Those who know me well know that I am a Star Trek nut...Trekkie if you prefer. I even have the original Star Trek theme as my ring tone on my cell phone (it's true).
As I was looking at the morning news all I could hear was Mr Spock saying; "It's not logical, Captain." What is not logical you might ask? This BS that everyone in this country now has the right to say that we are offended.
Well guess what...I am offended at your being offended.
Something people living in this country had better come to realize is that at some point in your day you are going to be offended. There is not a darned thing you can do about it. Don't believe me? Let's just take a look at the latest rounds of "I Am Offended" that is in the news and see how things could play out. (Sounds like a new game show..."I Am Offended" here is your host Don Imus).
Do you folks realize that President-Elect Obama is planning on having someone say an invocation (that is prayer for you rednecks out there) at his inauguration? Now we have the atheists that are all up in arms over having an invocation and In God We Trust stamped on our currency (that means money). Okay, I think we can all agree that we cannot have it both ways. Either God is part of our society or God ain't. There is no middle of the road. Why? Because the atheist would never accept the middle of the road. Groups like that never will. So either they are offended because God remains a part of the great US of A or the Christian is offended because the right to religion has been taken away. Who wins? No one does. In fact we all loose.
You see, I am more concerned about the infringement of rights on individuals than I am about someone having to see the words In God We Trust on the dollar bill. Let's take the gay RIGHTS movement as an example. There are people out there who are being denied the basic rights of marriage or civil unions which fails to provide them with the same rights as hetero married couples. My wife is the one who decides my care if I am in an accident. My wife has the right to come see me in the hospital. That is not true for committed gay couples and that is infringing on their civil rights.
If you are an atheist and do not like in God We Trust on your cash then do not use cash. Use credit cards and debit cards. There is a way around your problem. You can chose not to believe in God and that hurts no one but yourself.
There are always going to be areas where we are offended. Even with what I said about gays and civil rights I am still offended when I see gay couples holding hands or kissing in public. But you see that is MY problem...not theirs. If I don't like to see it then I can find another restaurant or look the other way.
It's just like the old saying, don't like what's on the radio? Turn it off or change the damned channel.
Some of us need to change the channel.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Plane Trip Wasn't Enough?
You gotta love the US Auto makers. Or at least admire the golden orbs called balls that they are carrying around.
If they didn't learn enough about pissing the US taxpayer off with their little trip to Washington aboard individual private jets, I hope they can learn the lesson now.
It seems Chrysler felt that they needed to say thanks to the US taxpayer by taking full page ads in three big US newspapers. Ads that cost around $200,000 each. Just to tell this fat bastard in Mississippi thank you.
Well let us get one thing straight Mr. Chrysler, I did not approve of the bail out you clowns got. You wanna blow smoke up some ones skirt might I suggest another road trip to DC. There is the teat you should be sucking on. Or are already sucking on.
You would think that a CEO of a large company like Chrysler, Ford and GM, would have to have a lot going for him upstairs. I mean one would think that these guys are like smart. But obviously that is not the case. Evidenced by how they have run the auto companies in the ground and how they not only fail to learn from their own mistakes, but the mistakes of the mortgage industry. I seem to recall those parties after they got the bail out money.
But at least someone got a massage with a happy ending from the parties that the top brass at those financial institutions had. Here I get to look at a front page add that says; "F&%K YOU" to the US taxpayer.
And through all of this our elected officials just sit back and let us take it up the old shoot. Oh...now congress wants the mortgage companies to explain where the hell the money went. How was that not part of the deal in the first place? This is not a 5-year old and his allowance for heaven's sake. This is BILLIONS of OUR dollars and you the elected have no idea where the cash is going and what it is being used for. Oh, and it's not like you asked for an accounting of the money spent...YOU NEVER ASKED. It was never part of the deal.
Here it is almost 2009. You know what...2010 will be here before you know it. That will be our next chance to truly make a change in Washington. Our next chance to take out our own full page ad that says "get the hell out of my face" to all those elected to the House and Senate. It will be here before you know it. Let us not forget.
If they didn't learn enough about pissing the US taxpayer off with their little trip to Washington aboard individual private jets, I hope they can learn the lesson now.
It seems Chrysler felt that they needed to say thanks to the US taxpayer by taking full page ads in three big US newspapers. Ads that cost around $200,000 each. Just to tell this fat bastard in Mississippi thank you.
Well let us get one thing straight Mr. Chrysler, I did not approve of the bail out you clowns got. You wanna blow smoke up some ones skirt might I suggest another road trip to DC. There is the teat you should be sucking on. Or are already sucking on.
You would think that a CEO of a large company like Chrysler, Ford and GM, would have to have a lot going for him upstairs. I mean one would think that these guys are like smart. But obviously that is not the case. Evidenced by how they have run the auto companies in the ground and how they not only fail to learn from their own mistakes, but the mistakes of the mortgage industry. I seem to recall those parties after they got the bail out money.
But at least someone got a massage with a happy ending from the parties that the top brass at those financial institutions had. Here I get to look at a front page add that says; "F&%K YOU" to the US taxpayer.
And through all of this our elected officials just sit back and let us take it up the old shoot. Oh...now congress wants the mortgage companies to explain where the hell the money went. How was that not part of the deal in the first place? This is not a 5-year old and his allowance for heaven's sake. This is BILLIONS of OUR dollars and you the elected have no idea where the cash is going and what it is being used for. Oh, and it's not like you asked for an accounting of the money spent...YOU NEVER ASKED. It was never part of the deal.
