I'll Say It Again

I have said this before and I will say it again. The primary election process in the US is broke and needs fixing.

Now we have members of both the Clinton and Obama campaigns, including a former president, trying to get the so called "super delegates" to commit to their respective candidates. From all indications it appears that these uncommitted super delegates are going to be the ones to decide which candidate will represent the Democrat party in November.

Now what really bothers me about this entire mess is how the party in question has claimed that President Bush stole the election in 2000. How voters were disenfranchised. How Gore won the popular vote and yet lost due to the electoral college.

Now we have the same process taking place in the democrat primary. Currently Obama is in the led both in delegate count and popular vote. Yet it is the party elite that will decide who the candidate will be. Not the people...the party. Yet I have not seen one article or one news story from those that slammed the process in 2000 saying a damned thing about what could happen here. I have seen articles saying that if the super delegates tap Hilliary that it will cause a split in the party. But I haven't heard a single peep from all these folks about how voters are being rendered meaningless.

Where are the Jessie Jackson's claiming that the process is flawed and how the voters don't matter. May be they are waiting until the process ends and the results known before they speak out about all of this. That of course remains to be seen. Just remember that no one waited for the entire outcome in 2000 to start blasting the process so why wait now. Hell, there were groups of people that were speaking out about the ballots and how things were run before the polls even closed.

Just so you know, let me state my position.

1. We should do away with the electoral college. The person who wins the office of president should be the one that wins the popular vote. I am even in favor of taking a step back. The first place finisher in popular vote wins the office of president. The runner-up get the Veep slot. That means each party would probably have voice in that each party would have a person high in the executive branch. Would make for some great White House meetings that we could put on pay-per-view.
2. The primary process should be taken away from the parties and returned to the people. This means that we hold a nation wide primary just like we do the general election in November. The winner of the popular vote is the nominee. If you really want to through some crap into it, let the runner-up be the Veep. Let the people decide the ticket.
3. Let's get back to holding mock elections in schools. This government we have like to throw money at education, lets make it pay off. All high schools will hold an election just like the real thing with the actual voting equipment that is used in their area. It's high time we start teaching people how all this new fangled touch screen stuff works so they are ready when they turn 18 and it really counts.
4. Have the polling place setup and do a dry run of the process before the real election. This gives the common people the chance to preview the ballot and the voting machines that will be used. This coupled with the signs that are already posted that offer help to those that need it when voting should put to rest all the comments at the end of an election about the confusing ballots and voting equipment used. If they don't want to take the opportunity to preview what things are going to look like and then they screw it up...oh well. Some times you just can't fix stupid.

So all you folks that are really engaged in the process, come up with your own ideas about how to fix the current election process. You can bet your ass that neither party will take to kindly to my suggestions above. If both sides don't like it, then there must be something good about it.

The one thing I will tell you...VOTE IN NOVEMBER OR SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!

Body Piercings

Now here is a story that you knew sooner or later would become an issue. This is from FoxNews.com.


LOS ANGELES — A Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.

"I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," Mandi Hamlin said at a news conference. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."
Hamlin, 37, said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.

The female TSA agent used a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of Hamlin's chest, the Dallas-area resident said.

Hamlin said she told the woman she was wearing nipple piercings. The women then called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the jewelry, Hamlin said.

Hamlin said she could not remove them and asked whether she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent. But several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewelry was out, she said.

She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring.

"Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her," said Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties.

Hamlin said she heard male TSA agents snickering as she took out the ring. She was scanned again and was allowed to board even though she still was wearing a belly button ring.

"After nipple rings are inserted, the skin can often heal around the piercing, and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove," Allred said in the letter.

Hamlin filed a complaint, but the TSA's customer service manager at the Lubbock airport concluded the screening was handled properly, Allred said.

Allred said she might consider legal action if the TSA does not apologize.

On its Web site, the TSA warns that passengers "may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector."

"If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search," the site says.

Hamlin would have accepted a "pat-down" had it been offered, Allred said.

Hamlin was publicly humiliated and has "undergone an enormous amount of physical pain to have the nipple rings reinserted" because of scar tissue, Allred said.

"The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary," Allred wrote. "The last time that I checked a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."

TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird said he was unaware of the incident. There is no specific TSA policy on dealing with body piercings, he said, "as long as it doesn't sound the alarms."

