Reflections

Today is Sept. 11.  I had completely put it out of my mind what the significance of this day was until I was on my way to work and heard a reminder on the radio.  It brought back a flood of feelings and memories, where I was when I first heard the news, what I thought, the day spent in front of a little black and white television in the office, the reports of gasoline being sold for $5-$6 a gallon, and the shock of that day.  I recall standing on the Phelps Road bridge over I-70 with Sharel watching the sunset.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, the temperature was perfect, the sky was a very vibrant blue.  Things seemed very surreal for the next couple of weeks.  I remember after a week wishing that they would stop showing the hole in the ground in Manhattan on the TV- I wanted some sort of distraction from what had happened.

People say that something fundamentally changed that day, and I guess I would have to agree.  I am not sure what it was, but perhaps we all were a little more humble, a little more aware of the important things in life, especially after the relatively carefree days of the 90’s.  There was certainly a lot of anger, calls for vengeance were strong.  But most of all, I think there was an air of love and support.  We were kinder to each other, took time to understand.  My generation felt a sense of duty, and many of my friends and people I went to school with joined the military.  Politics were set aside for a while, and everyone at the time agreed on the course of action.

But time seems to have destroyed all of the fellowship we had with each other.  It appears we live in a completely different world.  We are less tolerant of others views we snipe, and feel hatred and anger every day we listen to the news.  There is a power struggle going on, and things have reached a fever pitch, there is no discussion, but rather name calling and denigrating from every one.  Don’t misunderstand; there are serious things going on right now that will have serious repercussions for our nation, things we must stand up to.  I guess I just yearn a little for the smiles from strangers that have been replaced by paranoia and cynicism.  But we must fight, figuratively speaking, for the rights we have been given. 

In writing this, I am reminded of President Lincoln’s Proclamation establishing Thanksgiving.  While speaking of the many temporal blessings and things to be thankful for, Lincoln said:

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

We do live in a perverse and wicked time, a time when our nation is divided, when sin is rampant all over.  Reading the Book of Mormon we see that we, too, are in a pride cycle.  The Lord saw fit to compel us to humility, and for a season we were.  Now I fear what is next, as we have forgotten the many blessings the Lord has given us.  Thanksgiving no more is a day where we remember blessings from Heavenly Father, but rather a day where we are thankful to the Indians for giving the Pilgrims food, we are thankful that there are 23 football games on the TV to choose from, or we are thankful that we can glutton ourselves on ham and pie.  I wonder what it will take for us as a society to be humble.  I think I can predict with some certainty that whatever it is, it is going to hurt.  Abraham Lincoln called on the American people to repent during the civil war, and we have a modern day prophet who has called on us to do the same.  President Hinckley told us in October of 2001 that “Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.”  The last part of his talk was so very good, and comforting:

Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.

Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).

Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.

May the God of heaven, the Almighty, bless us, help us, as we walk our various ways in the uncertain days that lie ahead. May we look to Him with unfailing faith. May we worthily place our reliance on His Beloved Son who is our great Redeemer, whether it be in life or in death, is my prayer in His holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen

I don’t know, I am rambling, just putting to words what is going through my head.  But my thoughts keep running back to our military men and women.  They have so valiantly fought for us here, for our freedoms.  I am sure we take them for granted, I know I do.  Sometimes I wish I had the courage they have, to volunteer to participate in what Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. called “the greatest evil known to man”, war.  Someone sent a photo essay out.  The photos showed a Marine Officer who had the unenviable position of notifying next of kin of fallen soldiers.  I almost couldn’t get through it here at work.  I hope I never forget the sacrifice that not only the soldiers have made, but also their families, have made. 

For me, this September day has been a thoughtful and reflective day.  The anger I have felt in the past few weeks at those who run our government have faded a bit, as I have tried to remember the blessings I have.  Perhaps more than getting angry, I should pray, pray for forgiveness, not only for myself, but for the country.  Perhaps I should pray for Heavenly Father to help us love each other again, to be able to, as Lincoln put it, ‘”heal the wounds” we have.  I have never seen the level of hate we have right now in my short life, and I know I am guilty of it as well.  I think we all need to take a moment and reflect, and rather than a “National Day of Service”, we need a day of prayer and fasting.

Anyway- Peace, I’m out.

Photo Essay http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/iraq_war_families/

 

Hahahahaha...

Which one are you...

 

In regards to the recent brouhaha over healthcare, the media attempted to throw a label on those opposed to ObamaCare.  At first we were just “fake angry”, then we were “ignorant” hillbillies (although they dropped the hillbilly part so as not to offend hills).  Now we are racists.  This whole debate has very little to do with resistance to a brilliant plan that would put us on the path to European socialism, but more to do with white people upset that there is a black man in office.

