America does not deserve Barack Obama

Throughout this entire week, a story by Bob Novak has been circulating, in which he stated that Mike Huckabee was publicly endorsing John McCain, but was privately saying that America deserved Barack Obama as her President. This information supposedly came from a “creditable” religious right source that claimed to have first-hand knowledge of Huckabee’s statements. I do not know if Huckabee feels this way, only he can answer that. He has came out with a very strong statement that denies the story is true. You can read this very strong denial here. Personally, I believe what Mike Huckabee says in denying the reports. I do not see how anyone on the religious right could say America deserves someone like Barack Obama as her President.

Consider this. How could America deserve someone that wants to raise taxes on Americans? We are already under enough of a tax burden, as it is. The average American family has a hard time making ends meet. I am not talking about people like President Bush, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or John Edwards. Those people haven’t had a hard time making ends meet for a long time. I was listening to NPR yesterday morning and they were talking about how Hillary Clinton was in debt 20 million dollars and they were wondering how she was going to pay off the debt. I am sure she won’t have to worry too much. She will pull it off in one way or the other.

Consider this as well. How could America deserve someone who actively fights against the rights of the unborn child? Barack Obama isn’t someone who is just fighting for the “right of a woman to choose”. He has worked against the passage of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. How could we deserve someone who wants to refuse medical aid to an infant who just survived a murder attempt?

As convinced as I am that our country is in a terrible shape, there is no way I could ever agree that we deserve Barack Obama. Listening to him speak on the radio this morning, he was talking about having one America that would rise and fall together. He sounds good and talks a good talk. He has deceived a lot of people into believing he is the right man for the job. He has convinced a lot of Christians that he is the right man to vote for. I just wished they would stop listening to his rhetoric and start looking at how he as conducted himself in the Illinois state legislature and in the United States Senate. Looking at that record and at the things he has said about America, the man would cause irreparable damage to America and her citizens.  The idea that he may very well be our next President turns my stomach with fear.

That’s my take!

Larry

A story about a Prince

This morning, I was reading an article over at One Mom, about her Sussex Spaniel.  In the article, she mentioned her Collie that passed away last year and it brought many memories to my mind about a Collie I used to have.  His name was Prince and this will be part of his story.  First, a little background.

When my twin brother and I first entered junior high school, we gained access to the school library and we discovered an author by the name of Albert Payson Terhune.  We fell in love with his stories and the dogs he wrote about.  Most of them were Collies and we determined that one day, we would have a Collie.  We went in together and bought one from a pet store and of course, we named him Lad, after the most famous Collie Terhune wrote about.  He was something special and we were very fond of him.  Gary was especially close to him because I moved away to college and he basically became Gary’s dog.

Several years later, after Tammy and I were married for a short time, we had a baby boy.  His name was Tyrel and he lived for about twelve hours.  (He would have been eighteen years old May 6th.)  As you can imagine, Tammy was very depressed after he passed away.  Some weeks after the funeral, we were coming back from choosing the headstone for Tyrel’s grave and as we came through Siloam Springs, Arkansas, Tammy noticed a pickup going down the road with two Collies in the back.  It had a sign on the back that said “free collies”.  Needless to say, we chased them down and brought both of them home.  Prince was seven months old at the time, still a puppy, but what a puppy.  He was already huge and he didn’t have his full coat or his full growth.  In his prime, he weighed in at 110 pounds and was a giant, both in body and in spirit.

I have yet to have a dog that was as smart as Prince.  He just seemed to understand what you said and what you wanted. When we first brought him home, he was bad to rear up and place his feet on a person’s chest.  The first time he did it to me, I told him no and pushed him down.  It took just a couple of times and until the day he died, he could not be enticed to jump up on anyone.  After we had him a while, he got the back gate open on our chain link fence and made his way to my father-in-law’s house, just down the road.  He had a female dog that was in heat and Prince went to check it out. When I realized where he had went, I walked down the road and put him on a leash.  We trotted all the way home and when I put him back in the yard, I walked him back to the gate, pointed him at the gate, told him no, and rapped his nose twice.  A few minutes later, I checked on him and he was nosing around the gate again.  I stuck my head out the door and sharply told him no again.  He never tried to get out again.

After we moved from the Siloam Springs area, back to Roland, Oklahoma, he had to stay at our old place, until we could get a fence put up.  My in-laws moved into our trailer and they called and said we had to do something because he was walking the fence, wondering what had happened to his family.  We were all relieved to get him moved to his new home in Roland and for us all to be together again.

Prince had a personality all his own.  His tail had been broken on the very tip and I will always believe it was from a car. Most Collies and a lot of dogs will chase cars, but not Prince.  He stayed away from vehicles and if there was another dog in the yard with him, they didn’t chase cars either.  He would physically take them by the back of the neck, put them on the ground and stand over them until the vehicle was passed.  It was funny to watch, but Prince meant business.  He would get very forceful, if necessary.  Lots of teeth showing and all of that.

The main fault that Prince had was his intolerance of another grown dog in the yard.  If it was a male, the fight would be on and Prince refused to back down.  If it was a female, he made sure she knew who was the boss.  He was unafraid to challenge another dog, no matter how big he was.  When it came to puppies, he wouldn’t bother them, but he just wanted to be left alone.  However, he wouldn’t tolerate something bothering a puppy he felt belonged to him. Once, we had a little puppy for a while and I was walking them around the block.  Prince was on a leash, but the puppy was not. He was just staying right with his big buddy.  I stopped to talk to a neighbor that had a pit bull.  Prince paid the other dog no mind, until the pit snarled and snapped at the puppy through the fence.  It was all I could do to hold Prince back and I fully believe there would have been a major battle, if there hadn’t been a fence between them.  He was very protective of anything that he perceived to be his.

