Luke:
I understand that those words are not directly recited in the first amendment; however if Christian Americans persecute those of non Christian religions or non religious citizens, we are first not acting as good Christians ourselves, but also we are creating the same situation faced by many of the pilgrims and immigrants that broke away from Great Britain, their mother country, and formed this very nation. To stop history from repeating itself, the “government should not establish, support, or otherwise involve itself in any religion” as you have stated since religion is the most important attribute to millions of Americans, including myself.

President Obama’s refraining from embracing National Day of Prayer festivities is a way in which he is not involving himself in any religion. If he were to lead a prayer publicly or even join in a Christian prayer group, he should be expected by the growing number of Muslim citizens to bow down and pray to Allah five times one day, or wear a yarmulke for a day for Jewish citizens, or publicly meditate to the devotions of Buddha, or worship deities and work magic for our fellow Wiccan citizens. All of these examples are principally the same, and as the president of all of these kinds of people President Obama should not publicly associate himself with any one branch of religion as he is one of the main symbols of our government. Also even though a president’s involvement with a religion would not officially make an established national religion, it would appear so in practice which violates the founders’ true efforts in this first amendment of our constitution.

Moby:
I’m not for a moment suggesting we all act as Christians. I’m suggesting that we continue to act as Patriotic Americans, and honor the traditions that brought us here, Luke.
Can you imagine a Muslim nation that allows the practice of the Christian faith? How many have been murdered in the attempt. America allows the practice of all religions. Yes, every one you mentioned, are freely allowed in our free nation.
All Congressional gatherings used to begin with a prayer. I’m not sure if they still do or not, but I’m deeply saddened, and actually frightened if they indeed do not.
I’ve never even once heard Obama say the term “Holy Bible”, but have lost count of the times I’ve heard him say “Holy Koran”.
I honestly don’t care to debate this with you further.
Thank you for listening, and for enjoying the portions of my show you freely choose to enjoy.
To your credit, you’ve provided not one but two Soap Boxes, and for that I am grateful.

To my way of thinking, this young man, and those of his mindset are part of the problem. Right or wrong, I’m still a free-thinking American, and that’s my opinion.

I am a new and now faithful fan of your show as I drive to school in the mornings. I enjoy the music and set up of your program, but I am concerned about the message that you have accidently supplied to some of your listeners as pertaining to the President's State of the Union Speech. The edited clip broadcasted on your show was taken by many who did not actually watch or listen to the actual speech as a verbatim clip in which our president seems to promote Al-Qaeda violence in America and other deceiving stabs against American institutions. While I understand this is an attempt at adding humor to this situation, many of your listeners did not get the comedic implications, and several students even asked teachers whether or not President Obama actually said those things. I ask that you understand the influence you have as a media broadcaster in a region with many already naive and ignorant constituents. Also on the remark about President Obama's abstaining from National Day of Prayer activities is fitting for the president of our nation. I myself am a strong Christian believer, but I believe that to have the successful government that the American people need, the idea of separation of church and state, written in the constitution, is necessary as our founding fathers based their new government on the ideas of John Locke who believed the purpose of the government was ONLY to protect the basic rights of humans. Once again I enjoy your show, but wanted to inform you on the local effects that I have seen from your recent radio shows.

Sincerely,
A concerned fellow citizen,
Luke Brantley

Dear Luke,
Tell you what I’d like for you to do.
Find for me the portion of the Constitution that mentions the separation of church and state.
I already had selected a Soap Box for this morning, but I thank you for providing this and for changing my mind.
MOBY

Seems a guy cruises thru a stop sign, or whatever, and gets pulled over by a local police officer. The gentleman hands the officer his driver's license, insurance verification, plus his concealed carry permit.

"Okay, Mr. Smith," the cop says, "I see your CCW permit. Are you carrying today?"
"Yes, I am."
"Well then, better tell me what you got."
Mr. Smith says, "Well, I got a .357 revolver in my inside coat pocket.
There's a 9mm semi-auto in the glove box. And, I've got a .22 magnum derringer in my right boot."
"Okay," the officer says. "Anything else?"
"Yeah sir. Back in the trunk, there's an AR15 and a shotgun. That's about it."
"Mr. Smith, are you on your way to or from a gun range...?"
"Nope"
"Well then, what are you afraid of...?"
"Not a darn thing..."

You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.
It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all...And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams... But, here it is..the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my babies go? And where did my youth go?

I remember well.. Seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like... But, here it is...my friends are retired and really getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Lots are in better shape than me... But, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant... But, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will...I just fall asleep where I sit!
And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!
But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over...its over....Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done ,,,,,things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime....

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!!
Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one."LIVE IT WELL!!----ENJOY TODAY!!!!-----DO SOMETHING FUN!!!----BE HAPPY!!!----BE THANKFUL!!!!!

