It's Me!!

Why The Imus Firing Effects All Radio

2007-04-14T00:28:00.000-04:00

What Don Imus said about the Rutgers women's basketball team was wrong. He cracked a joke, a throwaway line, which wasn't necessarily funny at least to me, but apologized numerous times, most recently to the Rutgers team. Don Imus got fired. He didn't violate any FCC regulations nor did he break any laws set forth of this nation. Yet he was fired.

Imus was fired because a minority of Americans threatened the companies he worked for using essentially Mafia style tactics of "You don't do this, we'll do this," which poses a lot of problems for the future of all talk radio, not just shock jocks like Don Imus and Opie and Anthony but political such as Randi Rhodes, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow. I know a lot of left leaning blogs are salivating at the mouth right for the open door to get rid of conservative talk radio, by using the same tactics Al Sharpton used to silence Don Imus. Some of you say, "Good, the conservatives only spread hate anyways." These shows violate zero FCC regulations nor do they break any laws, why silence them?

I listen to a lot of talk radio, everything from Air America to Opie and Anthony, read mostly liberal blogs and consider myself a left leaning voter. I've been offended countless times listening to AAR or reading left leaning blogs because they have a habit of ripping on Christianity, which is something I hold dearly too and believe in. Rather then get all up in arms, I changed the channel. It was an easy fix. These people that offended me are free to say what they say and write what they write and I understand this. If offensive speech wasn't covered in the 1st Amendment, we wouldn't need a 1st Amendment because unpopular speech and speech that offends or hurts feelings is what's protected. Think about it. If it only covered happy speech, we wouldn't need it protected, because everybody would be happy.

I believe this issue has completely turned into an issue of free speech, even more so then hate. Imus apologized and is philanthropic to all races, not just whites. In effect Al Sharpton silenced Don Imus' freedom of speech by threatening the companies he worked for with boycotts and the such... that's fine, I accept that, but who is next? I am sure I wasn't the only person offended listening to my religion get bashed on AAR, who's to say the conservatives won't make a concentrated effort, using the tactics of Sharpton to silence that medium? Don't think they won't.

I hate to say this, but liberals and Democrats truly let me down in regards to this issue. I thought the Democratic Party believed in free speech, but I can see they believe in it, if it only benefits them. This issue is much deeper the perceived hate on the radio, much deeper. This issue will affect all talk radio to some degree, because people see what can be done, even if you don't have a majority of America behind you as long as you make enough noise. Good bye talk radio, it's been good listening to ya.

Double Standards and Racial Separtism

2007-04-12T11:31:00.000-04:00

"This kind of use of the airwaves must be stopped," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, calling for Imus' firing. "You're talking about a show that leading political figures, presidential candidates, news anchors go on.... What precedent are we setting now, that you can apologize every 10 years when you go over the line and maybe you'll get a two-week suspension?"

"Them some nappy headed hoes there." That is what Imus said. Not exactly innocent but in comparison to: "Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks Lick on deez nutz and suck the dick Get's the fuck out after you're done And I hops in my ride to make a quick run..." the lyrics to rapper Dr. Dre's song title coincidently "Bitches Ain't Shit" it seems very innocent. Why do black Americans get away with stuff like this? According to Steve Harvey a morning talk show host and comedian, "If black people want to talk about each other a certain way, that's their option," he said. "Mr. Imus, you don't have that option. You can't say what I say." That is a double standard and racial seperation at it's finest. It wasn't to long ago Steve Harvey made fun of southern "rednecks" on his show and I seen absolutely no outrage from white America demanding his firing. I constantly hear black comedians making fun of white people all the time and nobody considers this racism?

Lyrics to popular music within the black culture constantly degrade women, use the dreaded "n-word" and say far worse things then Don Imus. Let me ask you this, who has more influence in the black community a top selling rap artist or Don Imus? Although Sharpton and the other black "leaders" have attacked, I shouldn't even say attacked, rap lyrics in summits and meetings and that sort of thing, but they have never demonstrated against these lyrics nor have they ever called for the removal of these lyrics or removal of an artist using them from a record label. To me this is a double standard.. that's bullshit, afterall this is America. Words are words and to say that one group can use certain words but another can't is separatism. Double standards are not what America was founded on.

Nineteen Eighty-Four

2006-11-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

When I was a Junior in high school I had an English teacher who was an amazing teacher has well as an amazing person. Every Friday our English class consisted of "Silent Sustained Reading," as they liked to call it. I looked forward to Friday because I could a book of my choosing, which was usually a book about a famous athlete or sports. One day I forgot my book. My teacher said to me, "Brian, I've been waiting for you to forget your book because I want you to read something that matters. From now on, as your punishment you will read books of my choosing for the rest of the year."

I read a lot of books that I didn't know were wonderful books such as A Catcher In the Rye, Animal Farm, Steal This Book and a poetry book with poems mostly by Edgar Allan Poe. Near the end of the school year he gave me Nineteen Eighty-Four. Being as we only had a couple weeks of class left, I didn't finish the book. I finally got around to finishing it 10 years after the fact and can only say one thing, thank goodness for my teacher. Had he not showed me that other things besides sports existed, had he not tapped into my intellect (which he planned to do, he was just waiting for the right time) I may never have understood why being politically active and seeking more information then you get from the news is so important. Granted I have changed my political views over the years from being a conservative to becoming a supporter of the Democratic Party but it was because of my English teacher pushing the importance of expanding your horizons onto me.

One lesson he taught me, other then reading books that weren't all sports books, was to never stop thinking and to always seek out answers. Once a month we were allowed to read a magazine. Seeing as my teacher chose my reading material for me, I had to read the Utne Reader. For a spell, I wrote it off as liberal spin on issues that were unimportant, but it did encourage me to seek out reasons why I thought this. (Thank goodness most of my thinking was done for me, by Rush Limbaugh at that time.) Well there came a point where I'd start seeking deeper into issues that Limbaugh was spewing about and seen how wrong a lot of views were according to my worldly views.

Now getting back to Nineteen Eighty-Four. My teacher warned me before I read that book. He told me it may forever change my world views and I may see things differently from the time I finish that book on. He was right. With modern technology progressing the way it has, the seemingly neverending war on terror and the Patriot Act we are well on our way to such things. It may seem far fetched but Big Brother's plan didn't happen overnight either. Was George Orwell's book a book of prophecy? Only time will tell.

Dropped Again

2006-10-09T09:45:00.000-04:00

The game ended the way it started. On Green Bay's opening drive, the Pack turned the ball over on a fumble. On the final drive of the game, a drive that looked like the Pack had the game or at least overtime they turned it over. With 36 seconds left the football was knocked out of Favre's decrepit old man hand as were the Packer's chances of at least tying the game. I don't know what else I can do. I've picked the Packers to win, I've picked the Packers to lose this week I am just going to pick them to have a bye. This way I am guaranteed no disappointment.

I still believe in these Packers. I don't know why, it might that little bit of stupid I've got in me, but I believe. This team isn't has bad as everybody says it is. It's not worse either. I think the team is a lot better then they are showing. Hopefully they can disappoint the critics and at least win 5 games this year. Me, I am still pulling for the 11 game winning streak. Like I said I am stupid.

1/2 The Effort

2006-10-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the Pack looked awfully good against the Eagles for 30 minutes, which is half the time they should've looked good. They actually led at halftime, which is what I didn't expect. What I did expect happened though, as they got annihilated 31-9. The final score wasn't my biggest disappointment though, nor were Favre's 2 interceptions. It was with under 2 minutes to go, the game already decided, they had 4 chances to plug it in to the endzone from 2 yards out. A yard is a mere 3 feet... 3x2=6, so they had a miserable 6 damn feet to move the football. Did they? Why would they????!!!!???? First carry gets 'em inside the 1. Stuffed 3 times from within the one yd line, which seriously, is less then 3 feet. 3 fricking feet. Less then 3 fricking feet. They couldn't do it. I think "They couldn't do it" should be the mantra for us Packer fans this season, as they won't do it, can't do it and well just couldn't do it.

My Packer prediction for next week: St. Louis' High Powered Offense: 80 vs. Green Bay's 3 Cylinder Engine: 9 Favre: 9-36, 71yds. 0 TDs 5 Ints, Sacked 13 times. Rodgers: 9-12, 8yds, 0 TDs 3 Ints. Green 19 attempts for -8yds. Morrency 6 attempts for -12yds. Leading Reciever: Favre 3 catches (all deflected that he caught and ran with) 21yds.

On a side note, 2 of my fantasy football teams performed, well, terribly. If I have another weekend of football that goes anything like this one did, maybe I'll start watching futbol instead. Go Manchester or whatever that team in England is called.

At least the Dodgers made the wildcard. They have to face-off against the Pedroless Mets, so maybe, just maybe we can hear this.... "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened," out of Vin Scully's mouth yet again. Although it won't be Kirk Gibson hitting the big homerun, just like it won't be Favre throwing the gamewinning TD this year.. At least Gibby's retired. In all seriousness, I am glad Favre came back, everybody's entitled to a bad game here and there.. It's just that all of Brett's have come within 2 seasons.

On a more personal note, I am sitting in my house, shirtless staring at my skinny chest wondering why God would throw somebody into this underwhelming frame. Every now and again I look at the couch cushions and want to stuff them into my shirt so it looks like I've got something that somewhat resembles a physique. Granted it'd be the same physique as Santa Claus, but right now I am stuck with the physique of Olive Oyl but not so lucky to have a tough guy like Popeye to stick up for me.

Yooper Bowl I

2006-09-25T18:38:00.000-04:00

On a day where another Brett Favre career milestone occured, the Pack also reached a milestone for the 2006 season. Brett threw his 400th (401st and 402nd) touchdown pass(es) of his career while the Pack actually won a game. I am excited for next week (the Pack vs. Philly in a Monday night game) which I hope goes somewhat similiar. A victory against the Eagles would be quite the momentum builder for this young Packer football team. My prediction is (I am not predicting crap because they won when I didn't predict crap last week.)

My fantasy football teams looked all right yesterday, I won 2 and the other one is still up in the air, I've got the lead 63-37, but he's still got Michael Vick and Reggie Bush yet to play and I've only got the kicker John Carney. I hope I can pull this off.

Here we go again.

2006-09-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

It's Sunday. The Packers play the Lions in Yooper Bowl I 2006, my fantasy teams are basically locked and I am starting to feel my usual pre Packer game stress.

On one of my fantasy teams I've got a quandry I will welcome every week, whether to play Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis or Frank Gore and only being able to start 1 of them. That's not a bad situation. I went with Barber and Portis, so I fully expect Gore to break off to 80 yd runs in the 1st half and 65 yd run in the 2nd half. The other 2 fantasy teams are decent but nothing special, this week I am hoping a few guys overperform as I played the matchups due to bye weeks and injuries. I've got Colston at TE in one and Bubba Franks in another because I've got Gonzalez and Shockey in those leagues. Here's a quick rundown of my starters for this week:

Yahoo! League 1 MonsterRain

QB Favre Bench is: Rivers, Greg Jennings, Brown (Phi), McCallister and Maroney
WR Harrison
WR Bryant
WR Smith
RB Gore
RB Bush
TE Colston
K Carney
D Buffalo

Yahoo! League 2 Earl_Im_Starvin'

QB Palmer Bench is: Hasselbeck, Shockey, Bruce, Brown (Phi), Cadillac Williams, McCallister
WR Wayne
WR Muhammad
WR Jennings
RB Gore
RB Portis
TE Franks
K Carney
D Buffalo

In a stupid CBSSportsline League

Brees
Barber
Portis
Holt
Driver
and the rest I've forgotten... I think I've got a good chance of winning, based on projections I am going to destroy this week, so I didn't really pay attention to this team.

This stinks and I don't like it.

2006-09-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Two games, no wins. So far the season here in Packerfanland is going horribly. I watched the majortiy of today's game and have to say, they didn't look bad, but they didn't look good either, especially as the game went on. They started out on fire, the D looking great, Favre throwing great, but then they hit a wall. It seemed that a lot of guys just didn't play with any umm, inspiration after the Pack went up 13- . They had no intensity. Favre's stats ended up quite good, which brings me to my next point Fantasy Football. Yes I joined a league or 3. Oh well.

My teams are doing suprisingly well considering this is my first season doing this... I am going to be 2-0 in one league, 1-1 in another and the other one is too close to call.... The league I am 2-0 in, I drafted my team, rather then the other two where the computer drafted it for me... that stinks for those two because I very rarely pay any attention to them.

