Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Why McCain lost....people's thoughts

The following is a collection of comments from a forum on fox news that asked people to comment on why they think McCain lost… Very interesting to see the insight as well as passion/fear that people have today.
(taken from: http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/11/04/youdecide_11042/)

Comment by John

My first reaction is that McCainl lost because he didn’t really appeal to the conservative base enough but that is wrong. I am a staunch conservative and I voted for McCain because I truly fear that Obama is moving us in a direction that represents a serious threat to our nation. The move towards bigger government and socialism will result in a less competitive society. We are staring poverty and dependency in the face. John McCain lost because he ran a relatively lousy campaign against a guy who actually appealed to a whole lot of stupid people who actually believe big government can provide all their needs. Race was also an issue inasmuch as many blacks who would otherwise disagree with Obama on policy voted for him simply because he is black.
As H.L. Menchen once observed, “We will get what we asked for, and get it hard!”


Comment by Bemused

I think Obama won because America has lost it’s moral grounding. It’s ok to murder a baby as it is being born, it’s ok to turn your back on Yeshua Adonai, it’s ok to talk the talk - but have no idea how to walk the walk. American, despite the rewriting of history books - was a country founded by folks who wanted to practice Puritan ethics. Even the Washington monument has Christianity built into it’s structure. Do you know what the cap plate on the structure says? Might want to look it up. This country was founded on the basis of keeping the state from messing with religion as it did in England. It has turned into keeping religion out of government - big mistake.

There is a reason there is no reference to the west in biblical prophecy. Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, Saudia Arabia, Afghanistan can all be readily found - the US? (And don’t say it’s because of the age of the bible and the US didn’t exist then - the Bible talks about “the bear from the North” - and you know what country is directly North of Israel? Russia - and Moscow … I doubt if the bear was the symbol for russian in biblical times.

I am terribly afraid that God will no longer “shed his grace” on this country. I pray I am wrong.

McCain lost because he is an honorable man. Obama won because he is smoke and mirrors - a blank slate where people can see what they want. Susbstance lost. Form won.

It will be interesting to see where we go from here … If our enemies wanted Obama to win - that might have been a clue.


Comment by Mary

It is a sad day when we elect a man because of the color of his skin. This was a race won on a man’s race, not on issues. McCain lost I believe, first because nothing happens without God allowing it to happen, and second because of McCain’s age. He did not have the charisma that was needed to draw the young crowd. I wonder if McCain had been black how this election would have panned out. Or if Obama had been white, how would this have panned out? It is a scary thought that Obama’s weak understanding on national defense and the willingness to talk to terrorist how we will fair “if” we get attacked ever again. The young generation does not remember tragic events that many of us have experienced. How have we even forgotten September 11, 2001? The economy will recover with smart planning, but we may never recover if we get attacked again and again. Do you honestly believe Barack Obama will lead us through a victory? The reason we have not been attacked again was because of George Bush’s strong national policies. I, too, am a born again Christian and I do believe God is in control. God will return to get his people. Is this the beginning of Christ’s return? I don’t know, but I do know that we should be ready at all times. Anyone who is left behind, God have mercy on them. Oh, who will the Democrats blame now when things don’t work out? Can’t blame George Bush - People WAKE UP!


Comment by Tony Tiger

The liberals were right. There is no GOD. This election proves that point.


Comment by Whitney

To Tony the Tiger the reason God didn’t help us is b/c we turned our backs on Him!!!!!!!!!!`


Comment by Donna Hammond

First, Mcain never had a chance due to the fact of the unbelievable media bias.
Secondly, all the voter registration irregularities and fraud that were flagged in fifteen states against two organizations Acorn and Get Out the Vote just seemed to be swept under the rug, so if in fact voter fraud accrued in this election it will never be investigated or exposed.

Next, It all comes down to the almighty dollar and that money can buy anything, even historical dreams.

