Now I don't want to get off on a rant here...

Shovelin Along

Living in the burbs of Baltimore means every time it snows you are supposed to shovel. I understand that other parts of the country find this to be a silly thing as they expect more snow to come down soon enough, so they just let it all pack down on top of itself. But here in Bawlmer we don’t do such things, we shovel and shovel again.

When you live alone, as I once did, or your wife is out of town as Maphet’s is, you have an option. To shovel or not to shovel, that is the question. When you are married and your wife wants the driveway to be safe from slipping you have no such option. Perhaps if the last snowfall hadn’t frozen over in blocks of ice on our driveway because I choose not to shovel, I would have had this option.

So I shoveled along trying to break the ice of last week with my $2 plastic snow shovel that needs to be replaced. Of course now is not the time to buy one because they jack the prices up. It’s also not the time to look for toilet paper or bread or milk, because even the hint of snow sends Bawlmer into a tizzy over these essentials.

Most of the driveway is done; enough to get two or three cars safely into and out of our house, plus the sidewalk to be neighborly and all. As an added bonus I wore my bright orange ski goggles as I shoveled to make my wife think I was silly and my neighbors think I was just plain weird. As fortunes would have it, the two ladies that live next door came out to shovel their driveway just as I was getting to edge of our mutual property line. They got to see me in full regale! Happy days indeed! I think Napoleon would be proud.

Relentless

I learned last night from my wife that the definition of the word WIFE is RELENTLESS. So after 21 straight days of relentless query of when I was going to get a haircut; today I get a haircut! I still hold onto a sliver of hope that my barber may be closed when I get there. It’s not so much that I don’t want to get haircut, but that I’ve been asked for the last 21 days if I was going to get one. It’s the principle of the thing, ya know? Let’s all wish together that we can make it 22!

Mom Just Called

My mom just called me to tell me that one of her closest friends lost her son in Iraq on Wednesday. He was one of the brave men that died in the helicopter crash claiming 30 other lives in western Iraq when their CH-53E Super Stallion went down in an apparent sandstorm.

Lance Cpl. Michael L. Starr Jr. was the 21 year old son of my mom’s friend and she had just gotten home from visiting their house. The family is obviously distraught and shocked at the news. However, they supported their son and his mission.

The Marines offered their thoughts and prayers in this press release. “While we mourn the loss of these heroes, we will honor their sacrifice by continuing our mission to bring democracy to the people of Iraq,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force. “To the families of these brave men, our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to you at this most difficult of times.”

A Fox News story shares the thoughts of another bereaved mother, “But the death of Cpl. Kyle J. Grimes, 21, a native of Bethlehem, Pa., has strengthened his mother's belief in the U.S. mission in Iraq.

"It makes me more convinced that we need to get this job done and have a positive influence there and make things better," Marybeth LeVan told The Express-Times of Easton, Pa., from her home in Louisiana."

I didn’t know Lance Cpl. Starr and I’m not particularly close to his parents, but my mom is and she was pretty upset at the news as well. I think in part she was thankful I wasn’t over there and she wanted to hear my voice. As any American should, we mourn the loss of our fallen soldiers and we thank their families for their sacrifice. He served a greater purpose than himself and was actively part of making Iraq safe for democracy. This is a reminder that we need to honor and support all those that fight against tyranny and for freedom.

UPDATE:
When I read this to my mother last night over the phone she started crying. She doesn't show emotion a lot, but when she does you know you really touched her heart. I love you too Mom!

Freedom is on the March

Despite Sen. Ted Kennedy's best efforts, democracy and freedom are on the march.

UPDATE:

V-day Gift?!

Oh please, oh please let my wife read my blog today! Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Liberal Principles I

With the availability of some Air America shows on XM Radio, most of the blogs listed on Crablogs and the general loudness of the drones immediately following the disappointment of the election and inauguration, I have been trying to understand the underlying principles of those on the left side of the political spectrum. I don’t believe these are universal by any means, but I do believe they encapsulate what I have been seeing.