Bears 26 Packers

2006-09-11T00:33:00.000-04:00

Bears 26 Packers

If it looks like something was forgotten in the headline or title or whatever it's called, nothing was. I didn't forget anything. The Packers on the other hand, they forgot a lot of things. I think the offensive line forgot every blocking scheme in the playbook, the defense forgot that Rex Grossman is Rex Grossman and Rex Grossman, well, he sucks, Brett Favre forgot his recievers routes or the recievers forgot routes, I don't know, but something was forgotten. Dave Rayner, the kicker, evidently forgot that field goal attempts are supposed to go straight, at least a bit straighter then his was. Oh and most importantly they forgot to score. They haven't forgotten to score since 1991.

Although the game was a highlight of forgetfulness, Ahman apparently didn't forget he was once one of the premier running backs in the league and he ran well, especially against the Bears excellent defense.

After only 60 minutes of Packer football, I am already ready to sever my relationship with the team.... Ahh who am I kidding, next week I will be sitting uselessly in front of my TV eating like a sloth, yelling, screaming, cheering and rooting for the Green Bay Packers, same as I always have since 1989. My prediction for week 2... Green Bay 34 New Orleans

Wow.

2006-09-08T12:52:00.000-04:00

This week went by quick. Sophie and Lily both started school, which they both loooove. Sophie is in 1st grade and loving it. She likes the full day and all that, just hates being in a different class then her best friend. That'll happen, I guess. Lily is going to an excellent "daycare" with more of an education setting and absolutely enjoys it. She wants to go even when me or Kerri are home.

The Packers take on the Bears this week. Like usual in my nonsuprising, nondramatic way I pick the Pack to come out on top with Favre throwing for 3 TDs and the defense picking up 3 turnovers, returning one of them for a TD. It should be a good game. Green Bay 34 Chicago 16

Now that the prediction is outta the way, work is getting better. We're back up to full staff again, which makes me happy. I am now going to work more patrol shifts which is like a shot in the arm for me. I cannot wait to get out of the building, especially with hunting season right around the corner and fishing season coming to a close.

It's time for Packer football!!

2006-08-05T19:06:00.000-04:00

I know it's only an intrasquad scrimmage but I nontheless am excited. I cannot wait.... here's to another season of Packer football, GO PACK GO.

Wow, it's been a looong time since I've posted on this blog. Not much has changed, the world makes me ask, "Why am I in this handbasket and where are we going?" I still work crazy shift work, which is different then just normal shift work where you work a shift for a week then move on to the next shift and so on, I have weeks where I've got 8 hrs. between 2 or 3 shifts. Once a week I will work 16 hours, have 8 off and then come back for 8 more.... it's insane and it's driving me nuts.

The family is doing well, the kids are growing fast and growing up fast too. I don't know, it's great, but it's a bit scary in a way too. I don't want them to grow up!!!

Logic 101: As Taught by Michelle Malkin

2006-04-30T08:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to Michelle Malkin's latest article. http://jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin042606.php3. Read that article. I'm going to use her logic.

President Lincoln wanted to free the slaves, some were against the idea. Now a couple hundred years later, the slaves have been freed but we're paying for it every day. Who is paying for it? Everybody!!

I don't think Lincoln envisioned the problem blacks would be to this nation has a whole. Because of his push to free the slaves, we now have a whole race that is free and committing crimes all across the nation. Has anybody in Lincoln's family apologized for the havoc created by freeing the slaves? Blacks have committed crimes against people, but we hear nothing of these victims.

Take Craig Price, a notorious black serial killer. He killed 3 white people in Warwick, Rhode Island. Detectives said it was the most heinous scene they ever seen. Craig was sentenced to 15 years, 8 of them which were suspended. In Feb. 1996 Craig bit a correctional officer's finger, placing him with charges of violation of probation, in 1998 he was charged with contempt of court for failing to undergo state ordered psychological treatments. He might get out of prison in 2022.

Lincoln freeeing the slaves led to:

Countless women raped by black men.
Countless cities burned to the ground because of blacks rioting.
Black neighborhood having higher crime rates.
The Ku Klux Klan being created.

I understand the freeing of the slaves was an emotional issue but it still continues to bite America in the ass. I think white supremacists, racists, xenophobes and afrophobes would agree.

(For those who don't know, couldn't figure it out, don't know me or whatever, this is satirical and by no means is my actual view.)

By using Michelle Malkin's logic, which seems to be the logic coming from the majority of rightwing pundits, it's painfully obvious that they really do seem to hate other races. I understand that ILLEGAL immigrants are in this nation illegally, but they are here now and they are contributing to our nation. Just by using a fake Social Security number they are contributing. Even though it's illegal, they are contributing to the Social Security system.

As a nation we are in way over our heads with the current problem. It is very much against common sense to try and round up all the illegal immigrants to deport them. It would be costly, time consuming and very impractical. We should start at the borders, I believe. Secure the borders so they cannot enter illegally and we'll cut down on the problem. They'll find a way, but can you blame them? This is the land of oppurtunity, afterall.

We should handle the illegal immigrants that here right now with an amnesty type program. I like that idea a lot. It gives them time to become legal citizens, the right way, adds protection from businesses exploiting them and can also raise revenue for the nation by them paying income tax and the such. We should also handle the businesses that employ known illegals by hitting them in the pocketbook. How would a couple thousand dollars per illegally employed immigrant hit a company? Not so well. How would a company's reputation fare if it's known that they are knowingly hiring illegal workers for jobs that could've been given to American citizens or legal immigrants.

Exploitation of illegal immigrants has to end now. It starts by punishing the employers that hire illegal immigrants and ends with everybody in this nation who is here illegally with legal citizenship, legal work visas and better pay for all involved, whether they are illegal immigrants or not. By granting those here visas or citizenship it ends the exploitation, ending the "competition" to hire the cheapest labor possibe and giving fair wages for the job to be done.

Do Your Part

2006-04-27T11:23:00.000-04:00

Recently it was announced that the CEO of ExxonMobil will have a retirement package worth 400 million dollars. They are also reaping in gigantic profits, while we are stuck paying an arm, a leg, spleen, liver and at least a kidney for gas at the pumps. Let's do our part and boycott this company, whenever, however just do it. No more billion dollar profits while we're getting killed at the pumps. An excellent date would be the 4th of July weekend, where we can declare freedom from windfall profits, big oil sucking the life out of us and maybe even high gas prices. So, practice some dissent, show Exxon we're not gonna take their shit any longer and do not use any of Exxon's brands. http://www2.exxonmobil.com/Siteflow/Brands/Master_Brand_Page.asp

Favre Set To Play Another Season

2006-04-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ending months of speculation by the media as well has football fans everywhere, Brett Favre informed GM Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy that he plans on returning for yet another season at the helm of the Green Bay Packers.

This season could be a record breaking season for Favre as he enters the season with 396 touchdown passes thrown, which leaves him 25 behind all time leader Dan Marino who threw 420 in his career. The odds are good for Favre to throw at least 25 touchdown passes this season, a feat he's only failed to reach 4 times in his career dating back to 1992. He also looks to add to his 221 consecutive games started streak, which is a record for quarterbacks.

I'm happy to see Favre coming back for another season. I hope he'll lead the Pack to the play-offs and beyond. Here's to you Brett! Good luck.

Life During Wartime

2006-04-17T12:47:00.000-04:00

[Sung by Billie Joe Armstrong]
[Originally by Pinhead Gunpowder]

Ya we say making changes starts in the little things you do
Revolution begins at home but for most of us it ends there too, and
Doing something we're making changes like changing the brand of crap we buy,
We say it makes a difference but that's just another lie.
It used to be us and them and you and me.
And now we can't reach our potential without a common enemy,
A real war to fight against, instead of our petty disagreements,
How can I rationalize my life during wartime lie.
A call to action and a reaction,
Taking our lives in our own hands,
Instead of sitting around and talking about the same old shity bands.
A war is going on right now,
And I'm not doing anything about it,
Without a crowd I'm not so loud,
I can't do anything by myself,
But that's just another lie.

Spring in the UP??

2006-04-05T10:55:00.000-04:00

It's is beautiful out today. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I don't see a lot of snow in my yard. My cold is going away, other then the pesky cough.. but that's easy to deal with; at least my nose isn't dripping and my body no longer aches.

The Dodgers picked up a victory last night over the Braves. James Loney was called up to replace the injured Nomar Garciaparra and played a good game. He's a 21 yr. old rookie, straight from Double A ball. I hope he can continue to play good ball. My fantasy baseball team basically sucks, this week I stuck myself behind the 8-ball by forgetting to set my line up for the first game, which gave me absolutely no points for that day. Oh well, hopefully it'll get better.

Still no word on whether Brett Favre is going to retire. A lot of sports talk guys are ripping into Favre for comments he made about not helping Aaron Rodgers last season and about the situation with retirement. I can understand why they are ripping, but Brett says stuff like that a lot. He doesn't sugarcoat things during an interview, he's always been candid. He said it wasn't his responsibility to coach Aaron Rodgers, which I can agree with, it isn't. I know he is helping him out a lot, which I don't think the media picks up on for some reason. Oh well. He's a HOF quarterback, arguably the best to play the position ever. He'll go down in history. But I do want to know if he's tarnished his image by his comments last season and thus far with the retirement "controversy" this off-season. What do you readers think?

The "Hammer" has stopped pounding away with his bribes and money laundering, announcing his resignation yesterday or the day before, I don't remember, but Tom DeLay is gone. Does this further prove the GOP is in disarray or is this something that was very overdue? I think it was overdue, but I also think it proves the GOP IS in complete disarray.

Opening Day?

2006-04-03T12:59:00.000-04:00

Today is Major League Baseball's "opening day" (they had a night game last night) and the weather here is refusing to cooperate! It's cold, windy and snowing at times. What an opening day up here in the UP!

On tap for the LA Dodgers: v. Atlanta Braves, probable starting pitcher is: Tim Hudson for Atl. and Derek Lowe for the Dodgers. Game time is 4:10 EST. The Dodgers have put starting CF Kenny Lofton on the 15 day DL, which means Jason Repko will be starting in his place today. I think the line up will look something like this:

1. SS Rafael Furcal
2. CF Jason Repko
3. RF JD Drew
4. 2B Jeff Kent
5. 1B Nomar Garciaparra
6. 3B Bill Mueller
7. LF Jose Cruz, Jr.
8. C Dionar Navarro
9. P Derek Lowe

Good luck this season Dodgers! Good luck to the rest of the MLB, well other then the SF Giants, screw los Gigantes.

Life Is Good

2006-03-29T12:30:00.000-05:00

Spring is here, the weather is warming, the snow is melting and I can already feel the heat of summer on it's way!! The kids are doing good, Kerri is doing good and I am doing good, which adds up to life is good.

Fishing season is right around the corner. I cannot wait until my first "official" cast of the season. I can't wait for the serenity and beauty that sitting on a stream armed with a fly-rod, a box of flies, a can or two of beer, a sanwich and a nice Swisher Sweet cigar (too keep the bugs at bay) offers me. I can't wait to take the girls to a hole that's been hitting to see the thrill, joy and excitement on their faces as they reel a fish in. I can't wait to help them unhook the fish and release it back into the stream so another kid can have the joy my two just got done feeling.

Summer is almost here and life is good. Does it get any better? Nah, I don't think it does.

What a Twit

2006-03-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

Read the link at the end of this article and ask yourself, "How did a twit like that get into politics?" I'm also not surprised that this imbicele is a Republican. I mean, I know people who are paranoid, but they make this woman look normal. BTW, I wonder what the American Airlines jet that just flew over my house was doing? Taking pictures?

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/65930.htm

Giving Up or Facing Reality?

2006-03-24T11:03:00.000-05:00

I don't believe in giving up. I don't give up on things very easily but sometimes I realize it just isn't worth fighting for anymore. Dreams and hopes mostly stay the same, sometimes they change maybe get bigger, maybe get smaller, sometimes you add some, but rarely to people take them and quit on them, deep down they are still there almost kind of haunting you and eating at you saying, "Just fucking do it, damn it!"

What if reality shuts the door on what you want? What do you do? Do you "modify" your dreams, hopes and aspirations? Do you shove them aside? What does one do, when reality doesn't agree? What kind of detours in the route do you take? Any of them? All of them? Some of them?

I just swallowed a big pill of reality and as much as I didn't like it, I'm choking it down. I realize I am still young and more doors will open for me but sometimes the route somebody wants isn't the route that reality's paved. Although I'm not going to give up, I'm going to take the route of reality for awhile.. I know along this route answers will appear, like street signs telling me where to turn but now I've gotta be willing to turn down streets I didn't want to go down before.

