We need more skeptics.

Open minds will survive longer than
closed ones. Problem is closed minds
are more comfortable with others
thinking for them. Case in point or should I say pointy, the misconception of occupants of red states hating health care. The underlying reason is in reality there latent ____________ attitudes.

Media Bias, pshaw!

I saw an article last month about the lack of right leaning voices, but this list had all of the blowhards listed together. The list took more than one page to show them all. Bias is not with the media, but with the companies and organizations that produce it. When I think of how a moral, sane individual could listen to some of these blowhards, my head begins to spin. I know, this statement would encourage the "wrong" leaning individuals. But it bears saying, any way. Progress is the opposite of regress. One must move forward to grow.
gif courtesy of http://www.instantattitudes.com

"by the hair of our chiny, chin, chin............"

Wow! What a scare! We just could not put Northwestern away. I never caught which conference the officials came from, but they were as bad as some of our SEC crews.
At least Ziemba did not have a motion penalty. That is a first.

Great recruits, good coaching, superb facilities. Toomer's Corner, after. Could not be much better.
And you know, we should have beaten Alabama. Our guys had them for 55 minutes, but just could not hold for another five.

Can't wait till spring, summer, then its football time again!!!!!!!!!!!

Twenty years, it doesn't seem than long ago.

Twentieth anniversary of probably one of my top Auburn experiences. I bought season tickets from freshman year until I moved too far away to come back every game weekend.
On this trip to Auburn, the loveliest village on the Plains, my family arrived early Friday night to stay at my sister's house. We got up very early to set up our tailgate. The air was electric. I had invited some friends from Tuscaloosa to come on to Auburn they were afraid to come. But I convinced them to come. They had been to games all over the country, but never Auburn.

As my family approached Jordan-Hare the intensity grew as well as the emotions. I attended 17-16 my freshman year in college, the 49-26 game that Connie Frederick faked a punt and scampered around end past the entire Tide, Bo-over the top and even the Lawyer Tillman end around game, none of these had the significance as 1989.

Today thinking about the reasons that Alabama did not want to come still amaze me. Nebraska came, Virginia Tech came, TCU came and eventually Tennessee came in the 70's. I was at that TN game also, none compared to this. Them on our turf for the first time, goodness. I remember many trips to Auburn as a child and an adult, this one was one of the best.

My daughter was 7, she had been coming to Auburn since she was an arm-baby. She is still in awe of that day. The thing that seemed to trouble all of the bama faithful was that they "had to come." I was as happy as all of the other Tiger fans, even at Toomer's. That day was a great one, there will be many more.

I lived in Tuscaloosa for 3 years, we won all three. The only comments I heard were how pleasant the Auburn campus and fans were.

One last memory. When I got back to work on Monday, one of my friends, an Alabama fan (not a graduate), paced and paced around work. We had coffee in the morning, I said nothing. We ate lunch, I said nothing. We had coffee in the afternoon, I said nothing. By the end of that last coffee break, he came up to me and said "Aren't you going to say something about the game? Aren't you going to rub in in? Aren't you going to gloat?"
I leaned back in my chair and passed this along, "I know we won, you know we won, the whole world knows we won, so why rub it in?"

Oh and by the way, you know it took bama over a hundred years to beat us in Tuscaloosa. Yep, memories are a great thing. War Eagle!!!!

Old observations:

Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918)

"A friend in power is a friend lost." and this pearl:

"Politics, as a practice . . . has always been the systematic organization of hatreds."

Cap and Trade?

Do you actually know what this is?
Most Americans only know what they have been told by pundits and phony experts. In brief Sightline Institure has an uncomplicated explanation of what it is. Wikipedia has another explanation of not only the policy but also some objections.
Funny thing is most conservatives want less dependence on oil, especially foreign oil, but are vocally against this policy engineered to do just that. They imply that this policy will adversely over tax the small guys, however the intention and scope of the policy is to get at the major polluters.
Truth and fiction don't seem to matter with those guys.

GOP OMG WTF?

