National Media Either Stupid or Crafty

Gov. Romney was secretly videoed speaking to a private fund raiser. I understand it was done by the grandson of Jimmy Carter who wanted to get back at Romney for remarks he supposed said about former President Carter. Doesn't do much for the Carter name or legacy. Nor does it really harm Gov. Romney's prospects for the White House. Suddenly, when the media feared Romney was gaining in the polls, this video shows up in September, when it was recorded back in May. Yes, we clearly hear Gov. Romney say that 47% of the American electorate pays no income tax. Surprise! That is correct. We also hear Romney say that a certain percentage of the electorate are going to vote for Obama and the Democrat Party no matter what. Surprise! He is dead-on right again. So, what's all the buzz and stir about on the national news media? It's the commend Romney makes when he says, "I'm not concerned about that 47%." EVERYONE from the President on down is twisting this to say that Romney doesn't care about that 47% of the US citizens. Give us all a break. We heard what he said. He said that those people would vote for Obama no matter what so his concern was not for trying to win that group. He can't win them. So why try? This is absolutely NO DIFFERENT than candidate Obama in his first run saying that he was not concerned with the Bible-believing, gun-owning conservatives. He couldn't win their vote no matter how hard he tried, so why bother? Neither candidate said they didn't care about those people as people or as citizens or as having needs. They CLEARLY said they need not concern themselves about trying to win that group. So why don't the media wonks report it right? Well, that's simple: because they want to sway the undecided voters into thinking Romney said something that he didn't say. Now these media types look into the camera with furrowed brows and frowns and say, "Gov Romney said today that he doesn't care about the 47% of American's who don't pay taxes." And Obama appears on late night TV saying, "One thing I've learned since being President is that you work for all the people." HEY, did you get that: "One thing I've learned since being President . . ." Which sounds like he didn't know it before. Or he didn't believe it. He sure didn't sound like it when he ran the first time. I still don't believe he believes it, but he has to say it because it sounds right. His actions speak much louder than his words. So, either the national news media are totally ignorant and can't seem to understand what a person is saying IN CONTEXT, or they are decidedly sinister and trying to sway opinion away from Romney. I firmly believe the latter. The liberal media have an agenda and a candidate. By the way, who makes most of the millions and millions of dollars spent on campaign advertising? Yep, TV networks. If they think it is so terrible that campaigns raise and spend so much money, then why don't they refuse to accept that money and the ads, or give the money to the poor they supposedly stand up for. The sheer hypocrisy makes me sick.

Liberal Media Hypocrisy Over Olympics

Am I the only one who sees this? I mean, back home in the US of A we forbid anyone from being a loser. Right? I mean we did away with letter grading in schools lest we give kids a complex or bad image of themselves. Nobody "wins" or "loses" anymore. Everybody gets a prize. Just show up and your parents get a bumper sticker that says "My kid is a genius," or something to that effect. Well, likewise, don't you think that anyone who shows up at the Olympics wearing spandex leotards or a Speedo (or in the case of beach volleyball a bikini about four sizes too small for the body it's on) ought to win a prize? Yet here we are participating in Olympics that award winners gold, silver and bronze medals plus big cash payments. All the losers are left standing on the sidelines weeping as their coaches set up appointments with psychologists via their smart phones to try to salvage their wrecked lives. Now I surely hope that anyone reading this (and no one seems to) will know that I am being very facetious. If the Olympics teach American youth anything it is that only ONE person or team wins the gold medal in any event. Everybody can't be the winner. And their being told otherwise by American public schools, liberals and the media is just plain wrong. Along with being told how good, smart, beautiful, important, etc. they are, they need to learn how to fail. Don't slink away and hide, sucking your thumb. It isn't the end of the world; pick yourself up and move on. You know, get back on that horse and show it whose boss. That's real life.

Gross Out!

Have you ever been really grossed out? I mean something grabbed you by the throat and almost brought you to your knees gagging? No, I didn’t take the aluminum foil off something in the refrigerator and find maggots working, but if you thought that, then you’re not far from what I am talking about. For seven years I have sat in the same chair at work. The chair was there when I arrived. It worked, it fit, so I didn’t question it. I did add a sheepskin to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter. No, I didn’t find worms in the sheepskin. But moths have worked on it over the years. Recently this pneumatically adjustable chair lost its ability to hold air and collapsed all the way down, which rendered it useless, since that puts my computer keyboard at nose level. So, in frustration, I flipped the chair over hoping to discover either something unplugged or a label with manufacturer information to get help repairing it. When I flipped it over, I noted the underside of the seat had an off-white fabric covering with labels pasted on it. But I also noticed something all over the left side of this fabric and even on the labels on that side. Upon closer examination it became quite clear what it was—and that’s when my knees buckled and my lunch did a back flip. What I was looking at (and almost touching—gag) was nasal deposits. You know, finger in nostril, hand down beside chair, finger wiped on cloth bottom. Not just a time or two, but hundreds of times. The only thing that could have made this worse was for maggots to have been working in it. Sorry, I know this is gross. And my wife told me not to tell anyone. I wanted to take photos and post them on Facebook, but she absolutely forbade it upon pain of . . . well, never mind. So, my only recourse to get this nightmare out of my head was my blog, which she never reads. My advice: if you are sitting at work in a chair that you inherited from someone else, don’t flip it over.