For all of his size, and his bluster, Prince was a big baby at heart.  As I mentioned, he was afraid of vehicles and that included riding in them.  I tried to get him used to riding, but I felt sorry for him and stopped trying.  The last time I remember having him in my truck, he rode in the back with Alisha and Randi and he was trying to get in their lap, he was so afraid.

When it came to children, he was the best.  He was very gentle and protective of them and it didn’t matter if they were know to him or strangers.  Once, there was a birthday party across the street and because our yard was bigger, the kids were in our yard playing.  Prince got a little tired of all the commotion and went away from the crowd a little ways and laid down.  A little girl that was about five years old followed him and when he laid down, she sat on the ground, laid her hed over on his big shoulder and went to sleep.  He had never seen her before, but that didn’t matter.

I suppose I could go on and on about Prince.  He was a very special dog and there will never be another like him. Putting him down was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but he was a very sick dog and I know it was the right thing to do.  Just so you know how magnificent he was, I have found a picture that was taken before the time of digital cameras. It is a little grainy, but I managed to use my digital camera to take this picture of an older picture. He was something special.  One of those dogs that you had to know to believe.

A preview of the Democratic campaign against John McCain

I have aluded to this in an earlier post, but as I was coming into work this morning, I was reminded of it by a Democratic super delegate talking on NPR’s Morning Edition.  They were talking about Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the nomination and how long it would likely take before the nominee was known.  Somehow, they circled around to John McCain and the first thing they mentioned was how John McCain would basically be four more years of President Bush and the war in Iraq.

To be honest, I really liked President Bush and the way he handled the 9/11 crisis.  He struck me as an open and honest man, a “human” President, if you will.  As time progressed after 9/11 and the war in Iraq got into full swing, I have come to realize, he certainly isn’t perfect.  There were a lot of things that were handled very badly, especially to do with Iraq.  I still believe President Bush is a good man, but I have come to believe that he is a good man who surrounded himself with bad people and people who gave him bad advice. Vice-President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield were two of the worst.  They have both shown a complete disregard for the military and their ability and knowledge to carry on the war in Iraq and to wage the war against global terrorism.

As this political campaign moves closer to the general election in November, it is clear that a lot of American people want the war in Iraq to be over and they want President Bush and his people out of office. If there isn’t a majority wanting this, then it is a very vocal minority and they are made louder by our liberal media.  We need to face the facts.  President Bush is not a well liked man. A lot of our citizens despise him and a lot of Republican candidates are very aware of this fact.  That is why you see so many of them distancing themselves from him.  That brings us to John McCain.

McCain has been very outspoken about staying the course in Iraq and not leaving until the job is finished. I understand his viewpoint on this and agree with it, simply because I believe it would be a big mistake to leave Iraq before we have accomplished what we set out to do.  That being said, I believe a lot of American people do not see it that way.  Right now, they are looking at John McCain and seeing how he has stood beside President Bush and agreed with him on Iraq.  Admittedly, McCain has issues on which he disagrees with the President, but that is not what is being brought to light by the media. Right now, he is being portrayed as being “four more years of Bush”, and when the general election campaign gets into full gear, I believe the Democrats are going to come out swinging with this same issue. There will be a lot of people who will cast their vote against John McCain for this reason only.  Couple that with the fact that a lot of conservatives do not trust McCain when it comes to social issues and because of McCain-Fiengold, and John McCain is facing a giant, uphill battle to win the White House.

I have heard a lot of talk about John McCain and how he will win the election because of different reasons.  Some of them have to do with his gender and his race, that he will win because of a percieved “white man” syndrome.  The people who have told me this simply believe the majority of Americans will vote for John McCain over Barack Obama because he is white and Obama is black.  I am afraid these people are underestimating the hatred that is felt for President Bush and the war in Iraq and I am afraid that hatred is going to carry the election in November.  I hope I am wrong.

That’s my take!

Larry

Can the Obama Express be derailed?

The following is the lead paragraph in an AP story about Barack Obama and his winning the North Carolina Democratic primary on May 6, 2008.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama’s march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton - even as their primary marathon staggered on.

For several weeks, question after question has been raised about Barack Obama and his association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Questions have been raised about Michelle Obama and her true feelings about our country. Questions have been raised about Obama and his true feelings towards the common people of America.  Past presidential candidates have had their campaigns destroyed by questions such as these.  If I recall correctly, Howard Dean’s presidential campaign was flattened by his emotional outburst before Iowa.  Through all of this, it appears as if Barack Obama is incapable of being stopped as he moves ever closer to securing the nomination, despite anything Hillary Clinton can do to stop him.  Before I go on, I should make one observation about Mrs. Clinton. I mentioned to a gentleman I have dealings with at work, that it looked like Obama was going to be the Democratic nominee and he looked at me and told me to never count Hillary Clinton out.  Being from Arkansas, he has some very strong feelings towards the Clintons. Now, back to Obama.

I have felt for a long time that Obama would be the nominee on the Democratic side of the ticket.  It appears that nothing that he has said or done is going to be enough to keep him from the nomination and to be honest, I am not sure at all that John McCain can keep him from the White House.  McCain has a reputation of being a maverick and an independent thinker who does not necessarily toe the line with the Republican party establishment. That could be a good thing, I suppose, but he also has a reputation for something else that I believe will greatly hinder his chances of beating Barack Obama in November.