Recently the GOP put a list of "famous republicans" on their website. The irony of the posting is imaginative at best and deluded at worst. The link to FDL's comments and summary is here: http://firedoglake.com/2009/10/14/how-many-of-gop-coms-republican-heroes-would-be-republicans-today/
The analysis contains the following as prominent members:
Susan B. Anthony: sure in their dreams. If someone believes this they obviously don't know who she is.
Frederick Douglass: At the time of his freedom, maybe. But today with the obvious discrimination within the base, it is very doubtful.
Perhaps the most surprising is their love of Ronald Regan, who liberalized abortion, raised taxes and even signed a treaty against torture. Does any of this sound familiar?
The posting they have on their site is very creative. It reminds me of how they have spokesmen that have things such as these liberal traits: multiple marriages, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs (Lord knows how many times they bring this up) and beauty queens that either have no knowledge or fake body parts. I guess the last two are just another pair of "boobs".

BOOK BURNING????

I was reading my normal RSS feeds this morning, when an article at Baptist Planet caught my eye. It is about a church, Amazing Grace Baptist (Independent-KJV1611) in North Carolina. This church not only burned secular material, they burned almost all other translations of Scripture. They actually bragged about this. I followed a couple of links to get to the bottom of this story. My investigation led me to their web site. I have never seen as much hatred and intolerance on a church site, save one of those "American Christian" (white supremacist) or on Fred Phelps' site. They despise every thing from "wrong translations", Billy Graham, Rick Warren, John Piper to all types of popular and contemporary Christian music.
From other reading his church consists of his family and a very few others.
Fox News picked up on this story, ran it as a news event. It is no wonder most of the world distrusts Christians. This radical approach to soul-winning is destined to fail.
Besides the anti-everything, they are also against immigration and other denominations.
Wow! I knew there were nutsos out there, but man................./font>

Just had a thought, yes I can have them.

By definition the GOP is for small government and the Federal Government staying out of a person's business, right?
So how does this justify the pandering to the Christian Conservatives?
Isn't the attempt to force anti-choice down the throats of Americans contrary to "hands off" my person? Now understand, I do not condone abortion, but it is not my choice. Many people would rather not raise children at a particular time in their life. I continually here conservatives rail against having another welfare baby to feed. If that was truly their concern they would be for choice.
Isn't the same attempt to deny the union of any individual to another individual against their ardent platform of "Don't tread on me"?
Again I'm only saying if someone wants to spend their life with someone, why should we care. We should pray.
We cannot legislate abstinence, we cannot legislate choice, we cannot legislate sexual preference and we cannot legislate whether or not to bring another "welfare baby" into this world. That type of legislation is "Communistic". Unlike patriotism, this view of "limited government" is just a cover up for control of our lives.

For God and Country (in that Order)

Logan Laituri, Army veteran with combatant service in Iraq and work with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Israel and the West Bank, writes a compelling article for sojourners
As always we need to remember what order we serve. about the priorities we should have as Christians and Americans.

I keep receiving those emails.......

Today I received another email from two different friends that told a story about a great hero, Michael Monsoor.
Problem is part of the email was not true.
Claims made in the email said that his story was ignored by the Main Stream Media (MSM), however the opposite is true.  Not only was the story mentioned in the newspapers, it was also featured on NBC Nightly News before it was on Fox News.
I found evidence that refuted those claims.
Why do people pass on things they don't research?????

ScribeFire from Home

Let's see if this works this time.
Follow up later.

Lord knows it may be time!

Yesterday, my wife had an encounter with one of the partners at her job. He has had to sell off his investment business due to lack of income. He has been uninvolved with the other part of his business and now is struggling to regain control. His attacks are based on opinion and not facts.
Pray for my family.

Let's make a new deal.

I have been truly amazed by comments made by the younger generation of adults. My son-in-laws friends recently made this comment, "America has gone downhill since they elected Franklin Roosevelt."

I was not only stunned, but surprised at how uninformed this young man was about history. Sure there are always going to be a number of citizens that thought that the government should have let the economy self-destruct.

