Saturday, April 18, 2009
From the party of free speech?
They called it paradise
They called it paradise
I don't know why
You call some place paradise
Kiss it goodbye
California's unemployment miraculously went up last month....
You know what will cure all of California's ails? A tax increase.
What's so "progressive" about 11% unemployment?
More....
I don't know why
You call some place paradise
Kiss it goodbye
California's unemployment miraculously went up last month....
Unemployment in California shot to 11.2% in March, the highest level since the state began keeping records. What's more, the number of people out of work for almost a year rose by 9.4%, and has now doubled in the last 12 months.
You know what will cure all of California's ails? A tax increase.
What's so "progressive" about 11% unemployment?
More....
Life in "Porgress" City
Today it's Chicago, who hasn't had a republican mayor and council since a Caesar ran Rome.
Glad to see that the Obamunists have brought their problem solving savvy to DC the rest of America can look like that toilet bowl.
What's so "Progressive" about teenager genocide?
More....
Two men are dead and three others wounded after shootings within 15 minutes of each other citywide Friday afternoon.
At 3:15 p.m., two 18-year-old men where wounded in a drive-by shooting in the 7900 block of South King Drive, police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.
One teen, who was shot in the neck, went to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 4:05 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, who said the teen remained unidentified at 8:30 p.m.
Glad to see that the Obamunists have brought their problem solving savvy to DC the rest of America can look like that toilet bowl.
What's so "Progressive" about teenager genocide?
More....
J-School business acumen
I remember my first course in business school. I believe it was even called Intro to Business.
One of the first things I remember them teaching..... When demand for your product goes down, give the public less of it.
I'm sorry that course was intro to socialist economics which, of course, is where Pinch got his J-school degree.
From reader Mark........
More....
One of the first things I remember them teaching..... When demand for your product goes down, give the public less of it.
I'm sorry that course was intro to socialist economics which, of course, is where Pinch got his J-school degree.
From reader Mark........
New York Times Co's flagship newspaper plans to eliminate several weekly sections and cut freelance spending to save millions of dollars in annual costs, according to a memo obtained by Reuters.
More....
Garofalo - "tea parties are for rednecks"
Once again a liberal ding dong reveals their IQ.
Everyone knows rednecks don't drink tea (unless it's sweet tea) and they, for sure, don't go to tea parties.
If these things were for rednecks we'd call them Dew Parties.
Everyone knows rednecks don't drink tea (unless it's sweet tea) and they, for sure, don't go to tea parties.
If these things were for rednecks we'd call them Dew Parties.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Life in "Progress" City
From the fine city of Detroit, who hasn't had a republican mayor since John Glenn first orbited the earth.....
I suppose this is all George Bush's fault?
What's so "Progressive" about no city services?
More.....
When night falls, Detroiter T.J. Spikes looks out from his house on East Outer Drive with frustration.
Most of the streetlights are out. After years of Spikes begging city officials to fix the lights, some workers finally came out last fall but succeeded in repairing only a handful, Spikes said.Just a block south, a half-mile stretch of East Outer Drive is shrouded in darkness where the road runs past Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Every light is out.
RELATED REPORTS:
• Repairs can take years
• Elected officials live with it, too
• City wants to use Edison’s system"It's really a safety problem," said Spikes, 65, whose garage was broken into a year ago, costing him a snowblower, a leaf blower and car tires. Criminals "see it's dark all the time -- that gives them a reason."
Street-lighting woes and residents' frustration at the city's slow response continue to rage, as they have for years, so the Free Press spent three nights in March driving more than 200 miles of city streets examining the state of some of Detroit's 88,000 lights, at least 9,000 of which are out.
I suppose this is all George Bush's fault?
What's so "Progressive" about no city services?
More.....
A Friday Funny
A dedicated Teamsters union worker was attending a convention in Las Vegas and decided to check out the local brothels. When he got to the first one, he asked the Madam, 'Is this a union house?'
'No,' she replied, 'I'm sorry it isn't.'
'Well, if I pay you $100, what cut do the girls get?'
'The house gets $80 and the girls get $20,' she answered.