John McCain is very adamant about staying the course in Iraq and making sure we finish the job we have started.  While I agree that we certainly do not need to turn tail and leave Iraq, right in the middle of a process that is going to take more time than we all necessarily want, I am afraid the Republican party in general and John McCain in particular, underestimate the strong feelings a lot of Americans have against the war in Iraq. I believe they also underestimate the hatred a lot of Americans have for President Bush. It’s a well known fact that the Bush administration refused to listen to the military and follow their advice in Iraq. Had they stopped playing politics and decided to let our military do it’s job, we may have seen an entirely different set of circumstances in Iraq.  As it is now, we are in a war that is going to take some time to finish.

We are in a generation that wants and thrives on instant gratification. The American people are not interested in waiting years for the Iraq conflict to resolve itself and for our military to leave the country.  All they see, thanks to the mainstream media, is the lives that are being lost, both our own and those of the citizens of Iraq. They do not see the good we are doing and they want the war stopped, day before yesterday. They see a chance to do that in Barack Obama.  In John McCain, they are seeing four more years of Bush and we need to face the facts. Americans, as a whole, do not want another four years of George W. Bush.

So, can John McCain defeat Barack Obama in November?  I can’t answer that question, but looking at the way this election cycle is proceeding forward, I am afraid not. So far, everything that should have derailed Obama’s campaign seems to be rolling right off his back, like so much water off a duck. It is possible that McCain’s pick for Vice-President can sway a lot of people. It’s no secret that I like Mike Huckabee and he looks to be the perfect choice for McCain to counteract the Obama campaign. I am not sure even that will be enough and I do not want to see Huckabee on a losing presidential campaign, for the sake of 2012.  The truly sad part of it all is, we had a chance to choose someone like Mike Huckabee as our candidate and we didn’t.  It remains to be seen where that decision will lead us.

That’s my take!

Larry

Barack Obama–Guilty by association

Sometime last year, as I began to look at this election season and to wonder who would run from each party, Barack Obama’s name was in the forefront of the Democratic party, along with Hillary Clinton. What disturbed me at the time was just how little this country really knew about the man. Hillary Clinton was a known quality; Barack Obama was not. In fact, there was really very little known about the man. As the campaign progressed, it seemed he was getting a pass from the media. He was their media darling and in my opinion, he has not been asked the hard questions that the other candidates have been asked. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans. I have heard him speak on the Internet and as I have talked to a lot of people about his speeches, one common thought seemed to surface. He talks a good talk, but doesn’t really say anything of substance.

The first sign of trouble was when his wife, Michelle, openly stated that this is the first time in her adult life that she has been proud of her country. I realize our country is not perfect, but it is still the greatest country on the face of this earth. No matter how she tries to play this off, there is one quote that keeps coming to mind. Something about “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”. I think you know what I mean. Then, of course, there is Jeremiah Wright.

Several weeks ago, Barack Obama must have cringed when the clips of Wright surfaced, showing him making his very disparaging remarks about our country, it’s leaders, and white people in general. I was a little surprised that Obama didn’t wash him down the drain right then. However, when you look at how long he has been a member of Wright’s church, when you look at the fact that Barack and Michelle were married by Wright, and when you look at how loyal to the “black cause” they all are, then it isn’t really all that surprising that Obama didn’t distance himself from Wright.

As I have stated in an earlier post, I believe their first priority is not the United States of America, but rather their own agenda for the citizens of Africa. I have nothing against equality for all people. That is a non-issue with me because I truly believe all men and women were created equal, no matter what color their skin is. I look back at the way people of color and people of different ethnicity have been treated, and I am appalled by some of the things that went on. This, however, does not give Jeremiah Wright or any other authority figure the right to try his best to stir up feelings of hate and discontent among his congregation. Try to change the situation, yes. Try to stir up such radical feelings like Reverend Wright is trying to do, not a chance.

Since I began this article, Obama has tried to distance himself further from Reverend Wright. He has spoken his strongest words yet about Wright and his remarks. This has came after Wright gave interviews to the media and made it very clear how he felt about our country and how it’s leaders were trying to kill the black people. Politically, Obama has to put some distance between him and Reverend Wright and his remarks. It would be political suicide for him not to do so. It gives me pause, however, to think that he was under the man’s teachings for twenty years. He has called Wright’s remarks divisive. He has said they give comfort to those who prey on hate. That being said, why did he not see the light earlier, when those remarks were first made? Could it be because he actually agrees with his spiritual mentor? Could it be because he holds the same world view as the honorable Reverend Wright?

From the research I have done, it appears the first priority of Reverend Wright and Barack Obama is Africa and it’s problems. Here is an article that refers to that idea. Barack Obama’s church seems to be a church that puts more emphasis on black values than on biblical values. They want to make sure Africa is taken care of. As I have stated in an earlier post, I don’t have a problem with helping Africa. The people of Africa surely need all the help they can get. I do, however, have a problem with putting the citizens of Africa before the people of our own country. I do have a problem with Barack Obama’s priority being on Africa when he will not lift a finger to help the millions of unborn children that are being murdered, right here in America. This is not from statements made by other people. This is from his own mouth and from his own voting record. From On The Issues:

• Voted against banning partial birth abortion. (Oct 2007)

• Stem cells hold promise to cure 70 major diseases. (Aug 2007)

• Trust women to make own decisions on partial-birth abortion. (Apr 2007)

• Extend presumption of good faith to abortion protesters. (Oct 2006)
  Constitution is a living document; no strict constructionism. (Oct 2006)

• Pass the Stem Cell Research Bill. (Jun 2004)

• Protect a woman’s right to choose. (May 2004)

• Supports Roe v. Wade. (Jul 1998 )

• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)

• Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)

• Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)

• Rated 0% by the NRLC, indicating a pro-choice stance. (Dec 2006)

More disturbing than any of the above votes is his fight against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. From Citizen Link:

He often stood alone as an Illinois lawmaker in opposition to protections for babies who survived abortion.