There tends to be a completely different set of principles operating there than with conservatives.
1. A god has no control nor exerts any influence in the world today, whether he created the world or not
2. War is never the answer
3. Don’t trust your government
4. Government should play a limited role in the enforcement of morality, but a major role in the enforcement financial equality
5. Morality is relative to the personal choice of the individual and there should always be a safety net against the consequences of those personal choices

These principles begin with the universe and work their way inward toward the person. I realize there are nuances to every one of these principles that could rule out a persons adherence to them, but these are the over-arching principles I see in the rank-and-file Democratic Party today.

Now I disagree with every single one of these principles. I also understand that a lot of that flows from my disagreement with point number 1. But I hope to unwrap some additional thoughts here that will hopefully bring me further understanding of liberal principles, further understanding of people who believe in them and despite my disagreement with them why we are both important to our democratic republic government.

To be continued…

Sweet Mama Jama

I love sports, especially hometown teams. I have a passion for baseball that runs deeper than anything else. Getting married this past September as shown me the need to pick and choose my real opportunities for free time. Didn't pay that much attention to the Raven's season nor the NFL Playoffs and I haven't caught a MD Terps game since the season started. But tonight I got to see the second half of the beauty above! So to that I say, "SWEET MAMA JAMA!!!"

Distracted

I have found it rather difficult since the beginning of the year to concentrate on work, while I am at work. There are so many different things playing into this distaste I don’t even know what are justifiable and what are just complaining?! I don’t like to complain about things because I like to take proactive steps to correcting problems rather than sit there and sulk about it.

Overwhelmed, doing things I don’t like to do or aren’t even remotely related to my job function, relationship with my boss, money, monotony, looming deadlines, constant need for change, merger/acquisition talks, questioning if the Lord is directing me towards a career change. These are just off the top of my head and none of them are easily solvable, at least it appears that way to me. Amy and I have been in prayer and I just want to enjoy doing my job again.

Today I discovered another reason for my distractions at work, but this is something that I hope all married men are fortunate enough to experience. Prior to getting married you have all the time in the world and can easily concentrate on your career. You can work as many hours as you like. Come in early. Leave late. It’s all good. No worries.

Now every morning I wake up next to my beautiful wife, I don’t want to get out of bed and I just want to go into work late. Since she is working part-time now and is home most afternoons, I also find myself wanting to leave work early to go home and be with her. Coming in late. Leaving early. This does not make for a great employee. It certainly doesn’t help me get my work done, but it is a pleasant distraction.

So while I have plenty of reasons to be distracted while at work, at least I have one reason that makes me smile! I make every effort to leave work at work, but you can never leave home at home when it comes to love of your family. May we all be blessed with such burdens of love!

This better not be a Joke

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

The Legendary HFS returns tonight!
Last Wednesday, January 12th, at 12 noon WHFS signed off the air...

Listen tonight at 7 PM to LIVE 105.7 Baltimore to witness the return of The Legendary HFS. Thank you, because without YOU this never could have happened.

Favorable Versus Unfavorable

The favor is a beautiful thing. It is defined as, “A gracious, friendly, or obliging act that is freely granted”. We do favors for people all the time, be it a neighbor, a friend or a family member. It can become quite common in busy offices for a colleague to ask, “Can you do me a favor?” Generally, we are giving people and happy or not we acquiesce to the request and help someone out.

As an IT guy, you are a fairly hot commodity. Doing a favor for someone becomes more commonplace because so many people that own computers don’t know how to operate them. I am asked frequently to help someone out with a computer problem, I get paid for this at work, but at home they are favors. I never expect payment, nor do I want it. I am generally happy to help someone out, as long as I have the time.