Offended at such unfair dealings, the union man stomped off down the street in search of a more equitable, hopefully unionized shop. His search continued until finally he reached a brothel where the Madam responded, 'Why yes sir, this is a union house. 'We observe all union rules.'
The man asked, 'And if I pay you $100, what cut do the girls get?' 'The girls get $80 and the house gets $20.'
'That's more like it!' the union man said.
He handed the Madam $100, looked around the room, and pointed to a stunningly attractive green-eyed blonde .'I'd like her,' he said.
'I'm sure you would, sir,' said the Madam. Then she gestured to a 92-year old woman in the corner, 'but Ethel here has 67 years seniority and according to union rules, she's next.'
Why the tea parties?
Mona Charen on why the media members (D-Obama) can't get their arms around these tea parties.....
More....
What Ms. Roesgen and others like her do not understand is that some people are interested in more than their own narrow self-interest. Perhaps the protestor she interviewed, who was holding his 2-year-old son, is eligible for a tax rebate. And perhaps his state will get a juicy piece of the stimulus money. It is possible, just possible, that such a bribe does not influence him. Perhaps it doesn't buy his support because he is skeptical that his taxes can remain low when the federal government is embarked on a record-shattering spending spree. He may be offended by the bailout culture, and worried that the obligations of taxpayers cannot remain low when it seems that every irresponsible borrower, failed car company, and free spending state is being rescued by the federal government. Additionally, he may be dubious that the government will spend the money wisely. It has been rumored that government spending has produced waste, fraud, inefficiency, and corruption. But he also may simply believe that engorging the government and enfeebling the private sector -- no matter who is writing the checks -- is not good for the economic or spiritual health of the country.
More....
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Speaking of taxes
In an attempt to help his appointments fill out their tax returns, The Nomad is recommending changes to the tax codes none of his appointments can seem to figure out.
Actually, it's too complicated for your short bus appointees to understand.
All I can say is I love it. Every time these guys "simplify" the tax code, I get another 40-50 clients who can't figure it out. You go guy.
More...
Seeking to tap into public exasperation, Obama said: "We need to simplify a monstrous tax code that is far too complicated for most Americans to understand."
Actually, it's too complicated for your short bus appointees to understand.
All I can say is I love it. Every time these guys "simplify" the tax code, I get another 40-50 clients who can't figure it out. You go guy.
More...
No one will ever accuse Joe Biden of being generous
The Obama's and the Biden's released their tax returns yesterday.
Now you would expect that given these guys where running for political office they might step up their charitable contributions and, in the case of the Obama's, they did.
Not old Joe.
Here's his tax return.
On income $269,256, Old Joe dug deep into the bowels of his couch cushions and found $1,335 of loose change to give to charity; a whopping .4958 % of his income.
Hell, he probably lied to get that number.
But see, Joe Biden is the perfect democrat. They can only be generous when everyone has to be generous.
A couple of years ago, one of the liberal commenters on this blog was bitching about a school levy failing. When I asked him if he was going to go ahead and send the school the money his increase would have been, you would have thought I was springing nuclear physics on him the concept was so foreign.
But that is the liberal way. Taxes are patriotic. Charity? What's that?
Now you would expect that given these guys where running for political office they might step up their charitable contributions and, in the case of the Obama's, they did.
Not old Joe.
Here's his tax return.
On income $269,256, Old Joe dug deep into the bowels of his couch cushions and found $1,335 of loose change to give to charity; a whopping .4958 % of his income.
Hell, he probably lied to get that number.
But see, Joe Biden is the perfect democrat. They can only be generous when everyone has to be generous.
A couple of years ago, one of the liberal commenters on this blog was bitching about a school levy failing. When I asked him if he was going to go ahead and send the school the money his increase would have been, you would have thought I was springing nuclear physics on him the concept was so foreign.
But that is the liberal way. Taxes are patriotic. Charity? What's that?
Tea Parties - Where John Galt is
Despite claims that tea parties are some kind of Fox news stagecraft, these parties are becoming a huge hit for people who do the crazy stuff like work, pay taxes and take care of their families.