Here it is almost 2009. You know what...2010 will be here before you know it. That will be our next chance to truly make a change in Washington. Our next chance to take out our own full page ad that says "get the hell out of my face" to all those elected to the House and Senate. It will be here before you know it. Let us not forget.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Time to say goodbye
I started doing internet broadcasting on June 16, 2008. I started on a site called NowLive.com. NowLive claimed that it was a social broadcasting site. To me when I first joined on May 31st it seemed to be nothing more than a glorified chat room, which, by the way, I hated.
As I started listening I found that it was more than that. You could actually call in and interact live. Now, that I liked.
I really must thank NowLive for introducing me not only to internet broadcasting but also to some people who have become very dear to me.
First, there is Baddog. When I first went into his show (Dog House with Baddog) I found him to be a very quiet laid back person. Now I have found that when he is like that you had better find something and hold on cause something is about to happen. I became his co-host and we have had a great time together. I love this man and his family. They are actually really part of the family now. Our son married his daughter. Incestuous little group aren’t we.
As I listened to the Dog House I was introduced to two brothers who are from Alabama. I found out that Meroll and C-roll had a show called Brotherly Love which seemed to be about anything but love. But then given my dad’s family, I was used to that. I soon became a regular caller on that show as well.
This little group of people was becoming very close. So close in fact that that right before Christmas 2007 on the Dog House with the help of Meroll and C-roll, Smokin and I renewed our wedding vows. It was December 23, 2007, our 35th wedding anniversary. We spent it with our family on NowLive.
While NowLive grew there was a force at work that I think started the sites decline. The advent of the NETWORK.
I can see networks for radio and TV. In the future there may be something to networks on internet radio/TV. But at the stage this was in last year this was just a joke. It was people looking for power and they found people who were willing to give theirs up. All for the promise of some cold hard cash. No cold hard cash ever developed. But the chasm that developed on the site was proving to be very destructive. Friends were turned against friends as one network would not allow its members to promote shows outside of their own network. This was something that Baddog, Meroll, C-roll and I could never agree to. We believed in supporting all shows on NowLive thus promoting the site. Although all of us were approached to join these networks, we declined. This rattled some cages and angered some people. But we stayed true to running our individual shows the way we wanted.
Here is where our next character in the cast enters. Actually, I had been working with Pastor Rick Hope for some time. He was running a show called Challenge from the Heart. A show designed to get people talking about Jesus Christ. An off-shoot of that show was Sunday Morning with Pastor Rick. Yep…our very own NowLive internet church service. Complete with a sermon by Pastor Rick and some Christian based music. That show was picked up as a featured show on NowLive and was also broadcast on Yuwie radio. The family had grown by one as Pastor Rick became our pastor. PastorRick also officiated when we renewed our wedding vows.
There is one other accomplishment of note I would like to mention here. In August, 2007, the staff of NowLive asked for someone to step forward and try to break the website by doing a marathon show. Baddog stepped up and accepted the challenge. With the help of his wife, SexyShelly (and the name is appropriate), and his daughter Amanda and a cast of several others including the rest of the “family” we ran a show for 137 hours. The only down time was when the site crashed (they told us they wanted us to break it). Those breaks were very short, only a matter of minutes, and we were back on the air. The marathon consisted of 137 hours of interactive comedy. Music was played to allow the occasional trip to the outhouse (hey, we are rednecks) and to throw down some groceries. Then back at it. I want to make it clear that this was all Baddog, SexyShelly and Amanda. All the rest of us did was call in and lend give someone to talk to and play off of. All we did was support, but it did cement the family in a way that all of us would never imagine.
With all of the network stuff on the site continuing it was only a matter of time before we created our own network. For no other purpose than to piss off those that were running networks. When the Redneck Radio Network started it boasted two shows that were featured on NowLive. Brotherly Love and the Dog House with Baddog. Wakeup Call with Broken and Smokin joined the ranks as featured in July, 2008. That gave the “network” three featured shows. No other network could boast that. But in fact we were really a network. We were just a group of friends having poking fun at other people and having fun doing it.
All this time things on NowLive really started going south. One of the premier acts on the site left to join another site. Ester Goldberg and “That’s Estertainment” could be looked at as the clash of the rednecks with Hollywood. This was because that “skinny little bama bitch,” Meroll and that “fat mutha fucka,” brokenpole, along with C-roll would be found in virtually every That’s Estertainment complaining about the smell of wolf pussy. Baddog may not have been on the callers list a lot. But he was definitely in the chat stirring up the pot.
While Ester had left on her own terms, others were forced to leave because of finances. Such shows and Morning Wood (later Goober and the Viking) and Buttafuco and Nads were soon off the air. Replaced by shows that wanted to do nothing more than make the mouths of young pre-pubescent males’ water by shaking breasts on cam. Oh the site traffic went up. NowLive became the T&A network.
Not that the Redneck Radio Network didn’t have some fun with it. We had picked up another family member along the way. A gay pervert named Jessie Odell. So let’s see…you take on part Michigan redneck blend together with one big fat ass Mississippi redneck then stir in two-parts bama redneck and put in that touch of gay and what do you have? I have no idea but it is funny as hell. It was Jessie that had fun with a caller on night who called another show on NowLive and somehow got connected to the Dog House. By the time we were done some woman host on NowLive was supposed to get a picture of an erect penis in exchange for on pair of worn panties. The Forbadden Show was never more fun I can tell ya that.