It is a sad time when a person in a position of authority, being able to do something about a problem such as this, refuses to do anything about it. Also from Citizen Link:

My friend stood in Obama’s path and said, “Senator, we are going to pass Born Alive here in Illinois this year.”

Obama smiled smoothly and agreed, “I think you will,” adding, “I would have voted for the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in Illinois had it been worded the same as the federal bill. I think that’s the position the Democrats should take.”

There’s just one thing he forgot to mention: Obama had stopped his committee from adding the federal wording.

With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.

I realize Barack Obama can not be held accountable for statements made by other people. That would not be fair to him as a person and as a political candidate. He can, however, be held accountable for his actions and his own voting record. He can be held accountable by the company he keeps and he has kept the same company for twenty years. You be the judge.

That’s my take!

Larry

Good for you, John McCain

I know it’s been very clear, from the articles I have written about John McCain, that I am not particularly pleased with his being the Republican nominee. I wholeheartedly believe Mike Huckabee would be a much better President than John McCain. I have always believed that and continue to do so. That being said, McCain does have a reputation for being a maverick and I do like that. It is good to have someone to stand up against the national political parties and let them know when they have messed up. So, in my own way, here is a hat tip to John McCain.

It appears that McCain is taking a page from the play book of Mike Huckabee. It is well know they both ran a very civil campaign, especially towards each other. Now, McCain is standing up to the Republican party and letting them know he does not like the ad being ran in North Carolina. This ad focuses on Barack Obama’s pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, instead of Barack Obama himself and McCain realizes this kind of ad does no good at all.

Looking at the way the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been going at each other, it is obvious what kind of campaign either one of them may attempt to run against John McCain. We have already had several months of bickering and fighting among the Democrats, making the bickering and fighting among the Republicans seem tame in comparison. It gives me pause to think what the general election campaign may be like.

Looking back on the Republican primary elections, I realize we had a lot of fighting among ourselves. It seemed especially bad between the supporters of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. GrannyT has an excellent post about that on her blog. They were not the only ones who went at each other. There appeared to be no love lost between Romney and McCain as well. It appears that John McCain is trying his best to take the high road and put a stop to the bickering and fighting. He has made a good start by campaigning with both of his chief rivals, Romney and Huckabee. With his public objections about the North Carolina ad, this will hopefully bleed over to the general election. If it does, maybe we can have an honest discourse about the issues, instead of Mud Slinging 101. If it doesn’t, then we are in for a long few months until November and the next President of the United States is chosen.

That’s my take!

Larry

What about Opera? You know, the web browser?

A few years ago, there was a lot of publicity surrounding the release of a new Mozilla web browser.  It had a different name, at first, but it was officially dubbed Firefox and it has taken the internet by storm.  In doing so, it has overshadowed another browser that is put out by Opera Software.  Let me preface this article by saying, I have used both programs and I do not intend to start or get into one of those Opera/Firefox debates that I have seen in different forums. I believe both programs have their problems and both have their assets.  When I am at work, I use Firefox most of the time, simply because of the restraints of the job.  I do have Opera installed and when possible, I use it.  When I am at home, especially when I am on the Linux side of my computer, I use Opera exclusively. So, if you haven’t met this wonderful little browser from Norway, let me formally introduce you to Opera.

Opera Software was founded about twelve years ago and it has continually redesigned and upgraded it’s product throughout the years.  It is now on a lot of mobile devices and is very popular because of it’s ability to render a small screen so effectively.  Because I do not use a mobile device to browse or work, I will focus on the desktop version of Opera.  The official released version of Opera is 9.27, but there is a new Opera 9.5 Beta 2 that has been released this week that really rocks.  It does a fantastic job at everything I want it to do.  I have been using Opera for a long time and the first thing that I really noticed about it was the speed of the user interface.  I am using an older computer, both at work and at home and there is a clear, distinct difference between the way Opera works and any other browser that I have tried.

Opera was the one of the first browsers to implement tabbed browsing and after I started using tabs, I don’t know how I ever managed to get along without them.  Opera’s tabs are a bit different than those of any other browser.  They are actually part of a MDI or multiple document interface. This means they are actually multiple documents or pages that reside in a single parent window.  The way Opera manages this interface, the tabs or pages, as I like to call them, can easily be managed, tiled, maximized, or closed. All of these can be managed with or without the addition of the tab bar, via keyboard shortcuts or the mouse context menu, depending on how you have the browser set up.

Setting up Opera is a snap.  On a brand new install, I can usually have Opera set up the way I want in just a few minutes.  Most of my personal preferences are just a matter of customizing the toolbars and menus to my liking. There are countless ways to customize Opera and the thing that really sells me on the program is the way it is done.  The customizations are all part of the program itself.  There is no other software or extensions to download, just to make the browser work the way I want it to work.  I realize Firefox uses extensions and everyone likes to work differently.  I just happen to prefer the way Opera implements the customizations and the way they work seamlessly with the program, simply because they are part of the program, not an addition.

Considering Opera is a much smaller download than Firefox or Internet Explorer, it is amazing that it comes with so many features built into the program. Some have accused Opera of being bloated, but that is simply not the case. Each user has his or her own preferred features and Opera presents these features when they are needed and it does not slow the program down. Right out of the box, Opera includes mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, notes, email, download manager, widgets, bookmarks (favorites), custom menus, and custom toolbars with, I might add, custom buttons.  All of these features and look at the speed of the thing. These features are introduced to you when you need them. For example, if you click on a mail to link, you are asked if you would like to set up an email account. You can choose to do so or to ignore it. By the same token, if you perform a mouse gesture for the first time, you are asked if you would like to use mouse gestures. Again, you can choose to do so or not, it’s up to you. If you choose not to use those features, you are not bothered by them again. I plan to write more about the way I use these features, but that will have to wait for another article.