I've gotta change the coordinates on my map, to end up somewhere else, instead of where I wanted to end up. My map is stubborn and doesn't want to change but I think it knows now. Let go of the old route, try a new route, take the roads refused in the past and who knows where you'll end up? It's time. It really is time.

Mistakes? What freakin' mistakes?

2006-03-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

"I hope I -- I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one."- George W. Bush during press conference in 2004.

For some reason I recently read that quote and wondered how long it would take me to think of Bush's mistakes since he's taken over the nation. Lets see:

1. The War in Iraq planning.
2. Fiscal irresponsiblity. (Borrowed more from foreign governments and banks then the previous 42 Presidents combined!)
3. The military being overdeployed and overused.
4. Cutting VA benefits.
5. Lessening enviromental standards.
6. The trade deficit.
7. Energy prices.
8. Cutting various social programs. (COPS grants for starters.)

There that didn't take long. I tried to only include mistakes made from 2000-2004. I could go on and on about mistakes since then. Katrina response (lack), tax cuts, social security, medicare.... You get the picture.

A Request

2006-03-21T14:33:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try and make some changes to this blog or even start a new one. I am looking for Michiganders to help start a state and local issue blog. If you're willing to contribute, I'll gladly add you to the "team." Right now it's just little ol' me and I'm in the UP and would love downstate issues and news as well. So check my profile, shoot me an email and lets get this party started!

Happy Anniversary, umm not so much.

2006-03-19T03:23:00.000-05:00

March 19th marks yet another anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For most it's not a day of celebration but a day of sorrow. Many lives have been affected by this unnecessary action, not only here but abroad as well. Sixteen nations, not including the US and Britain have lost soldiers over there. Who really knows how many innocent Iraqi civilians have died? Iraqi security forces and police are dying daily.

This anniversary makes me stop and think about how necessary all this was/is? Was it necessary to occupy a nation that intelligence proved wasn't a direct threat to the United States? Was it necessary to stretch are military so thin, we pose very little threat to other rogue nations, who do pose a direct threat the security of the United States? Was it necessary to stretch the National Guard so thin, we had very little resources here at home to deal with natural disasters and other domestic emergencies?

We've spent billions of dollars towards the war effort in Iraq. $6 billion a month! Not too mention the credibility we've lost has a nation. If we didn't go to Iraq, Abu Ghraib wouldn't have been a grotesque picture of American soldiers, damaging our credibility. If we didn't cause so much unnecessary bloodshed and suffering, by using such things as "willy pete" and tactics that seem to violate the Geneva Conventions, maybe we'd still have credibility. Not too mention the fact that Usama bin Laden is still alive. We had a job to do in Afghanistan, which was left undone, all too divert resources to Iraq. I supported and still support the Operation Enduring Freedom mission. I have found it hard to support the Operation Iraqi Freedom mission.

People say that if you don't support the mission, you don't support the troops. I was one of the troops and I know countless others who didn't support and don't support the mission in Iraq. Some of these are veterans of OIF. It sickens me to hear conservative pundits say that liberals/Democrats or those who don't support or believe in the Iraqi mission as unpatriotic or that they (we) don't support the troops. I shouldn't defend my patriotism nor should I have too, I signed on the dotted line, putting my nation before my very own life!! That's pretty damn patriotic. I would die for my nation. I got "lucky" and ended up not going to Iraq for personal reasons. I would've went in a heartbeat, not only because I was ordered too, but because other people (my unit) depended on me to do a job. Granted I didn't believe in the mission but I was ready and willing to go. Where the hell was Rush Limbaugh during Vietnam? Where the hell was Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews and Bill Bennett? These rat bastards did not serve in the US military. Yet they have the damn nerve to question another American's patriotism? What the hell has this nation come too? When somebody who didn't volunteer to die for the nation can question my patriotism, because I don't believe in the mission in Iraq?

Why is it that these bastards are willing to send soldiers to war, when they haven't experienced it themselves? How can they sit behind their microphones or cameras and doubt fellow American's patriotism? The bUSH crime syndicate and other Republican pundits have smeared many combat veterans. They smeared Al Gore, John Kerry, John Murtha, John McCain and Wesley Clark. All I want to know is how they can sleep at night?

Numbers

2006-03-16T18:53:00.000-05:00

Civilians reported killed by military intervention in Iraq:
Min: 33638
Max: 37754

America's Military Killed in Iraq: 2310 as of 10am 16MAR2006

2003 Estimate of Iraq spending: $50-60 billion according to Budget Director Mitch Daniels

2003-2006 Spending on Iraq War: $400 billion and rising by $3 billion to $5 billion a month

US Dept. of Education Budget: $57.6 billion in 2006

2006 US Public Debt: $8.3 trillion and rising

2001 US Public Debt: rose to $5.6 trillion

1791-1981 US Public Debt: rose above $1 trillion

1981-1988 US Public Debt: rose to $2.6 trillion

1988-1998 US Public Debt: rose to $5.5 trillion

Cost of Debt per American (including children): $27,434

If you don't believe me, research the numbers on your own. I did a lot of research to make sure my figures weren't incorrect. I want you to do your own research to open your eyes to the mis-administration known by some as the bUSH Crime Family. Ronald Reagan increased our debt by 188% with an annual increase of 14.1%; George H.W. Bush increased it by 46.2% with an annual increase of 9.9%; Bill Clinton increased it by 13.7% an annual increase of 1.6%; George W. Bush increased it by 26% in his first term at an annual increase of 5.9%. He inherited a national debt of aprox. $5.6 trillion as of 15MAR2006 the national debt has balloned to a whopping $8.2 trillion.

Priorities?

2006-03-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

Today the Republican majority in the Senate rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Conrad on boosting efforts to fight the Avian (bird) Flu illness and America's preparedness to do so. Specifically, the Conrad amendment would have provided:

· $1.5 billion to increase the stockpile of antivirals and necessary medical supplies including masks, gloves, ventilators, antibiotics, and medical treatment for chronic care patients;

· $2.5 billion to accelerate vaccine research, development and manufacturing; and

· $1 billion to increase state and local preparedness.

It failed on a PARTY line vote! Where are your priorities GOP? You bastards still support the tax cuts, supported (once again) to raise the debt limit, support cuts to the VA (while sending our military off to war) and continue to support quite possibly the most non- fiscally conservative President this nation has ever had?!? I am sick and tired of this crap. I am sick and tired of them saying the budget is good, I talk to people everyday, from all over the dang country and they want to know where the economy is good at. I've met more then one truck driver who had to come out of retirement to pay for prescription drugs. I met a 76 year old man about a month ago, who said, "I'm probably going to have to die working because I have to get my prescriptions." Medicare cut the poor man off. For the love. The GOP likes to pander to the Christians but haven't shown me anything to prove that they are Christians. Sure morally they may seem to be (anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage) but in reality what do these stances do? I was anti-abortion. I researched and seen that abortion is a CHOICE that women make, not something forced upon them. It is between them, the dad and their God, not for me to decide for them. Although the word marriage scares some people away from supporting the rights of a homosexual to marry, I want to know why? If you're in a happy marriage, you are faithful to your God, why must you deny another couple the equal rights that you have while being married? It's not about morals to me anymore, it's simply about equality. Will God recognize the marriage? I don't know, it's not my business but what I do know is love deserves equal treatment no matter what two People are in it's bliss!!

Are Republicans Really Fiscally Conservative?

2006-03-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

No. They. Are. Not. They cannot control spending as evidenced by this. The United States Public Debt spirals out of control under Republicans as compared to Democrats. Just thought I'd pass this link along to yas!

How Much Is Enough?

2006-03-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

Today Congress approved raising the debt limit, yet again. I don't exactly understand how this nation can stand what is going on with it right now. I don't understand how conservatives can still support this President. It's the 3rd damn time he raised the debt limit. He's more then doubled our debt passed on from the previous 42 Presidents!!!!!!! What the hell?!? This really irritates me. I don't know why this struck such a nerve but I don't even wanna type about it anymore. I might start using words I rarely use.

Ports Deal?

2006-02-27T17:13:00.000-05:00

Homeland Security or profits, that is the question. For the bUSH administration they seem to be picking profit over security. The deal to give the UAE control of 21 American ports is a terrible one. Granted odds are good, the same people doing the work on the ports now, will still be working if the deal happens. That's fine and dandy but who really controls security of the ports? The US Coast Guard and US Customs do the majority of it. Owners of the ports although, do get manifests of what's on a boat coming in. They also get a "gameplan" of what the Coast Guard and US Customs response to an emergency. That's where my problem lies. What a stupid idea. Put control in the hands of a nation that thought the Taliban was a legitamite government, whose banks helped to finance the 9-11 hijackings and whom seem to have turned a blind eye to terrorism up until the US started the War on Terrorism. Holy crap, I didn't think bUSHCo could do anything worse then what they've already accomplished. But of course they seemed to have done that. Bastards.

What the Hell Happened to Me?? Pt. 3

2006-02-26T02:09:00.000-05:00

Some people who read here may or may not know, I am a very spiritual Christian man, or try my hardest to be. It's a struggle at times to portray the perfect "Christian" image of being a "tee totaler." I believe that God is very practical and does understand "sin" and the problem it presents to the world. I believe God understands the heart and mind moreso then actions portrayed by His people.

In the Book of Matthew, Jesus was asked "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." I write this to touch on the second commandment, Love your neighbor as yourself. I started to think about that a lot. The more I thought about it, I asked myself, "What can I do to love my neighbor as I would love myself?" For starters, I decided to look at God's word more. Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you to will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"

That's a valuable lesson to me. In politics lately we've got a lot of "religous" people condeming what they see as wrong such as abortion and homosexuality. Granted it may be wrong, but what position are these people to say? That is between the "sinner" and God, not worldly politicians and leaders. Because of the plank sitting in my eye, I cannot remove the sawdust in my brother's eye. It's not my job to judge, nor is it anybody else on earth's job.

For posterity's sake, I'm not going to delve completely into how I feel, but I will say, politcians need to stay out of legislating morality for the most part. No matter what legislation is on the books, the law will be broken. Sin has been around a lot longer then any of us have, if we could only learn that it's not our job to judge, but it is our Makers job the world would be a better place. It's hard to love your neighbor when you are condemning them.

What the Hell Happened To Me? Pt. 2

2006-02-18T07:28:00.000-05:00

As I started losing trust in the bUSH administration, I started to evaluate more and more everyday, what I stood for and what the Rethuglican Party stood for. Were they the same? Hell no! I was in denial for awhile, thinking it's just bUSH, I can be a conservative against bUSH. Then I started hearing about all the scandals... once again I lost more trust in the Rethuglican Party. More self evaluation, and I compared my values with those of the Rethuglican Party. I started noticing, I got nothing that compares to a Rethuglican view whatsoever.

I am pro-choice. They are not. I am pro-gay marriage. They are not. I am pro- Homeland Security. They are not. I am anti Iraq War. They are not. I am pro compassion towards humans. They are not. I don't believe in corporate welfare abuse, they do. I believe the government can accomplish great things. They do not. I believe are tax dollars can be better spent, they haven't a clue. I don't believe in cutting taxes for those who need it the least, they do. I don't believe in screwing over the common man. They do. I could go on and on about how I differ from the Rethuglican Party but I think you get the drift.

I am proud to say I am fully recovered. Was I really I rethuglican? I don't know. Did I vote rethuglican? Yes but only once. Stupid year 2000. Will I ever vote rethuglican again? No, a resounding Hell No!!

What the Hell Happened to Me? Pt. 1

2006-02-17T23:58:00.000-05:00

As a lot of people who read this blog know, I'm a recent convert to the Democratic Party. I'm going to try and lay out why such a conversion happened and what lead me to open my eyes to some new realizations. Here we go:

I love my nation, I really do. I might love it more then some, I did sign a contract that might have had me die for the nation and what it stands for. I love being an American and I love living in America. But a time comes in every relationship where you have to step back, take the rose-colored glasses off and really take a look. Not too long ago I did that, against my mind's best wishes. My conscience wasn't going to have it any differently. I was amazed at what I saw.

The first thing I looked at was the Iraq War, something I wasn't too fond of even when I had "rose-colored" glasses blinding my vision. I looked at why we went to war as presented by the bUSH administration. The main selling points were the WMDs, some sort of connection to terrorists and a nation that has a crazy leader, Hellbent on destroying America. It didn't take much to realize that no WMDs= not much of a threat to the US. I read a little on Iraq's apparent terrorist connection, especially with al Qaeda but only found out Saddam didn't trust al Qaeda, as he is a secularlist and al Qaeda are hardline fundamentalist Muslims. In fact Saddam didn't trust al Qaeda and felt they could be a threat to his power in Iraq. So without any of the smoking guns outlined by the administration found, what prompted the war? I didn't really know all too much on that so I researched a bit.

