11/05 Morning Report

I do not often trump the Wednesday Hero post. Today, I thought it was appropriate, since we have a new Commander-in-Chief.

I have been super busy lately finishing college. I have been following the election process. I am proud to say that my children have been doing the same, asking some great questions, and learning a lot. I hope, if you have them, you have been doing the same with your children. They will be the ones who assume control and leadership of our nation when after us.

I will say that I am very glad a black man has been elected to the highest office in our nation. That is a huge milestone of change for America. I do, however, think there is too much being made of this issue by the media. They seem to be creating a new group of smoke and mirrors so people are kept from recognizing real issues.

I will also say that I disagree with his ideas. I do not believe that government is the savior of men. I do not believe that government should have the responsibility to say who should have what. I will also say that I intend, however often I can write it down, to continue to point fingers at the media for not doing their job. Bias allows many evils. The media has many liberal biases they need to deal with.

Barak Obama ran a good campaign. He didn’t really do anything more sneaky or behind the back than anyone else in politics. But the result is he becomes the new Commander-in-Chief. As such, I will pray for him, and support him with honor. I will not name-call. I will not slander. I will disagree, because that is my right and my responsibility. And, they are not just mine. We all have the same ones. I hope you all exercise your rights and responsibilities well.

11/5 Wednesday Hero - Cpt. Gussie M. Jones

Cpt. Gussie M. Jones
41 years old from Raleigh, Arkansas
31st Combat Support Hospital
March 07, 2004


Cpt. Gussie Jones was born in Arkansas and was one of eight children. She began her Army career by enlisting in 1988 as a personnel clerk and climbed to the rank of a sergeant.

In 1986, Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Arkansas Central University. She was selected to attend the Army Enlisted Commissioning Program and earned her second bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 1998. It was in nursing.

Her career as a registered nurse and a commissioned officer began in September 1998 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. In 2002, after completing a course in critical-care nursing, she was assigned to Beaumont Army Medical Center, where she became a mentor.

"She was a very dedicated person and was always smiling, said a co-worker and friend, Capt. Susan Gilbert. If anyone asked her to do something, she would do it. And she was very kind and gentle and patient with the patients."

Cpt. Jones died of a heart attack while on duty in Baghdad, Iraq. During her 15 years of military services, Jones received a Joint Service Commendation medal, four Army Commendation medals and three Army Achievement medals.

"She was so much a part of their team, and so her death must really affect their morale," Gilbert said. "I'm very worried about the other soldiers because they've lost their battle buddy."

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

10/29 Wednesday Hero - SAS Soldier

Wednesday Hero was started to put a spotlight on the men and women of the United States military and the bravery their show day in and day out. But on a few occasions a service members of an allied nation has been profiled. Such is the case this week.

Despite being shot twice during an ambush in Afghanistan, an SAS (Special Air Service) soldier from Australia lashed himself to the front of his patrol vehicle so he wouldn't be left behind if he passed out from loss of blood and kept on fighting.

The Digger is expected to be recommended for a high level bravery award.

Suffering from serious upper body wounds, the soldier struggled on to the front of his SAS long range patrol vehicle (LRPV) and, under heavy fire, used a rope to attach himself firmly between the vehicle's bull bar and radiator.

Once he was secured, and there was no chance that he would fall off if he fainted, he picked up his rifle and resumed firing at the enemy during a two-hour fighting withdrawal.

SAS troops and their special forces comrades from the Commando Regiment are well aware of the slow and painful death that awaits them if they are captured by the Taliban.

The Digger, who cannot be identified, faded in and out of consciousness, emptying several magazines as volleys of enemy rounds and rocket propelled grenades, rained down around him.

He was finally evacuated from the battle field at high speed still lashed to the front of the LRPV.

A source told The Courier-Mail the Digger was now "up and about" and would recover fully from his serious gunshot wounds. His heroic deeds will be recognised when he is recommended for a high level bravery award.

Several others engaged in the do-or-die battle on September 2 are also in line for top honours.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

10/28 Morning Report

The Democrats are guilty of dishonest politics again. They are using misinformation to do it in Texas specifically. Let’s take the battle for Texas courts as an example.

In a campaign called “Fair and Balanced Court”, the liberal s are saying the Republicans are out of line, and side with the rich and corporate interests. The TV ad (see the YouTube video on the web site) includes something else. It says that the Supreme Court is supposed to weigh the evidence and rule accordingly. And, that is not true. All the appeals and Supreme Courts are supposed to do is rule on procedure. In other words, they look at what the lower court did and how it reached it’s decision. It does not rule on the evidence.

While the facts they state, that 82% of cases are overturned, are probably true…maybe that’s because of real errors in the lower courts. After all, that’s how these cases are supposed to be treated in the higher courts. Clearly the liberals are trying to bring increased legislation from the bench in courtrooms across America.


For the absolute record, I’m glad the FBI caught those murdering skinheads. They stepped way outside the boundaries of acceptability in political discourse. It is terrorism, nothing more. The role of American politics is to provide an arena to discuss our differences, and eventually unite behind the leadership chosen by the people. The role of people in American politics is to use discussion and debate, not guns, to reach consensus. Racism, therefore, is just another form of terrorism. None the less, Obama has played the race card repeatedly. And, the media lets him—but no one else—get away with it. The media has even gotten into the act of already blaming possible failure on race. The first possible issue raised by the BBC in their analysis was racial. Anyone making the same comments about an African-American gets crucified. There are plenty of quotes from Obama’s books to demonstrate it. He bluntly says, several times, in both books that he is anti-white. Why is this is not considered racist? But, the media has their “darling.” I would write more, but , Judith A. Klinghoffer did the job well enough I don’t have to.