Did I mention email? The way I work on my computer requires me to have easy access to my email accounts and Opera makes this easier than ever. When Opera first introduced the email portion of today’s browser, it admittedly had a lot of problems. The email storage is based on a database system that makes it easy to search for and find messages that are stored in the system. The way this database was set up made it easy for the files to be corrupted and therefore, made it easy for the messages to be corrupted. This has caused me and a lot of other users a lot of grief and heartache over lost messages.  That being said, you should really try Kestrel, better known as Opera 9.5.  It has been in development for quite some time and I have been using it since the first builds were released to the Opera Community. I can tell you first hand, there has been a lot of backend improvements to the entire program, email included. The speed of the entire program has improved and the way email is intergrated into the program makes it very easy to keep up with your messages. Try it out and see what you think.  I believe you will be plesantly surprised at the difference Opera 9.5 makes in your browsing experience.

That’s my take!

Larry

The real tragedy of drug abuse

I would like to introduce a very special guest blogger.  Her name is Randi and she is our youngest daughter.  Below is an essay she wrote for her home school project.  When she started writing it, I didn’t let know that I was going to post it here when she was finished.  She did the research herself and she had the first-hand experience of baby sitting Matthew.  You will learn about him in the essay.  She did the writing herself and I edited it for spelling and very little of the wording, just to make it flow a bit better.  There may have been some things that I could have changed, but I decided to leave it be and see what she came up with.  Without further ado, here is her essay.

That’s my take!

Larry

The real tragedy of drug abuse

Have you taken time to hold a baby recently? Did you feel something when you did? Remember how helpless the baby was? Babies are one of God’s greatest creations and also one of the most helpless and fragile. Because babies are already so helpless and fragile and have so many problems growing up, it makes a person wonder why a mother would want to add insult to injury and compound these problems by smoking or taking drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy. I am asking these questions because of Matthew, a very special eleven month old baby in my life. I will tell you more about him in a moment.

Let’s take a moment to explore the affects that tobacco, alcohol, and drugs have on adults. These include mood changes, distorted vision, delusions, confusion, and blackouts. These affects get worse, ranging from becoming drug dependent, having a weakened short-term memory, weakened problem-solving ability, and an increased feeling of paranoia and anxiety, which leads to severe pain attacks. The most severe affect of drugs, of course, is death. Stop and think about something for a moment. If these are the affects on an adult with a full grown body, just imagine what it does to a baby whose body is still developing and growing.

Some of the affects that cocaine, methamphetamine i.e.: meth, heroin, PCP i.e.: angel dust, tobacco, and alcohol have on unborn babies are as follows. Tobacco reduces the oxygen that reaches the unborn baby through the mother’s blood supply; it increases the chances of a preterm or still born baby, and a baby who has respiratory illnesses. Alcohol increases the risk of a cluster of birth defects, such as a small skull, abnormal facial features, and heart defects. These affects are often accompanied by impeded growth and mental retardation. Cocaine and meth increase the risks of miscarriage and premature labor and the baby may be born drug dependent. It may also suffer withdrawal symptoms, tremors, sleeplessness, and muscle spasms. Learning difficulties may develop later in life.

The affects of heroin include low blood sugar, bleeding within the head, irritability, vomiting, joint stiffness, and diarrhea. Women who inject narcotics may become infected with the HIV virus and subsequently develop AIDS. These women run a very high risk of passing the virus to their babies. PCP taken later in pregnancy can cause newborns to have withdrawal symptoms, such as lethargy, alternating with tremors. During the first ten weeks of pregnancy, the baby’s organs and body begin to grow. Some drugs can cause the baby’s heart, limbs, and facial features to form incorrectly. At ten weeks, the baby grows fast in weight and size. Drug use can cause slow growth and cause the baby to be born early. If drugs are used during the latter part of the pregnancy, the baby may be addicted as well.

Now, back to Matthew. My Aunt and Uncle have gained custody of their grandchild. His mother is a drug addict and alcoholic and she did not want the baby. During her pregnancy, she used drugs and alcohol and because of her addiction, Matthew was born premature, underweight, and with other problems. When he was born, he weighed two pounds and three ounces and had to stay in the hospital for two and a half months. I was asked to baby sit Matthew because he was so small and fragile. They did not want to take him to the daycare because they were afraid he would not receive the care and attention he needed. Because of his fragility, they were also afraid he would come in contact with sickness. For months after I started babysitting him, he had a hard time keeping his milk or baby food down. He would go through several sets of clothes each day, simply because everything kept coming back up. He is eleven months old now and the size of a six month old baby. He weighs 18.5 pounds, he has his first tooth, and he is doing is best to get up on his hands and knees and crawl.

Just stop and think about this. What if Matthew’s mother had cared enough about him to stop smoking and taking drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy? He would have been born when he was due, he would have had a normal birth weight, and he would not have had to stay in the hospital for over two months. If there were fewer mothers like Matthew’s, then there would be less drug abuse in the world and the babies would certainly be better off.

Randi Jackson

Pigeons, Homers to be precise

Early in 2006, I began to get interested in homing pigeons and through the encouragement and help of my wife, Tammy, and her father, I decided to try keeping a few, just to see if I could do it. I have discovered one thing for sure. These birds are amazing creatures, especially in the way God has created them and put in them the instinct and ability to find their way back to their home loft. It is very interesting, that ability, because try as they may, no one has been able to really determine how they navigate back to their home loft. A lot of theories are out there, but no one knows for sure. They are also individual creatures, alike in their ability to fly and find their way home, but individual in their habits and personalities.