Leading up to the Iraq War the bUSH administration seemed to trump intelligence in regards to Iraq's WMDs and "smoking guns" saying Iraq had WMDs. They said Iraq tried to buy yellow cake from Niger, only to be told that it didn't happen by Joseph Wilson. Joseph Wilson went to Niger, did what he had to do and came back with no evidence of such things. What does bUSHco do to rebutt this? Leak his wife's name. His wife was a CIA agent, Valerie Plame. That leak led to at least one death of a CIA agent. Was it treason? I don't know, we'll find out I am sure. I came to the conclusion that we were lied to by the administration. Maybe we were, maybe we weren't but I started to lose my trust in them.

2006-02-17T21:54:00.000-05:00

Drunk Pumpkin

2006-02-17T01:15:00.000-05:00

Coffee Break

Rant

2006-02-14T19:30:00.000-05:00

After hearing about Maj. Paul Hackett's withdrawl from the Senate race in Ohio, I got pissed. After hearing it was his own party that urged him to do so, the veins in my head started showing, my face got beat red and I made a strange cartoon like choo choo noise. I wasn't near a mirror so I can't say if steam came out my ears or not, but I'll go out on a limb and say it did.

I've been hearing the Democratic Party is like a big tent. Well after screwing the pooch on so many things, I've come to conclusion, it's a fucking circus tent. A three ring fucking circus. We've got no such thing as voting within party lines, no unified message because of some DINOs, no party discipline and sometimes it seems like we've got monkeys running the show at least in the DSSC. That's a circus right there.

We've got corruption running rampant on the other side and we cannot come together and go for the jugular. Right now the Democratic Party's heals should be squishing the Republican Party into the pavement, from Bush right on down to the lowest Township Supervisor. Instead it doesn't seem like we can get it straight. Unify guys, enough is enough already. Do they not realize that by pissing off the base of the party they won't have a party? Do they not realize they are pissing away perhaps the most golden oppurtunity to come back to power since Clinton made his debut?

Cows say Moo, Guns say Bang

2006-02-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

What an odd scenario. The VP shoots somebody and the news doesn't break for like 24 hours. One witness, sitting in a car mind you, says the victim didn't announce himself as he approached the VP from behind. All righty then. You know what's odd, a fictional writer with a vivid imagination, a twisted past and a sick sense of humor couldn't write a better novel then the one being presented by the bUSH administration. I mean they've got everything from spying to war to members of the administration shooting people and this is what the public knows about. I can only imagine what goes on behind closed doors... I wonder if Jeff Gannon has to wonder?

Would You?

2006-02-12T00:52:00.000-05:00

What would we do if the war was here?
What would we do if the fighting was in our towns?
Would we be reluctant to fight back?
Would we watch as our neighbors, friends, family and children are collateral damage?
Would we fight back?
What would we do if our nation was invaded by an army?
What would we do if our homes were being searched and we were the ones being hurt?
How would we cope with this?
Vengence? Hate? Anger? Pride?
What would we do?

Brian DeLongchamp

'02 Terror Plot Foiled?

2006-02-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

President bUSH said the a terrorist plot was foiled in 2002 to crash an airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast. With all the controversy surrounding the NSA wiretappping, which by the way violates the 4th Amendment, I wonder about the timing of such an announcement. Not only do I question the timing on this, I question the legitimacy of the apparent foiled attack. Why did the LA mayor not know about it? Why did the news media not know about it? How the hell can he stand on the podium with the Presidential Seal looking at us and lie so damn much? Okay that last question has nothing to do with the legitimacy of the report, but it's still a damn good question.

I wonder why current FBI and NSA officials say bUSH is full of shit? 23 of them came out right away and debunked bUSH. I'm glad I found that link, I feel justified in my feelings a bit more now.

Oh Nut(s)

2006-02-07T12:32:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was taking a shower and washing my self when I discovered this pea shaped thing hanging off my left nut. I wasn't too impressed, I don't even like peas. I finally made an appointment to see a Doctor, tomorrow. I'm actually seeing a PA who was also on my Legion Baseball team and an aquintance of mine growing up, which is kind of odd, considering the ummm, examination area. It's going to be kind of embarassing but he knows enough to find out what it is, why it's there and what needs to be done and I actually trust that he will be aggresive in treatment and make damn sure all is well in nutland.
I'm hoping it's not the big C(ancer) word. When I called to make the appointment the receptionist seemed kind of angry to be doing her job, telling me that there were no appointments available for a couple of weeks. She then asked what the symptoms I had were, so I told her and she said, "That changes things a bit, I'll see you at 11:00am Wednesday, you'll being seeing..." My first thought was actually shit, him? I used to hang out with him, he can't be examining me there. But like I said earlier, I do trust him a lot to not leave any stone unturned. I hope I know more tomorrow and I also hope the offending nut isn't offended at me for getting him checked out. I mean these are my boys, they've been with me through everything.
Although if the offending nut is removed, I was thinking I could talk to my boss about being able to get to work 7 and a half minutes later. We spend the first 15 minutes of the shift scratching our nuts, so if I've only got half the nut to scratch, it makes sense to me.

Lieberman at the bat

2006-01-30T17:59:00.000-05:00

The outlook wasn't good for the Constitution that day
The score stood 4-4 with one Supreme Court nomination left to play

And when Lieberman died on the floor and Akaka did the same
A pall-like silence fell upon lovers of equality and justice

A struggling few got up to save us from despair
The rest pissed on freedom and equality eternal in the country I love

They thought, "If only we could grow a spine
We'd put up a fight, with a spine and cahones and all that."

But Lieberman's spine, has was Akaka's
the former's was weak while the latter's was meek.

So upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy sat;
for there seemed but little chance of the Constitution surviving at that.

But John Kerry let drive a plea, to the wonder of all
And Kennedy, the much inflamed, spoke with passion, it's the Constitution afterall

But when the dust had lifted
And Democrats saw what occured
there we were betrayed by a few turds.

Then from a lot of us and more, there rose a lusty yell;
it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
it pounded on the mountain and reconciled upon the flat;
for our mighty Constitution was torn in half.

There was ease in Lieberman's manner as he chatted up McCain
there was pride in Joe's bearing a Republican-lite, a disgrace.

And when responding to the jeers, he smugly flipped the bird
no Democrat in the crowd could doubt Lieberman's a turd.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he soiled himself up the back of his shirt;
Five thousand tongues lashed out at him, "You're lower then dirt!"

Then, while the writhing Republicans trampled the Constitution
defiance flashed in Joe's eye, "I helped," he thought, "what an institution."

And now the Constitution's future hanging in the air
and Lieberman stood-a-watching in ignorant fashion there.

Close by the idiot Senator, the vote was read;
"I might as well be a Pug," said Joe.

"Oh shit!" his constituents said.
From Connecticut, that's a lot of people, there went up a muffled roar
knowing the Constitution will be forgotten by Alito forevermore.

Haha, Idiots" shouted Lieberman from the stand
it's likely somebody woulda killed him, if it weren't against the law of the land.

With a smile of Republican stupidity, Joe's lack of a spine shone
he killed his chance for reelection, voting we bade, must go on.

He signaled to the constituents and once more the bird flew;
but the constituents have had enough and said, "Fuck you!"

"Shit", cried the Republican-lite and echo answered "Shit!"
But one scornful look from Connecticut and Joe was hit.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
and they knew Joe would never be a Senator again.

The sneer has fled from Joe's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate
he pounds, with cruel violence his head upon his desk.

And now the Constitution will fall, cause he let go,
and now equality, justice is shattered because of the cloture's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land, the sun is shining bright
The President's band is playing, his brain still light
And somewhere Rove is laughing and Cheney shouts,

But the Constitution is gone
because some turd Dems have struck out.

Random opinions on random "pundits"

2006-01-29T18:37:00.000-05:00

Rush Limbaugh- Quite simply put, Rush is one ill individual. I don't understand how people can listen to him with a straight face. It's freaking baffling. Here's a dude who's had three divorces, drug addiction, avoided Vietnam and calls himself "The epitome of morality and vitrue." How can you honestly take that seriously?

Bill O'Reilly- This dude is quite the turd too. He's another one that's baffling to me. He claims to be the "No Spin Zone" yet gets me dizzy everytime I've watched him or listened to him. In December of 2003 he wrote an article The assault on morality never lets up, which is frightening to me that he has the guts to defend morality. For pete's sake he did settle out of court for sexually harassing a woman. He also said: "The main point here is that trying to hurt a business or a person because you disagree with what they say is simply unacceptable in America. And that message has been sent by FOX. There's a principle in play. Vigorous debate is embraced by us, but smear campaigns will be confronted."- Bill O'Reilly Talking Points, The O'Reilly Factor, 8-13-03 all the while, going after Pepsi for hiring Ludacris and suing Al Franken for using the words "fair and balanced" on his book cover. Okay enough on him, he's a jackass.

Ann Coulter- I don't know if Ms. Coulter has ever met a fact she liked. Just Google "Ann Coulter Lies and see what ya find.

Well, I'm getting as irritated as I do when I'm trying to sleep and a mosquito keeps buzzing around my head. That my friends, is irritating. No matter how hard you try you cannot get that mosquito, just like no matter how hard you try, you will never convince the "sheeple" followers of those pundits what reality is.

Let's play hide and...

2006-01-28T17:37:00.000-05:00

I remember very well, right after 9-11 and finding out that bin Laden was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center actually being happy President bUSH was going to get him. "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - G.W. Bush, 9/13/01 "I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'" - G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI. After reading those quotes, I thought to myself, "Outstanding, I hope we get him!" In a way, I felt excited everytime I put my Army uniform on because I might have been part of history. I felt I could've helped the Afghani people get rid of the Taliban regime, get a taste of freedom and rid the world of crazy leaders like bin Laden.

Now, fast forward a little, "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02 "I am truly not that concerned about him." - G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02). All right my fervor died down a bit. I thought to myself, "Dipshit, I mean Commander in Chief, you just said..." I hoped my CIC wasn't that stupid, I mean bin Laden did attack us on our own soil, he damn well should be a concern. Now we fast forward some more...

March 19th 2003, we go to war with a country that had nothing to do with the attack on the World Trade Centers, was pretty much a third world nation military and I, still don't believe, posed a viable threat to the United States of America. I know Hussein was a dictator and a bad man, but I also know we directed valuable bin Laden capturing assets to war that needn't be. Hussein and bin Laden had a mutual distrust for each other and hadn't had a working or operational relationship, EVER. bin Laden is a fundamentalist, Hussein was a secularist Muslim. All right I guess bin Laden has taken a backseat to a third world nation. Outstanding. Lets fast forward yet again...

May 1st 2003, "Mission Accomplished." Huh, I guess we doggone went and did what we had to do then, right? According the DoD stats, we've had 2096 total deaths, 1640 KIA and 7233 WIA without returning to action within 72 hours, since May 1st 2003.
source for stats That's not what those numbers tell me. Okay, now where's Osama? That's right, bin Laden is not a priority any longer. Damn, I thought seeing as major combat operations in Iraq had ended we could focus our attention to bin Laden. Boy was I wrong.

Friday Oct 29 2004, bin Laden releases a tape, just in time for the elections here in America. Great timing Usama. That's outstanding, he's still alive, maybe we can divert some Iraq attention to capturing him. That didn't happen. By the way did I mention the great timing of the video's release? Let's fast forward to now because this is starting to get old and repetitive and long and boring...

Jan 28th 2006, bin Laden released yet another tape on January 19th 2006. Wait, that means damn near 5 years after, "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - G.W. Bush, 9/13/01, bin Laden is still running around the world releasing tapes. I am so very curious has to why this, "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - G.W. Bush, 9/13/01 went to this, "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02 "I am truly not that concerned about him." - G.W. Bush, repsonding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02) in less then a year after the attacks? Oh wait, that's right, we had other business to take care of. Now 2241 American deaths later, we're still in Iraq, bin Laden is still running around making tapes and George W. Bush is still clueless. All the while I'm still wondering, "Where's Osama and why the hell did we go to Iraq when we still had a bigger fish to fry?"

Call to Action, THE COUNTRY!!