Spencer blogged about the dude in New Hampshire open carrying, and now it seems more and more people are exercising their rights to legally carry firearms to these rallies.  In Arizona, on guy decided he would sling his AR-15 across his back and carry that as well.  Now, I know some of you squirmy readers of my blog may be a little shocked, and may think that these people carrying are being stupid, but I say to you that they are perfectly within their rights to do so, and the more people that exercise those rights, the more we show the aristocracy in this country that we still care about the constitution.  Anyway, the media used this example to show that racists are protesting, and carrying a WMD on their hip is a not so subtle threat to the president.  Well, they failed to point out that the gentleman with the rifle was himself, black.  Newbusters has a great piece on this- View article...

 

Well, now that we have that out of the way, which one are you? 

Are you fake angry, just upset that your guy didn’t get elected (I am not sure if McCain was anyone’s “guy”).

Or are you just plain old ignorant, too dumb to know that this healthcare bill is really, really, really good for you?

Perhaps you are a racist, upset that the white power vacuum in the US has been breached by one of “them”?

Now I know you are saying that there should be a fourth category, the one in which you are none of the above, but actually have valid concerns and disagreements over ObamaCare.  But come on, that is just plain silly, and I don’t know if I want to entertain that idea in my blog.

Also, I don’t want my blog to be reported to flag@whitehouse.gov and have Rahm Emmanuel “straighten” me out on ObamaCare.  So, please, no criticisms of the plan.

Peace- I’m out.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please say it ain’t so…please…please…

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211215,00.html

They are remaking Red Dawn.

Why?  Why?  They are sure to ruin it.  My life is over…

 

An epiphany...

Sharel and I have been shaking our heads the past few weeks, and to a lesser extent for the past few years over how our democrat party politicians treat their constituents.  I was flabbergasted when Claire McCaskill admitted on a local radio show that although the majority of the calls coming into her office urged her to vote against the stimulus bill, she would ignore it because it did not represent everyone in her district.   It never computed in my mind why you would ignore the majority of your constituents.  After all, this is a representative republic, where we send representatives to Washington that will articulate the majority views of their districts.  I have spent many an hour trying to wrap my head around this break in logic.

But, today I had an epiphany.  A staple of the Democratic party is sticking up for the minorities, and I am not talking ethnic minorities, but the minority thought, the ideas that a lesser part of the people believe in.  This is how they can justify it.  When you combine the liberal elitist thinking that  majority thought is uninformed, sheep-like thought, then it is easy to see why they will still support things that most of their constituents don’t want.  Look at any hippie, or any college student, and their big thing is to be a “non-conformist”, by conforming to a group with less membership.  This explains why the dope smoking, Elvis Costello hat wearing, indie-music listening college student abhors the oppression of Tibetans, but is A-ok with the oppression of the Iraqi people.  Just look at him- drinking crappy overpriced coffee, his hatred of Wal-Mart and Jews/Christians, while working on his macbook listening to an indie-band (which is code for crap band).  Everything he does is to deliberately avoid the appearance of being part of the majority crowd. 

Liberal politicians are really just old hippies.  Plain and simple- they do not like to be identified with anything resembling the majority in this country.  Or, more than likely, they can’t stand the idea of people making choices and decisions without them.  After all, I’ve never met a liberal who wasn’t smarter than everyone else in the room (for proof, just watch an episode of “Whale Wars”, or just go down to the Westport Coffee house and strike up a conversation with any one).

On a side note, it is funny to see some of the liberal sites and the outrage they are displaying because their tactics have been hijacked.  Yes, there has been an organized effort to oppose healthcare, but big deal, what’s wrong with that?  After all, Premier Obama himself was a young community organizer before the party apparatchik noticed his commitment to freeing the oppressed peoples of the United States from the infernal system of democracy currently in place.  So why are the great unwashed so upset now that conservatives are doing the same thing?  Once again, I will refer you to “Whale Wars”.  I know only 4 people read my blog, and I am sure all have seen whale wars, but just in case- Whale Wars is a show on Animal Planet consisting of a group of young, environmentally conscious activists on a boat in the Antarctic harassing Japanese whalers.  The head of this ragtag group of know-it-alls is a founding member of GreenPeace, but is such a monumental a** that GreenPeace voted unanimously to kick him out.  The entertainment value that lies within the show is watching a bunch of liberal, hippie, elitists epically fail at everything they do. Seriously, if it wasn’t a documentary, it would most certainly be a comedy on the scale of 30 Rock or Scrubs.  As I mentioned earlier, just watch the show to see how they all think they are smarter than everyone else, and how they cry and are honestly  offended when the Japanese whalers use the hippies tactics against them.  Exactly what is happening now on a grand scale with these townhalls.  After all- Bush+Hitler= Free Speech, but Obama+Hitler=racist, hate speech that must be stopped.  To end- forget all the holocaust stuff, and look at who the Nazis were- National Socialists.  Now, which side of the political spectrum does this most closely relate?  I think the democrats at this point should pay Pelosi’s Doctor next time she gets a Botox injection to stick it in her vocal cords and shut that woman up.  (Pelosi is the one who brought Nazis into this whole debate)

Summary of my post:

1.        Liberals abhor the thought of any idea that is shared by a majority of the populace.

2.       Liberals think they are the smartest in the room

3.       Whale Wars=Fail (watch this Friday because they totally get pwned by the Japanese)

4.       Liberals=hypocrites of monumental proportions

5.       Most oppressive governments have been to the left of the political spectrum (they would most certainly have to be, since less government means less chances for authoritarian and totalitarian governments, and the Nazis were no more right wing extremists than Arlen Spectre is a conservative.)