Time, that’s a hot commodity itself in the world today. So many different things eat away at this precious object. When I have the time I am more than happy to do someone a favor. I enjoy helping others and serving their needs. This tends to be the problem with the favor though, that the person asking is now at the mercy of the person giving’s time schedule.

We have a boss asking his employee, an IT guy, to do some work on a personal home computer because it is broken. This IT guy originally helped his boss purchase the computer. However, his boss wants him to fix the computer while at work. This IT guy is quite busy with many other projects, puts the computer in his workshop with plans to look at it when he gets a chance. This is the set-up for doing someone a favor, which may be an inappropriate favor but it is a favor.

Now when the IT guy doesn’t get to working on the computer right away, he gets to hear complaints about his boss’s wife wanting to know when it will be ready. After hearing this for about a week, the IT guy sets aside other important projects to look at the computer. Apparently, there are all kinds of problems and this becomes a very time consuming process. Yet still, the litany of complaints about the status of the computer, the wife’s need to have it back soon and where is certain other information said boss needs from IT guy continue. This is what I call an unfavorable reaction to a favor.

Now we have a friend asking an IT friend to take a look at a computer that he has built. The friend has been working with other friends to try to build a computer and has ended up with nothing more than a pretty light show so far. The IT friend is more than happy to take a look at the light show to try to make it a bit more functional. He is unable to determine what the problem is, but offers to do some research. Because of time, he has not been able to complete this research but there have been no complaints from the friend. In fact, he expressed much gratitude at the IT friend at least taking a look at the computer in the first place and appreciated the efforts. This is what I call a favorable reaction to a favor.

So the question is; “Is it better to cause an unfavorable reaction to a favor, thus eliminating the possibility of future favors and get the job done OR is it better to cause a favorable reaction to favor ensuring access to future favors and waiting a bit to get the job done?” I would consider it a FAVOR to receive some answers to this question that is plaguing my thoughts right now and making me not want to come to work!

Something for Everyone

Today you will hear President George W. Bush recite these words, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Because of my granddaddy of all Christmas presents, I have discovered the wonderful joy that is CSPAN! Try to hold back your own excitement over this for just a moment. But they will be covering the 2005 Inauguration from all angles. There is something for everyone here.

For the righty:
C-SPAN
Inaugural Day Activities

For the lefty:
C-SPAN2
Inaugural Protest

For the historian:
C-SPAN3
President F. Roosevelt Inaugural Address

Second Term Preview 2

The President gears up for four more years. Ready or not, here it comes!

Creating Opportunity for American Workers
o Reforming America’s High Schools: President Bush will provide $250 million annually to extend assessment of student reading and math skills
o Jobs for the 21st Century Initiative: President Bush will provide $500 million for Jobs for the 21st Century, which will help educate and train high-skilled American workers in schools and community colleges.
o Tax Reform: President Bush will work to make the tax code simpler for taxpayers, encourage saving and investment, and improve the economy’s ability to create jobs and raise wages.
o Opportunity Zones: President Bush will create new Opportunity Zones, which will encourage public and private investment and provide priority consideration for Federal benefits to communities that are under economic hardship.

Helping American Families in a Changing World
o Helping the Working Uninsured by Expanding Health Savings Accounts: President Bush will propose a tax credit for Health Savings Account contributions to help individuals and families who work for small businesses fund their Health Savings Accounts.
o Make Health Care Accessible: President Bush will call for a community health center in every poor county in America.
o Promote Comp-Time and Flex-Time: President Bush will work to enable employees to choose paid time off as an alternative to overtime pay and to give employees the option of shifting work hours during a pay period.
o Crack Down on Drugs in School: President Bush will increase funding for school drug testing to help students resist peer pressure and help parents intervene with students in need.

Promoting an Era of Ownership
o Homeownership: President Bush will provide assistance to help America to meet his new goal of creating 7 million new, affordable homes in 10 years.
o Social Security Reform: President Bush will strengthen and enhance Social Security, guaranteeing no changes in benefits for current retirees and near-retirees, while giving younger workers the opportunity to use their Social Security payroll taxes to build a nest egg for retirement that can be passed on to their families.
o Help Small Businesses: President Bush will help small businesses in a number of ways, including by allowing them to band together to provide more affordable health care for their employees through Association Health Plans.