Marty and C-roll created a “show within a show” by turning Brotherly Love into a cross between Judge Judy and Jerry Springer. They held the Brotherly Love Court of Public Opinion. Meroll and C-roll were the judges. Baddog was Chief Prosecutor (although the only thing I think he ever prosecuted was a beer). Myself? I became the “Drunk Bailiff.” Thus started one of the greatest lines in all of internet radio history. “Bailiff, whack his pee-pee.” While the Brotherly Love Court of Public Opinion was short lived, it cemented the relationship of four people. We found we worked well together and enjoyed making each other, as well as the audience, laugh.
But with the funny side of things there was the almost constant barrage of people who would come into shows and just act like total morons. Some would actually call but most were just in the chat. We had fun with more than one of them but in the end it just became too much. So we went to the staff of NowLive for help. What we got was a heapin helpin of “ain’t you happy that we have this site for you and it’s all free you don’t have to pay.” In chorus with that was a shit load of “we are so over worked and don’t have the time to get involved with all you little squabbles you will just have to handle them yourselves.”
You can imagine where this went. Especially given the fact that the show host had no ability to ban or block anyone from the show chat and in some cases even callers. Some would even magically un-mute themselves. So what now? Call a site admin. A person who is a volunteer and is given the power to ban people from the site. Never mind the fact that most of the people that were banned were let back on by some other admin or the staff. This also brought the staff down on us for over working the admins.
Finally in a user lead revolt we got the right to ban people from our show. Things went a little smoother after that. But the end had already started. Complaints to the site staff were always met with “you are getting this platform to use for free. Why are you complaining?”
I never said much to the assholes that ran the site at the time but WE WERE THE PEOPLE BRINGING IN THE SITE TRAFFIC YOUR MORONS!!!
That is something the assholes in charge of NowLive ever considered. That the user’s…those running shows…were what was bringing people to the site. Every time you brought up problem it was like pulling the cord on one of those old toy dolls. A recording would come on and say; “you aren’t paying anything why are you complaining”.
Now there is a sound business plan for ya…kick the people running shows in the balls and get them to leave. Will someone please explain to me how you are supposed to make money by having nothing but an AM/FM radio cast and some bullshit featured shows running on the site?
So the audio quality began to suffer. On the Dog House, a show that is interactive (for the NowLive staff that means we talk to each other) it is awful hard to do anything when you can’t hear the other people talking. Now it may sound like we complained a lot to the NowLive staff. Let me just state for the record that I was told many times that we were not the trouble we thought we were. That they wished they had others like us. Okay…so maybe not. But we complained again.
My wife, smokinbeaver54, wrote a question in an open bulletin. I chose to put mine in the form of a comment to BigDog. Listed below are the answers we got.
posted by bigdog @ 11/23/2008 7:27:38 PMYes I have got the apology and I am sorry...I am basically not involved any more...the only way you can get good audio all the time is to use flash...the issue with call in shows and audio quality is when the site traffic goes up....I am very sorry for the issues but its out of my hands since i do not pay the bills and the people that do right now are trying to find ways in this bad economy to survive...do you think hosts would pay for call-in shows? thanks
posted by bigdog @ 11/21/2008 5:32:24 PMwhat not ask for help instead of posting stupid bulletins slamming the site (not you but the other half)...I would be happy to do some tests and see why you are having such issues...if you want to set up a time and do a test...or maybe explain exactly what the issue is that would be great...its not like i ignore you right?
First…when we asked for help all we got back was that we should be thankful we didn’t have to pay that the site was free. In the top message you can see where that was going. And we were not the only ones being pinched for cash by NowLive.
I got emails from other site members that told me similar stories. I will not post these messages here out of respect for these friends. Not out of respect for NowLive, frankly I could give a shit about them. But I do not want to hurt friends that for whatever reason want to maintain access on the site. Just know that sooner or later members who want to run a call in type show will have to pay for it. Even if you pay I think the site will continue to go downhill and that is really a shame.
The other answer offered by the NowLive staff is to run what are called “flash shows”. This is a show run via webcam and microphone with not callers allowed and no podcast. Well Bigdog let me remind you of a few things that I have told you about before. The flash shows suck ass. If someone does co-host on cam the delay is terrible. Not to mention that the audio quality is NOT what you say it is. I have tried running flash shows and the audio was reported to be “shitty” by the listeners. In addition, I have been in the chat for these shows and I will state that the audio is worse than shitty.
On December 1, 2008 the Dog House with Baddog started at its normal time of 7 PM ET. But we lasted less than 15 minutes because of the audio quality on the site. Baddog decided to shut it down and immediately went to Usteam.tv and have stayed there ever since.
So one on hand I need to thank NowLive for allowing me to meet some very great people. People who I have become very close with. A couple I have even met person to person. Several have even broke bread at my table and I at theirs. A few others I hope to meet face to face in the very near future.
But I have to say that I hate the bastards for destroying something that was wonderful. A whole community of people that would support each other and help each other. For that NowLive I say a hardy FUCK ALL YA’LL.
So if you want excellent audio and video quality come over and join us on ustream.tv. Just follow the links below stop by and say howdy!!
Dog House with Baddog (M – F at 7 PM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/doghousewithbaddog
Redneck Radio News (Sun at 7:30 PM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/redneck-radio-news
Wakeup Call with Broken and Smokin (Sat 9 AM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/wakeup-call-with-broken-and-smokin
Sunday Mornings with Pastor Rick (Sun at 9 AM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/sunday-mornings-with-pastor-rick
Bible Study with Brokenpole (Sun 10:45 ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/bible-study-with-brokenpole
As I started listening I found that it was more than that. You could actually call in and interact live. Now, that I liked.
I really must thank NowLive for introducing me not only to internet broadcasting but also to some people who have become very dear to me.