If an alarm does sound, "until that is resolved, we're not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they're wearing or where they're wearing it."

People routinely pass through security wearing wedding rings without problems, and it might take a larger bit of metal to trigger an alarm, Baird said.


I have not seen an article like this since the new restrictions in airport security went into effect. But then again I don't scan the news looking for articles about women having to remove jewelery to board a flight. But I will bet that this has happened before and I either missed it or it never got reported.

When I first thought about getting a tattoo when I was in the Navy, I had an old salty Chief tell me not to get something that I would be ashamed for anyone to see. I guess the same holds true for body piercings. Sooner or later that which you adorn your body with will be visible to someone that you might not want to see it.

So on one hand I have no sympathy for this lady. You want to wear the piercings you go right ahead. Just be prepared for the consequences.

But I think here I we have a situation that has taught me a lot.

First, I always thought that as the piercing healed that it could be removed easily at a future point. I have an earring and I can easily take it out and put it back in. I guess the same cannot be said for piercings in other locations. I mean the lady had to remove the thing with a pair of pliers!!!! (Note to self...no nipple piercings). I would hate to see that type of removal with a prince albert piercing.

But where do we draw the line with airport security. Should this woman have been allowed to show her pierced breasts to the female TSA officer? Should TSA be allowed to make a person remove piercings if there is going to be pain and anguish involved?

There was a time I was sure of my answer. It would have been on the order of whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the flight. Now I am not so sure.

What do you think?

Sad

This whole story is sad.

In a little town in Wisconsin, an 11 year old girl died from untreated diabetes. Note that I said UNTREATED diabetes.

Diabetes is nothing new. Most people are aware that this disease is affecting more and more people in the US. I am one of them. I was diagnosed 20 years ago and live with the problems caused by the disease every day.

But the disease IS treatable. In this case the parents relied on prayer to cure their daughter. They believe in the bible and believe that all healing comes from God.

Now I am not opposed to that view. I guess I just look at it from a different angle.

There is an old story that has been used by many a preacher as a sermon illustration. The basics of the story are that a man was trapped on the top of his house due to a flood. His neighbors offered help to take him to safety and he refused stating that God would save him. The water got higher and a boat came by and offered to take his to safety and again he refused. God will save me. The water rose even higher and as his house was about to go under water a helicopter came by and offered to rescue the man. Again he refused stating that God would save him. In the end, the man was swept away and drowned. When he made it to heaven he asked God why he didn't save him. God answered that he had sent his neighbors, a boat and a helicopter to rescue him. All he needed to do was work with God and accept the help that he had sent.

I think the same principal applies here. There is help in the medical field for people with diabetes. All we need to do is take that help. All these parents needed to do was seek that help. They did not. They left the girl's health in God's hands.

I believe that every new medical miracle that comes along is a gift to us from God. All healing does come from God in the form of medical break through. Its not that there aren't still big miracles that occur every day. But the little miracles, such as insulin, are also sent to us from God.

But we have to be willing to accept God's help. Just as salvation and freedom from sin were provided by God in His Son, Jesus Christ, the acceptance of this gift is up to us. God does not force it on us. We are free to choose.

So it was for this little girl. The parents could have accepted the God provided treatment that doctors could have provided. Instead they made the decision not to accept that help and now their daughter is with God.

God provides but it is up to us to accept.

Be Yourself

There are several items in the news over the past few days that point to the old axiom to just be yourself.


First there is all the crap that is going on in the political arena over the past few weeks. There was the Barack Obama and his pastor controversy. There was Governor Spitzer of New York. Although that might be a bad example because apparently he was being himself when he paid $4300/hour for that hooker. Now there is Hiliary Clinton and the now infamous statement about being under the threat of a sniper when landing in Bosnia. Apparently that was not true...excuse me...she misspoke.


I saw a news report on-line talking about the stuff with Mrs Clinton and I think this commentator made a very profound statement. This person basically said that politicians lie so much that they don't even notice when they are lieing any more. It is second nature to them. It was also said that most politicians try to change themselves into something that they believe will appeal to some group of voters that they have totally lost who they really are. Sometimes these changes happen in a 20 minute drive from one speaking venue to another.