Peace- I’m out.

first politics, then movies...

According to the media- I am fake angry over healthcare (shout out to Glenn Beck).  I guess I am really fake angry, and all those videos of people protesting are all fake angry, too.  In fact, we are soo fake angry that Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have just about had enough of our childish fake angriness.  We had better watch out, because they are telling us to simmer down and stop being fake angry.  Or else.  We need to stop being fake angry, because we are ruining their healthcare bill.  EVERYONE STOP BEING FAKE ANGRY OVER THIS!!!!!!!

 

In related news, Claire McCaskill is so worried about our fake angriness that she has canceled some of her meetings with constituents, although to give her some props, she did acknowledge that the fake angry people did have some legitimate questions.  (Although, I think she is just saying that to try to appease our fake angriness, as she has no intention of listening to childish fake angry tantrums ).  The HONORABLE, REVEREND, IMMACULATE Emmanuel Cleaver IIIIIIIIVXXIIXC, has foregone the public forum route, and has instead opted for a “teletownhall.”  For those not familiar- it is a giant conference call where an operator will decide whether or not to allow you to ask questions.  This is a lot better than a public forum because Cleaver’s staff is able to shush up all those fake angry people that are ruining healthcare reform.  You know, we should stop being fake angry over this, we are starting to make our politicians sweat a little bit, and that might ruin their $400 shirts.  Please, I beg and implore everyone to stop being fake angry over this.  Please.  For the love of Pete, STOP BEING FAKE ANGRY!!!  AND STOP DISSENTING WITH THE MAJESTIC, LORD POWERFUL, HIS HIGHNESS THE EMPEROR LORD PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!!!!  It is giving the appearance that people disagree with him, and he cannot do the work of Lenin with all these fake angry people out there. 

 

Instead of being fake angry, we need to remember this next November, and be Real Angry, and get these chuckleheads out of office.

 

Now on to movies.

 

Sharel and I were convinced that the worst sequel movie we had ever seen was National Treasure 2.  We were wrong, so very wrong.  The worst sequel movie we have ever seen is now the Mummy 3.  Like National Treasure, The Mummy was a good entertaining movie, that did fairly well.  The Mummy 2 was not as good as the first one, but still quite enjoyable to watch.  First the upside to Mummy 3- no Rachel Weisz.  That is the only upside I can think of.

 

If any of you have seen this, do you get the impression that the writers watched the Indiana Jones series before writing this?  If any of you saw Indian Jones 4: the Painful Death of a Beloved Franchise, do you recall what Indy did during the war?  Espionage.  And do you recall what Rick O’Connell and Not Rachel Weisz did during the war?  You guessed it, espionage.

 

Was there a secret society guarding the Chinese Mummy, sort of like the secret society guarding the Chalice in Indiana Jones 3: Indy Made More Awesome with the Addition of Sean Connery.  Also did you notice that Rick O’Connell got stabbed, and the only thing that could save him was the pool at Shangri-La, just like only holy water from the Cup could save Indy’s dad?

 

Or the Chinese Army that wanted the eye of Shangri La to become invinvicible, like the Nazis throughout the Indy Jones Franchise.

 

The father son conflict?

 

Anyway, even considering all these are just coincidences, it still is “The Mummy, Redux”.  Nothing original in it.  A few Sharel Observations:

Why put a curse on him, why not just strike him dead with a disease?

Why after putting an insane curse on him, would you give him an out where he becomes almost indestructible? (after dipping in the pool of Shagri-La he can turn into anything he wants, but mostly a dragon, some sort of hoofed beast, and Al Gore.)

How come he “partook” of the waters of Shangri-La, but was still not technically immortal, since a dagger through the heart made him throw up fire and disintegrate?

Yetis?  Really?

Why does Rick and Not Rachel Weisz find it so unbelievable that a magic dagger is the only thing that could kill the walking clay pot?  Think about it.

Not Rachel Weisz has a pure heart because she doesn’t want her husband killed?  Really? 

After that, Sharel fell asleep, so she didn’t have many more observations, and I watched it with the Subs on in 2x fast forward mode.  I was able to read the subtitles and got through the movie in half the time.  Which, if you happen to see it at all, is the only way to watch it.

 

Peace- I’m Out!