My son called from Afghanistan the other day. It was right before the start of school so I got someone to cover the car line for me. Since he has been in Afghanistan, he has been promoted twice. His unit has been awarded a presidential citation for being the most efficient at identifying and dismantling IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). IEDs, and the people that make them, are responsible for the majority of civilian and military deaths and injuries. He himself has had great success in their detection.
Since I started at the new school, one particular kindergarten class has taken it upon themselves to pray for Garhett each and every day. His name is on their prayer wall. A little blonde boy, with cute dimples, and dark blue eyes asks about him every time he sees me and says he prays for Garhett at home as well. I always give him a high five and a thank you. (Sawyer Hosea)
My son and I talked a while that morning; it was good to hear his voice again. It had been a while. It was his first day off two and half months and he doesn’t get to work 8-5 type hours like I do. 20-24 hour shifts are not unusual. So I was taking in every word he spoke.
In the midst of our conversation he said, “Hey Dad, guess what?”I found a new type of IED which had never been seen in Afghanistan before, only in Iraq.
“That is great my boy! How did you find it?” I asked. I love hearing his stories.
“We’ll Dad,” he said, slightly embarrassed, “I was on the ground doing a search and I tripped over it.” He paused but then added quickly, “But it was okay, it was a good thing we found it, it will help others be on the lookout for it.”
I was quiet for moment. “It didn’t go off?” I asked.
“No.” There was a pause.
“You know that kindergarten class that has been praying for us, Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Would you mind thanking them for all of us here? It makes a difference.”
I got on my knees after we hung up and thanked a great and merciful God who would look over my boy when he is so far away from home. And then I went to that kindergarten class.
And when I left there was a little blonde-haired boy with dimples- who was smiling ear to ear (Sawyer Hosea).
“I wanted to thank all of you as well. Your prayers for my son, and all the sons and daughters, who are far away from home, make a difference…”

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak....
"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"
"Just some old birds," came the reply.
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."
"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll give ‘em to my cat."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"
"How much?" the pastor asked again.
The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where
there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story:
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you are done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much? He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."
Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.

If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this!
If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to hear it.
If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope.

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to nothing..... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

I think everyone should hear this!

"When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

(Warning: The Veracity Of This "Soap Box" is unsubstantiated.)

Here is another point of view other than the wonderful American press. This guy should be a writer for FOX.

From: A Recon Marine in Afghanistan

From the Sand Pit it's freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains, along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River, watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave.

Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.

I also glance at the area behind me every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting.

I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but the scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like you wouldn’t believe...

The antidote tastes like transmission fluid, but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.

The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water.

That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy.

I track the couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, and shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware.

We bash some heads for a while, and then I track and record the new movement.

It's all about intelligence. We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin.

I dream of bin Laden waking up to find me standing over him with my boot on his throat as I spit into his face and plunge my nickel-plated Bowie knife through his frontal lobe.

But you know me, I'm a romantic. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country. There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government.

This is an inhospitable, rock pit ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.

Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it. Those are your options.

Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu, if that's your idea of a party.

But the smell alone of those 'tent cities of the walking dead' is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.

I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks, and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtuns, for over a month-and-a-half now, and this much I can say for sure:

These guys, all of 'em, are Huns... Actual, living Huns... They LIVE to fight. It's what they do. It's ALL they do...

They have no respect for anything, not for their families, nor for each other, nor for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life.

They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor.

Huns - roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other's barbarism. Cavemen with AK-47's. Then again, maybe I'm just cranky.

I'm freezing my rear off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice, and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.

Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban 'smart.' They are not smart.

I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is 'cunning.' The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines.

They are sneaky and ruthless, and when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else.

Smart. Pfft. Yeah, they're real smart. They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil.

They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it.

OK, enough. Snuffle will be up soon, so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice, but I'm good at it.

Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move on with your lives.

The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter garbage and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials.

We've got this one under control. The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here, because you have no idea what we're doing, and really, you don't want to know.

We are your military, and we are doing what you sent us here to do.

Saucy Jack
Recon Marine in Afghanistan
Semper Fi

"Freedom is not free...but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share".

Send this to ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS so that people here will really know what is going on over there.-

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

After 20 years of marriage, a couple was lying in bed one evening, when the wife felt her husband begin to touch her in ways he hadn't in quite some time.

it almost tickled as his fingers started at her neck, and then began moving down past the small of her back.

He then caressed her shoulder and neck, slowly moving down, stopping just over her lower stomach.

Proceeding to place his hand on her left inner arm, he caressed down her side, down her leg, and to her calf. He proceeded up her inner thigh, stopping just at the uppoermost portion of her leg. He continued in the same manner on her right side, then suddenly stopped, rolled over and started to watch the TV. 

As she had become quite interested by this caressing, she asked in a loving voice: "That was wonderful. Why did you stop?"