First, there is Baddog. When I first went into his show (Dog House with Baddog) I found him to be a very quiet laid back person. Now I have found that when he is like that you had better find something and hold on cause something is about to happen. I became his co-host and we have had a great time together. I love this man and his family. They are actually really part of the family now. Our son married his daughter. Incestuous little group aren’t we.
As I listened to the Dog House I was introduced to two brothers who are from Alabama. I found out that Meroll and C-roll had a show called Brotherly Love which seemed to be about anything but love. But then given my dad’s family, I was used to that. I soon became a regular caller on that show as well.
This little group of people was becoming very close. So close in fact that that right before Christmas 2007 on the Dog House with the help of Meroll and C-roll, Smokin and I renewed our wedding vows. It was December 23, 2007, our 35th wedding anniversary. We spent it with our family on NowLive.
While NowLive grew there was a force at work that I think started the sites decline. The advent of the NETWORK.
I can see networks for radio and TV. In the future there may be something to networks on internet radio/TV. But at the stage this was in last year this was just a joke. It was people looking for power and they found people who were willing to give theirs up. All for the promise of some cold hard cash. No cold hard cash ever developed. But the chasm that developed on the site was proving to be very destructive. Friends were turned against friends as one network would not allow its members to promote shows outside of their own network. This was something that Baddog, Meroll, C-roll and I could never agree to. We believed in supporting all shows on NowLive thus promoting the site. Although all of us were approached to join these networks, we declined. This rattled some cages and angered some people. But we stayed true to running our individual shows the way we wanted.
Here is where our next character in the cast enters. Actually, I had been working with Pastor Rick Hope for some time. He was running a show called Challenge from the Heart. A show designed to get people talking about Jesus Christ. An off-shoot of that show was Sunday Morning with Pastor Rick. Yep…our very own NowLive internet church service. Complete with a sermon by Pastor Rick and some Christian based music. That show was picked up as a featured show on NowLive and was also broadcast on Yuwie radio. The family had grown by one as Pastor Rick became our pastor. PastorRick also officiated when we renewed our wedding vows.
There is one other accomplishment of note I would like to mention here. In August, 2007, the staff of NowLive asked for someone to step forward and try to break the website by doing a marathon show. Baddog stepped up and accepted the challenge. With the help of his wife, SexyShelly (and the name is appropriate), and his daughter Amanda and a cast of several others including the rest of the “family” we ran a show for 137 hours. The only down time was when the site crashed (they told us they wanted us to break it). Those breaks were very short, only a matter of minutes, and we were back on the air. The marathon consisted of 137 hours of interactive comedy. Music was played to allow the occasional trip to the outhouse (hey, we are rednecks) and to throw down some groceries. Then back at it. I want to make it clear that this was all Baddog, SexyShelly and Amanda. All the rest of us did was call in and lend give someone to talk to and play off of. All we did was support, but it did cement the family in a way that all of us would never imagine.
With all of the network stuff on the site continuing it was only a matter of time before we created our own network. For no other purpose than to piss off those that were running networks. When the Redneck Radio Network started it boasted two shows that were featured on NowLive. Brotherly Love and the Dog House with Baddog. Wakeup Call with Broken and Smokin joined the ranks as featured in July, 2008. That gave the “network” three featured shows. No other network could boast that. But in fact we were really a network. We were just a group of friends having poking fun at other people and having fun doing it.
All this time things on NowLive really started going south. One of the premier acts on the site left to join another site. Ester Goldberg and “That’s Estertainment” could be looked at as the clash of the rednecks with Hollywood. This was because that “skinny little bama bitch,” Meroll and that “fat mutha fucka,” brokenpole, along with C-roll would be found in virtually every That’s Estertainment complaining about the smell of wolf pussy. Baddog may not have been on the callers list a lot. But he was definitely in the chat stirring up the pot.
While Ester had left on her own terms, others were forced to leave because of finances. Such shows and Morning Wood (later Goober and the Viking) and Buttafuco and Nads were soon off the air. Replaced by shows that wanted to do nothing more than make the mouths of young pre-pubescent males’ water by shaking breasts on cam. Oh the site traffic went up. NowLive became the T&A network.
Not that the Redneck Radio Network didn’t have some fun with it. We had picked up another family member along the way. A gay pervert named Jessie Odell. So let’s see…you take on part Michigan redneck blend together with one big fat ass Mississippi redneck then stir in two-parts bama redneck and put in that touch of gay and what do you have? I have no idea but it is funny as hell. It was Jessie that had fun with a caller on night who called another show on NowLive and somehow got connected to the Dog House. By the time we were done some woman host on NowLive was supposed to get a picture of an erect penis in exchange for on pair of worn panties. The Forbadden Show was never more fun I can tell ya that.
Marty and C-roll created a “show within a show” by turning Brotherly Love into a cross between Judge Judy and Jerry Springer. They held the Brotherly Love Court of Public Opinion. Meroll and C-roll were the judges. Baddog was Chief Prosecutor (although the only thing I think he ever prosecuted was a beer). Myself? I became the “Drunk Bailiff.” Thus started one of the greatest lines in all of internet radio history. “Bailiff, whack his pee-pee.” While the Brotherly Love Court of Public Opinion was short lived, it cemented the relationship of four people. We found we worked well together and enjoyed making each other, as well as the audience, laugh.
But with the funny side of things there was the almost constant barrage of people who would come into shows and just act like total morons. Some would actually call but most were just in the chat. We had fun with more than one of them but in the end it just became too much. So we went to the staff of NowLive for help. What we got was a heapin helpin of “ain’t you happy that we have this site for you and it’s all free you don’t have to pay.” In chorus with that was a shit load of “we are so over worked and don’t have the time to get involved with all you little squabbles you will just have to handle them yourselves.”