I started with Big Red (BR) and Little Red, two red check birds that were already grown. The breeder I bought them from told me to never fly them because they would not come back to my loft. They were unable to fly when young because of a hawk problem and he said they would not learn to find their way back to another loft. Well, I kept them up in a small loft before I was able to get a bigger one and one day, Little Red escaped because I didn’t shut the door properly. My fault entirely. I reasoned that I would not see her again, but the next morning, my wife found her in the yard, wanting to be let back in the loft. Needless to say, both of them did learn to home back to my loft and they have raised several birds that are as smart as they are.

Now, let’s take Scooby. My father-in-law gave her to me and you can find a picture of her on My Pigeons. That picture doesn’t really do her justice. She is really a pretty bird, what is called a Blue Bar Piebald. She can really fly well and he is one smart cookie. She is usually the first one out of the loft when I open the door and when I hit the whistle to call them in to eat, she is usually the first one through the trap door. When I open the loft door to pour out the feed, she is standing there looking at me and cooing at me. I think she is wondering what is taking me so long to get her food in the feeder.

I also have Jessie, Squeaky, Checkers, Bossy, and Rosco and they all have their own personalities. Bossy, for example, is one of the youngest of the entire crew, but she has no fear of the other birds. They have their own little pecking order, but when Bossy was introduced to the loft, it didn’t take long for her to make her mark. Her even chases Big Red away from the feeder. That’s why I call her Bossy, after Boss Hog, from The Dukes of Hazard.

One of the funnest times of having homers is when the young are learning to fly and to know their surroundings, outside of the loft.  Some of them have to really be coaxed outside and some I actually had to put outside myself.  It’s important to get them on the landing board, in front of the trap door, in order for them to know where they are and how to get back into the loft.  When they finally take to the air, it is very funny to watch them take to their wings.  They have flown inside the loft, but that doesn’t compare to the amount of air they find under their wings when they finally make it outside. Watching them fly erratically until they figure out how it’s done, and then start ranging away from the loft, in order to see where they are is one of the greatest thrills I have ever had.  It is truly amazing to watch them fly and it is even more amazing to watch them come back to the loft of their own free will.

My favorite time to have homers is when they are raising their babies.  I won’t get into the genetics of the colors and patterns, because that may be the subject of a later post.  I will say this. If you have seen one Robin, you have seen them all. The same goes for just about any other species of bird, but not for pigeons. While females can have only one color, males can show one color and carry another. Most of the time, the second color will not show at all, but sometimes, it does.  Such is the case of Smokey, one of my red-checked cocks.  He shows red, but he carries blue and it shows up as blue specks in his tail and flight feathers. All pigeons are unique, in one way or the other and there is no problem in telling them apart, no matter how much they may look alike.

Of course, there are sad times to have homers, as well.  I have had birds that didn’t come home from flights and one was killed by a Cooper’s Hawk, right in my front yard.  Those things happen, but it isn’t easy to realize that bird you have raised or nurtured isn’t coming home.  However, the fun times far outweigh the sad times, and all things considered, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I can’t tell you the times I have sat out in my back yard and watched them range completely out of sight for minutes or hours.  It is the thrill of a lifetime to see them come swooping back and land on their loft.  It is truly amazing.

That’s my take!

Larry

As social conservatives, what do we do?

If you have read my recent articles, you will have realized by now, I am not crazy about John McCain. Since Mike Huckabee has dropped out of the race, we really do not have a candidate who represents us and our positions on the issues, as social conservatives. For years, we have been told to come to the table and show our support for the candidates that are provided by the Republican party. In exchange, we are given lip service, but nothing really changes. We still seem to be the odd man out and that, my friends is getting to be a little tiresome.

In reality, I am not sure what I will be doing in the November election. Some have suggested voting for a third party candidate, such as Bob Barr, who is likely to be the Libertarian candidate. Others have suggested we should go ahead and vote for John McCain, no matter how great the stink is. I, for one, am a little tired of being told by some supporters of Mike Huckabee that we make him look bad because we do not support who he says he is supporting. As Kerry, from One Mom, points out in her latest comment on my blog, Huckabee really has no choice except to support John McCain. This is to keep from damaging himself politically, in case he has a chance to run for President in 2012. I understand all of that, but as social conservatives, we do have a choice.

I have received many comments on my blog, stating that I need to get a reality check, among other things. These are in response to the questions I am raising about John McCain and the way he has conducted himself. Most of them are in response to the article about McCain and Ms. Iseman. There is no proof, they say. The links I provided are just opinions and not cold, hard facts, they say. Is this any better than the way Mike Huckabee was treated, I have been asked. Feel free to read the article in question, but let me say this in response.

In the article about Ms. Iseman, I was not trying to allude to the fact that she and McCain had anything going on between the two of them. What I was trying to point out is the way that he has been supposedly fighting special interests and lobbyists for years, while it appears that he has been in bed with them, figuratively speaking, at the same time. Are we supposed to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to his conduct while in the Senate? Are we supposed to trust that he will nominate strict constitutional judges, if he is elected President? Are we supposed to trust that he will not allow his actions as President to be shaped and formed by his relationship to the lobbyists who are on his campaign payroll right now? Are we supposed to hold our noses and vote for John McCain, just because the Republican establishment tells us he is our candidate? I think not.