He replied: "I found the remote."

This particular story just made me laugh. Every time I think about it, the vision of that poor cat just amuses me to no end. Hope the story leaves a bright spot in your day. Whoever said the Creator doesn't have a sense of humor?

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.
The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.
That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent enough for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?'
She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor. Anyone can count the seeds in an apple; but only God can count the apples in a seed.

THE NAIL

As the story goes, they built a new church building and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure-except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and jealous.
"If I am that insignificant, nobody will miss me if I quit!" So the nail released its hold, slid down the roof, and fell in the mud.
That night it rained and rained. Soon, the shingle that had no nail blew away, and the roof began to leak. The water streaked the walls and the beautiful murals. The plaster began to fall, the carpet was stained, and the pulpit Bible was ruined by water. All this because a little nail decided to quit!
But what of the nail? While holding the shingle, it was obscure but it was also useful. Buried in the mud it was just as obscure, but now it was useless and would soon be eaten up by rust!
The moral of the story-EVERY MEMBER IS IMPORTANT TO THE CHURCH! You may, like the nail, feel obscure at times, but just like the nail, your absence is felt. When you are not present for worship, in some way the body of Christ hurts. We are ALL a part of the Lord's ministry.

If George W. Bush had doubled the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
If George W.. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had criticized a state law that he admitted he never even read, would you think that he is just an ignorant hot head?
If George W. Bush joined the country of Mexico and sued a state in the United States to force that state to continue to allow illegal immigration, would you question his patriotism and wonder who's side he was on?
If George Bush had pronounced the Marine Corps like Marine Corpse would you think him an idiot?
If George W. Bush had put 87,000 workers out of work by arbitrarily placing a moratorium on offshore oil drilling on companies that have one of the best safety records of any industry because one company had an accident would you have agreed?
If George W. Bush had used a forged document as the basis of the moratorium that would render 87000 American workers unemployed would you support him?
If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a TelePrompTer installed to be able to get through a press conference,
would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90%
and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs,
when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved?
If George W.. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the nonexistent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States , would you have said that he is clueless.
If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas , would you have thought he was a self important, conceited, egotistical jerk.
If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
If George W. Bush had misspelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoes as proof of what a dunce he is?
If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?
If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?
If George W.. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America , would you have approved.
If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 21 months --

Prayer chain for U.S. Marines Deployed to Afghanistan
Dear Christians, My name is Raquel Tarleton and I live in Rome. I have a special prayer request of you. I ‘d like to start a Prayer Chain for my son and his Marine Battalion who have been Deployed to Afghanistan since the first week of December. His name is LCPL Matthew Tarleton and he is twenty-one years old. He is an Iraq war Veteran and on his second deployment which is in Afghanistan. When he returned from Iraq last year he brought me a bottle of holy water from the Jordan River. His grandmother had given him a Saint Michael Medallion to protect him in battle. He never took it off and on his return home in the plane the chain broke. Matthew said he guessed that Saint Michael “had done his job and kept him safe.” My plan is to send this letter to every church no matter what denomination they are. I realize that not everyone believes in praying to the Saints, but if you believe in the power of prayer to Jesus, I am asking for your help. I am confident that every church I send this letter to will pray for my son . I wish for all faiths to participate in this prayer chain. If I can get as many as possible praying for Matthew and the 3/9, I know these young warriors will serve their country and come home. I truly believe that our prayers will wrap a “Hedge of Protection” around our children and give them the Courage and Faith to do their jobs as United States Marines.
Thank you, Proud Marine Mom,
Raquel Tarleton

Plant a pig Please donate to your local "Plant A Pig Foundation" today. Not tax deductible, but well worth the effort. In Spain, at Seville some local people found a way to stop the construction of another mosque in their town. They buried a pig on the site, making sure this would be known by the local press. Islamic rules forbid erecting a Mosque on "pig soiled ground". The Muslins had to cancel the project... This land had been sold to them by government officials... No protests were needed by the local people ... and it worked!! Not dummies, the Spaniards. They found a solution, and no protests needed! In Texas, we have an over abundance of feral pigs. We could send them all over the country and just plant them everywhere! After all, contaminated soil would surely drift and they could create new job programs by having soil testers to determine where contaminated soil existed. Of course, high on the mountain tops of the Rockies or other mountain ranges they might find some uncontaminated soil, but then building a mosque there would pose some problems… Americans…put on your thinking caps and let’s find a solution to this problem of a spreading menace to the American way of life! If pigs are the answer, let’s do it! Your Committee for the Betterment of America

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment.
This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format:

Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q.. Where will the government get this money ?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ?
A. Only a smidgen of it.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

Here is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S.economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka .
* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India ,Taiwan or China .
* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras andGuatemala ..
* If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea .
* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan .
* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.