Defending American Lives and Liberty
o Fight the War on Offense: President Bush will continue to lead a worldwide coalition to fight terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home.
o Intelligence Reform: President Bush will work with a new National Intelligence Director to improve the quality and quantity of our intelligence and our ability to disrupt and prevent terrorist attacks.
o Troop Redeployment: President Bush will restructure American forces overseas to use existing forces more effectively and to support servicemen, servicewomen and their families more efficiently.

Supporting Our Communities and Honoring American Values of Compassion and Service
o Judges: President Bush will continue to appoint to Federal courts well-qualified judges who share his commitment to strictly interpret the law.
o Welfare Reform: President Bush will continue to press for reauthorization of welfare reform and to build on its successes; strengthening families and helping more welfare recipients achieve independence through work.
o Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: President Bush will continue to support the good work of community and faith-based groups and help ensure that these charities can participate in Federal, state and local programs without discrimination.

Second Term Preview!

Come One! Come All!
Step right up and buy a ticket to the most tumultuous show on Earth!
GEOPOLITICS!
It’s a three ring circus and you’re invited!

As always, we worked hard to keep the jabs even handed – which is no easy task in this era of red and blue! So before we wrote lyrics, we put together a list of things every rationale human could agree on:
1) George Bush is going to be President for the next four years (barring any incriminating DNA evidence);
2) There are a lot of Liberals who hate Conservatives and a lot of Conservatives who hate Liberals; and
3) World leaders just can’t seem to get their @#$% together.

Conservative Thoughts from the Cafeteria

Fade in on man and women eating dinner
“Oh I’m full, I can’t eat anymore!”
“Just put it in your purse”
“What?!”
“Yeah, just put it in your purse. We don’t need to bother the waitress with getting one of those boxes. It’ll be fine.”
“But it’s soup?!”
“What’s your point?”
Fade out

Fade in on man and kid standing in room with other kids
“Is it okay to eat one of those cupcakes?”
“I’m not sure, but just to be safe, put one in your pocket when you get a chance so no one will see!”
“It’s a cupcake though”
“Yeah I know!”
Fade out

To a man, namely this man but I'm sure I speak for others, nature’s napkin can be the inside of his pockets or even his socks. We aren’t burdened by such dainty exploits like manners or proper hygiene. We are free to be creative and always find the most sensible solution to any given problem. Just because liquid would leak from a purse or the icing from a cupcake would come off in your pocket, is no reason to not employ these excellent ideas when you are in a fix.

Even Napoleon Dynamite would agree with this line of thinking. This is a man who puts [tater] tots in his pocket to save them for later. It’s a perfect solution when you are sitting in the cafeteria; know you will be hungry later in class and need to munch on something.

And what a better place than your pocket? They stay warm, readily available and best of all; you are using all your resources to your advantage. Tree huggers around the world should all take a lesson from Napoleon. This is a brave new world we are entering and may it be known that I have been making decisions like these for years now! We all need to do our part to conserve.

The Phantom Voice

So it appears that polygamy night will become a weekly event, as Amy’s two friends came over for dinner again. This time we went to see the movie version of “The Phantom of the Opera” after dinner at The Avenue at White Marsh.

I’m sure many have experienced annoying talkative people during movies, and just as fortunes have it last night was one of those nights. It’s difficult to beat the scene of the black woman screamin, “OH YOU BETTA THROW DAT RING IN THAIR” when Frodo is standing at the edge and turns away to decide he wants to keep the ring after all, but this was close.