If you can't get elected based in who you really are, maybe its time to look for another line of work. Hey try acting...you can change yourself from roll to roll. That should be easy for politicians. They do it all the time anyway!


Now we have the case of an 18 year old high school cheerleader in Florida who died as a result of breast implant surgery. According to the most recent news the surgery was to correct and inverted nipple and asymmetrical breasts which involves the use of implants. Something went wrong during the surgery and now we have a dead young girl and a grieving family.


Now I am not a doctor. I didn't play one on TV and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I am not an expert in the medical field. I do fancy myself s being an expert at looking at female breasts. Don't know much about inverted nipples but I can tell you that real breasts are not really a matched set. There are differences from one side to the other. Some are more obvious than others but there are differences. Just how we are put together.


So was this surgery required for the girls health or was it something she wanted to become more like the airbrushed images in magazines?

If we are just trying to have the surgery to conform to what our society and media expect the perfect male or female to look like, I think it is time to take a step back and re-evaluate what we are tyring to gain. Every time we chose to go under the knife there is a risk. We may not like it, but the fact is that people die during surgery everyday. We just need to evaluate the risk against the potential benefit and make an informed decision.

People marry every day thinking that once they are married, they can change or mold that spouse to be who they want them to be. I think most of us know that is flawed thinking.

Politicians try to change themselves to be more acceptable to get people to vote for them.

We use surgery and other techniques to change who we are.

Maybe its high time we just learn to be ourselves.

Back in Mississippi

The time at home is California is over and its time to get back to work in Mississippi. The trip back was certainly much less event filled than the trip out to California last week. There were no delays and my luggage actually arrived with me.

But with Easter now behind us and Christmas a long way off this seems to be the time when Christians kind of relax. We have celebrated Christ's birth and His resurrection and there is a natural let down.

Months of working on special music and programs are over. All the special services for Lent have been completed and most Christians go into the what now mode.

I submit that we should be celebrating Easter everyday. The resurrection of Christ was not for only one day. HE IS ALIVE!!!! We should be shouting that from the roof tops. It is the main thing that makes Christianity different from other religious movements. We have a risen Lord and Savior who is here with us everyday.

So as Chrsitians, we should still be as excited as we were yesterday morning when we came together to celebrate our risen Lord.

My wife's church in California did their Easter music service on Saturday. One of the songs they performed was "Was It a Morning Like This". The chorus from this song should resinate with us all year long:

Did the grass sing? Did the earth rejoice to feel you again?
Over and over like a Trumpet underground,
Did the earth seem to pound: “He is risen”
Over and over in a never ending round
“He is risen, alleluia, alleluia!”

Christ rose from the dead that first Easter morning. We should never let that chorus fade.

Okay…I know that I am not the brightest bulb in the box. But what am I missing here?



FOXNEWS.COM HOME > U.S.

The corn flake sold on eBay for $1,350.

CHICAGO — Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350.

"We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23. "There's a lot of relief involved."

The winner of the auction, which lasted more than a week, is the owner of a trivia Web site who wants to add the corn flake to a traveling museum.

"We're starting a collection of pop culture and Americana items," said Monty Kerr of Austin, Texas. "We thought this was a fantastic one."

Kerr owns TriviaMania.com and said he will likely send someone to Virginia to pick up the flake by hand, so it won't be damaged. This isn't the first corn flake that Kerr has tried to buy. He said he purchased a flake billed as the world's largest, but that by the time it was delivered it had crumbled into three pieces.

McIntire and her sister Emily, 15, listed the corn flake on eBay last week, but eBay canceled the auction saying it violated the Web site's food policy.

The sisters restarted their Ebay auction, advertising a coupon redeemable for their corn flake, instead of the cereal itself.

The McIntires said they'll likely use the money for a family vacation.

Copycat items have popped up on eBay, including corn flakes shaped like Hawaii and Virginia. There's also been a potato chip shaped like Florida, and Illinois corn flake paraphernalia, including T-shirts and buttons.



Did I read that right? Did someone actually pay $1,350 for not a box of corn flakes…a single corn flake?

What’s next, someone selling or buying a pair of used men’s underwear with a crotch stain that looks like Rhode Island? I wonder how much that would fetch on the open ebay market?