2006-01-27T15:15:00.000-05:00

Call your Senators, let them know you oppose Alito's nomination. Call them and tell them to support the recent call for a filibuster by John Kerry. Tell them to step to the plate! I'm sick of the Democratic Party cowering in the corner, like a beaten lap dog. I'm sick of watching the Democratic Party disappoint the base that continues to fight for them, even though they are not fighting for us. I'm sick of trying to rationalize "political strategy" while seeing Democratic principles flushed down the toilet. We're at a point in time where principle matters moreso then "strategy." To hell with strategy! It's time to lock step as a party, not a damn sideshow here and sideshow there. I thought this nomination would bring the Democrats closer together, afterall this is a nomination that threatens are very freedom! It threatens civil rights for all, it threatens Roe v. Wade!! Instead it's spintered us into sideshows. It's time, Democrat Senators, it's time!! Here's the damn phone numbers:

866-340-9281, 866-340-9279, 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588, & 800-426-8073

To Gramps

2006-01-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

I wrote this poem for my great grandpa shortly after he died in 1996.

I see him sitting there
the look of joy on his face
the second I step through the door
He's in his usual chair
the one in the kitchen
in the corner, by the window
He gets up to welcome us
Me, Mom and Tonya
and he's grinning
happy as can be
happy he's got company
happy it's me.
I shake his hand
or give him a hug
or just say hello.
He offers us food and drink
We oblige
but not because we're hungry or thirsty
but because we know it makes him so happy
it brings joy to the old man
to bring joy to others
We eat and we drink and we talk
and Gramps is so happy
to share part of his day
with Tonya, Mom and Me.

Roe V. Wade Aniversary

2006-01-23T16:54:00.000-05:00

"You believe, as I do, that every human life has value, that the strong have a duty to protect the weak, and that the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence apply to everyone, not just to those considered healthy or wanted or convenient," Bush told the abortion foes.

In pre Roe v. Wade days, an estimated 1.2 million women seeked abortions per year. Out of this 1.2 million aprox. 5000 died per year according to NARAL. During that time most abortions were performed by undertrained staff and doctors, lacking the proper equipment and using primitive methods. We cannot go back to these days. Abortion is something that can be banned worldwide, but women will seek them out and obtain one by any means necessary even if it means risking their own life.

"The self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence", protect citizens privacy. Roe v. Wade was a case not based on abortion, but rather based on privacy rights. It was based on the roots of privacy protections; protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. Seeing as the ruling was based on privacy, that would setback Dr./patient confidentiality, possibly attorney/client confidentiality and quite possibly make it difficult for women and couples to obtain birth control measures.

I've got questions: If abortion is banned in America, what about those lives that will be lost due to illegal, back alley abortions? What about the infections and maimings of women caused by unregulated abortion clinics and poorly trained doctors and staff? What about women in the states that still have anti-abortion laws on the books, ready to take affect the second Roe v. Wade is overturned? These women will have to travel to great lengths in a lot of cases, spend a lot of money, put their lives on hold and have the abortion performed in later stages of pregnancy, increasing chances of risk and complications. What about the doctors who still choose to perform abortions, albiet illegally so women don't have to use unsafe measures? Good doctors will be prosecuted and jailed.

Michigan Action Alert

2006-01-21T15:36:00.000-05:00

Fellow Michiganders,

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers has approved the wording for to get an initiative on this November's ballot. The ballot would affect affirmative action programs in government employment and contracting and education, which includes university admissions. Some of the wording that strikes me as odd is "preferential treatment" appearing on the ballot. I don't believe affirmative action provides preferential treatment to anybody, but I do believe it provides equal oppurtunity, especially to minorities and women.

I believe the state of Michigan voters should vote no on this initiative and potential change to our state's Constitution. I hate to say it but here I go, racism and sexism still exist. We must do what we can to keep protections in place that help prevent business owners, universities and government programs from being able to discriminate on a whim. Without these protections poor African Americans, Latinos, Asian Pacific Americans and women as well as middle class and rich of this group of Americans might again be brought back to pre Civil Rights America and we as Americans and especially Michiganders deserve better.

We have to start getting the word out now to our fellow Michiganders that such an iniative is not only racist but it's bad for Michigan economically, as women and minorities will not come here and those that are here may leave to find greener pastures elsewhere.

Link for more info:

http://www.bamn.com
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060121/NEWS04/601210339/1005/opinion

Sorry

2006-01-19T16:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Everytime I hear of a subject worth voicing up on, I do the research and to be frank I am sick of it. All my research inherently points to the same thing, President Bush is an idiot, the GOP has been bought off by lobbyists and spin from the right that's about has dull as a Taco Bell spork. The only thing the Taco Bell spork is good for is slinging stuff across a room, the only thing GOP spin is good for is well attempting to sling mud to cover their asses. It's truly sickening.

It's perfectly clear to me that not a single Democrat took money directly from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. It's perfectly clear to me that a lot of Republicans did. I'm not going to deny Democrats taking money from "Abramoff related sources" but with his fingerprints all over Washington DC, what isn't an "Abramoff related source?"

What's so hard to understand about illegal wiretapping? A search without a warrant is illegal. We've got a court set up to make the wiretaps we apparently so desperately need, legal. I subscribe to theory of give me liberty or give me death. I do not believe domestic spying is the answer to anything. And don't say what VP Cheney said, "It’s the kind of capability [that], if we’d had before 9/11, might have led us to be able to prevent 9/11." Bullshit, the NSA already had the authority to do wiretapping, but with a warrant. Nothing in pre 9-11 law prevented the observation of terrorists. Right now the only thing being prevented by this law is the 4th Amendment.

Supreme Court nominee Samual Alito should be filibustered. As we stand right now, this rogue administration has been slowly grabbing all the power they can and basically wizzing on the Constitution, we need an active checks and balances system in place. It's obvious to me that with Alito becoming a Justice this vital necessity will without a doubt not exist. Great.

The GOP spin was that the Clinton/Gore administration also did warrantless searches of American citizens, which apparently means that it’s OK. “Al Gore’s hypocrisy knows no bounds,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan. WTF? Unfortunatly FISA didn't cover physical searches at that time. In 1995 Clinton signed and supported the legislation that changed that.

"The president does not know him and does not recall meeting him. It is possible that he could have met him at a holiday reception or some other widely attended event," McClellan said about Abramoff. Funny, I thought Bush has known Abramoff since at least 1997, I mean Bush did write a letter at the behest of Abramoff to reform Mariana Islands education in 1997.

How I Met My Wife.

2006-01-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

It was a cold and stormy night in November 1998. I was at a friends house relaxing, contemplating what to do that night. The weather was horrible, so I figured I wouldn't be doing anything. Well about midnight I ran out of smokes and decided to venture out to get a pack. On the way to the gas station I remembered a couple of friends were having an underage drinking party and seeing as I fit the underage bill I decided to brave the weather. On the way to the gas station I turned a corner, slid off the road and came within a foot or two of hitting a house... I started to change my mind about driving the 15 miles to the party.

After buying my smokes I decided I'd test the highway, see if it was at least drivable. If not I could always turn around somewhere and head home or back to where I left earlier. The highway's condition sucked! I tried to turn around in a hotel parking lot and slid right by the entryway. I thought well, I've got a few more places to turn around at. By the time I was able to find an entryway somewhat plowed I was already half way to the party. I also slid by it. Next stop Wal-Mart's parking lot to turn around. Well by then I was only 3 miles from the party so I decided screw it I am going there I guess. Long story short, I arrive meet Kerri and the rest they say is history.

Compare and Contrast

2006-01-08T20:42:00.000-05:00

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes...known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. ... No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

James Madison, Political Observations, 1795

"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

U.S. President George W. Bush

"It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."

William Tecumseh Sherman

"He volunteered to go to Vietnam."

Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot, [2/23/04], on National Public Radio

"No, I didn't."

President Bush, Feb. 8, responding to a question on NBC's "Meet the Press" about whether he volunteered to go to Vietnam

"Warmaking doesn't stop warmaking. If it did, our problems would have stopped millennia ago."

Colman McCarthy

"And we will win the war, and there will be costs. But the military folks understand that, and so do I, and so does the Secretary of Defense."

U.S. President George W. Bush

"Why of course the people don't want war... Naturally... That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

Hitler's #2 Man, Hermann Goering

Tomorrow is zero hour

The match beings tomorrow

Al Qaida

The Jersey Girls

It's Pat!!

2006-01-06T08:52:00.001-05:00

"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, "No, this is mine."
Sharon "was dividing God's land and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU (European Union), the United Nations, or the United States of America," Robertson said.
In November Pat also said, "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God," he said. "You just rejected him from your city." He defended this by saying, "our spiritual actions have consequences."
God is an all-powerful God, if he wants the world to know what he's done, he certainly doesn't need Pat Robertson announcing His plan of action. If He did, I am sure Pat would be mentioned somewhere, like in the Bible or when God talks to people he would let everyone know, "Hey, listen to Pat Robertson, he's a messanger of mine." I believe that when Jesus came to earth he "made all things new." "All things" is something to ponder, because yet again, Pat quotes the Old Testament and the prophet Joel in defense of his lates quote/tirade. When Jesus says he makes "all things new," is he referring to ALL things or just somethings?

I'm Just Curious...

2006-01-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

With Bush not requesting any money to finance the rebuilding of Iraq in the 2006 budget, does anybody else think that Iran is in the horizon for an American invasion? Already they are talking about withdrawing troops out of Iraq.. even though it is only to get back down to pre-election levels of 138,000, the talk is out there. I hope I am just getting all tinfoil hat so help me out here bloggers.... Please leave your opinion in my comments box.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

2006-01-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

Once again the neverending questions regarding the retirement of Brett Favre loom over the heads of us Green Bay Packer fans. This season Brett hasn't had one of the "Favrelike" years fans, players and coaches expect from him. But that shouldn't deter the future Hall of Famer from coming back for at least one more season. I've watched a lot of Packer football this season and I haven't seen any evidence that he's lost anything. Although his numbers tell a different tale, the Pack was bitten by the injury bug pretty severely this season. He's had to work with a thin recieving corp as he lost Javon Walker early in the season, Bubba Franks wasn't 100% and was never able to click with most of the recievers. The offensive backfield was hit especially hard, losing Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, Tony Fisher for parts of the season, the recent up and comer Samkon Gado and Rashard Lee. He lost two key components to an offensive line that protected him well for numerous years and the line never really gelled either. With all the changes that happened during this season, Brett was forced into situations where he had to be the man. He had to try and make something happen which made him force a lot more then he has in past seasons.
If Brett Favre should choose to retire, words cannot express what he meant to the Green Bay Packer organization, the NFL and Packer fans all over the world. He was a 3 time MVP, brought the title back to Titletown and set numerous team records. He meant a lot to the NFL as he provided fans with more excitement with his tremendous arm and gunslinging ways. Fans everywhere will miss watching Brett on the field, his passion, toughness, dedication and the childlike way he enjoyed playing the game that he loved. Brett's presence on the field and sidelines of Lambeau Field will be missed by not only Packer diehards but true fans of the NFL.
I hope Brett doesn't decide to hang up his cleats just yet. His skills haven't diminished, his arm is still second to none and he's still capable of making defenders miss the sack. He still seems to enjoy playing even through his first career losing season as a starting quarterback. I believe his passion is unmatched as well as his will to win. He's still got a lot to offer the team as I firmly believe if he had a full roster his numbers would be different and the win-loss total would be different.
Here's to you Brett, thank you for the memories you've provided so far in your career and thank you for bringing the title back to Titletown. But most of all thank you for your unbridled passion for the game, for winning and for the Green Bay Packers. Thank you for being you and enjoying the game and bringing the fans years of enjoyment. Fans everywhere salute you, may you make the best decision for you and your family.

Tagged

2006-01-01T00:28:00.000-05:00

Well, my time has come, I've been tagged to give five random facts about myself so here they go:

1. I am a diehard Los Angeles Dodger and Green Bay Packer fan.
2. I haven't been in a fistfight since the age of 11.
3. I started my blog only to keep in touch with friends and family while I was away for the Army. Now I use it to rant, rave and because of it have met more friends.. KA.
4. I have the icky habit of biting my fingernails. Especially when I'm thinking.
5. I drink more Mountain Dew then any human should consume. I drink a bare minimum of 6 a day. Oh and I hate snow and winter too.

I hope those facts are good enough. That was actually kind of fun. I will think of people to tag back in the morning, so until then, be afraid, be very afraid.

Proud to an American, a Yooper and a soldier.

2005-12-31T09:05:00.000-05:00

U.P. soldier's crisis of conscience leads to legislation on torture
By CHRISTOPHER DIEM, Journal Staff Writer

PHOTO: Capt. Ian Fishback delivers a speech at the 2005 Memorial Day presentation at Newberry Cemetery. (Photo courtesy of James Diem, The Newberry News)

MARQUETTE - It's not always easy to do the right thing.

