where the purpose was to cause a miscarriage through deliberate violence against the mother. The regulation defined the lawful term ‘individual’ as, “a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth.” Praise God for small miracles! Nevertheless, the law included language that makes it irrelevant in either a criminal prosecution or a civil action to the behavior of the unborn child's mother so that the law would not pertain to a woman having an abortion.

Anyone familiar with Heather and me knows that we don’t just believe half-heartedly, we vociferously maintain the uncomplicated mandate: “Thou shall not kill.” God didn’t say, “Don’t kill anybody, as long as they have been born.” He made it clear, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me.” That is from Colossians 3:17, for sinners like me to read again. Let me be unequivocal. Abortion is the murder of innocent children. Period. That we stand by this principle isn’t news to my family, or to Heather’s family. What is news in all of this?

The manipulative, coldhearted mother of these unborn twins will not be held accountable for her actions. How can two people consciously do something like this and only one of them be prosecuted? This woman overtly attempted to cause a miscarriage. Let me define that: this woman willfully planned the premeditated murder of her two unborn children. Two precious children are dead, and their mom isn’t going to have to answer for it.

I cannot state this as efficiently as could the homicidal maniac who is the mother of these two dead children. In her words, “About two weeks before the miscarriage, I started hitting myself in the stomach. I would do this every day and I would use both of my fists when I did this. I would hit myself 10 or more times.”

Her parents, too, should be held accountable. Basoria’s sworn statement stated that her parents pled with her for more than two weeks to have an abortion. Therefore, they are guilty as well. The “grandparents” didn’t murder the twins. Erica, Mommy Dearest, convinced her boyfriend, the babies’ father, to kill them. Without question, their mother permitted it, appealed to her cooperative partner. She conspired with dad, and thus, he killed their children. Those prospective grandparents wanted their grandchildren dead. Guilty. As a parent myself, this is heart-breaking.

Whatever happened to respect for life? What happened to taking responsibility for one’s actions? It's like this: if you don't want children, if you are a teen and not married, you aren't prepared to be a parent, and you aren't ready for sexual relations, so knock it off already! Abstinence works every single time it is tried. Period. When God becomes weary of our collective iniquity, we are all accountable for tolerating a civilization that has devolved into madness. God help us. This world certainly needs a mountain of divine intercession, and I pray that we get the guidance we need.

By the way, Mom, Dad... and God, thanks for giving me life!

The Joys of Homeownership

I see Doug already posted about the momentary malfunction of our heating system, but I must tell you my thoughts on it. I sleep under a blanket and sheet and like to be toasty warm when I sleep. So when I wake up to nurse Gabriel in the middle of the night, sometimes I shiver. I didn't really think anything of this particular shivering session until I picked up Gabriel and noticed his hands were cooler than usual, bordering on cold. Then I looked at Doug. Mister sheet-around-the-waist had the sheet pulled up to his neck. I put a second, warmer blanket around Gabriel as I held him to me and went to investigate the thermometer/clock we have in the kitchen. My jaw dropped when I noticed that it said61 degrees. I checked to see if the thermostat had been bumped and found it set on 68 degrees. I went over to the register along the wall and it felt cold. That was when I woke up Doug. I knew it was in the teens or something like that outside, and the temperature in the house would fall fast if we didn't do anything. My first thought after keeping my baby warm was that the birds need it to be 70 degrees in here. I was glad Doug was home for this little problem. I would have been panicking if I had to try to figure out how to make the boiler kick on while trying to nurse Gabriel. I'm no good at that fix-it stuff anyway. I probably would have run over to our neighbor across the street and pleaded for help. I'm incredibly clueless when it comes to this stuff. The ironic thing is that I just finished checking the boiler and thermostat again because it is now 78 degrees in here. I'm roasting! I've concluded that it is only the sun pouring in that is heating up the house. We'll pretend it is summer for a few hours.

Baby, it's cold... inside.

Heather woke me at 4:30 this morning and told me that the house was chilly. It wasn’t an icebox, but it was 61 degrees, definitely colder than it should have been. It turned out to be a minor issue, though that is a bit cool for the birds. We turned on the electric registers while we waited for the boiler to heat the hot water registers. Come to think of it, the cost of electricity has actually gone down in the last ten years, while the rate for natural gas continues to rise. Would it make more sense to heat the house with the electric heaters? We aren't sure, but it is something we are considering.

We decided to use “dual heat” for now, turning the registers up to a few degrees less than the optimal temperature, with the thought that it would help moderate the temperature and maybe save us a buck or two. If the hot water boiler doesn’t kick in, the electric registers will keep the house from getting icy cold. Oh… the problem with the boiler? I have no idea. I turned off the breakers for five minutes and turned the power back on. Apparently I had to reset an electrical relay or something. The house is toasty warm again.

After much deliberation and procrastination, my conclusion is that I need to think about where my career might lead. I decided I should do what I can now, while my kids are still young, so that I have more education. In this case, only one of my kids has been born so far, but you already knew that. With that in mind, there is no time like the present.