I guess its time for all of us to start paying more attention to the mundane things around us. I mean that pile of dog crap you just scooped up and threw away could have been in a shape that was the likeness of Elvis and could have been worth real cash.

I wonder if the restaurant you ate at the night before said Elvis turd arrived would expect a percentage of the sale price. I mean after all, it was their food that enabled you body to manufacture that beautiful piece of art.

But seriously, what am I missing?

A Great Story

The story below was sent to me in an email by a vrey special friend. Now I will tell you up front to get the tissues ready. This is a real tear jerker. But I think there are two very important messages contained in this story that I will discuss at the end.

This is exactly as the email was sent to me. The only thing I did was some formatting.

On July 22nd I was in route to Washington, DC for a business trip. It was all so very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately. I thought nothing of it until I reached the door to leave the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every male if he were Mr. Glenn. At this point I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk. When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn, there is an emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can call the hospital." My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I followed this stranger to the distant telephone where I called the number he gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital.

By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the door had completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.

The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I ar rived at the hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my little son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and tried to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream. I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received any damage.

Throughout the seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline. All that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed like forever since I had left for my business trip the day before.

Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He said, "Daddy hold me" and he reached for me with his little arms.

[TEAR BREAK...smile]

By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine, we took Brian home, we felt a unique reverence for the life and love of our Heavenly Father that comes to those who brush death so closely.

In the days that followed there was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much closer to their little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other, and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was truly profound.

The story is not over (smile)!

Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down Mommy.. I have something to tell you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on his bed, and he began his sacred and remarkable story.

"Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the 'birdies' came."

"The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled.

"Yes," he replied. "The birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me."

"They did?"

"Yes," he said. "One of the birdies came and got you. She came to tell you "I got stuck under the door." A sweet reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong and yet l ighter than air. My wife realized that a three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they were up in the air like birds that fly.. "What did the birdies look like?" she asked.

Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all white. Some of them had green and white. But some of them had on just white."

"Did they say anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "They told me the baby would be all right."

"The baby?" my wife asked confused.

Brian answered. "The baby laying on the garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and not leave."

My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body and seeing his crushed chest whispered, "Don't leave us Brian, please stay if you can." As she listened to Brian telling her the words s he had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left His body and was looking down from above on this little lifeless form.. "Then what happened?" she asked.

"We went on a trip," he said, "far, far away." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words was difficult.

"We flew so fast up in the air. They're so pretty Mommy," he added.

"And there are lots and lots of birdies." My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian went on to tell her that the "birdies" had told him that he had to come back and tell everyone about the "birdies." He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell the man that the baby would be okay. The story went on for an hour.

He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They whisper the things to help us to do what is right because they love us so much. Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan.. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much."

In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it, again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he talked about his birdies.

Everywhere he went, he told strangers about the "birdies." Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this. Rather, they always got a softened look on their face and smiled. Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray we never will be.

You have just been sent an Angel to watch over you. Some people come into our lives and quickly go...Some people become friends and stay a while...leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts ... and we are never quite the same because we have made a good friend!!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present! Live and savor every moment...this is not a dress rehearsal! THIS IS A SPECIAL GUARDIAN ANGEL...

YOU MUST PASS THIS ON TO 5 PEOPLE WITHIN THE HOUR OF RECEIVING HER...IF YOU HAVE PASSED HER ON, SHE'LL WATCH OVER YOU FOREVER...IF NOT, HER TEARS WILL FLOW...

Now don't delete this message, because it comes from a very special Angel.

Now I have no idea whether the events described in that story are an actual occurrence or a work of fiction. But I do no that there are two truths that are presented in that email.

1. Angels are real and are sent from God to help us and look over us. They can come in many forms. Some come in the form of prayer from people who are praying for a person and some situation or illness. But they are real. I know because as I lay in a hospital bed near death almost 3 years ago, I felt the presence of all those angels from all the prayers people were praying for me.
2. God's love does not come from the fact that you forward an email to at least 5 people. God's love is unconditional. We have done nothing to earn it and we can do nothing to make His love leave us. All we need to do is accept that which is always there for us.

If you like to forward emails like the one above, please delete the stuff that in at the end that promises something if we pass it on. God does not play that way and I believe that if every Christain looks in their heart they will know that is true.