My American Credentials

My earliest ancestors on both sides of my family immigrated lawfully, legally into the American colonies. My 5th and 4th paternal great-grandfathers were patriot soldiers in the American Revolutionary War. Both of my great-great-grandfathers were Confederate soldiers in the War Between the States. My paternal grandfather was an Army infantryman in WWI. My father was a US Marine during WWII. My uncles wore various uniforms of the USA. My father-in-law and his ancestors also wore various uniforms of the USA and served in various conflicts all the way back to the Revolution. My nephew has served two terms in Iraq and is currently in Afghanistan. Though I have never served in the military, I tried to enter several times and was turned down due to medical disqualifications. I have voted in every election since I turned 18 and feel it my obligation, my duty, and my privilege to do so in honor of my ancestors and all like them who fought to insure that I could vote. These are my credentials as an American, a tax-paying citizen of the United States.

Thanks for the Insult

Am I the only one who is bothered by email messages that I don't ask to receive which end by telling me to pass it on to someone else? Especially the ones that sound like chain mail saying that if I forward it wonderful things will happen, but if I don't, then watch out.

I think I am intelligent enough to know whether or not the unrequested email has any merit or is WORTH sending to someone else. I don't need the anonymous author telling me, even scolding me, about sending it to everyone else in my address book.

Usually, I simply delete all messages that tell me to send it on (or tell me to do anything else, as if I am not intelligent enough to figure out what to do without being told). Occasionally, though, I do decide to send a message to someone else. But the first thing I do is delete all the forwarded addresses. Then I delete the ending, which tells the recipient to forward it or something else. If the story or anecdote has merit, it will stand on its on and does not need any commentary by me or anyone else, much less a scolding about forwarding it. Now all this takes time, at least a few minutes. But, if the piece really has merit, and if I think enough of the recipients I intend to send it to, then surely a few minutes of time to "clean it up" are worth the bother.

So, if you have an urge to hit forward and send me something from your email in box, please first delete all the headers with dozens of email address that I don't want or need. And please correct all spelling and punctuation. And please deleted the ending that tells me what to do with the story. Then, if I think it has merit, I will thank you for it, and possibly send it to someone in my address book.

Miracle (and other overused words)

I guess we all have pet peeves. One of mine is people overusing or misusing words. I think if I hear one more person on TV describe something as surreal, I'll gag. I doubt that any of them has ever looked up the word in the dictionary. Likewise with "hero" and "miracle." Don't get me wrong, I believe there are heroes, and I do believe in miracles. But I usually cringe when I hear such words used because they are used incorrectly. The sad thing is that we cheapen such terms by their overuse and misuse. Take for example the word "miracle." A true miracle is a supernatural phenomenon. That is, something that supersedes (I don't like the word violates) the laws of nature.

For example, the jet that "landed" in the Hudson River. The whole incident was dubbed by the news media as "The Miracle on the Hudson." I simply ask, "What law of nature was superseded?" When jet engines shut off, jet planes fall out of the sky. And that is exactly what this one did. Ah, but here is where we can correctly use the term "hero". The pilot used all his training and experience to do exactly what he was trained to do, glide that jet to a skidding landing. And he did so perfectly. Personally I believe God enabled him to do it. But still no laws of nature were superseded in the process. Had the plane kept flying without engines, then a true miracle would have occurred.

People--even Christian people--get angry with me for saying this. They think I'm robbing God of some glory by saying it was not a miracle. No, no. I give God all the glory. As I said, I believe it was God's good grace and providence that overshadowed Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III, whether or not he acknowledges it (I haven't heard him say one way or the other, and that's not my point). All I'm saying is that no law of nature was superseded. These aircraft are made to float (if passengers don't panic and open doors, as was the case in this incident). So, even the fact that the plane didn't sink before every person was rescued is not a true miracle. But still an act of God's grace, none the less.

All I'm saying is that if we label things as miraculous when they are not, we cheapen the word and do God no favors. Finding my keys that I lost in the grass while mowing is not a miracle. It is an act of God's grace, perhaps in answer to my prayer, but no law of nature was overcome.

Raising the dead is a true miracle. So is walking on water, calming a violent storm with a spoken word, and multiplying a few small fish and biscuits to feed thousands. There are other examples in the Bible besides these (creation, incarnation, resurrection for example). I doubt that it will happen, but I sure hope that Christian people will not buy into the world's watered down, cheapened definition and use of the word miracle. Or the word hero.

My Good Deed

I was leaving the hospital, crossing the street, when an elderly woman pulled her car into the cross walk very close to me and asked where she was to go for surgery. She said she was looking for the front entrance. Spartanburg Regional has over a half dozen "front" entrances. The light changed, traffic began moving, I'm in the middle of the street and have not a clue where to send this woman. So, I pointed to a nearby driveway to one of the "front" entrances. She pulled away and I continued on to my car. Then my dear mother came to mind. I thought, "Why didn't someone come with that woman?!" I got my car and went to where I had sent her. She was sitting there in her car. I asked if anyone had helped her and she said, "No." Then I saw a security guard. I asked her to come see if she could help the lady. She told her where she needed to be, and fortunately I knew the place. I told the woman to follow me and I would take her to that "front" entrance. When we arrived at that area, another security guard was waiting for us with a parking place close to the door. She took control of the situation so I drove on. I didn't get to speak with the woman again, but I felt sure she would be taken care of. I think my mother is smiling down at me. I would have wanted someone to do as much for her.