You can imagine where this went. Especially given the fact that the show host had no ability to ban or block anyone from the show chat and in some cases even callers. Some would even magically un-mute themselves. So what now? Call a site admin. A person who is a volunteer and is given the power to ban people from the site. Never mind the fact that most of the people that were banned were let back on by some other admin or the staff. This also brought the staff down on us for over working the admins.
Finally in a user lead revolt we got the right to ban people from our show. Things went a little smoother after that. But the end had already started. Complaints to the site staff were always met with “you are getting this platform to use for free. Why are you complaining?”
I never said much to the assholes that ran the site at the time but WE WERE THE PEOPLE BRINGING IN THE SITE TRAFFIC YOUR MORONS!!!
That is something the assholes in charge of NowLive ever considered. That the user’s…those running shows…were what was bringing people to the site. Every time you brought up problem it was like pulling the cord on one of those old toy dolls. A recording would come on and say; “you aren’t paying anything why are you complaining”.
Now there is a sound business plan for ya…kick the people running shows in the balls and get them to leave. Will someone please explain to me how you are supposed to make money by having nothing but an AM/FM radio cast and some bullshit featured shows running on the site?
So the audio quality began to suffer. On the Dog House, a show that is interactive (for the NowLive staff that means we talk to each other) it is awful hard to do anything when you can’t hear the other people talking. Now it may sound like we complained a lot to the NowLive staff. Let me just state for the record that I was told many times that we were not the trouble we thought we were. That they wished they had others like us. Okay…so maybe not. But we complained again.
My wife, smokinbeaver54, wrote a question in an open bulletin. I chose to put mine in the form of a comment to BigDog. Listed below are the answers we got.
posted by bigdog @ 11/23/2008 7:27:38 PMYes I have got the apology and I am sorry...I am basically not involved any more...the only way you can get good audio all the time is to use flash...the issue with call in shows and audio quality is when the site traffic goes up....I am very sorry for the issues but its out of my hands since i do not pay the bills and the people that do right now are trying to find ways in this bad economy to survive...do you think hosts would pay for call-in shows? thanks
posted by bigdog @ 11/21/2008 5:32:24 PMwhat not ask for help instead of posting stupid bulletins slamming the site (not you but the other half)...I would be happy to do some tests and see why you are having such issues...if you want to set up a time and do a test...or maybe explain exactly what the issue is that would be great...its not like i ignore you right?
First…when we asked for help all we got back was that we should be thankful we didn’t have to pay that the site was free. In the top message you can see where that was going. And we were not the only ones being pinched for cash by NowLive.
I got emails from other site members that told me similar stories. I will not post these messages here out of respect for these friends. Not out of respect for NowLive, frankly I could give a shit about them. But I do not want to hurt friends that for whatever reason want to maintain access on the site. Just know that sooner or later members who want to run a call in type show will have to pay for it. Even if you pay I think the site will continue to go downhill and that is really a shame.
The other answer offered by the NowLive staff is to run what are called “flash shows”. This is a show run via webcam and microphone with not callers allowed and no podcast. Well Bigdog let me remind you of a few things that I have told you about before. The flash shows suck ass. If someone does co-host on cam the delay is terrible. Not to mention that the audio quality is NOT what you say it is. I have tried running flash shows and the audio was reported to be “shitty” by the listeners. In addition, I have been in the chat for these shows and I will state that the audio is worse than shitty.
On December 1, 2008 the Dog House with Baddog started at its normal time of 7 PM ET. But we lasted less than 15 minutes because of the audio quality on the site. Baddog decided to shut it down and immediately went to Usteam.tv and have stayed there ever since.
So one on hand I need to thank NowLive for allowing me to meet some very great people. People who I have become very close with. A couple I have even met person to person. Several have even broke bread at my table and I at theirs. A few others I hope to meet face to face in the very near future.
But I have to say that I hate the bastards for destroying something that was wonderful. A whole community of people that would support each other and help each other. For that NowLive I say a hardy FUCK ALL YA’LL.
So if you want excellent audio and video quality come over and join us on ustream.tv. Just follow the links below stop by and say howdy!!
Dog House with Baddog (M – F at 7 PM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/doghousewithbaddog
Redneck Radio News (Sun at 7:30 PM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/redneck-radio-news
Wakeup Call with Broken and Smokin (Sat 9 AM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/wakeup-call-with-broken-and-smokin
Sunday Mornings with Pastor Rick (Sun at 9 AM ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/sunday-mornings-with-pastor-rick
Bible Study with Brokenpole (Sun 10:45 ET)
www.ustream.tv/channel/bible-study-with-brokenpole
Thursday, December 11, 2008
We Need to Take Christmas Back
I got an email from a good friend yesterday. I forwarded it to folks in my email address book and I feel the need to reproduce it here. The title is "Twas the Month Before Christmas".
You know folks, if you don't want to celebrate Christmas that is alright with me. I have no issue with that. I will leave it to you how to explain to your kids how little Johnnie next door got a new bicycle for no apparent reason.
I won't even mind when you get a paid day off for a holiday that you have no intention of celebrating.
But how about just shutting the hell up and letting us have a little fun won't you. No one is telling you to sing the First Noel or Silent Night or God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen or O Come All Ye Faithful or Joy to the World or We Three Kings or O Come Let Us Adore Him. But darn it if I want to sing I sure as hell am going to sing.
I see no where in federal or state law where you are required to purchase and decorate a pine tree or any other tree for that matter. But if I want to put up a CHRISTMAS TREE I should be allowed to do it.