I can also sympathize with someone so ill informed.

The new conservatives of the South have bought in to this "big government is bad" philosophy without the advantages of an educational system that teaches contemporary history. Facts are difficult for them to get the heads around. Most of these new conservatives watch television, read by electric lights, drive automobiles, visit national parks and some even have jobs. Truly they do not grasp the impact the "New Deal" had on the nation, but specifically the South. Prior to FDR the South was in the dark, literally. There were no major highways, let alone paved roads. Jobs were created by the government through the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) . Other articles have been written about its successes and accomplishments. The obvious misinformed individuals either came from "old money", "prejudiced against the poor and others" and ignorant of history.

In both today's economic strife as was in Roosevelt's day, the current administration followed a disastrous one. And today the conservatives continue to blame the current office with the results of the previous one.

Fear not. (An excerpt from Associated Baptist Press)

I wandered up on this story from the Associated Baptist Press just after I received another one of those scathing emails about the unreliability of sites that debunk false emails. After researching the previously mentioned email all of the examples they gave as reliable sites all debunked the claims it made against that site.
When we pass on email information to our friends, we must insure that what we forward is the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." When our political agenda lures us into passing on these false claims it weakens our witness. We are so sure that something is true, we don't check the facts.
There are enough problems in this world, why should we as Christians contribute to the mess?

The link to the article is: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4496&ltemid==53

Affordable Care Act

Do not think that we are finished. Healthcare is almost a reality for most Americans. A few glitches and hiccups on the first day. But what did you expect? The problems and waiting are not unlike black Friday. If people will stand in line for a Holiday Barbie, then they can surely be patient on healthcare.

What's happenin' here?

What it is isn't exactly clear.
Some time during the week I receive another "well meaning" email from a friend. These emails are almost always funny, including the blatant political ones. Amazing as it may seem in a world full of skeptics, my friends have become sheep. If someone that knows someone that knows someone that knows someone that knows someone sends out an email claiming a certain "certain-ness" regarding a particular subject it has got to be true.
Last week a friend of mine had a friend of theirs, who had a friend of theirs, who had a friend of theirs; (well you get the picture) send out an email with claims that certain rumor debunking sites were prejudiced, especially against the conservative element. It gave a list of preferred sources that were "more truthful" that a specific one.
The only problem with this email was that the "preferred sources" debunked the email itself. Then claim involved a link to a website, let's say "snopes.com", but did not take you to http://www.snopes.com but instead it took you to http://snopes.com/>. These are not the same website. The first one is the correct link, however the other address takes you to a site that uses the snopes logo off of their listing page, but instead of giving a list of related stories, it gives you a flash message stating "I can't find the page you're looking for. It was probably a page about something really interesting,but the URL you entered doesn't point to anything on this site.
Might I recommend you try the search engine at http://www.snopes.com/search to help you locate the item you want?
You really should try it.
I have lots of great stories to tell you about vanishing hitchhikers,and bloody hooks,and exploding whales,and glurge,and gun-toting grannies,and hairy-armed hitchhikers,and murdered roommates."
Well, beyond all belief the Search Engine "link below" for snopes search engine was an actual link to the correct web address. Imagine that!
Also on this "Page Not Found" is a link to the BS watch, http://www.bswatch.com/. If you dig a little bit at this site you will find a link to Joey Skaggs site, http://joeyskaggs.com/, a well known hoaxer and comedian. Who goes on to say in this commentary http://joeyskaggs.com/html/comm/comm15.html That he has the perfect formula to pull a hoax on anyone. Use the information he gives and you can prank anyone.
Why do these things get passed on by honest, truthful people. Because it fits the agenda they want to push.
I believe, but I am still skeptical. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is; even if it fits the position you would like to find true. Check the facts, check the source and most of all, be informed.

School Days, School Days Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Thinking back to the time of my youth, I find myself remembering the oddest things. I remember walking home from school, taking shortcuts through the yards along the way. Some days with classmates, some insufferably alone.