Why are these parties becoming such a statement for these folks? Because they're the only outlet for these people to be heard.
Neither party is the spokes person for these people. On one side, you have democrats who have spent the better part of 20 years sending out the message that people who work hard are somehow "greedy" or somehow only got to that place of success as a result of victimizing the poor and downtrodden.
Then you have the republicans who hang social conservatism issues like a carrot in fron of a horse all the while spending like voracious democrats.
I heard Jeanne Schmidt (R-Morons) on the radio yesterday talking up the tea parties. Remember this is the same Jeanne Schmidt who spoke at a previous rally just to go back to Washington and vote for the 90% AIG tax when all they did was take the damn TARP money she voted for.
Both parties better take note of these parties. These parties are man by the people who make America work. The provide the taxes for democrats to pay for welfare whores. The pay the taxes for republicans to pay for road contracting whores.
In a few months, these clowns won't be asking where John Galt is because they'll be hiding from John Galt.
Why are these parties becoming such a statement for these folks? Because they're the only outlet for these people to be heard.
Neither party is the spokes person for these people. On one side, you have democrats who have spent the better part of 20 years sending out the message that people who work hard are somehow "greedy" or somehow only got to that place of success as a result of victimizing the poor and downtrodden.
Then you have the republicans who hang social conservatism issues like a carrot in fron of a horse all the while spending like voracious democrats.
I heard Jeanne Schmidt (R-Morons) on the radio yesterday talking up the tea parties. Remember this is the same Jeanne Schmidt who spoke at a previous rally just to go back to Washington and vote for the 90% AIG tax when all they did was take the damn TARP money she voted for.
Both parties better take note of these parties. These parties are man by the people who make America work. The provide the taxes for democrats to pay for welfare whores. The pay the taxes for republicans to pay for road contracting whores.
In a few months, these clowns won't be asking where John Galt is because they'll be hiding from John Galt.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Why I hate unions #5567
An Ohio union organizer has been fired after he was caught forging documents to deduct money from public employees' wages to pay for political activity, the Service Employees International Union said yesterday.
Becky Williams, president of the SEIU District 1199, said she thinks this is an isolated incident, but the union is continuing to investigate.
"There's not another organizer or group of members that were affected," she said.The organizer, whom Williams declined to identify, had forged about 40 "PAC cards," which are documents that allow the union to deduct about $14 per month from employee wages to pay for the union's political activity.
More.....
First, they came after the smokers
My jaw just dropped reading this one over at liberally conservative.......
Are you kidding me?
As is my annual tradition on April 15th, I went into my local convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes ( I can't stand cigars so this is my substitute ). I'll smoke two or three and give the rest to a smoker.
I just about passed out when the clerk told me the smokes were $5.55. Huh?
As my assistant says, I'll have to increase my fees just to cover my April 15th celebration smoke.
Did it ever occur to any of these douche bags that by increasing the tax to the ridiculous, you increase black market activity as well as crime. Think about it, you can now go into a store grab 20 cartons of cigarettes with a street value of $1,000. The law of unintended consequences will be that we'll soon have a new currency know as tobacco.
And if Oregon has it's way, beer.
If politicians in Oregon have their way, each time a worker steps up to the bar and orders a cold one, his tab will rise by an extra $1.25 to $1.50 a pint. Oregon’s beer tax would move from 43rd in the country to #1. Oregon’s beer tax rate is already higher than beer tax rates in Colorado (home of Coors), Missouri (home of In-Bev) and Wisconsin (home of Miller).
Are you kidding me?
As is my annual tradition on April 15th, I went into my local convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes ( I can't stand cigars so this is my substitute ). I'll smoke two or three and give the rest to a smoker.
I just about passed out when the clerk told me the smokes were $5.55. Huh?
As my assistant says, I'll have to increase my fees just to cover my April 15th celebration smoke.
Did it ever occur to any of these douche bags that by increasing the tax to the ridiculous, you increase black market activity as well as crime. Think about it, you can now go into a store grab 20 cartons of cigarettes with a street value of $1,000. The law of unintended consequences will be that we'll soon have a new currency know as tobacco.