No police officer is going to ticket you or arrest you if you fail to say Merry Christmas to people you meet on the street. But neither should we be arrested for saying Merry Christmas in public where someone may be offended. If it offends you then maybe you should just lock yourself in your house from Thanksgiving til New Years Day.
I am a 54 year old kid and I love Christmas. I love everything about it. My youngest is 28 years old and I still get goose bumps watching her open presents. My 31 year old daughter is living with me now in Mississippi and I will have tears in my eyes as she opens her presents Christmas morning.
So I am going to wish you a Merry Christmas. Go ahead and get pissed or offended if you like. But you are not going to stop me.
Merry Christmas!!!!!!
Twas the month before Christmas
*When all through our land,
*Not a Christian was praying
*Nor taking a stand.
*See the PC Police had taken away,
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
* December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
*Something was changing, something quite odd!
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone you meet during the
holidays a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!
*When all through our land,
*Not a Christian was praying
*Nor taking a stand.
*See the PC Police had taken away,
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
* December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
*Something was changing, something quite odd!
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!
Please, all Christians join together and
wish everyone you meet during the
holidays a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!
You know folks, if you don't want to celebrate Christmas that is alright with me. I have no issue with that. I will leave it to you how to explain to your kids how little Johnnie next door got a new bicycle for no apparent reason.
I won't even mind when you get a paid day off for a holiday that you have no intention of celebrating.
But how about just shutting the hell up and letting us have a little fun won't you. No one is telling you to sing the First Noel or Silent Night or God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen or O Come All Ye Faithful or Joy to the World or We Three Kings or O Come Let Us Adore Him. But darn it if I want to sing I sure as hell am going to sing.
I see no where in federal or state law where you are required to purchase and decorate a pine tree or any other tree for that matter. But if I want to put up a CHRISTMAS TREE I should be allowed to do it.
No police officer is going to ticket you or arrest you if you fail to say Merry Christmas to people you meet on the street. But neither should we be arrested for saying Merry Christmas in public where someone may be offended. If it offends you then maybe you should just lock yourself in your house from Thanksgiving til New Years Day.
I am a 54 year old kid and I love Christmas. I love everything about it. My youngest is 28 years old and I still get goose bumps watching her open presents. My 31 year old daughter is living with me now in Mississippi and I will have tears in my eyes as she opens her presents Christmas morning.
So I am going to wish you a Merry Christmas. Go ahead and get pissed or offended if you like. But you are not going to stop me.
Merry Christmas!!!!!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Santa: Pinhead or Patriot
Anyone who watches the O'Reilly Factor on Fox news will recognize the words in the title of this blog.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2008, Mr. O'Reilly had Santa as a patriot in his usual segment. While I can agree that Santa may be a patriot I have to wonder about Mr. O'Reilly. Or is it Santa?
I tried to get a figure for how many service men and women will be away from their families this Christmas and I couldn't even come up with a good estimate. It is certainly in the thousands. In my time in the US Navy I spent time away from family during the holidays.
So "Santa" setting up a furlough so a 3-year old girl can see her daddy seems like a good thing. Certainly a heart warming story for Mr. O'Reilly to air on his program.
The story goes that the little girl told Santa that she wanted to see her daddy for Christmas. We are led to believe that some how this Santa arranged for a furlough so the daddy could come home and see the little girl. As I watched the tape of the little girl hugging her daddy and crying "I love you daddy" my heart melted. I think it was melted by the tears that welled up in my eyes.
But as the day has worn on my mind has started thinking about all of those other men and women. The other mom's and dad's that would love nothing more than to be able to come home for Christmas. My mind wandered to all these other children who saw that segment on Foxnews and now wonders why Santa was not able to bring their mommy or daddy home. To all the other mom's and dad's who are left at home to explain why their loved one cannot be home or worse yet...why Santa didn't work a miracle for them.
I can still remember Christmas of 1980. I had gotten out of the Navy in November and this was my first Christmas as a civilian. Yes...I worked Christmas day. But it was only an 8 hour shift. I also got 2.5 times my normal pay for working that day.
To the person in the service every day is the same. Christmas, New Years or your birthday they are all the same. All that day does is brings you one day closer to the date when you get out or retire. There is no extra pay and no bonus in your stocking.
Yet these courageous men and women are there fighting for us and for our freedom. They are away from home protecting us as well as their own loved ones. They are out there placing their lives on the line so people have the ability to put up signs denigrating the Christmas holiday. They are there protecting Bill O'Reilly and his right to free speech (as well as mine and yours). They are there fighting to protect even those who deface and burn the flag they defend with honor and their lives. You may not think that is so much. But believe me it is everything.
I wish that all the men and women serving in the armed forces could be with their families this Christmas. I wish that each of them could see and hug their children and watch them open their presents Christmas morning. But that is not going to happen.
So instead I will pray for each and everyone of these brave men and women. When I see one of them I will walk up to them and thank them for their service. It is the least I can do. It is all I can do.
In this time of year where we start thinking of New Years resolutions how about that one. To pray for our soldiers safety...everyday. To pray for the families of those that have fallen...everyday. To thank a soldier or sailor every time you see one.
To all our fine service men and women...thank you so much for your sacrifice for me and for this nation. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Most of all...God bless you and keep you and please be safe.
Jonathan Sparks
US Citizen and Veteran.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2008, Mr. O'Reilly had Santa as a patriot in his usual segment. While I can agree that Santa may be a patriot I have to wonder about Mr. O'Reilly. Or is it Santa?
I tried to get a figure for how many service men and women will be away from their families this Christmas and I couldn't even come up with a good estimate. It is certainly in the thousands. In my time in the US Navy I spent time away from family during the holidays.