One final comment on the incongruity of the media…How come they have comments and understanding of every voting group in America…except the Arab-American populations (Christian, Muslim, whatever)? Jonathan mark takes a look at that, and the vagaries of candidates on both sides as it relates to the subject. It’s worth reading.

10/24 Morning Report

Did you know that Obama considers children to be a punishment? While I agree there are situations children may not be an optimal situation to be in, they are NOT a punishment. Punishment is something you work to do away with and avoid. Small wonder that Roe v. Wade is such a water mark legal case. But, it really has defined how our society views children.

Couples, women specifically, are having children later in life--if at all. And, if you boil it all down, the reason is money and control. No children means more money for things, or savings, or whatever. No children means you get to decide what you do with your life, instead of having to meet the needs of another--physical, emotional, and spiritual.

And, men, we can blame women for this all we want to, but us guys are just as much to blame for allowing it, or worse encouraging it. As far as i am concerned, there is no greater joy than being around children--your own children--as they grow up. Passing that up is why Americans specifically, and westerners in general, have such a lousy concept of what a mother and father should really be.

We need to lose this perspective that children are a punishment. When leaders, taking ultimate authority in our nation, publicly declare children something to be avoided or to be done away with, what are my children supposed to learn from that? What are my daughters supposed to learn from that?

Why should someone who says those things about our children be elected to the highest office in the land? What does it say about us as a nation when the majority think this is a good outcome?

10/23 Morning Report

The media seems to be really convinced that Governor Sarah Palin is not qualified to be Vice-President. It is a common theme when the elections are being discussed—by the media. It wasn’t an issue among people. Just the media. Well, I have a question for the media. If the Governor of Alaska is not qualified to be Vice-president, what made the Governor of Arkansas qualified to be President? Or the Governor of Georgia? Apparently, it only matters when it involves conservatives.

(…but…there is certainly no bias in the media…no favoritism at all…)


Speaking of the media nitpicking Palin, there’s the story from Politico about her wardrobe. But, then again, there is this story in USA Today that picks apart Politico’s arguments.

(…sorry…forgot…no such thing as media bias…)


Meanwhile, the candidates have been spewing lots of new plans and ideas for saving the American economy. The Economist had some interesting thoughts on that. It seems that, for all his talk about McCain’s plans only benefitting the wealthy and those that don’t need it, Obama has slipped into the same pattern:

on October 13th the Democrat upped the ante. The priciest part of Mr Obama’s new two-year plan would be a $3,000 tax credit for each new employee a business hires, which presumably is likely to benefit a lot of companies that would be hiring anyway. Mr Obama also wants to allow everyone to withdraw up to $10,000 from their retirement accounts tax-free (as with the McCain version, not a good way to encourage saving), and he wants a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures. Such indiscriminate intervention in the mortgage market may be very nice for homeowners whose prospects are looking up, but it would do little in itself for those who can’t afford their mortgages in the first place.

Benefitting those that don’t need it…not helping those who have already been hurt and only assisting those who might later…sounds like the things McCain is being accused of by Obama. And, Obama’s plan to finance everything with taxes on the oil companies seem to be going into the toilet with the drop in crude prices.

(…I wonder where he will make up the money now…)


Meanwhile, India launched a moon mission!

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.
The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

The launch, clearly a step into the long expected commercialization of space, will leave whoever “wins” the White House in a difficult position. The US is India’s 3rd largest trading partner. But, what that means and how it will be handled remains to be seen. Will Obama, who hasn’t ever seem to have made a decision on his own without changing his mind actually make a decision and act on it? I bet the media portrays McCain as laying down the law that “we were there first”? One thing is certain: it will make for interesting politics.

10/17 Morning Report

I wish I gone with my the guts to say in yesterday’s post what I was thinking after the debate. As soon as I heard Joe the Plumber was outspoken against Obama and liberal policies and plans, I knew the media would be quick to find fault with him. I have to admit, I loved the way some commentators were just left flat footed and out of things to say when he said he was against redistribution of wealth. That was priceless. And, true to form, dig up the dirt they did. The sudden political darling was equally as suddenly a threat. So, the media went out and in less than 24 hours found all kinds of “dirt” on Joe.

Let’s see what we now know about Joe. He works as a plumber, though he is not licensed. But, even according to his boss he should have been, at some level. Interesting how you don’t hear the media screaming about that, though. We also know he owes some $1200 in back taxes, which means like most Americans he is financially strapped, and the state has attached a lien to his house—which is perfectly normal anytime someone falls behind in property taxes. They do it here in Texas, even if you file an appeal. Did anyone check to see if he has? Or worked out a payment plan for it? I don’t find those possible redeeming points in any media article I read.
(…I even had to work out a payment plan with the IRS once…does that make me less than acceptable to the media?...)

We also know he makes less than $250,000, making him exempt from Obama’s tax plan…huh…?

Yep. According to Ploitico, Joe current income was the point of the discussion during the debate. Once again, the media is out of touch…and changing the subject. The discussion was not about what Joe makes now. It was about what he would make after buying the company. Leave it to the media to change the entire focus of the issue so that the issue is no longer an issue. In fact, the article goes to great lengths to make McCain into a dolt for checking these facts a little more closely. The problem here is the media. I have yet to see why these points change the point of the issue: Obama’s plan hurts small business.

It’s just like the race issue. Wesley Pruden goes through the history of how the media twists everything in favor of Obama…and against his opponents…as it relates to race. Obama’s opponents are racist or racist leaning. Obama has not issues that need to be addressed. But, of course, conservative candidates are not eligible for the same treatment.

The media sets the political agenda. The media shape public opinion by only discussing things they want discussed…the way they want them discussed. This isn’t something new. It’s been used for hundreds of years. I wonder if more American’s will ever catch on…