President George Bush recently agreed to legislation banning the use of torture by the United States military, but the issue may not have even been in discussion were it not for one Upper Peninsula man.
Army Capt. Ian Fishback, 26, a Newberry native and West Point graduate who has served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. While fighting the war on terror, Fishback, in a letter to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he had been led by superiors to believe that United States policy in those two fronts did not require application of the Geneva Convention toward the treatment of prisoners.

"On 7 May 2004, Secretary of Defense (Donald) Rumsfeld's testimony that the United States followed the Geneva Conventions in Iraq and the 'spirit' of the Geneva Conventions in Afghanistan prompted me to begin an approach for clarification," Fishback wrote.

For 17 months, Fishback carried out an exhaustive investigation, asking authorities in many levels of the military and government to define what the U.S. policy was concerning the treatment of prisoners.

None could give him a clear, consistent answer.

"Instead of resolving my concerns, the approach for clarification process leaves me deeply troubled," he wrote.

Fishback said the confusing lack of standards or a clear policy for U.S. soldiers to follow was largely responsible for beatings, torture and degrading treatment of prisoners that he and his troops witnessed first-hand in Afghanistan and Iraq.

His concerns were finally brought to Humans Rights Watch, and his cause has been taken up by McCain, who was tortured as a Vietnam prisoner of war.

Fishback, who is not speaking to reporters, is in Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, N.C. in hopes of returning to the war front.

"This is a tragedy," Fishback wrote. "I can remember, as a cadet at West Point, resolving to ensure that my men would never commit a dishonorable act, that I would protect them from that type of burden. It absolutely breaks my heart that I have failed some of them in this regard."

Newberry is a close-knit community that knows adversity. After suffering the closure of the State Mental Health Hospital in the early 1990s, Newberry residents fought against a strikingly similar situation this summer, when downstate legislators threatened to close the Newberry Correctional Facility. It was in this community that Fishback grew up.

Attending Tahquamenon Area Schools, Fishback was an accomplished athlete and student. He was voted class president, MVP of the football team and voted Most Likely to Succeed.

Throughout his life, Fishback has been noted as a devout Christian, with strong morals.

"His values come from his parents and from his personal sense of integrity, said the Rev. Steve Ford, an Episcopal minister and the father of one of Fishback's close friends. "One of his primary concerns was that he was a captain and he had to lead men, and when you lead your men you have to be able to tell them what they can and can't do."

Ford said that Fishback's convictions have had a measurable impact on Washington.

"I don't think there has been another person from the Upper Peninsula in the last 100 years that has had such a profound effect on national policy," Ford said, regarding the Bush administration's recent acceptance of the torture ban after months of insisting that such legislation was unnecessary.

"I'm as proud of Ian as any human being I've known," Ford added.

Some legislators and pundits across the nation argue that the ban on torture will limit the military's ability to wage war on terror.

Fishback wrote there is a larger issue at stake.

"Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security? Will we confront danger and adversity in order to preserve our ideals, or will our courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of sacrifice?" he wrote.

He added, "If we abandon our ideals in the face of adversity and aggression, then those ideals were never really in our possession. I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is 'America.'"

At it Again!

2005-12-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

The President is at it again. A request was put in to restrict steel pipe imports from China and our great President denied the request. Great.
"We followed the rules approved by Congress for trade law enforcement, showing China pipe imports are unfairly surging within the past three years, and the U.S. government's own investigation agreed," Conway argued. "Yet, President Bush has chosen to support China over American interests. How many more American jobs will the Republican leadership sacrifice before it shows backbone?" Tom Conway is the international Vice President for the United Steelworkers Union. Well, I guess the only good from this is it shows Bush's true colors, anti-American, anti-bluecollar and anti-union. What a bastard, yet again. This guy never seems to amaze me.

On another not the Justice Department is investigating how the NYT found out about the domestic spying the President authorized. That's great too. Forget that our rights as Americans were trampled on, but focus on the "whistleblower" if that's what you wanna call them. Yeah, don't focus on the crimes the President committed; just get the leaker. I'm sure Bush will fire whomever leaked or was connected to this leak, like he should be doing with the Plame leak. But instead the Plame case seems to have been convienently swept under the rug. HMMMMMMMMMMM, wonder why? Could it be Bush would have to fire the man behind the madness, Karl Rove or maybe even his Vice President? I remember Bush saying that he would fire anybody involved. Oh well, like most things that come out of his mouth, it was a lie. What a bastard.

Happy New Year!!

2005-12-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

In case I don't get a chance to post before the New Year, I hope the New Year brings your dreams closer to coming true, goals closer to attaining and joy felt for the next 365 days. I hope 2006 brings with it a new beginning, a new beginning for those soldiers and citizens in Iraq, for those who have experienced tragedy and have been tried through and true, for the Constitution, for the Bill of Rights as 2005 wasn't a good year for our civil rights, the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre (hope he stays at least one more year) and for you, the reader of blog. Happy New Year, here's to many more and many blessings.

Go Doyers!!!

2005-12-25T06:20:00.000-05:00

The Dodgers are moving in a positive direction I think. The only negative is signing old guys whom are prone to injury. If they stay healthy they're gonna be tough. I can't wait for spring training.

Ass Wipe

2005-12-18T01:31:00.000-05:00

"It's just a goddamned piece of paper!" President Bush referring to US Constitution sometime in November. He is correct the Constitution is written on paper, in hundreds of textbooks, posters and web sites. It's a piece of paper that I raised my right hand and swore to defend in 1996. It's a piece of paper that countless others raised their right hands and swore to defend. It's a piece of paper that thousands of people have died defending. It's a piece of paper that lays out the very foundation of what the United States of America is, will be and stands for. Yet the very man elected to by Americans who also raised his right hand and swore to defend the Constitution calls it a "goddamned piece of paper." I've got a few questions I wish I could pose to the President:

If it's true that the Constitution is just a "goddamned piece of paper", would you be willing to back up your words and wipe your ass with it? You see Mr. President, toilet paper and goddamned paper I believe are of the same breed. As when one uses a public restroom only to find out there isn't any toilet paper and exclaims, "No goddamned paper!!" (I've had it happen and that's what I said.)

You say you support the troops. During the swearing in ceremony should the troops really pledge to protect a "goddamned piece of paper?" I mean they could swear to protect a lot of things that are American, like our rights.. wait, that's the Constitution, let me strike that question and go to this one, Mr. President if the Constitution is just a "goddamned piece of paper" to you, will you please step aside and allow somebody with respect for the Constitution and the rights it holds take your place in the Oval Office? The paper used to do this wouldn't be a "goddamned piece of paper" to me, that resignation paper would be like finding toilet paper in a public restroom, without the embarrasment of hopping one stall over in hopes of finding some.

Patriot Act

2005-12-17T00:58:00.000-05:00

Today (yesterday I guess, haven't been to bed yet), Senators concerned with American's rights successfully blocked the renewal of the Patriot Act. As exciting news as this is, I wonder how long the President and his band of thugs will take to get it passed? I wonder what extreme measures the Republican leadership is willing to attempt to get the Patriot Act renewed? Will they play the "unpatriotic" card? Will they play the "fight them over there, not here" card or will they drop the big ace in the hole and declare a terror code red, then say, "See, because of the Patriot Act, we've intercepted communication that terrorists are planning to attack somewhere in the continent. We don't exactly know where, but we'll shut down bridges just to be safe." It'll be interesting to see the gameplan come out and be played and even more interesting to see if Americans bite hook, line and sinker. Anybody who gives up civil liberties for security, probably shouldn't have civil liberties. I take that back, they shouldn't have civil liberties.

WTF?!?!?!?!?

2005-12-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

Why in the world would the President of the United States of America do this? In a land that I once thought was free, are very own President secretly changed laws so American citizens could be spied on. That bastard had the Patriot Act, now secret spy law changing. What an ass hole. It honestly seems like something the Third Reich would do, not something that should happen in America, the land of the free. That was a terrible thing to read this morning.

Unpatriotic?

2005-12-06T12:04:00.000-05:00

They say we're not Patriots, They tell us we're wrong
but for the rest of the nation it didn't take long.
We can't wait to see you gone oh damn neocon
Start a war not provoked, You say never forget 9-11
it was tragic it was sad but GW Bush has been had
it seems bin Laden was just a fad. We shout no blood for oil
after you brought war to foreign soil I have to ask neocon are you insane,
going after Hussein?
You fed us lie after lie for that now expect soldiers to die?? Now you tell us it's becuase of terror but we see it as a costly error. Grab a towel, try to wipe, you've got blood on your hands, you made innocent blood soak the desert sands.
We sit, we watch, we cry as we hear of another soldier die. We feel for the families who want their soldier home. We pray for them and the innocent whose life has been torn. We never forget the new world 9-11 had born, but we never forget the lies told. Our dissent is not aimed at the troops, it's you we scorn. You brought us to the desert sand.
We've got soldiers dying, please bring them back. How many more do you have to ruin, how many more have to die for your lie??
You see neocon it's us who love the USA, stand beside her, not divide her. United we stand divided we fall, our dissent is what stopped the freefall. So don't stall, do what is right, don't start us on another fall, remember this country stands for justice for all. The country is behind us, winds of change have blown, we heard the call to do what's right and stop the fight. We've done our part to unite. Neocons you're lies are exposed, give us back our country, we want you disposed.

Brian DeLongchamp

Greens turning Blue

2005-11-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

Since 9/11 we've been bombarded with the message "Support the Troops" by the Bush administration. For them it seems to be more of a word thing, rather then an action thing. They can spew that rhetoric all they want, but the fact that they actually support the troops isn't shown by policy. Republicans voted to cut 14.5 billion dollars for Veterans from the 2006 budget. This year alone Republicans have voted against increasing veterans healthcare 5 times. In 2004 Republicans voted against expanding VA healthcare by 1.8 billion dollars, even though the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicted the expansion could help 3 million veterans. In 2003 they voted against a 1.019 billion dollar increase. 2001, same thing, 1.7 billion dollars turned down.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us with a long waiting list of veterans waiting to get medical help. The wait could be six months or two years. We've got aprox. 517,000 claims pending alone. The 15,000 or so wounded troops returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan are a lot of the waiting.

With words of "Support the Troops" spewing out of the mouths of Republicans at every chance they get, you'd figure they'd put the money where their mouth is. But instead, they let those who've served this nation suffer. Actions always speak louder then words, so let's see some action!! Until the Republicans stop voting no on raises to VA healthcare and yes on cuts, I will continue to see the doublespeak for what it is.. a crock pot full of poop roast.

Brownie you're doing a heck of a job.

2005-11-25T14:17:00.000-05:00

I don't get it. I just don't get it. Michael Brown, head of FEMA during the Hurricane Katrina disaster is starting a disaster preparedness firm. Not too be blunt, but that's like Michael Jackson starting a day care. It's like OJ Simpson opening a knife shop. Pauly Shore starring in a movie. It makes no sense!!

Maybe Mr. Brown feels bad about how he handled the Katrina situation. Even with that in mind, Mr. Brown will always be the man on the Wheaties box, the poster child and the definition of how NOT to handle a disaster. I hope I'm wrong and that he learned a lot about what to do, instead of what he proved, which was how not to do. His first plan to deal with a hurricane and it's aftermath failed, maybe, just maybe his second plan will work.

Hardcore?

2005-11-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

I'm on the left, looking hardcore.

More Thanksgiving.

2005-11-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

My wife is so good to me. Even though she's quite sick, she cooked a great Thanksgiving meal for us. I helped too, pretty much just peeling potatoes, but it's the only thing I'm qualified to do. I cannot cook, bake or anything like that but I am willing to go where I'm needed. The kids enjoyed the meal a great deal, especially the turkey. They are so cute. Oh yeah they enjoyed Kerri's pumpkin pie too. I was too full from the meal to have some, but I will tonight for sure. Boy, what a day weather wise here. Snow and blowing snow all around. The wind is terrible the tempurature is terrible. Just a crummy day weather wise. Thank you Kerri, Sophie and Lily for making my life so wonderful and perfect. Thank you to the rest of my family for helping out in that too, Love yas!! I should also give a shout out too the gentlebloggers at Kickin' Ass too. You all are great. Well, I hope Thanksgiving found everyone well and you all continue to be well.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T16:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all who stumble onto this blog!! I hope you have a lot to be thankful for, but mostly I hope you have the perspective to see it. Here's to another year of memories, thankfulness, family, friendship and love.