And if Oregon has it's way, beer.
Tax Day
Last night, I finished my last tax return for the season.
Just some interesting facts about my tax practice.
The clients in this practice paid 6.2 million dollars in federal income tax alone. That's just one small practitioner out here in Loveland Ohio. It boggles the mind to think how much is paid across the country.
27 clients received unemployment compensation for the year; about 5 more than an average year. Surprising to me was how many of the people where upper management types who lost jobs as a result of restructurings.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) hit on 15% of the returns we prepared. If you don't know what AMT is, let's just say it's a nice little add on to the taxes you already pay.
The average amount paid on April 15th was $4,303 v. an average refund of $3,106. It's the first in my practice time the average amount owed was larger than the average refund.
The most common mistake people make on their taxes; premature withdrawals out of retirement accounts. It's the number one pile on for people who already have financial issues. Most people think the withholdings will cover the tax. Many times the withholdings only covers about 30% of the total liability. I cringe every time I see a 1099 R with a 1 code in the distribution box.
I have personally already worked 1000 hours for the year. How much of that work should I share with the crack head across the street?
The largest AGI (adjusted gross income) clocked in at 1.4 million dollars. If you are one of these people who don't believe the rich pay enough. Tell me exactly how much this scumbag and extorter of the poor should pay for his "fair share"?
Liberals are famous for saying that the rich don't pay enough, well here's your shot Mr./Ms. "Progressive". You tell me how much they should pay and I'll tell you how short he was on this year's return.
Finally, I'm always amazed at how few people know how much they actually pay in taxes. Most people would tell you it's too much but few actually know what they pay. Most self employeds can tell you what they pay because they actually have to write checks to cover the liability.
If the feds wanted to start tax reform, they would start by having people cut a check for their taxes. The tax riots would start about 48 hours after the first payments were due.
Just some interesting facts about my tax practice.
The clients in this practice paid 6.2 million dollars in federal income tax alone. That's just one small practitioner out here in Loveland Ohio. It boggles the mind to think how much is paid across the country.
27 clients received unemployment compensation for the year; about 5 more than an average year. Surprising to me was how many of the people where upper management types who lost jobs as a result of restructurings.
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) hit on 15% of the returns we prepared. If you don't know what AMT is, let's just say it's a nice little add on to the taxes you already pay.
The average amount paid on April 15th was $4,303 v. an average refund of $3,106. It's the first in my practice time the average amount owed was larger than the average refund.
The most common mistake people make on their taxes; premature withdrawals out of retirement accounts. It's the number one pile on for people who already have financial issues. Most people think the withholdings will cover the tax. Many times the withholdings only covers about 30% of the total liability. I cringe every time I see a 1099 R with a 1 code in the distribution box.
I have personally already worked 1000 hours for the year. How much of that work should I share with the crack head across the street?
The largest AGI (adjusted gross income) clocked in at 1.4 million dollars. If you are one of these people who don't believe the rich pay enough. Tell me exactly how much this scumbag and extorter of the poor should pay for his "fair share"?
Liberals are famous for saying that the rich don't pay enough, well here's your shot Mr./Ms. "Progressive". You tell me how much they should pay and I'll tell you how short he was on this year's return.
Finally, I'm always amazed at how few people know how much they actually pay in taxes. Most people would tell you it's too much but few actually know what they pay. Most self employeds can tell you what they pay because they actually have to write checks to cover the liability.
If the feds wanted to start tax reform, they would start by having people cut a check for their taxes. The tax riots would start about 48 hours after the first payments were due.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I guess I'm a "right wing extremist"
So Janet Napolitano suspects all of us extreme right wingers are set to over throw the government....
I'll tell you what Janet, you can join me and my right wing cabal of concealed carry permit holders at Willie's tomorrow night. I can guarantee that you'll be safer there than you will be at any Detroit city council meeting.
More.....
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Texas fits the Department's profile of potential domestic terrorism described in their newly released report titled, " Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment".