Heather can tell you, I have always planned to get more education. I just never took the initiative to get started. With my irregular schedule and on-call status 24 hours a day, every day, I assumed that I couldn’t make the time to get edumacated. That is the reason why some genius came up with distance education, I imagine. I submitted the truckload of paperwork to get started. Other than tying up the loose ends, and getting the books, materials, etcetera, most everything is in place. I will start college (again, and feeling old in doing so) on March 14th. I will take a full-time credit load (think in terms of semesters) but only take 2 classes at a time, for 9 weeks each, instead of 4 classes for 18 weeks. The classes will be comprehensive but for a shorter period than in a typical college environment.

The school I chose has a high level of accreditation, which makes me feel comfortable with it, obviously. I wondered if an AA/BA could be equivalent to a traditionally earned degree at a ‘brick-and-mortar’ university. Would it be as genuine if you never made an appearance at the school, in the flesh, so to speak? After researching this matter, I found that it doesn’t make one bit of difference. The powerful equalizer is the accreditation, the reputation of the school and the quality of the education. I really want to do this. In four years, with God to give me strength and my family’s support, I will have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. When I graduate, my kids will still be young. I don’t want to miss the big games and concerts being on the road, after all.

I love what I do and couldn’t imagine wanting to quit. Not only that, but also I have years of experience, self-confidence and I do my job well. But in ten years, will I want to travel 1,000 to 2,000 miles a week for my job, and work up to seven days a week? What kind of advancement opportunity is there for me? With that in mind, I am planning for the future. I am excited about the possibilities. I know I have plenty of hard work ahead of me. Speaking of that, I need to get to work. I have a road trip of 500 miles ahead of me today. See what I mean? I will probably put close to 2,000 miles on the odometer this week. Job security is nice. I want an education to back it up.

On Friday, a judge in Florida extended a court order to keep Terri Schiavo's feeding tube in place until March 18, allowing her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, an opportunity to get medical tests that might demonstrate Terri has greater cerebral function than previously thought. This momentary reprieve from what may be their daughter's vindictive and inhumane death sentence – death by starvation – is at least temporary good news. Why on earth should they have to prove such a thing? They love Terri and value her life as she is.

Deuteronomy says: "I have set before thee life and death … therefore choose life." The Schindlers have chosen life for their daughter! Should a court do anything less?

This is insanity. What a chilling precedent it would set for Florida, and conceivably for the United States, this ostensible “right to die.” In the case of Terri Schiavo, it seems apparent that her determined breathing is a nuisance to her wretched excuse for a husband, and in his eyes, it is obviously a “duty to die.” God help us all.

T. G. I. F.

As soon as I post this, Heather and I are heading for the service center. I have a collection of junk to pick up for upcoming service calls. Junk, in this case, either figurative or literal, I would be hard-pressed to differentiate. We will try to make this a brief stop of an hour or so, and then head home again, with any luck. Keep in mind, it is Friday, and casinos tend to call for service on Fridays regarding problems they have been letting slide all week, or longer.

Josh, as in, Uncle Josh, not nephew Josh, will be visiting this weekend. That is another reason we hope to head home in a judicious manner. That is the theory, in any case. My cell could ring at any minute and then all bets are off.

To follow up the last post, the major media have picked up on the story that Randy Moss is on his way to the Raiders. Do I think this is a reckless move for the Vikings? Does a bear crap in the woods? Oh yeah. The universal response I get when asking "casino people" about the loss of Moss is that each and every person thinks this is stupid with a capital "S." There is a lot of anger and frustration and people are wondering, basically, 'What are they smoking at Winter Park?' Moss wants to be with a team he feels can make it to the Big Game, and for him, that isn't the Vikings. Hopefully, the new Viking, Napoleon Harris, has a blatant Napoleonic complex with results to back it up, or this trade will surely come back to haunt us. Okay, I am absotively posolutely convinced that it will.

Randy Moss has left the building?

Rumor has it that the Vikings and the Oakland Raiders have agreed to a trade that will send Randy Moss to Oakland in exchange for the Raider's first-round pick this year, a seventh-round choice and linebacker Napoleon Harris, who was once a first-round pick himself.

I should be worried about this impending hole in the Vikings line and the Minnesota Moving Company's offense. When these guys play up to their potential, they are formidable! This year, though, with his hamstring injury, Randy Moss wasn't the performer he was in past years. True, he did have 13 TD catches and over 750 yards, which is excellent, but he wasn't the All-Pro he was in his first six seasons, with over 1,000 yards every year of his professional career until this year. Injuries will do that to the best of 'em.

So far, this is just a rumor, but once the new NFL fiscal year starts at the end of next week, we will see if this is true or not. I hate to see Moss go, if he does. But in the last minute of that Washington game, when he walked off the field before the game was over, talk about a morale crusher for the other Vikings who were playing their hearts out and didn't give up. Maybe Randy Moss and his colorful antics aren't what we need in Minnesota, not if it will cost the team its cohesive strength on offense. In any case, this is just a rumor so there is no need for panic. Or celebration. Take your pick.