Finally, It is a sad day because change has come to the United States of America, everyday as I followed this election I realized that even though we are suppose to be a country that is governed by “We the People” and ensures justice by applying the Rule of Law to all, which is then suppose to be kept in checked by the media, who is suppose to be fair and balanced. These procedures were ignored and simply not applied in this election, Why? because it was held hostage by an coordinated agenda set for “The Chosen One” by powerful: the MEDIA, POLITICIANS,and WALL STREET. Justice was blind in this election and I can only pray and ask God to bless, protect, and give America and Mcain strength for the next four years!!! MAKE NO MISTAKE HISTORY WAS MADE, the greatest and biggest con job was pulled off - “THE 2008 PRESIDENTAL ELECTION”.


Comment by Mike

Supreme court justices:
Stevens - 88 years old
Scalia - 72
Kennedy - 72
Souter - 69
Ginsburg - 75
Beyer - 70
How many retiring justices do you think Obama and the dems will get to replace during this term (Roberts, Thomas and Alito are too young)?


Comment by Carol Henson

Because God has either given up on America (understandable when we look at abortion, pornography, homosexuality, and the total moral decline of our nation), or to speed up His plan for the last days. I believe we will now see Isreal bomb Iran (before Obama takes office) or Iran bomb Isreal (after he takes office). Just as Biden predicted, we will see the worst act of terrorism against our nation in its history - because the terrorists believe we have a President who will take no stand against the Muslim extremist. American Christians are going to come under great persecution before this is over. My great sorrow is not for myself, but for my children and grandchildren. God, have mercy on us!


Comment by Barb

McCain lost because there are a lot of ignorant people in this country who voted on emotion (and race) rather than on facts. And with Obama owning the media the way he did, how could you expect them to get the facts? I fear for this country - America has been dumbing down for awhile and this election proved it. I wonder what Obama’s first order will be - hmmm - he’ll probably ask to have the constitution redrafted in multiple languages to “make it fair” for everyone, starting with Spanish and “Ebonics”.


Comment by Kevin Tipton

Ayesha,
Palin has no experience? Hmmmm, a Governor of a State overseeing 29,000 employees, the National Guard, and responsible for 20% of our domestic oil. She fought those in her own party and won on charges of corruption. A Governor with an 80% aproval record. I guess Bill Clinton was unqualified also. Huh??
Barry: A former community organizer, part-time Illinois Senator and part-time U.S. Senator voting “present” most of the time. Experience????
Do you see the difference? Probably not, since you’re part of the “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind’s made up” crowd.


Comment by Greg Mankins

God is in control. He condemns Abortion and Homosexuality.
This nation was founded on God and the christian religion.
I voted for McCain because the republican party is closest to the teachings of God.
Both Obama and Biden are pro-choice and supports gay rights.
God is patient but His wrath will come on this country if we do not change.


Comment by Don

Let’s face it, McCain was the media’s choice to be Republican candidate and he received very favorable media coverage until after the primaries were over.
This entire election has been a sham pulled off by the far-left elite of this country.
This is a sad day in American history.


Comment by Paul

I’ve looked at many of the statements listed here. How can we thing Obama is a socialist or communist? How many of us would spend time with a domestic terrorist that got off on a technicality? And don’t give me the eight year old bit, Obama was in his thirties. What about the former spokesperson of the PLO? That should make Israel feel real secure. Look at some of his statements, “Share the wealth”, “Form a civilian military” That’s similiar to Karl Marxx and Hitler. In January we hand over the keys to our weapons, defense and military secrets to a man that has shown his distaste for our military and for our standards. His party has demonstrated and openly said they will cut defense spending by 25%. They will take away our right to bear arms. They want to impose a “fairness” doctrine which really means they want to eliminate anyone that doesn’t agree with them. I was a Democrat for many years but I know longer see the Party of Jack Kennedy. Today he would be a moderate Republican. Maybe the Dems should watch FOX, CNN, NBC, CBS and all the others and see what is really going on in the world.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Attacked by a Cougar