Islamic extremists' acts of domestic terrorism were recently given the dignity, by Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano and President Obama, of being classified as man-made disasters, and abroad, the "war on terror" has been reclassified as an "overseas contingency plan". But an entire non-Islamic class, or perhaps by extension entire states, according to the report, are not afforded such considerate and cordial titles if they are anti-abortion, tend to harbor returning soldiers stationed in the Middle East, aid and abet the reintegration of military personnel into civilian life within their borders, are anti-illegal immigration, are anti-gun control, possess Christian views, are against high taxes, and are opposed to the overreaching power of the federal government. They fit the assessment of "extremists" that was"provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks"It is the opposition of the "overreaching power of the federal government" that may have sealed Texas's fate as a terror state. Rick Perry's statement on the Governor's website, may have doomed the state of Texas by supporting HCR 50, which supports states' rights under the 10th Amendment. You know the 10th Amendment--the one that expounds on Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution and spells out explicitly the limits of the federal government, just in case the federal government became confused of their limits. Perry stated,
I'll tell you what Janet, you can join me and my right wing cabal of concealed carry permit holders at Willie's tomorrow night. I can guarantee that you'll be safer there than you will be at any Detroit city council meeting.
More.....
Visit to the Vegetarian restaurant
Over the weekend, I stopped in to a local vegetarian restaurant when I heard they actually sold some meat sandwiches.
When I went in I asked the clerk "So you guys sell meat sandwiches"?
His response "Yes we do, and we prepare and clean all our utensils in separate areas".
I responded, "I appreciate that. I don't want any of those salmonella ridden jalapenos, tomatoes, peanuts and pistachios touching my meat."
When I went in I asked the clerk "So you guys sell meat sandwiches"?
His response "Yes we do, and we prepare and clean all our utensils in separate areas".
I responded, "I appreciate that. I don't want any of those salmonella ridden jalapenos, tomatoes, peanuts and pistachios touching my meat."
Who did he vote for? #176
Meet Phil Specter.
If you are younger than 30, you probably have never heard of Mr. Specter.
None the less, 'ole Phil was recently convicted of murder.
Who did he vote for this past November?
If you need a hint, just look at the picture.
Monday, April 13, 2009
We need a meeting
So we have such an economic calamity on hand we've got to get the biggest and brightest together to make sure we accurately navigate the turbulent economic waters?
Naaahhhh
More....
Naaahhhh
Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chief President Obama tapped in early February to head up a board offering outside economic advice, doesn't sound happy that the panel has yet to hold a formal meeting.
"The whole organizational side of this has been a nightmare," Volcker told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
The story echoes a report last month in POLITICO about the slow takeoff of the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and how legal constraints on such groups have complicated the process. A Bloomberg report last month also mentioned, in passing, the former Fed chair has been "kept out of major policy decisions, associates say. Volcker was named to head a White House economic advisory board, and then several of his choices for that board were vetoed by the White House."
More....
Life in "Progress" City
Yesterday, the lovely Mrs. Gekko and I spent the Easter holiday having dinner with family and generally hanging out; pretty much like all the boring republicans out here in the sticks.
Obviously, we don't know a good time. We need to live in "Progress" City, where Easter doesn't disqualify you as a potential homicide victim......
Wow..... 14 homicides and we not even in the heat of summer.
What's so "progressive" about being gunned down on Easter?
Obviously, we don't know a good time. We need to live in "Progress" City, where Easter doesn't disqualify you as a potential homicide victim......
Before this past weekend, the last homicides in Cincinnati were on the weekend of March 6-7th. Three people were killed: a 13-year-old girl in Winton Hills, and two young men in Avondale.
But the list of victims has climbed by two since then. The latest is 30-year-old Joshua Erkins. He was found wounded by gunfire at 1717 Vine Street. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital.
Detectives have not released any other details.
Read about the other weekend murder.
Wow..... 14 homicides and we not even in the heat of summer.
What's so "progressive" about being gunned down on Easter?
Who did she vote for? #51
Just who did one Monica Kopacz vote for this past?
Who is Monica? Here's a good piece in the Weekly Standard.....
So last November, was Ms. Kopacz a hope and changer or a maverick?
Weekly Standard
Who is Monica? Here's a good piece in the Weekly Standard.....