So "Santa" setting up a furlough so a 3-year old girl can see her daddy seems like a good thing. Certainly a heart warming story for Mr. O'Reilly to air on his program.
The story goes that the little girl told Santa that she wanted to see her daddy for Christmas. We are led to believe that some how this Santa arranged for a furlough so the daddy could come home and see the little girl. As I watched the tape of the little girl hugging her daddy and crying "I love you daddy" my heart melted. I think it was melted by the tears that welled up in my eyes.
But as the day has worn on my mind has started thinking about all of those other men and women. The other mom's and dad's that would love nothing more than to be able to come home for Christmas. My mind wandered to all these other children who saw that segment on Foxnews and now wonders why Santa was not able to bring their mommy or daddy home. To all the other mom's and dad's who are left at home to explain why their loved one cannot be home or worse yet...why Santa didn't work a miracle for them.
I can still remember Christmas of 1980. I had gotten out of the Navy in November and this was my first Christmas as a civilian. Yes...I worked Christmas day. But it was only an 8 hour shift. I also got 2.5 times my normal pay for working that day.
To the person in the service every day is the same. Christmas, New Years or your birthday they are all the same. All that day does is brings you one day closer to the date when you get out or retire. There is no extra pay and no bonus in your stocking.
Yet these courageous men and women are there fighting for us and for our freedom. They are away from home protecting us as well as their own loved ones. They are out there placing their lives on the line so people have the ability to put up signs denigrating the Christmas holiday. They are there protecting Bill O'Reilly and his right to free speech (as well as mine and yours). They are there fighting to protect even those who deface and burn the flag they defend with honor and their lives. You may not think that is so much. But believe me it is everything.
I wish that all the men and women serving in the armed forces could be with their families this Christmas. I wish that each of them could see and hug their children and watch them open their presents Christmas morning. But that is not going to happen.
So instead I will pray for each and everyone of these brave men and women. When I see one of them I will walk up to them and thank them for their service. It is the least I can do. It is all I can do.
In this time of year where we start thinking of New Years resolutions how about that one. To pray for our soldiers safety...everyday. To pray for the families of those that have fallen...everyday. To thank a soldier or sailor every time you see one.
To all our fine service men and women...thank you so much for your sacrifice for me and for this nation. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Most of all...God bless you and keep you and please be safe.
Jonathan Sparks
US Citizen and Veteran.
Monday, December 8, 2008
An Apology
I need to give an apology. One that I am happy to give but is some what over due.
Before the election last month I published a series of blogs asking the people of the USA if they were awake. Wondering why, as a people, we keep electing politicians who are clearly cheating us while collecting a pay check from the American tax payer.
Well evidently the voters of Alaska and Louisiana are awake and are fully aware of what is going on. Evidence Mr. William Jefferson (D-LA) and Mr. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
Mr. Stevens was an joined the US Senate in 1968. In case you are not aware he was recently found guilty of corruption but said he would not resign from the Senate. Well the voters of Alaska did that for Mr. Steven's sending the old man packing. Fortunately he will not be part of the upcoming 111th Congress which meets right before Mr. Obama takes the oath of office.
Mr. Jefferson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1991. Most recently Mr. Jefferson has been the target of some federal investigations where, according to published reports, some $90,000 in cold cash was found in Mr. Jefferson's freezer. Now I realize that a person is innocent until found guilty, but fortunately the people of Louisiana held Mr. Jefferson to a higher standard and also gave him an eviction notice from his seat in the House.
So there are people out there who are listening. The government didn't listen to us and bailed out the big banks. Note that the banks have been bailed out but that has done nothing for the poor American whose home is being foreclosed. The banks got there and the rest of us can go to hell.
Now we have the auto makers and again the American people are saying to let them fail. Instead our elected officials will ignore us and give them money.
Wake up people!!! Or do you just like giving money over to rich fat cats who have driven companies in the ground. Oh...and in this case "fat cats" means both Union and Management!!
Before the election last month I published a series of blogs asking the people of the USA if they were awake. Wondering why, as a people, we keep electing politicians who are clearly cheating us while collecting a pay check from the American tax payer.
Well evidently the voters of Alaska and Louisiana are awake and are fully aware of what is going on. Evidence Mr. William Jefferson (D-LA) and Mr. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
Mr. Stevens was an joined the US Senate in 1968. In case you are not aware he was recently found guilty of corruption but said he would not resign from the Senate. Well the voters of Alaska did that for Mr. Steven's sending the old man packing. Fortunately he will not be part of the upcoming 111th Congress which meets right before Mr. Obama takes the oath of office.
Mr. Jefferson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1991. Most recently Mr. Jefferson has been the target of some federal investigations where, according to published reports, some $90,000 in cold cash was found in Mr. Jefferson's freezer. Now I realize that a person is innocent until found guilty, but fortunately the people of Louisiana held Mr. Jefferson to a higher standard and also gave him an eviction notice from his seat in the House.
So there are people out there who are listening. The government didn't listen to us and bailed out the big banks. Note that the banks have been bailed out but that has done nothing for the poor American whose home is being foreclosed. The banks got there and the rest of us can go to hell.
Now we have the auto makers and again the American people are saying to let them fail. Instead our elected officials will ignore us and give them money.
Wake up people!!! Or do you just like giving money over to rich fat cats who have driven companies in the ground. Oh...and in this case "fat cats" means both Union and Management!!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Is a death enough to wake us up?
Let us not mix words here. We are all responsible for the death of Jdimytai Damour. Each and everyone of us. Me. You. All of us.