So last Friday night I went to a swing dancing class and learned some very important lessons about getting too close to the wildlife....especially cougars! The class was small, ~8 people plus instructors. Some couples, mostly singles, but even numbers for guys & girls. What actually made it even was what walked in last minute though....the infamous Cougar. Now I'm from Wyoming and I've done my share of hunting, but never for cougars...especially this breed (trophy game my ass!). Early 50's, over-tanned, leathery skin, disturbingly low cut top, and waaaaaaaaaay too friendly to all the young men! Well as everyone paired up, out of the corner of my eye I saw the cougar had me in her sights and was starting to stalk me... A rush of fight or flight adrenaline came over me and I quickly chose flight....right into the arms of the fat girl! Okay, that's mean...she was a bit overweight, but turned out to be an absolute sweetheart and a good swing dancer too! "Good choice Johnny...that was a close call!" Well as the evening went on and they rotated partners as usual....I suddenly found myself staring into the deadly eyes of this dangerous cougar! When I got to her, she put on a wide, scary-looking grin (permanently....no joking, her over-enthusiastic grin never changed the whole time I danced with her...frozen on her face!), she looked me up and down like a fresh piece of meat, and lapped her chops. "Oh shit!" I thought to myself. I started to panic, turned to run, and then BAMMMMM! She pounced on me and started swinging ferociously! (In hindsight I shoulda known better....you never turn and run from a cougar....it triggers the instinctive chase response in them.) As the instructor counted through the steps I desperately tried to lead from as far of a distance as possible. But this little cougar wasn't having any of that....she sucked me in close and started twirling harder! Half cougar, half crocodile, she threw me into an aggressive death roll! I fought hard against her, trying to at least regain my footing even if I couldn't regain the lead....no go! Her unsettling "joker"-like grin was permeated with sexual angst and frustration. Obviously on the prowl, she entangled our bodies together in what could only be described as the prelude to a quick, violent kill. "This cougar hasn't fed in a very long time!", I whimpered silently... As I struggled to escape, a feeling of dizziness came over me (likely from the 13 twirls in a row she just flipped me through) and I started to drift off into a state of semi-consciousness. I imagined for a brief moment what might happen if I were not able to escape this cougar attack. Left like roadkill on the side of the highway days later, I'd wake up in the emergency room with doctors trying to stitch me up. They'd ask what in the world happened to me and I'd shamefully have to confess "I was mauled by a cougar!" The mere thought of all those stitches and the years of counseling suddenly snapped me back to present reality just in time as the saint of an instructor announced "Okay, switch!" BAM! I shot out of the mighty beast's jaws and flew off to the other side of the room! (Leaving the next poor sucker to be mauled and molested.) It was a close call....one that some might consider a life or death experience, especially those who have ever been attacked by a cougar...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Front Corner finally completed!


So I've been battling with this ugly front corner of my yard for a year now trying to move two HUGE & HEAVY rocks...and make something nice out of nothing but a big mess. I've had several rounds of "Me vs The Rock" and while I haven't won all of them, I've won enough to have conquered it! Today I decided to finish the job...

This first pic is what the front corner originally looked like. Two big rocks (over half of which are underground here), weeds everywhere, and rose bushes being choked out by a lavendar bush. First I yanked out the lavendar and transplanted it elsewhere. Next I started trying to figure out how to move the rocks.... See my other posts for an idea how easy that was! =) But, eventually Johnny got the best of it and won the battle. Once the dark rock was moved to the back yard and the light rock was situated where I wanted it, I built up a mound of soil, laid in some soaker tubing (hooked into the sprinkler system), planted ~60 tulips aligned with openings in the weed barrier tarp, then covered it all with bark mulch.

Well, I'm finally finished and it turned out pretty nice looking if I do say so myself!