These kids sitting behind us must have been the fidgetiest bunch in the world, constantly moving around in their chairs and consequently kicking the seats in front them; otherwise known as the back of our seats. They were also the loudest whisperers, as it was easy to hear everything that came out of their mouths. Apparently one girl thought the Phantom was the cutest and I think the effeminate boy behind me did too. Another enjoyable little quirk was the high pitched baby like voice that would be heard throughout the whole theatre, “SHEEPY” or “SNOW” whenever in fact a sheep or snow appeared on screen. Perhaps the greatest gift was the over-exaggerated deep breath, that once started went down the entire line of 8 kids or so in succession and then started over again.

I sat there debating how exactly I was going to turn around and respond to them. The Phantom voice in my head went back and forth between politeness, slightly irritated, the voice of impending doom and a 10 minute diatribe about the selfishness of those that talk during movies. I struggled with being patient and graceful in the way I presented my message while aptly expressing my distress at their continued annoyance. Back and forth the voice inside my head went and I prepared to turn around and say, “Can you at least pretend to be polite?!” But for some reason they quieted down for a moment and I regained my cool.

About 10 minutes later they picked back up the chatter, during a very quiet moment in the movie. And the most beautiful thing happened. Wife #3, Jill, turned around and said, “can you guys stop, PLEASE!?” They were finally quiet! While I was struggling with how to show the love of Christ and convey the need for them to be quiet, Jill had no such barrier.

It was a great movie by the way and an excellent adaptation of the play. It was really neat to see certain scenes come alive in way that can’t happen on stage. Also to be able to get a lot closer to a scene or character added another level of depth to the story.

Afterwards, the ladies discussed how they were going to fill my schedule and divide my week up amongst them. Now this is all in jest of course, so if anyone is looking for a couple wives I know two very lovely and attractive women you should meet!

This has to be a Joke

If only it were April 1st and this could be written off as one of the most elaborate pranks of all time. Or that Greg at Presence was the ultimate hacker getting even with me for daring to debate theological issues with him?! But alas, 99.1 WHFS esta muerto (is dead)!? 99.1 El Zol esta nace (is born).

Viacom, Infinity Broadcasting’s parent company, put out a press release yesterday.

“Infinity Broadcasting announced today the launch of a new Spanish-language radio station in Washington, D.C. "El Zol" 99.1 WHFS-FM will play a current hit blend of Caribbean and Central American dance music and is targeted to adults 25-54. The station launched today at 12:00 Noon.”

“said Joel Hollander, President and Chief Operating Officer, Infinity Broadcasting. "There exists a tremendous opportunity for Infinity to launch a Spanish-language format in Washington, D.C. where almost 10% of the population is not being directly served.”

They state their demographic being 25-54 year old adults, but they go on to qualify this a bit. In reality their demographic is 10% of the 25-54 year old adults and not as broad as they originally stated. Obviously, being a 27 year old non-spanish speaking adult I don’t feel I fall within their stated demographic.

I haven’t listened to WHFS much in the past few years, but not because I didn’t enjoy their music. It had more to do with my growing interest in politics and talk radio and my growing disinterest in the overly sexualized overtones of the DJ’s. But still, it was a flagship to Alternative rock music in this area and the source of many memories; including many fun times at HFStivals and Nutcrackers concerts.

“[U]p in the air is the fate of the annual HFStival and winter Nutcracker rock concerts. The spokeswoman said they might continue, although people familiar with the situation said that was unlikely“says Adios, WHFS in the Washington Times.

Such is life though and times do change. Although this is a disappointing change and taken in a very odd direction. I just wonder what William Donald Schaefer has to say about this?

Dreams do come true

Warning: Tongue and cheek post below

I’m sitting in a room, which I think is in my office building somewhere. There are a bunch of chairs behind me that are all filled with chattering people. My boss is facing me seated in a chair of his own and he is laughing. He has some sort of multicolored robe or sash around his neck and is lifting his hands into the air. Next to me is a woman that I can only describe as Jewish because she doesn’t have any other discernable features. And I am sitting there racking my brain, trying to figure out how I am going to tell my wife, Amy, that my boss just married me to some Jewish girl!