Who are we to place limits on God's love? God's love has no limits. He gave His only begotten Son to save each and everyone of us from our sins and give us eternal life with Him. Don't put limits on God's love...please.

Great time

Last night was a hoot.

My wife, daughter, son-in-law and myself were invited to the studio of NowLive.com (www.nowlive.com) to do our show Wakeup Call. We were on from about 7:15 PM until about 8:40. We were supposed to just do 50 minutes but they offered to let us hang around a little longer.

We had such a good time and the staff there were excellent. A special thank you to Hristomir for acting as producer. He did a fantastic job. It was a pleasure to meet Bigdog, J-cred, Rafi and KevTom as well.

If you do not know what nowlive is you should check out the link above. It is a social broadcasting website where you can run your on call in show over the internet. There are shows on the site for every taste. Some, like Wakeup Call, Brotherly Love and The Dog House, that have adult content, and shows rated for everyone. We even have our own church service that airs on Sunday Mornings at 6AM PT (Sunday Mornings with Pastor Rick).

There are music shows. Shows that discuss politics and shows where people just gather to discuss whatever interests them.

You go to www.nowlive.com and signup. Its free and easy. Then you can enter any of the fines shows that air daily and call in, type in the chat and even get on webcam.

Thanks again NowLive for the great time last night!!!

I hate air travel

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. I was traveling to California to see my lovely wife, smokinbeaver54. And what a day of travel it was.

I was scheduled to leave Jackson, MS at 6:20 AM CT. Now I am a person who is always early to airports. Big airport or small, I am there early. So I was at the airport and sitting at the gate just after 5AM.

There was a high wind condition in Houston and my flight out was delayed. Oh, nothing major, just 4:20 minutes!!! So to say that I missed my connection to Palm Springs was an understatement. Before I left, I had them book me on a flight to Palm Springs leaving at 6PM. Later than I wanted, but at least I would get there.

I was in the air to Houston for just over an hour. By the time I had arrived, all flights to Palm Springs had been cancelled due to the weather. I managed to get booked on another flight that arrived in Ontario, CA. So I had over 6 hours to sit in Houston and wait for my flight.

Houston was a circus. There were so many flights canceled with so many kids on spring break that it was wild. Girls were running around the airport in all manner of undress. Guess they decided spring break was spring break.

I arrived in Ontario at 8:15 PM. Unfortunately, my luggage didn't. Even though I was assured that my bag was moved to my flight it never made it. I get my taxes done this morning and all my tax stuff is in my luggage. My meds are in my luggage. Have I said that I hate Bush Intercontinental Airport sucks?

So I am in Morongo Valley with my wife. I do have clothes here to wear at least.

So a big FUCK YOU to Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Now will you please find my damn luggage!!!!

Don't lie to me

Are you Serious?

In the news yesterday were all the articles where Barack Obama called the statements made by his long time pastor “inflammatory and appalling.”

In the articles Obama states that he had never heard these statements himself while sitting in the pew. Oh come on Obama!!! Either you sleep through more sermons that I do or you aren’t in church a whole heck of a lot. Or maybe you are just sitting there with your crayons coloring in the bulletin and not paying attention.

Now for the record here, I am a conservative. I don’t call myself a republican simply because I will vote for the candidate I feel is best. It matters not to me whether that person is male, female, republican or democrat. In fact right now I have major issues with a three main candidates.

But I am not going to shy away from voting for a candidate based upon who his pastor is or what that pastor says. I am voting for the candidate not his friends or his pastor. Now the spouse of a pastor does matter to me. She, or he, is going to be our first lady (or gentleman). That is one of the things that bother me about voting for Mrs. Clinton. Now I have no problem with a woman president, I do have a problem with her choice as first husband. But all that is for another time.

Yes, Mr. Obama should answer questions about his stance on what Pastor Wright has said in his sermons. Mr. Obama should answer these questions honestly. Saying that he has never heard his pastor making these remarks while in church brings into question in my mind about whether he is lying or not.

If a politician wants to loose my vote…lie to me.

Cheating in Sports

As you read my blog you will find that I tend to comment on just about everything. Politics, sports or just the simply stupid things that people do. It is all fair game in my book.

So with that said…off we go.