I used the rock to display my house number and even added in two solar-powered spotlights to light it up at night....


The spotlights turn on at night and work great to illuminate my house number! Turned out better than I had even envisioned.... =)



Check out the slideshow of it all below (hit play to begin)....


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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Midnight Sledding & Dislocations...

So I had a midnight sledding night last night. First one of the season. Had a reasonable turnout...about 10 or so. For the most part was a typical fun sledding night as always...except for one new fun addition---injuries! Yes, we had our first injury last night. Right off the bat in fact....first hill we started down. Now this is probably the steepest hill of the entire thing, even steeper than the first big one. But as we all flew down the hill on our sleds (like the cool breeze of a YORK peppermint patty!), one of our sledding newbies...Marty, crashed off the side, did some flips, and dislocated his shoulder! Fun times... So of course we all rushed up to him once realizing he was hurt. Poor Marty was in agonizing pain, but Matthias tried to get it to reset back into place. He had the right procedure, but it just wouldn't go. After giving Marty a breather, his pain levels were still through the roof, so I decided to give it one more try to reset it myself before resigning to dope him up with drugs from my first aid kit. I took a few more minutes to get the muscles to relax, and as I was rotating the arm back up....I pushed gently on the ball of his shoulder socket....and POP! I suddenly felt it pop right back into place...followed by an immediate & loud sigh of relief from Marty. =)

Okay, so I feel bad for Marty and his pain, but that aside....it was great! I've never gotten to reset a dislocated shoulder before and have always wondered whether it really pops back into as drastically as they show in the movies and whether it really is that huge a relief for the person's pain once it does....Yep, it is! I think I should have been a medic, cause that kind of stuff excites me. Thanks Marty for helping me learn exactly how to reset a shoulder....

Marty felt a lot better, but was still pretty sore, so when a snowcat came by, we flagged him down and asked if he could give Marty a ride back to the parking lot so he wouldn't have to sled the mile or so back out. So in the end, it all worked out pretty well and was a good sledding night with a little added adventure bonus (at Marty's expense, but hey....). Good times....can't wait til next month's sledding trip!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Love is Messy


So tonight I got out and joined my two new friends Szymon & Carolyn at the movies. They've been really supportive since Court left. We saw the movie "Dan in Real Life", which is about a widowed father (played by Steve Carell) with 3 daughters trying to cope with.....well life! It turned out to be such an amazing movie about life, family, and love. On the surface most people would see this movie as a light-hearted romantic comedy, but I saw so much more in it. I saw life portrayed...real, actual life. Not the typical Hollywood fairytales we all watch and get engrained in our heads that that's what we're supposed to find....but real life...messy & confusing, the way it actually is. Hard, tiresome, unfair, but also beautiful in all the ways that really matters most...love, family, & relationships. The most profound line in the movie is fittingly presented as nothing more than a passing comment and easily overlooked by the audience...much the way it is in life. Three little words...."Love is messy."

Boy could that not hit the nail on the head better! It has especially resonated loudly in my life. I look at couples around me and always think their relationships with each other seem so simple and straightforward and almost easy compared to my experiences. The irony is that a lot of people that don't know me well enough might look at me and think the same thing. And how wrong they'd be! And how wrong I probably am thinking that about others...

The more I learn about life and especially about love...the messier and more confusing it gets. Not quite what I expected, but....what in life ever is. The last line of the movie in fact..."The most important thing to plan for in life? To be surprised!" is another profound truth that we often overlook. I guess lately I'm starting to realize some things about love and about myself. I'm starting to realize...actually no, I'm starting to ACCEPT that I am a scarred man...and I always will be. And that while I have my share of physical scars, it's the ones you can't see that are the deepest and have changed me the most. In part, each and every one of them have molded me into who I am today. And, as time goes on, I become more and more thankful for each and every one of those scars even the most agonizing ones. As I have often said, I don't love easily...but when I do, it's forever. And that....makes love even messier for me....