The alarm goes off and I awake from a very weird vivid dream. Apparently I wasn’t so much worried in the dream that I was becoming a polygamist, but was trying to figure out a way to soften that blow to my WIFE! So I go about the rest of my day relieved that the woman wasn’t a particular person that I knew and forced to wonder if I have some sort of hidden feelings for someone. Dodge a bullet there!

Later that evening I arrive home and there are two cars parked outside my house that aren’t usually. Amy had invited a couple friends to go to a candle party with her and they were there to have dinner with us before heading out. So I walk into the house and my wife and her two friends are in the kitchen cooking dinner together.

We exchange hellos and Amy’s friend Jill says, “Looks like you have yourself a little polygamist home here!”

I stand perplexed for a moment trying to remember what polygamist meant and then stunned that she said that, followed by a very lame, “Well you know…I do what can.” And for a moment I wonder if the Mormons have it right after all? Thankfully my wife found it funny too!

After dinner they left for the party with Amy leading giving me a hug and kiss, while they filed behind her giving me a hug and a “kiss”. And I think to myself, polygamy is Biblical isn’t it?!

As I related this story to a friend, he cheered “DREAMS DO COME TRUE!”

Paranoia to the Nth Degree

Warning! Following the link below may cause conspiracy theorists permanent mental distress! Please use caution when clicking!

Think of all the possible places this could be implemented!

You’ll Huff and you’ll Puff II

One of the great responsibilities we have as citizens of the USA is the responsibility to take part in the shaping of our country through the electoral process. We have the responsibility to elect leaders to represent our points of view to the rest of the nation and to the world. However, when the candidate(s) that we voted for does not win, that is voter disappointment and not voter disenfranchisement.

When you don’t go to the polls to take part in the process as 40% of the country’s eligible voters didn’t do, you do not stand on very solid ground stating your disenfranchisement. These individuals showed their apathy on November 2nd and their hypocrisy on November 3rd.

Now to further escalate their hypocrisy and to appease the conspiracy theorists certain members of Congress have chosen to object to the election results. In fact, Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-D) dedicated her objections to the Ohio elections to king conspiracy theorist Michael Moore’s propagandamentry “Fahrenheit 911”. They are attempting to echo the issues of the 2000 election in Florida and repeat the perception of similar problems in Ohio. This time though there is the acknowledgment that they are not trying to overturn the election, but simply trying to bring to light election irregularities.

Being an election judge in Maryland, I was able to see first hand a great deal of the election process and take part in that. Below are three main points from the objection to the Ohio election results.

The State of US Elections by John Nichols
"[B]ased on the evidence of voter disenfranchisement, flawed or corrupted voting machinery, and inappropriate procedures for counting and recounting votes in Ohio”
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ON THE CONYERS REPORT--PRESERVING DEMOCRACY-- WHAT WENT WRONG IN OHIO--FOLLOWS:
• There were widespread instances of intimidation and misinformation in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, Equal Protection, Due Process and the Ohio Right to Vote.
• The misallocation of voting machines led to unprecedented long lines that disenfranchised scores, if not hundreds of thousands, of predominantly minority and Democratic voters.
• Mr. Blackwell's failure to articulate clear and consistent standards for the counting of provisional ballots resulted in the loss of thousands of predominantly minority votes.

These members of Congress are taking evidence that people didn’t vote in certain areas and attributing that to violations of civil rights rather than voter apathy. I would not presume to assume that it was apathy rather than intimidation, but since there were so many get out the vote efforts across the country on bipartisan levels, I find it hard to believe that people were prevented from getting to the polls to vote if they so desired. This is not republican apologeticism, but the use of common sense. There is a level of cynicism that exists here that many people need to see the worst case scenario rather than the most likely one.