There was a lot of talk this past NFL season about cheating going on with a certain NFL team. I don’t know why this seems to surprise people. Cheating in sports was invented about 20 seconds after the sport itself was invented. Competition is what it is and people are always looking for some kind of edge. Whether it is steroids and other performance enhancing drugs or stealing signs, this has been going on for ages.

I can remember growing up and listening to baseball announcers talking about how a team would have someone in the score board stealing signs from the opposing teams catcher and then relay the pitch selection to their hitter. This was in the day of no compact wireless receiver capability.

So now the NFL has its version. Below is the latest story from the NFL on what they are going to do to crack down on cheating.

Below is the article in Italic type face. My final thoughts (no I ain't Jerry Springer) follow.

Goodell proposes plan making cheating penalties easier to impose

ESPN.com news services

With confidence in NFL rules oversight at low ebb, commissioner Roger Goddell is proposing enacting easier-to-impose cheating penalties as a deterrent for future SpyGate scandals, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The newspaper cited a memo sent to the league's competition committee Thursday in an article on its Web site and said the proposals included a change in rules that would allow league officials to make unannounced inspections of locker rooms, press boxes and in-game communications equipment.

The measure was among a series of stricter rule changes Goodell wants to enact before next season "to preserve the integrity of the game" and "maintain public confidence" in the sport, according to the memo.

"As the Commissioner and Competition Committee, we must take every appropriate step to safeguard the integrity of the NFL," Goodell wrote in the memo. "We have already taken some positive and significant actions this past season, but we must go further to ensure fair competition amongst our 32 teams and maintain public confidence in our game."

Goodell pledged stricter penalties for competition-rules violations and proposed a plan requiring team employees to give the league reports of "actual or suspected" violations.

Another measure would place each franchise's main owner, top executive and head coach under the threat of league discipline to stipulate that they have complied with the rules and reported violations.

The commissioner also endorsed a proposal to permit one defensive player per team to be connected to a coach on the sideline during games via a wireless device, and called upon the committee to conduct "a thorough review" of all competitive rules and practices.

"I think there are a number of steps that should be taken in advance of the start of the 2008 season to improve and strengthen the enforcement procedures designed to preserve the competitive integrity of the game," Goodell wrote, adding that "too often, competitive violations have gone unpunished because conclusive proof of the violation was lacking."

Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter questioned the quality of the NFL's investigation of the New England Patriots' videotaping practices and Goodell's decision to destroy video evidence uncovered by the league earlier this season.

Goodell fined New England coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and docked the team $250,000 and a first-round draft pick after the Patriots were accused of videotaping New York Jets defensive coaches as they signaled to players during the Sept. 9 season opener.

Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also cited NFL officials indicating the Patriots taped Pittsburgh Steelers' coaches during AFC Championship games at the end of the 2001 and 2004 seasons, and during regular-season games in 2002 and 2004.

During the NFL season when all of this came out, the commissioner lead us to believe that this was really no big deal. Then they promptly destroyed all the evidence so we, the fans, could get no idea of what had actually occurred.

We also heard that there was no issue and that the matter was considered over once the fines were levied. No we have this proclamation from the commissioner of the changes within the NFL to fix a problem that, according to the league, didn’t need fixing.

We, the fans of professional sports, pay millions of dollars each year to the leagues and to the advertisers of pro sports to attend, watch and listen to their product. It is about time that these people stop treating the fans like we are a bunch of idiots. Its not that we want to know everything about every deal that is made in some secret smoke filled room. But when something such as this cheating scandal occurs, come out and show us the evidence. Let us make our own decision. This is actually what I think they are afraid of the most. They are afraid that we will find out that they are a bunch of egotistical bastards who will do anything to gain an advantage and win.

Nothing personal ya’ll. But I came to that conclusion years ago.

First Blog

This is my first blog here at blogger.com. Moved here to post blogs with friends and family from NowLive.com (www.nowlive.com)

There is a group of us that run shows that are comedy based. Mainly we do improv and just have fun making fun of each other. The shows are:

• Brotherly Love (meroll and c-roll66)
• The Dog House with Baddog (Baddogcrew)
• Wakeup Call with Broken and Smokin (brokenpole and smokinbeaver54)

We are all about having fun and getting a good laugh at each others expense.

As I get used to this site I hope to blog at least each week day. Usually early in the mornings.

brokenpol