As social conservatives, we have been pushed to the side long enough. A lot has been written about the supporters of Mike Huckabee being bitter. Well, I am not bitter, but I am ashamed of my party and of our Christian leaders. It is a crying shame to have a candidate such as Mike Huckabee running for President and to have him cast aside because he wasn’t in the click. I may very well vote for John McCain in November, just to try to keep the Democrats from winning the White House, but one thing is for sure, I will not do it quietly. I have every right and every intention to let the Republican party and the rest of the country know exactly how I and other social conservatives feel about this election.

That’s my take!

Larry

The realities of John McCain

With John McCain the presumptuous nominee of the Republican party, it would appear that he is in a noose of his own making. For years, McCain has been the “champion” against special interests and for campaign finance reform. The McCain-Feingold bill has been championed as what was needed to clean up the fiasco we call campaign finance, but in reality, it has been the bill that has effectively muzzled candidates such as Mike Huckabee and made it practically impossible for them to campaign for President. They have stacked the deck against the little guys and for the big money donors that people like Mitt Romney value so dearly. More about that in a moment.

According to NPR’s Morning Edition, John McCain is trailing both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in fundraising. Because of that, he is facing the reality of fundraising and his campaign is working on exploiting loopholes in the campiagn finance system. These are loopholes that McCain has previously tried to close. It seems that what is good for the goose is not good for the gander, at least with McCain.  (NOTE:  The audio for the NPR story will be available after 9:00 AM.)  Now, about Mitt Romney.

There has been quite a bit of discussion on this blog and others, about whom John McCain would choose as his running mate for the general election.  I personally think Mike Huckabee would make a great Vice-President, but I am beginning to believe, along with One Mom, that it would be a mistake for Huckabee to be on the ticket with McCain.  That mistake would have greater ramifications for Huckabee, simply because it would damage him for 2012.  That being said, I am beginning to believe that Mitt Romney will be McCain’s choice.  This choice is not because of any special love McCain has for Romney.  It was very clear during the campaign that there is no love lost between the two.  They simply do not like each other very much at all.  However, this is another reality that has hit John McCain right in the face.  It has to do with fundraising, you see.

The NPR story doesn’t mention Mitt Romney, but I believe a deal may have already been struck to save a place on the ticket for Romney.  Despite all of his position changes, Romney does bring one vital positive to the campaign. He has access to a lot of money and I believe his donors are waiting for an announcement by McCain that his choice for Vice-President is Mitt Romney. When that happens, the money will start pouring in and McCain’s fundraising problems will be over.

Once the fundraising problems are solved, there is one last reality that John McCain will have to face and it is one that I do not believe he will be able to overcome.  If the Republican ticket is McCain-Romney, the social conservatives are going to desert the Republicans in droves. For far too long, they have been ignored and shoved to the sidelines with empty promises. With a candidate such as Mike Huckabee shunned as he was by the Republican establishment, those empty promises are not going to gain the support the Republicans need to win in November.  Simply put, that particular ticket doesn’t stand a change of winning against either of the Democratic candidates in the general election.  That’s just the reality of the situation.  The truth sure does hurt sometimes.

That’s my take!

Larry

Duck your heads, here comes the hail and tornadoes

Well, it looks like we are in for a long night and possibly a long rest of the week of storms and rain.  We were sitting here, minding our own business, when the hail started coming down.  Randi just about had a fit because Cherokee was out in the yard and not in the garage.  She just knew he was going to get himself hurt.  She shouldn’t have worried because after it calmed down a bit and I went to check on him, I found him under our little shed.  You wouldn’t have thought he could have crammed his fourty pound body under there, but there he was, poking his nose out and wondering if it was safe to come out with me standing there, doing my best to coax him out and getting soaked.  I reckon he didn’t have much faith in his doghouse when that hail started landing all around him. Needless to say, he is now resting comfortably in our utility room, right in the middle of the dirty clothes basket.

So far, there has been damage in the Fort Smith and Alma, AR areas, but the only thing I can find at our place is one of the turn signal lenses was knocked loose from my car.  Listening to the radio, KISR, a local rock station that has excellant weather coverage, said their van was going to need completely new windows.  I have heard of trees being uprooted in Central City, which is east of Fort Smith.  Hopefully, it will calm down and just rain the rest of the night.  That, I can live with.  The rest of it, I can live without.

If you are interested, here is the link to the radar in our area.  It looks pretty nasty.

That’s my take!

Larry

What have we learned from Mike Huckabee?

Last week, I wrote an article about why I did not want Mitt Romney to be on the ticket with John McCain as his Vice-President.  Now, I am not the most articulate fellow in the world, but I thought I made it clear why I would not support Romney for President or Vice-President.  That article has received more comments than any other political article I have published on this blog. The supporters of Mitt Romney were quick to accuse me of being a bigot and not supporting their candidate because he was a Mormon, even though it is clear, that is not the case.  All you have to do is look at the posts on this blog to see the truth.  There was even one Romney supporter who called on me to come out and say I would vote for a Mormon, just to prove I was telling the truth. The sad part about the whole incident is the way the back and forth started happening between the Romney and Huckabee supporters.  I finally had to step in and start deleting comments, just to keep it civil.  To be honest, the guilty were from both sides and that is not the way it should be. We should be able to disagree on the subject, without calling each other names and resorting to bickering and fighting.  I would have to say, if Mike Huckabee were to read the article and the comments that followed, I believe he would not be at all happy with the way it progressed. He might even be a little ashamed.

As we have all followed and supported Mike Huckabee throughout this campaign, we discovered that he is a different sort of presidential candidate, cut from a completely different kind of cloth.  That is one thing that has drawn a lot of his supporters to him.  One of those differences is his believe in “Vertical Politics”.  He has stressed that time and again, that we need to move upwards and not stay on the same path that our country has been moving on for so long.  Not only has he stressed it, but he has practiced it as well.  Even when other candidates attacked him with a vengenance, Mike Huckabee did not respond in kind.  He stayed on topic and continued to talk about the issues that are troubling our country and it’s citizens.  Even after he dropped out of the race and endorsed John McCain, he has continued on the same path of staying vertical and providing a refreshing look at the race for President.