The allocation of the voting machines is done by the specific counties themselves. The counties being disputed or focused on are democratically run counties and thus there is no one to blame for the allocation of the machines than the democrats themselves. Furthermore, the unprecedented long lines played right against the first objection to voters being disenfranchised and prevented from voting. It also says more about the 30 second attention span of Americans and their lack of patience than it does about voters being prevented from fulfilling their responsibility to their country. Don’t take our democratic republic for granted!

The final objection is regarding the counting and recounting procedures. Part of the reason for margin of error percentages in these counting procedures is because of human error. Even in Maryland, where we use electronic voting there is still an element of human counting. Every time you rely upon human elements you will have a margin of error because we are not perfect and this is an untraceable error. When there are computer errors, which yield a much lower percentage you can usually trace it back to the source and log the error. Electronic voting systems have paper and audit trails; it is false to say that they don’t. I performed these audits myself in the printing of the reports and tallying of votes from the machines at my own polling location.

If we were to remove more and more of the human element in the counting of votes and move away from antiquated technology that requires a hole to be punched in cardboard, we would have a much more reliable voting system. We would also have a better ability to trace errors when they occur and repair the system.

Finally, the largest problem I see with voter fraud is the inability to require identification from voters. Very general information is asked for the most part that anyone with access to the internet could find out about people. This does not ensure the voter is who they say they are. If we want the election system to be transparent, then we must require that your identity can be truly verified. This makes people squirm because the ACLU has them convinced this is a violation of their civil liberties in some way.

We need to take responsibility for our electoral process and participate in productive ways. This objection while trying to shed light on election irregularities, focused on the wrong things and at the wrong time. Perhaps the overwhelming defeat of their objection by the Congress (Senate 74-1 & House 267-31) will help these democrats to see their points of view are out of step with America, and help them to focus on the real issues. We can only hope.

Man of the Year

Times Man of the Year could be no other than the most important man in the world. I say this because George W. Bush is the leader of the country with the most influence and source of positive change in the world. No one was more scrutinized, analyzed and criticized in 2004 than this man. He has been tested and has not wavered an inch.

Many politicians would have tried to play it safe after the controversy of the 2000 election and the level of focus from the world on the 2004 election. That didn’t happen. “Bush ran big and bold and specific all at the same time, rivaling Reagan in breadth of vision and Clinton in tactical ingenuity. He surpassed both men in winning bigger majorities in Congress and the statehouses.”

Our President didn’t cave in the face of adversity and he showed the resolve and character that is needed by the leader of this great nation. He embodied the character of the American people as we have always fought for what we believe in. “Bush admits to savoring a good fight. ‘I think the natural instinct for most people in the political world is they want people to like them," he says, "On the other hand, I think sometimes I take kind of a delight in who the critics are.’”

Whether you agree with the direction he is taking the country or not, you cannot deny the strength of his character. But this country is a democratic republic and the will of the people is represented in more ways than just the historic number of votes he received for President and the 48% of the country that voted against him (not for Kerry). The will of the people is also represented in the Congress and the majority margin grew wider in favor of President’s party because the American people want to see George W. Bush accomplish the goals he has set for this country.

To say that his first term was a failure is to be ignorant of the facts. “Bush is already the most legislatively successful President since Lyndon Johnson, according to the Congressional Quarterly, roughly 80% of the legislation he supported has passed.” So how likely is it that his second term will be equally successful? “[H]is domestic goals for the second term - from Social Security reform to tax restructuring to deficit reduction - mirror his ambition of the foreign policy revolution of his first. “

The 2004 Man of the Year will be noted in history as a clear visionary in difficult times that guided the American people into the 21st century. “In his pursuit of a second term, Bush was just as radical as he was in his conduct of a pre-emptive war. As a politician, he showed the same discipline, secrecy and nerve he demonstrated in his conduct as President. So he emerges with his faith only deepened in the transformational power of clear leadership.”