Over at the First Things blog Wesley J. Smith notes an amazing tidbit from the New York Times' correspondence page. The letters concerning the NYT's fascinating Freeman Dyson profile were, naturally, quite hostile to Dyson, who has the gall to question climate change science. No surprise there. What is surprising is a letter from Harvard graduate student Monika Kopacz who says, well, let's let her speak for herself:It is no secret that a lot of climate-change research is subject to opinion, that climate models sometimes disagree even on the signs of the future changes (e.g. drier vs. wetter future climate). The problem is, only sensational exaggeration makes the kind of story that will get politicians’ — and readers’ — attention. So, yes, climate scientists might exaggerate, but in today’s world, this is the only way to assure any political action and thus more federal financing to reduce the scientific uncertainty.
Got that? Scientists wouldn't have to fudge and exaggerate if the rest of us weren't so stupid!
Miss Kopacz is getting her Ph.D. from Harvard's Applied Mathematics and Atmospheric Studies Department.
So last November, was Ms. Kopacz a hope and changer or a maverick?
Weekly Standard
Making our citizens even dumber
They called it Paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun
Sinking in the sea
So that "progressive" utopia known as California has decided it's high school students have too much knowledge of economics....
I guess it's too much to ask that they do both....
More...
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun
Sinking in the sea
So that "progressive" utopia known as California has decided it's high school students have too much knowledge of economics....
Existing law provides that no pupil shall receive a diploma of graduation from high school who, while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, has not completed a one-semester course in economics. This bill would require 1/2 of that course to focus on personal finance and financial literacy.
I guess it's too much to ask that they do both....
More...
Good news on the recession
Not everything is bad news when it come to a recession.....
In America, there are always people to sue or contracts to negotiate, right? Apparently there aren't enough.The recession is taking a steep toll on the legal profession, an industry long seen as immune from the ups and downs of the economy. Trying to weather the financial crisis, the nation's largest law firms are laying off attorneys and delaying the hiring of others.
More than 3,000 lawyers have been laid off in the first three months of 2009.
Obama pulled a Bush
My buddy Eric thought it was kind of cute to do a snark attack on my moderate pirate piece below (never mind that he's AWOL when I issue my liberal challenges).
But why exactly did this work out.
According to The American Thinker, it isn't because he sought out international consensus, he didn't try to negotiate, it's because Obambi did exactly what Bush would have done......
That's gotta sting the balls of the left wing.... If they had any.
More.....
But why exactly did this work out.
According to The American Thinker, it isn't because he sought out international consensus, he didn't try to negotiate, it's because Obambi did exactly what Bush would have done......
OK, conservatives, here's a plan.Big deal, we lost the election. (Twice -- once for the GOP nomination, and once for the presidency).The solution? Coopt the Obamunistas.How? We've got the biggest ally in the world, called Reality. It's a place conservatives know well, because we live there. What's scary about Obamunismo is that its followers talk as if they don't live in Reality. Sometimes they even act that way. But nobody can act against Reality for long without getting a lot of bloody noses.With the rescue of Captain Phillips, Barack Obama met Reality. The US Navy shot three pirates even though they were Politically Correct pirates: Muslim, Black, African, probably sad sack desperadoes. It didn't matter, because they held a gun to our national head -- in the person of Captain Richard Phillips.Obama reacted the way a US president should, by letting the Navy and FBI act. In this single moment, Obama became Obushma. Because that's how George W. Bush would have acted. That's how the British Navy would have acted in its heyday. It's how freedom of the seas has been protected for two centuries.
That's gotta sting the balls of the left wing.... If they had any.
More.....
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter
Easter will always be a special day for me because it's the day when I "got it".
Recently divorced and in the middle of a toxic, drama filled, rebound relationship, I started going to church knowing something was missing in my life.
I had been going to church for about six months when I started watching Jesus of Nazareth Easter of 2002. During the breaks, I would spend time reflecting on my life and started listening to what God was saying to me.
It was during that day when I realized I had a "hole in my soul". The place God created to have a relationship with me. Because he also gave me free will, it's also a place he allowed me to put whatever I wanted (food, sex, booze, drugs, shopping, gambling, working out, etc.) in that space.