What does it take to make a society wake up and look at what is going on around them? Will the death of a man do it? One would certainly hope so.
And how about the 2000 people that were in line to enter that Walmart store that morning, how do they feel this morning? Was the death of Mr. Damour worth all the money they saved on those Christmas gifts? I hope it was. Personally I don't think I would be able to sleep at night if I knew that I had been there in line at that store on Friday and I helped cause the death of another human being.
If that were not bad enough there was the O.K. Corral shoot out in a Toys-R-Us store in Palm Desert, California, that resulted in two men dead. Two sets of kids that will be missing a parent for Christmas. I wonder how those two women that were fighting that started that whole mess feel this morning? Was it all worth it?
Personally I think the cost that has been paid is way too high.
The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man that came to earth to save each and every one of us. A man who showed, by his life and death, the perfect example of love. A man who showed compassion and mercy to all he met. Now to think that this his how we celebrate his birthday. We trample some Walmart greeter and have a shoot out in a toy store.
We complain about the terrorism and killing in the world. Yet we ourselves are so unconcerned about human life that we would trample a man to death and then have the audacity to complain to the store and the police when the store has to close because of the man's death.
Yes...we are all responsible. I know some of you are reading this and saying that I'm not responsible. I was no where near that store on Friday. May be not. But rest assured we all have a role in the man's death as well as the death of the two men in Toys-R-Us. How you ask?
We have done all we can do to remove the words "Merry Christmas" from our vocabulary. We have done all we can do to remove Christ from Christmas. We have done all we can do to remove Christ from our public schools. We have done all we can do to remove any reference to God in our lives. Should we expect anything different for our actions?
Again there might be those that say that they have not taken prayer out of schools, they have not take God out of our nation, that they have not taken Christ out of Christmas. If you have sat back and watched as this has happened, as I have, then you, like me, are guilty.
I submit to you that we are reaping what we have sowed. We want God out of everything and this is what we get for our trouble.
All I can say is that we had better pray that God is the forgiving and loving God we read about in the Bible. For if not then there are 2000 people that were in a line outside of a Walmart store in Nassau County New York who might not be forgiven. Forgiven for breaking one of those Ten Commandments that we want taken down...Thou Shalt Not Kill.
My prayers go out to the family of Mr. Damour. Look at what Thanksgiving will always mean to that family from now on.
I pray for all of those 2000 people who were at that Walmart Friday morning. I pray that they may find the forgiveness that only God provides.
I pray for the families of those two men in Palm Desert and their families that they can find a way to celebrate Christmas. I pray for the wives of the two men, that they may find a way to explain to their families why it happened. That they can find a way to explain to their children why daddy isn't there this Christmas.
I pray for each and every one of us. That we can find a way to make sense of all of this. That we can finally realize what it means to take prayer away from our children, to take God out of our society. What it means to take Christ out of Christmas.
What does it take to make a society wake up and look at what is going on around them? Will the death of a man do it? One would certainly hope so.
And how about the 2000 people that were in line to enter that Walmart store that morning, how do they feel this morning? Was the death of Mr. Damour worth all the money they saved on those Christmas gifts? I hope it was. Personally I don't think I would be able to sleep at night if I knew that I had been there in line at that store on Friday and I helped cause the death of another human being.
If that were not bad enough there was the O.K. Corral shoot out in a Toys-R-Us store in Palm Desert, California, that resulted in two men dead. Two sets of kids that will be missing a parent for Christmas. I wonder how those two women that were fighting that started that whole mess feel this morning? Was it all worth it?
Personally I think the cost that has been paid is way too high.
The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man that came to earth to save each and every one of us. A man who showed, by his life and death, the perfect example of love. A man who showed compassion and mercy to all he met. Now to think that this his how we celebrate his birthday. We trample some Walmart greeter and have a shoot out in a toy store.
We complain about the terrorism and killing in the world. Yet we ourselves are so unconcerned about human life that we would trample a man to death and then have the audacity to complain to the store and the police when the store has to close because of the man's death.
Yes...we are all responsible. I know some of you are reading this and saying that I'm not responsible. I was no where near that store on Friday. May be not. But rest assured we all have a role in the man's death as well as the death of the two men in Toys-R-Us. How you ask?
We have done all we can do to remove the words "Merry Christmas" from our vocabulary. We have done all we can do to remove Christ from Christmas. We have done all we can do to remove Christ from our public schools. We have done all we can do to remove any reference to God in our lives. Should we expect anything different for our actions?
Again there might be those that say that they have not taken prayer out of schools, they have not take God out of our nation, that they have not taken Christ out of Christmas. If you have sat back and watched as this has happened, as I have, then you, like me, are guilty.
I submit to you that we are reaping what we have sowed. We want God out of everything and this is what we get for our trouble.
All I can say is that we had better pray that God is the forgiving and loving God we read about in the Bible. For if not then there are 2000 people that were in a line outside of a Walmart store in Nassau County New York who might not be forgiven. Forgiven for breaking one of those Ten Commandments that we want taken down...Thou Shalt Not Kill.
My prayers go out to the family of Mr. Damour. Look at what Thanksgiving will always mean to that family from now on.
I pray for all of those 2000 people who were at that Walmart Friday morning. I pray that they may find the forgiveness that only God provides.
I pray for the families of those two men in Palm Desert and their families that they can find a way to celebrate Christmas. I pray for the wives of the two men, that they may find a way to explain to their families why it happened. That they can find a way to explain to their children why daddy isn't there this Christmas.
I pray for each and every one of us. That we can find a way to make sense of all of this. That we can finally realize what it means to take prayer away from our children, to take God out of our society. What it means to take Christ out of Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)