I can still recall the machine in the cafeteria of my elementary school having a machine that dispensed milk just like the ones in a restaurant. You know, the ones with the weighted handles that would stop the flow, just in case an errant school child would try to leave it open. The large stainless machine had a whole white milk side and another that gave the “good” kids chocolate milk. Before I moved from the elementary school to the junior high the nostalgia of the machine was replaced by milk in a carton. Five cents for white milk and a whole Six cents for chocolate. Milk, not the 2% kind they serve in schools now, but honest to goodness whole milk. Lunches were 25 cents then. I even remember the food actually tasted good.

I can almost smell the stairwell leading down to the cafeteria from the ground level classrooms. Oiled covered stairs that retained the aroma of the oil used to treat the floors or for that matter any thing wooden in the building. Up and down each hall and each classroom the janitor moved with a deliberate stride. Taking time to push the floor mop along to gather any dust left behind by the traffic of children.

I can remember riding to school with my mom and dad. Taking the new Buick, with chrome holes on the fender, each morning to the land of learning and the planet of play.

Recess stands out in my mind most of all. During our planned excursions to the playground, socialization allowed us to meet others of our age. Recess was the ultimate networking time. Ball games were played after painfully choosing sides. Shouts of “Red Rover Come Over” filled the air. Hopefully your team could withstand the charge of the opposing side, capturing the assailant. Monkey bars (jungle gyms) climbed to the sky. If you were brave enough hanging upside down was a show of daring. Seesaws or teeter totters, what ever you called them, we knew that you tried not to step off while your companion was in the air. Lots of running, jumping and yelling burned off the pent up steam from classroom work.

How those teachers calmed us down I still can't comprehend. Those carefree days gave me a world of experience that I value today: Spend some time in play to remain sane in this fast paced world we live in.

We have forgotten how to play without it being a competition. Play refreshes the soul, as well as the body.

Take time to play today.

What is going on?

I can't log on, well maybe>

Emails!! and Unformation!

I am so tired of people forwarding me an email that they nave not bothered to check the validity. I receive many emails from friends regarding politics and the state of our nation.
They have received them from another friend, who got it from another friend, who got it from another friend, who got it from another friend........Well you get the picture.
Passing along viral messages without checking the truth is not only spreading rumors, it is furthering an agenda.
Today with us having a minority President, the claims range from the simple to the outlandish to the down right hateful. Every thing from phony photos to claims of socialism. Recently an American religious leader made a statement comparing our President to Hitler. Shame on him, not only shame on him, but shame on any one that passed along the mail. Our Christian fathers should not push a political agenda, despite whether or not they agree with their politics. Comparing an individual to a hate-monger is absolutely ludicrous. There is enough strife in our society without having a talking head weigh in with their two cents. It troubles me that my church friends and my pastor revel and laud the inflammatory remarks made by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
Christians, listen closely to these role models and notice not only the tone of their commentary, but the intent of it. They are entertainers, not experts.
How can anyone support the heated claims of someone paid to talk nonstop for hours a day. These speakers pontificate their expertise in all matters, but really have no knowledge of truth.
I visited with my daughter and son in law at a football game. During the tailgate, I overheard one of the "just out of college conservatives" spouting about how FDR ruined the country. This young man attended a land grant college, used TVA power, drove on roads that would not have existed if not for the recovery acts passed during FDR's administrations. He went on to brag about the great contributions of conservatives to improve education, not knowing that the conservatives routinely vote against all school funding. Yet these same individuals will gladly take Pell grants and other government sponsored academic assistance, they do however want someone else to pay for it, just not them. It was perfectly fine for them to get these "government handouts" but heaven forbid they might have to support someone else.
Our conservatives want a large military, but don't want to pay for it. They stymie veterans at every turn, but claim to support our veterans.
Wake up and smell the stink, be skeptical of "too food to be true" emails (especially those that are severely one sided). Discover the truth. Investigate history. Find out what you actually have because some one in our "big" government saw fit to provide it for the ungrateful souls that think security grows on trees.