Polls

2005-11-22T17:32:00.000-05:00

I am by no means an expert in politics nor am I an expert in polls. I was just looking over some polls and they all look the same to me. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Hastert and Frist are low in approval. On the flip side, Democratic members of Congress are also low. This kind of speaks to me in great volumes.
I believe the reason Democratic Congress members numbers are so low is simply because a lot of Americans want them to do more to stop the GOP corruption going on all around them. Americans want the Democratic Party to do more to assure victory in Iraq, while leaving Iraq in control of the Iraqi people. Americans want the Democrats to do more for the common, middle class American bending over yet again for another round of tax cuts for the rich. I also believe Americans are sick of high gas prices, the fear of being laid off, high medical costs and high drug costs. I think the American people are looking to the Democrats for leadership, that until recently they haven't shown.
It's about time for the Democratic Party to hold hands, stand tall by the ideas they stand for and start counter-punching the GOP with plans to end everything I mentioned above. They can do it, we can do it, we're all in this together as Americans as Democrats.

Call me simple Rush but...

2005-11-21T18:27:00.000-05:00

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today and he got to calling the left the "blame America first" crowd yet again. He was discussing the "fact" that America does not create terrorists. I got to thinking about the Iraqi insurgents and wondering, "Would ALL these insurgents be aggresive against America's brave soldiers had we not started the war in Iraq?" I got to thinking about my family as well. Put the two thoughts together and I was left with, "No, I don't think a lot of the insurgents would be terrorists."
My reasoning behind this is simply, if a foreign invader came here to America, odds are good I would pick up arms to defend myself and my family if we were put in danger. If by chance they wounded or killed an innocent member of my family, I would do whatever I could to avenge the death of my family member. Had that foreign invader never ended up on my country's soil, I wouldn't pick up arms against anyone. Therefore by that foreign military invading my country, wounding a family member, they created a "terrorist." It's simple when it all comes down to it, Rush. Take off the empathy free tin-foil hat of hate you're wearing and feel some, you might just get a new outlook on life!!

Floodgates

2005-11-21T13:21:00.001-05:00

With Rep. Murtha's recent resolution to redeploy out of Iraq, while keeping troops on the immediate horizon wasn't voted on, the Republicans played a trick on the American public by introducing their own bill. Here is Rep. Murtha's:

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That:

Section 1. The deployment of United States Forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

Now here is what GOP leadership did to it:

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

I believe the GOP bastardized the resolution to shut off all debate on the war in Iraq. They pulled this stunt so they could say "Murtha didn't even vote for his own resolution." I just hope the American public will research this bill and see how the GOP bastardized this great show of leadership by Rep. Murtha. They also pushed the resolution through without much debate, at least the debate that such a resolution deserves. I hope the debate will rage on in Congress as well as in America on John Murtha's show of courage in defying this administration's "stay the course" rhetoric. By the looks of things, America is sick of staying the course.

New Job.

2005-10-08T17:42:00.000-04:00

Thursday I got hired for a new job.. kind of in my chosen profession. I went to college and got an Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement; well anyways I am now a Patrolman for a private security firm that provides security for the local mines as well as various other spots in the county and UP. If things go well, I will be transferred to the airport to provide armed security, because the county Sheriff's had to lay off the officers.. me being one of them. Oh well, things work out for the best.

Why The Republicans Will Win in 2006

2005-09-20T12:52:00.000-04:00

For those of you expecting me to site Republican ideas and platform you are wrong. I believe the Republicans are going to win because they cannot afford to lose. If they lose, Congressional Democrats will be able to do the right thing concerning Tom DeLay, the criminal. They will be able to go ahead with his ethics hearings and probably find him guilty. They will be able to look further into the Downing Street Memos, which would be bad for the President. Last but not least they will be able to dig deeper into the Karl Rove treasongate scandal.
All of this adds up to a Republican victory in 2006 because they can control the outcomes to a certain extent. These new electronic voting machines are a voting fraud disaster waiting to happen. They can be hacked with no record of the hacking that was done. The Republicans are against creating a paper trail that would verify the electronic voting machines votes. That's scary to me.
As you can see the Republicans have a lot to lose in 2006. Will they cheat to make it happen? Only time will tell. If you live in a precinct with the electronic voting machines, vote absentee as it may be the only defense against such fraud.

Democracyunderground.com

Midwest Kings

2005-08-28T14:32:00.000-04:00

Just a quick plug for a band I enjoy. They're outta Tulsa Oklahoma. www.midwestkings.com

Working

2005-08-26T12:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I've got a job.. it's a job that I actually enjoy a lot, I just wish I could make more money doing it. I bag and stock groceries at a local grocery store. It isn't exactly the most prestigious job nor is it a get rich quick job, but for some reason I enjoy it. I really do wish I could land a job in the field I have chosen, which is law enforcement, but up here the going is rough in that field. A lot of other jobs I have applied for must look at my degree and chuckle or something. They must think, "A degree in law enforcement and he wants to install broadband.." or " A degree in law enforcement and this scumbag wants to run our store.." Oh well what's one to do. Someday.

More Sulfide Mining Factoids

2005-08-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

Kennecott's mine in Alaska, called the Greens Creek Mine, has violated the Clean Water Act 391 times according to the EPA Fact Sheet for Permit No. Ak-0043206, 1998.
During operations in Wisconsin at the Flambeau Mine the discharge from the mine far exceeded groundwater standards. That was taken from the Enviromental Mining Coalition Report.
Kennecott does not respect it's workers.. "We can only conclude that this company has excercised targeted retaliation against union members and union-represented workers for excercising their legal and constitutional rights..." Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers Association.
Studies show that communities that rely on mining see worsened income, unemployment rates and poverty once a mine closes. This especially holds true in the Great Lakes Region. The mine only wants to operate for 5-7 years. The outlook is bleak.
Kennecott stay the Hell out of my UP!!!!!!!!!

Interesting Day

2005-08-22T12:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had an interesting day. Me and my friend Don decided to go fishing up towards my grandpa's camp. We were gonna hit the Yellow Dog, but a tree had fallen on the road in, so we decided to hit the east branch of the Huron. I parked the car and we started to walk into what I thought was the trail to Huron. Instead it was a trail to getting lost in the woods. We spent a couple of hours trying to find the road that the car was parked on, after realizing we weren't gonna find the Huron. We eventually found our way out... but for a bit I was nervous, thinking about spending the night in the woods. We got out and fished for aprox. 10 minutes or so off of the bridge on 510.

Metallic Sulfide Mining

2005-08-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

Kennecott Mining wants to mine the Yellow Dog plains area of the UP. I am opposed to this idea. Here are some facts to chew on.
1. Kennecott mining is on record as being the number 1 generator of toxic materials in the US.
2. Once the reaction caused by sulfide mining begins it is hard to contain and never fails to pollute the watershed being mined.
3. AMD needs to be put somewhere, usually ending up polluting streams and underground water supplies.
4. The effects are immediate and continue long after mining operations have ceased.
5. The area is virtually undeveloped right now. A mining operation would need electricity, causing an electrical grid to be put up, transportation, causing paved roads in an area with only seasonal dirt roads, they would need to get the mined materials out, causing them to build a railroad system in the pristine wilderness.
6. I was virtually raised in the Yellow Dog plains. My Grandpa Ron's camp is in that area, which is where I spent pretty much every weekend from 1989 to 1996. It would be a shame to see such prisine wilderness turned into nothing more then a stinky, polluted and downright nasty area. I want my kids to enjoy the area just as much as I did as a youngster. It is where I caught my first fish, hunted for the first time and learned to treasure the outdoors for the beauty, peace and serenity it offers.
These are just some facts. I am not well researched on the idea of sulfide mining the Yellow Dog plains but these facts alone scream to me, "NOOO don't let it happen!!"
Some pro-mining "facts."
1. It will provide jobs for the area.
WRONG-O: Kennecott plans to mine for 7-10 years in the area. With Kennecott mines constantly being shut down, they will just transfer the laid off miners from the other mines, such as one in Nevada currently shut down. The unemployment rates of the areas that they have mined remained at the same levels as before they started.
2. It will provide a great part of the economy for the UP.
WRONG-O: The materials mined will be shipped to foriegn countries and the UP will be lucky to see 10% of what Kennecott makes.
I hope anyone from Michigan reading this, especially the UP, will contact their State Reps, the governor, the media and anybody else that can help to prevent the Yellow Dog plains from being destroyed. I am usually not one to become an "activist" of any sort, but Sulfide Mining has no place in the Yellow Dog plains.

The Play

2005-08-19T10:42:00.000-04:00

Last night I got to see the kids part in the play "The Wizard of Oz." They are both munchkins and in the lullaby league. It is soo darn cute. They have to do this little dance, and Lily being the youngest and smallest one on stage looks adorable. She's a litte bit out of step, not enough to matter, but enough to be just adorable. I cannot believe that they have the courage to be up on state with the lights on in front of all those people. I know I wouldn't be able to do it. I am green with envy as it makes me a bit sick to even think of myself up there onstage in front of a couple hundred people. I think the best part is, is the fact that they enjoy it so much. I think we are going to let them try out or audition if you'd prefer for more plays in the future. Well that's all for now.

Another night on the water.

2005-08-16T22:17:00.000-04:00

Kerri and I went fishing tonight while the kids were at play rehearsal. It was an awesome night. It was a lot of fun watching Kerri fish. She's so cute. She was on a roll, catching at least 8 chubs and 1 brookie. She pulled another brookie out but he wriggled off the hook. The one she caught went for 8 1/2 inches the one she missed was at least that, but looked bigger. I reckon you're wondering how I did. Well, if I were playing cribbage, I would have "Fifed", "Barneyed", been "countin' 'em later" or had the classic 19 hand. Which means nothing, not a brookie to be had by the Bri-Man. Oh well, I am guaranteed a fishing trip for Sunday so hopefully things will go better.
Well, the Dodgers are 1 out from coming back in the 9th to beat the Braves. It really has been a good night. Fishing with my wife, the Dodgers win, now what can beat that... other then getting off my computer and joining my family in the living room. Thanks for checking, somebody please comment so I know I am at least typing to somebody not myself here.

Yet More Fishing

2005-08-15T15:37:00.000-04:00

I am beginning to believe that I have problem. Every oppurtunity I get I hit the water to fly fish. Everytime I hit the water I enjoy myself immensely, even if I get skunked. I do not know if this is a normal reaction to wonders and joys of fly fishing but it is my reaction. I won't be able to fish tonight and knowing this is hurting my poor insides. I think I've an addiction of the worst (best) sort. It's an addiction that I don't want to leave my body. It's an addiction I want my wife to get so she can see and feel the same joy and mysteries that I am. I have a feeling both my girls will get it just as soon as I teach them how to fly fish. They enjoy fishing the "old barbaric" way using worms and big hooks to catch fish. That's fine by me that they enjoy that, but I will teach them a better way. It's very challenging to present a fly perfectly, to make a fish take it. You have to make it move and realisticly and that's the challenge as I am not an emotologist, in fact far from it as I dislike most bugs. It's also challenging to cast the fly into the water, especially with them dog gone tag elders and various other plants waiting to wave a leaf out to grab you fly out of mid air, leaving you to wonder, "Why did I do that?" As you're removing the fly from the leaf, you notice a decent size fish jump in the area you were going to cast, the excitement hits and BAM! that same leaf that reached just 15 seconds before does it yet again, leaving you to ponder you own intelligence for a moment, until you realize you are addicted to the great fighting nature and intelligence of the trout and you know that you're not the only one.

More fishing.

2005-08-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

Last night Kerri, the kids and I went fishing. It was a really good time. Sophie caught two chubbs, one Lily insisted on gutting, which she did. I cut the fish open for her and she took the guts out. I think Lily has a career in the medical field waiting for her. With the way Sophie fishes I think she'll be a pro fisherwoman. Everytime I take her out fishing she catches something. She gets so excited and seems to enjoy it a lot. The look on her face when she gets a bite is unbeatable. It's just great. I tried a bit with the fly-rod and got skunked. I had a couple of good strikes though. I wish I could've hooked them and maybe brought home a brook trout supper. Oh well, it was an awesome night.
The girls are in a play. They are munchkins in the Wizard of Oz. It is going to be so cute. I cannot wait. It starts in a couple of weeks at the Vista theatre in Negaunee, MI. I've been to some rehearsals and I do believe the munchkin parts of the play are going to be worth the price of admission alone. It's going to be adorable. I don't think I am going to miss a show.
Sunday I am going to be helping at a Christian music fest. Our neighbors are going to be playing so I volunteered to help set-up. So I am going to be a roadie. I think that will be fun.
"Wake me up when September ends."