As the campaign progresses and we are faced with the choices we all have to make, about whom will we cast our votes for, let’s keep in mind the way Mike Huckabee has conducted himself and his campaign.  I have made no bones about my distrust of Romney and of McCain, but I need to stay positive, even while I disagree with them on the issues.  I would expect that out of their supporters when they take issue with Huckabee and his positions, so I need to conduct myself accordingly.  Mike Huckabee has proved one thing.  You can disagree with other candidates on their positions on the issues and still conduct yourself with honesty and dignity.

One thing we have to keep in mind, we who supported and still support Mike Huckabee.  We need to practice what he preached throughout the campaign. We should be able to stay above the attacking and name calling that seems to be so prevelant in today’s politics.  As frustrating as it is to see a candidate such as Huckabee be cast aside by the very people who should have supported him with passion, to be attacked by the conservative media as he was, to see his name mocked and made fun of, we still need to keep it vertical.  If for no other reason, let’s just say it’s because Mike Huckabee would want it that way.  We should have learned that much from him.

That’s my take!

Larry

More details on Tammy’s illness

I want to share with you some of the details of the illness Tammy has been fighting for so long.

First and foremost, she has a skin problem that is very irritating and painful. She has places that crop up all over her body, but are especially bad on her back. They itch and they hurt terribly. Right now, her back looks as if I have taken a switch or a whip to it. It is somewhat swelled, very red, and the pain is not only on the surface, but it is down deep inside. That is what she tells me, I can only imagine the pain she is in. Last night, she might have gotten two hours of rest.

Along with this skin problem, she has no strength or energy. She is like this most of the time. There are times when she pushes past this and says she feels a little better and feels like going somewhere, walking or some other activity. (I don’t believe her when she says that. I know she is just trying to push past the illness.) Invariably, she pays a price when she does this. She gets worse for a few days every time. We are wanting to go see Alisha and Jason this Saturday and I know, if we do, she will be in bed all day Sunday. We have began to accept that as a fact of life, at least for right now.

There has been another symptom that doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, she just about passes out. Every once in a while, she will have a very bad pain that shoots up her neck, behind her ear, and into her head. This is on the left side. From the research I have done, this symptom, along with the others, are symptoms of Lupus.

Last night was one of her bad nights.  She was hurting so badly that she couldn’t rest.  She spent most of the night on the couch because she was afraid she was keeping me awake.  I have tried to tell her it doesn’t matter about that, but that’s the way she is.  She is always thinking of someone besides herself.  That’s just one more reason she is still my best friend.

That’s my take!

Larry

Why not Mitt Romney for Vice-President?

There has been a lot of talk about whom John McCain will or should choose as his running mate and if you have read my blog for very long, you will know I have hoped he would chose Mike Huckabee.  I have written a couple of articles about why I believe Huckabee would be a good choice for McCain to make, although I am not sure Huckabee is even on the short list of names being considered for the job.  That being said, there is one person that I believe would be the death toll for the McCain campaign.  That man is Mitt Romney.

Much ado has also been made about Romney’s economic credentials and how they would help shore up the McCain campaign.  Admittedly, Romney turned around the Olympics and he has been the head of a big corporation, but I am not sure how well those credentials enable him to understand what the normal American is going through in today’s economy.  After all, most of us don’t have millions of dollars in the bank. I am not sure Romney can understand the difference between corporate America and the America most of us live in.

I am not intending to go full negative in this article, but there are so many negatives about Mitt Romney, that I can’t believe McCain would even consider choosing him as his running mate. The main thing about Romney is his willingness to change his position on any given topic, at any given time, during any given campaign.  He doesn’t carry the nickname Flip-Flop Romney for no reason. Looking at his past record, it is clear that he is not a true social conservative, at least not until he started running for President and realized he would need the social conservative vote if he were to win the nomination.  That was all the incentive he needed to start changing his position on social conservative issues to match the campaign he was running.  If you don’t believe me, just ask the voters of Massachusetts.  The man they voted into the Governor’s office is not the man they thought he was.  It is very clear, Mitt Romney can not be trusted.

While John McCain goes through the process of choosing his running mate, it is becoming clear that a lot, if not most of Mike Huckabee’s supporters do not want Romney anywhere near the White House.  Why, you ask?  Let me explain.  During the campaign, Mike Huckabee was blasted because he supposedly attacked Mitt Romney about his religion, even though the statement that was written was clearly not an attack, but rather a question to a reporter who was entirely more knowledgeable about the Mormon religion than was Huckabee.  Not only that, but Mitt Romney saw Huckabee as his main rival in Iowa and he went on the full attack.  Instead of trying to speak to the voters and tell them about his own record and why they should choose him as the Republican nominee, he spent most of his time attacking Huckabee and distorting his record.  That tells me that he really doesn’t have much of a record, at least not one that he wants to share with the voters.

So, if John McCain were to read this article, what would I want him to get out of it?  Just this one thing.  He can not possibly hope to beat the Democrat candidate, unless he has the backing of every part of the Republican party.  That includes social conservatives, such as myself and other Huckabee supporters.  I am not saying I, or others, will not vote for McCain if he doesn’t choose Huckabee or another credible social conservative as his running mate.  What I am saying is that there is one sure way to make sure he doesn’t win this Presidential election.  Just choose Mitt Romney as his running mate and he will see droves of voters voting against him and Romney or just refusing to vote at all.

That’s my take!

Larry