You'll Huff and you'll Puff

This is so sad. Apparently Jesse Jackson isn’t the only one in America trying with all their might to hold out hope that they just haven’t woken up from a terrible nightmare that began the night of November 2nd, 2004.

Justice Through Music
$200,000 REWARD
to any person or persons who provide conclusive and verifiable evidence that the results of the 2004 presidential election were not correctly tabulated because of one or more of the following reasons: 1) hacking into the voting machines; 2) software or coding problems with voting or tabulating machines; 3) multiple counting by machines or humans, 4) improperly implanted codes in voting machines; 5) tampering with voting machines, voting cards or final tabulation numbers; 6) officials or machines not counting all the votes or adding votes; 7) official influence which changed vote totals, or 8) other problems with vote tabulation not noted here.

I realize we need to seek truth and we need assurances that our political process is stable. We need to be able to count on our governement to maintain the overall well being of the American people.

Do we need to disillusion ourselves like Jesse Jackson and Justice Through Music? Do we need to try to create false truths and distort facts? I don’t believe that adds to the betterment of this process. It degraded in 2000 to legal wars and thankfully John Kerry spared us from a repeat.

Nancy Pelosi believes that democrats lost because they haven’t been able to effectively get their message out there. I’m afraid they have very effectively gotten it out there and it has been rejected. The majority of this country does not accept their ideals and versions of truth. This election should have been a landslide victory for George Bush, but it wasn’t and that speaks directly to the effectiveness of the democratic message.

There comes a time when you need to accept facts as facts and truth as truth. Jesse, JTM, Nancy…the clock is ticking.

Asia Tsunami Disaster Relief

One of the wonderful things about being American is counting on the generosity of our country. The first thing I thought of when this horrific event occurred was that our country both publicly through the government and privately through individuals was going to be the leader in bring aide to these people. This is one of the great many reasons we are used for as a positive change in the world.

These events remind us of how fragile life is and how easily it can end. Are you ready to meet your creator? Prepare your heart now and you will always be ready.

Who will you give to?

Mission to the World
The stories are shocking and surreal. Babies ripped from parents’ arms. Snorkelers raked across coral reefs. Children and elderly not strong enough to hold on. Sunbathers swept to sea. Entire families buried beneath furious waters. And the sheer sorrow of the survivors, many wishing they had died

Thanks to those of you who have inquired about the PCA's response to the unimaginable disaster in Asia. Response to this tragedy is being called the largest disaster relief response in the history of the world. PCA churches and members have always been faithful to help in such times, and Mission to the World is now facilitating a response to aid Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

You can help in three ways:
1. Pray
2. Give
3. Go

World Vision
World Vision teams are providing immediate relief in many of the worst affected areas of Asia, distributing survival packs of food, bottled water, medicine, sleeping mats, clothing, and household items to tens of thousands of people in the wake of massive tsunamis that swept the coasts of at least 10 countries on Dec. 26.

World Relief
An Indian man cries as he holds the hand of his eight-year-old son who was killed when a tsunami hit in Cuddalore, India on Sunday.

Giant tidal waves triggered by an undersea earthquake killed more than 125,0000 around Asia.

Millions of people are homeless, and the disaster zone is now threatened with outbreaks of disease. The destruction is indescribable.

World Relief will be providing support to indigenous partners, focusing on India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

In Sri Lanka, the National Christian Evangelical Alliance has 400 volunteers working 3 shifts putting together emergency distribution packages for families containing rice, sugar,tea leaves, water, plastic sheeting, blankets and clothes, soap, toothpaste, etc.

UPDATE 1.4.05:

USA Freedom Corps
President George W. Bush - Statement from December 29, 2004
This morning, I spoke with the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and expressed my condolences and our country's condolences. I told them of our support; I praised their steadfast leadership during these difficult times. We're grateful to the American and international organizations that are working courageously to save lives and to provide assistance, and I assured those leaders this is only the beginning of our help.