Instead, keep the money in America by:
1) Spending it at yard sales, or
2) Going to ball games, or
3) Spending it on prostitutes, or
4) Beer or
5) Tattoos.
(These are the only American businesses still operating in theU.S. )

Conclusion: Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day !

No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help.

Is there an imaginary cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions?
Is there some wonderful moment when parents can become detached spectators in the lives of their children and shrug, 'It's Their life,' and feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my daughter's head and I asked, 'When do you stop worrying?'
The nurse said, 'When they get out of the accident stage..' My Parents just smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted the class, and was headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, 'Don't worry, they all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them.' My Parents just smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said, 'They're trying to find themselves. 'Don't worry! In a few years, they'll be adults. 'They'll be off on their own, they'll be out of your hair' My Parents just smiled faintly and said nothing.
By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being vulnerable. I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle. Even though they were on their own I continued to anguish over their failures, be tormented by their frustrations and absorbed in their disappointments. And there was nothing I could do about it. My Parents just smiled faintly and said nothing.
My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my parent's warm smiles and their occasional, 'You look pale. Are you all right? 'Call me the minute you get home'. Are you depressed about something?'
My friends said that when I became a grandparent that I would get to enjoy the happy little voices yelling Grandma! Papa! But now I find that I worry just as much about the little kids as the big ones..
How can anyone cope with all this Worry?
Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of earthly creation?
Recently, one of my own children became quite irritable, saying to me, 'Where were you? I've been calling for 3 days, and no one answered. I was worried.'
I smiled a warm smile & said nothing. The torch has been passed.

Capt. OP Honors video investigation… I asked Navy Captain Craig “Badrod” Weideman for his opinion of it all. Just reading your email this morning, Moby. I and my generation got away with a lot of wild and crazy foolishness during my active duty career, pre and even post Tailhook "91" But in my opinion, that event was the "turning point". Almost any and everything was socially acceptable until then. The biggest issue. . . . . news media reporting. I didn't know Capt "Opie" Honor before this past summer. He got some Hornet flights at Oceana and came thru our sim bldg and was around for several weeks prior to taking command of Enterprise. Nice guy, engineer by education, navy nuclear power trained, prior command experience and without a doubt a much higher IQ than yours truly. Granted, the video was produced over three years ago. . . but I can't imagine what the hell he was thinking about to promote this over ships TV even when it was still just "don't ask. . . don't tell", and women had been integrated into naval aviation and warships for about 20 years. I'm pretty sure that the "then" Enterprise Commanding Officer, Battle Group Flag Officer and other senior officers knew, ignored or endorsed the video going out over ships TV. There's a stature of limitations issue and it will be very interesting to see where the Navy will go with further investigations and don't you know they will have to press on with it because the "MEDIA" will demand it. Funny, Guido and I relived some prior wonderful military liberty risk events last week while we both acknowledged that it was good to have been there THEN. No chance to revisit it today. . . . not that we'd even want to. So what's your take on it all, Moby? My take on it is that all the way up the chain of command in the military, there is someone above you with the total authority to kick your butt. Captain Honors certainly deserved to have his butt kicked, but not to have his career ruined, and his command ability removed from thee military structure because he had a brain fart, and went hi-school knucklehead for the moment. There’s too much at risk for the security of our nation to have it weakened by political correctness. You bet he screwed up. He made a stupid school boy mistake, but I’d rather have men like him standing between me and trouble than any of the politically correct GQ wusses screaming for his head.

New Years Prayer

Thank you Lord for giving me
The brand new year ahead
Help me live the way I should
As each new day I tread.


Give me gentle wisdom
That I might help a friend
Give me strength and courage
So a shoulder I might lend.


The year ahead is empty
Help me fill it with good things
Each new day filled with joy
And the happiness it brings.


Please give the leaders of our world
A courage born of peace
That they might lead us gently
And all the fighting cease.


Please give to all upon this earth
A heart that's filled with love
A gentle happy way to live
With Your blessings from above.

Put me in charge of food stamps. No purchases of Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job. Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I’d do is to get women birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we’ll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job. Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your “home” will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place. In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a “government” job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good.” Before you write that I’ve violated someone’s rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be “demeaning” and ruin their “self esteem,” consider that it wasn’t that long ago that taking someone else’s money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem. If we are expected to pay for other people’s mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices. Alfred W. Evans This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco TX 11/18/10

A poem by Linda Ellis I will choose how this year goes No matter what may come my way For I can only live this time one time; Each minute, each hour, each day. I will smile through adversity, let malice be ignored, release the spite and pettiness And vow they never be restored I will heed constructive views, Though they may appear as flak And force unkind deeds and insults to roll right off my back I will complete acts of kindness in my own special style, not only to benefit others, But because they make me smile My heart and soul are now content; Life’s blessings overflow and I will be the one to blame if I let these feelings go. Copyright 2010