Packers

2005-08-05T08:58:00.000-04:00

After looking at the Packers schedule I think they will go 10-6 at least. The first 5 games they play are against non play-off teams from last season, so I hope they pull out at least 4-1 from that. I think the NFC North is going to be tougher then previous years as the Bears and Lions seem to be coming around a bit more.
I think Favre will be his usual self and throw at least 30 tds with 3500 yards. With his off-season workout regimen I do expect more from him though. He is one of the toughtest QBs to ever play the game but age is kind of catching up with him. If that workout regimen worked then age won't be to big of a factor. He claims to have gained mobility, which is a good thing, let's see if he can match his numbers from one of his 3 MVP seasons.
The defense doesn't look to be a bright spot yet again. For the third season in a row they are changing schemes and just like last pre-season the attitude is "Just wait, we're going to surprise people." Last season I was surprised, surprised that they flat out sucked. I hope they do good with this scheme but if history repeats itself, the offense might be the best defense.
I really do hope this is a Super Bowl year for the Pack. If things go right, add a little bit of luck, some decent defense, with Favre regaining his MVP stats I think we have a shot at it. I do think the Pack will be in the NFC Championship game, unless Favre implodes during the play-offs like he's been known to do. Well here's to another great season of Packer football.. Go Pack Go.

More Fishing

2005-08-03T18:14:00.000-04:00

Did some more fly-fishing yesterday, caught a bunch of fish but none big enough to keep. I also saw some of the great UP wildlife, 3 deer, a racoon, a beaver and last but most deadly a bear. It was kind of scary seeing the bear, every noise I heard after seeing it I thought was it coming after me. It wasn't a very big one so I figure Mommy wasn't lurking to far away and that's what scared me the most. But like any Yooper I kept fishing. It was amazing to watch all the fish surfacing and jumping. It seemed every cast I would get a strike which was exciting and fun. I missed a decent sized brook trout, it had to be at least 10 inches, which is the legal size limit in the stream I was fishing.
As much as I like Pres. Bush as a person, his presidency is starting to bother me now. He seems to stretch the truth a lot. 20/20 hindsight about the war in Iraq has me thinking "What the heck are we doing there???" It seems to me that the war was started on faulty intelligence that a lot of people knew about including Democrats alike but voted to use force anyway. I wonder what kind of vested interest these politicians have in the war, such as Haliburton and other contractors working there now. Don't get me wrong I still support the President and the troops but I truly feel sorry for them. One of my good friends downrange has told me stuff and the people in the military that I have seen and talked too say it's a terrible place. They support what we are doing now, the rebuilding and such but don't support why we were there in the first place. Not all mind you, but some. I don't want to sound like a whistleblower or anything it's almost equal, with the slight majority going to those troops who wonder WTF are we doing there. Oh well, I can sit here and whine all I want and it's not going to make much of a difference. Maybe 2008 will be better. As Green Day says "Wake me up when September ends."

Stuff

2005-07-30T12:04:00.000-04:00

Well the Dodgers keep confusing by winning a few then losing a few but the Padres keep losing, so that's good. The Dodgers are only 4 games out of first place. I kind of hope they make the play-offs. A lot of people think they need to pull of a big trade, but I disagree. Right now they have a team that has potential to get it together and possibly make an impact in the play-offs. They are starting to get healthy, Milton Bradley is back, Valentin is on his way back, they just promoted to young guys to the team, which is just as good as a trade with the market right now.
Yesterday and the day before I did a lot of fly-fishing. On Thursday I went with my Grandpa and caught 3 fish all Brook Trout, the smallest being 9 inches. I went by myself later that day and caught a 10 inch brookie. Yesterday I caught an 8 inch brookie and a nice 4 inch brookie. I kept the 10 incher I caught and released the rest. Had I known my girls were gonna like the fish so much I would've kept more, now I know.
NFL training camp has opened up, I am very excited about that. The Pack is going to be good this year again or so I hope. Javon "spoiled" Walker reported to camp, so he know what is right and wrong anyways.
And last but not least I have started to collect autographs through the mail and finally got a response today. It was from NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson who drives the Lowe's #48 car. He's a pretty talented driver. I'm happy he responded. Well I am gonna continue my Saturday.

Condoms in School

2005-05-11T14:29:00.000-04:00

A school in Wisconsin recently inadverdently handed out condoms to the middle school students during some sort of "health day." A lot of people would applaud such an act but I don't. I don't see a problem with teaching the only sure fire way to prevent STD transmission and pregnancy. The only sure fire way to do this is ABSTINENCE. I am unable to understand why the ACLU and other such organizations is against such teaching. Abstinence works for crying out loud. Maybe one day schools will provide partners so the students can learn how to do it right. How to put on the rubber and to please the partner. That would be wonderful. Sex Ed would take a wonderful turn if that happens. Heck some teachers have already volunteered to be partners for the students. That is great for Sex Ed. Who better to learn from then the teacher!! Isn't this country great?!?

Runaway Bride

2005-05-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

What is the big deal about this runaway bride? She's an idiot who doesn't deserve to be married to a man willing to stand by her after that craziness. I know that they were engaged but they were not married, so please don't give me that "But family values" stuff. Engagement isn't marriage. I would not marry somebody who doesn't even have the courage or decency to tell me what she is feeling. I have heard that she was undersexed. Good gracious, have the decency to tell your future spouse, "Hey I really enjoy our sex life, although it is a good idea that we remain celibate while we wait to marry, I am going crazy here and might do something stupid, like end up in New Mexico and claim I was kidnapped even though I wasn't and I might even claim I was raped so after having sex with someone else it won't look like I have no morals and actually wanted it!!" Just one man's thought on this stupid scenario.

It sure is Monday

2004-12-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

Well, for the first time in a few weeks the Packers got beat. I mean they got embarrassed. Oh well. Things are okay, for the first time in 2 weeks I got a decent night's sleep, which really felt good. Today I had to stay back from a Live fire field excercise because I had an appointment. It is boring here when you're not Army training, but not free to do what you want to do. We've finished all of our tasks already and are doing more but there is only so much that can be done. The one thing that I wish is that they would allow us more time to take of personal things, such as laundry for starters. We have been on the go for 2 weeks, working from 5:15 am to 9:00 pm. It gets tiring. You get back to barracks and have a meeting then try to take of cleaning your living space, showering and relaxing it is already pushing 11 o'clock, so that will explain the lack of sleep. We definitely need more time to do laundry and stuff like that. Oh well, what can you do, except keep turning your underwear inside out, but I only have 14 pair so that trick only works 28 times. I am glad I brought a lot of t shirts and socks. Well I don't know what I am typing for anymore, I hate complaining.. Keep praying for us troops.

Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. We just got out of the field, where I got 4 hours of sleep for the entire 36 hour excercise. My body hates me right now for that. Go figure. The training was actually very good other then the temperature. It was freezing!!! We learned how to do things we could do in Iraq like secure and defend entry control points to bases and react to mortar attacks. They hired civilians to play Iraqi citizens, some of them being former Iraqi citizens, which helped out a lot. It added realism to the experience. They pretended to not know english, protested our presence in "Iraq:" and of course attacked us. All and all it was a great experience.. sleep or no sleep. Everything here has being as well as it can be, being away from home and all. That is the worst part, but the people around here are supportive and help you through tough times, as does prayer and the Lord. We have a pretty good group of people, we all work as a team and put the welfare of everybody before our own. I think the deployment over to the sandbox will be okay. Well I am going to get going now. Thanks for reading!!

Hey guys

2004-11-12T13:02:00.000-05:00

Things are moving slow so far. The unit's morale is pretty high though as the Sr. leaders are trying to keep it that way. Last night a few of us had a wonderful night of fellowship, sharing verses, talking and praying. Hopefully by the time we leave the group will ourgrow the room we have for it. That would be great. It sounds as though we will be in country in a few months rather then weeks, but of course that is subject to change. I think today we are getting are DCU's which is pretty cool. Instead of green I will be what carmel?? in color. I think carmel is flattering on my figure though, or at least I hope. Hopefully they will be striped to add 15 lbs to my frame!! Oh well, it's still an Army uniform hey. Oh yeah and the best part of the desert uniform.. no more boot shining. I cannot wait. I am sick of shining my boots only to wake up and step and them and leave a nice scuff on the toe. As I was proof reading, I've noticed that my grammar is rather poor, so I will apologize. I have to go now though, I think there is work to do. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.. keep it up because God is faithful and just in answering prayers.. although the answers may come on his timing, they will come. Oh yeah.. just a sidenote; Army food really gives everybody severe gas... which is humorous, at least to a juvenile delinquent such as myself.

Active Duty

2004-11-10T09:29:00.000-05:00

I have been on active duty now since Friday Nov 5th. Sunday was the hardest I have ever experienced and I will not put myself or my family through this again. So far things have been going as well as expected. We've had shots and all the good stuff, so I suppose it is downhill from here now. We have a lot of training in front of us, but I think this unit is ready, for the training. I've been able to pray a lot lately as I've been sitting and waiting a lot, the praying has given me a lot of strength. Well I don't have much time left on this computer, you know how the Army is.. Love yas and praying for yas.

The day is here

2004-11-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

Today is the day I leave for my deployment. I have to report tomorrow. We are going to spend some time training, then on our way to the "sandbox." Right now I am feeling so many emotions. Most of the are sad, but with a lot of optimism. I never thought this day would come. I hoped it wouldn't, but I knew better. It had too. Tomorrow I have to say bye to my wife and kids, and the rest of the family that will be with us. I've been dreading it. Words cannot describe the emotions. I know that they will be taken care of back here. We've been blessed with a wonderful family and a wonderful church family that will take care of them. I know I will be taken care of. I've been blessed with a good unit, with great people. Well I am going to go now... please keep the prayer for me going. I know the Lord answers prayers. I know the Lord will take care of me. I am walking the path that He has laid out for me. Although it may not seem perfect to humans, we have to know that it is His path and it is perfect.

Go Pack Go

2004-10-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

Today has been good. The Packers actually won a game. It was especially good, because up here in da UP the biggest rivalry is the Packers/Lions. The Pack crushed the Lions and looked the Pack that I know and love. Favre had an awesome game, throwing 2 TD's no picks and the defense stepped up and played better then they have all season. It was an awesome game.

Monday, Monday

2004-09-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the Packers lost yesterday, that was a bit of a downer. So much for an undefeated season, hey! That's all right, they'll play better next week. CBS apologized for using fake documents concerning Pres. Bush's Guard service. That was good, but where's the outrage? I can only imagine the press had it been Fox News with fake documents concering Sen. Kerry. I do believe they would go crazy with this. Oh well, that's politics for you. I surfed the net today, looking for info on Sen. Kerry's actions after Vietnam. Depending on what side of the fence you were on, you either got qoutes and actions or nothing at all. It also seemed to me that a lot of Veterans' groups are very anti-Kerry. A good website that I found was www.wintersoldier.com and also www.25thaviation.com, both using facts concerning Kerry's actions. Both seem very anti-Kerry though. You can go to www.pbs.org to find a transcript of his 1971 speech under greatest speeches, I think, if you want something that's not partisan. Honestly partisan politics is getting to me though. Vietnam is a really stupid issue to be stuck on. I need substance, from both candidates.

Hey

2004-09-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

Hey. I am keeping it pretty light today. I used my brain enough posting on Terrette's blog. I am pretty excited for tomorrow. I am a Green Bay Packer fan and tomorrow is Suunday. The Pack plays the Bears in what I think is the most heated rivalry in all of football. The Packers seem to have a pretty good team, after the first game anyways. I don't know about the Bears, but they always keep it close against the Pack. I hope it's a good game, with the Pack coming out ahead of course. Kerri and I had a good day today, we went and saw a movie. Open Waters was what we saw. The only thing I can say, is that it was possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. They said suspense, I didn't see that. They said scary, not really. The acting was horrible, the dialogue was horrible. About the only interesting part was when the credits rolled. Please don't waste your money on that movie, unless you go into it expecting a comedy. Well I am going to go now. I have church in the morning and stuff so see ya!

It's getting closer

2004-09-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

The day is getting closer to my deployment to Iraq. Although I am scared and nervous, I know that a lot of people will be praying for me and that is very comforting. I also know that a lot of people will take care of Kerri, Sophie and Lily while I am gone, which is also very comforting. I know everything here will be fine. I also know that I will be taken care of because the Lord will never forsake me. I just hope that the prayers for me remain strong throughout the deployment. The Bible says that if two or more petition something in prayer the Father in Heaven will see to it. So don't stop praying for me or the other troops. I know I can speak for most troops when I say that prayer power is the most powerful power we have.

First Day

2004-09-15T12:49:00.000-04:00

This is my first day and of course I don't know what to say. I have recieved some info on when I am going to start my Active Duty time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We are scheduled to be at Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin in the beginning of November. We will hopefully be in Iraq a little bit after the new year.