At that time in my life, I think I tried to stuff anything and everything that might provide me with a momentary "fix" in that space. Many of them provide a temporary buzz but all they ever sustained was a craving for more.
In fact, I liked to tell my friends that I wanted to write a country song called "I drink to forget but the memories just get more painful."
During that day of reflecting, I had to finally give up my pride (the deadliest of deadly sins) and accept that maybe I didn't have all the answers or, better, all of my answers were for the wrong questions.
It's so funny that even though I've read the Bible, I find that I know less today than I did before I ever read a page, part of my humility lesson I guess.
None the less, I find that when I create quiet time to listen and talk to God, my craving for the worldly life subsides. I encourage everyone to spend some time to just "be with God".
So if my testimony can be of help to someone today, than this post was worth all of my time on this blog.
Recently divorced and in the middle of a toxic, drama filled, rebound relationship, I started going to church knowing something was missing in my life.
I had been going to church for about six months when I started watching Jesus of Nazareth Easter of 2002. During the breaks, I would spend time reflecting on my life and started listening to what God was saying to me.
It was during that day when I realized I had a "hole in my soul". The place God created to have a relationship with me. Because he also gave me free will, it's also a place he allowed me to put whatever I wanted (food, sex, booze, drugs, shopping, gambling, working out, etc.) in that space.
At that time in my life, I think I tried to stuff anything and everything that might provide me with a momentary "fix" in that space. Many of them provide a temporary buzz but all they ever sustained was a craving for more.
In fact, I liked to tell my friends that I wanted to write a country song called "I drink to forget but the memories just get more painful."
During that day of reflecting, I had to finally give up my pride (the deadliest of deadly sins) and accept that maybe I didn't have all the answers or, better, all of my answers were for the wrong questions.
It's so funny that even though I've read the Bible, I find that I know less today than I did before I ever read a page, part of my humility lesson I guess.
None the less, I find that when I create quiet time to listen and talk to God, my craving for the worldly life subsides. I encourage everyone to spend some time to just "be with God".
So if my testimony can be of help to someone today, than this post was worth all of my time on this blog.
Reaching the moderate pirate community
From the Exurban League an excerpt from The Messiah
Read the entire thing here. It's hilarious....
Good evening. As you know, early yesterday, Somali-based pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama, a freighter carrying relief supplies to Kenya. While we do not yet know all the details, the Alabama's crew re-took control of the vessel and forced the pirates off the ship.
Since the pirates are still holding the captain, I have sent FBI negotiators to facilitate his safe and speedy release. I assure his friends and family that I will not stop until this man-made disaster is resolved in a peaceful, tolerant and ecologically-sound manner.
Obviously, this incident has raised many concerns among Americans. There have been calls for justice and even violence against the misguided perpetrators. But such an emotional reaction has led to the disparagement of entire groups with which we are unfamiliar. We have seen this throughout history.
For too long, America has been too dismissive of the proud culture and invaluable contributions of the Pirate Community. Whether it is their pioneering work with prosthetics, husbandry of tropical birds or fanciful fashion sense, America owes a deep debt to Pirates.
The past eight years have shown a failure to appreciate the historic role of these noble seafarers. Instead of celebrating their entreprenuerial spirit and seeking to partner with them to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
Some of us wonder if our current Overseas Contingency Operation would even be needed had the last administration not been so quick to label Pirates as "thieves," "terrorists" and worse. Such swashbucklaphobia can lead to tragic results, as we have seen this week.
To address this issue, I have instructed Vice President Joe Biden to create a cabinet-level Czar of Pirate Outreach and Buccaneer Interrelation. In addition, June 1-7 has been designated as Pirate Awareness Week, during which all federal buildings will fly the Jolly Roger and sponsor sensitivity training. Thankfully, my American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will fund free grog and hard tack for all attendees.
Read the entire thing here. It's hilarious....
Barack Obama on Somali Pirates Crisis
Remember when "the President had to juggle more than one ball?"
Quoth The Messiah
Can't I just eat my waffle?
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