American Idol

The season has started again and as I have for the past few years...I am watching the selection process. This year it just hasn't grabbed me. There is too much background on people and the "entertainment" factor of the bad people and all the "mean" fun seems to be getting watered down. I am hoping that by the time they hit Hollywood it will pick up and this will again be a great year. OK, now I'm watching a dude with a stupid guy in a rabbit costume as his good luck charm which makes him look like an idiot, but he actually sounded pretty good. Looks like he got canned. If he hadn't had the stupid guy in a rabbit costume, they would have taken him seriously and I bet he would have made it. What do some of these people think?

Gun Rights

Today's posting is brought to you by my gun-toting, extremist NRA member brother. Now, he is a great guy, don't get me wrong...but we do not share the same thoughts on guns. I am not one of those bleeding heart liberals who thinks they should all be banned because there is nothing good about a gun. My brother and I differ in that he thinks everyone should be able to have any weapon they want without need to register them at all. I, on the other hand, have no issue with registering weapons and keeping assault rifles and the such out of the hands of anyone other than perhaps collectors, and there should be special permits for those.

My brother sent me this interesting link to a video from a protest in England. A few years ago they banned all handguns and did not get the result they thought they would. I am posting the paragraph that came with it, as an example of how the NRA will always add their political twist to a story...they can't just present the facts. Anyway...here it is:

MUST SEE NEWS STORY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTq2NEUlhDE

Camp Obama is refusing to comment that this protest (the largest in UK history) even happened, and you will not see this reporters story anywhere in the US media. The only way to share this story with others is to have it distributed by Americans LIKE YOU. The US media will not air it! Pass This On!

Is the Senate Sleeping?

President Obama's Cabinet is about complete, but I wonder if the Senate really did any serious questioning of the nominees? Hillary Clinton, though she probably would have been confirmed anyway, was hardly questioned about her husband's business dealings with foreign governments. They tossed her softball questions so as not to make her too comfortable.

Now look at the nominee for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner. This guy failed to pay his taxes, and now we are going to have him in charge of our finances. He should have been grilled on this, but again, was barely questioned. He may very well be qualified and do a great job, but let's at least make sure we make them account for their prior actions.

The Reason He Did Not Get My Vote

President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services.

This is the beginning of his dismantling of Roe v. Wade. His plan is to make all abortion legal with no restrictions whatsoever. At the center of this plan is the "Freedom of Choice Act" or FOCA. If passed, FOCA would establish a fundamental right to abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy, and would eliminate the ability of government, federal, state or local to deny or interfere with this right. Not only would this return the practice of partial birth abortions, but it would allow any young woman, at any time, without the knowledge of her parents, to have an abortion. If FOCA were to become law, abortion would become an entitlement that the government must fund and promote.

Though staunchly Pro-life...even I am realistic enough to know that abortion will likely never be eliminated. However, it does need to be controlled as much as possible or we will kill our future on a whim. If this form of murder is to be totally legalized...you may as well make it legal to shoot someone.

Add to this, the desire of an organization (another minority voice) to have all religious services and programs removed from the airways. Let's see if our Christian President allows this one to see the ink of his pen....but more on this in another post.

Secretary of State Clinton

That title alone makes my skin crawl. The thought of a Clinton in a major public office makes me sick. She got what she wanted...another position of power. I don't trust that woman as far as I can throw her. I do NOT think she will be a good Sec. of State. She is polarizing...only in it for the power. I can easily see her following her own agenda and ideas and not that of the President. There are so many conflicts of interest in her and Bill's past that she should not have been confirmed. There is not way you can tell me that she will not favor particular countries. I think he made a huge mistake picking her...but at least she is not the VP. We shall see.

First Day in Office

So President Obama wasted no time getting to work on day one. He is already looking to get our troops out of Iraq in 16 months and he is trying to get Guantanamo closed ASAP. Now, I would love to see us get out of Iraq soon, but let's make sure we do it right. I would hate to see us waste 7 years and have Iraq fall apart.

As far as Gitmo goes...I have no problem with us closing that place down. The only thing I don't like is that we are treating those people according to OUR Constitution. They aren't protected by that document, nor should they be. They are prisoners of war. I think we should leave them all in Iraq in a prison there. They don't believe in the Constitution or the rights it protects, so they should not be able to hide behind it.

President Obama

Today we made history as a country! Though I personally did not vote for Obama, I thought his speech was very good, he said some good things, but don't they all at their inauguration. I really liked his comments on everyone taking responsibility...he spoke in the past about fathers taking responsibility for the children they help create, and I like that he says we all need to step up to the plate and do our part. I think it is interesting how his views on certain things changed after he found out what he was truly up against. Funny how receiving that intelligence brief can make you look at the world differently. I hope he does a good job. After all, he is OUR president now, whether you voted for him or not. His success is our success and his failures are our failures...as a nation. We now need to get past our politics and get behind our president. I offer my best wishes for President Obama.

Airplane Crash in the Hudson

Was that an unbelievable story or what? Can you believe how great a job that pilot did to land that plane in the middle of the Hudson River? I believe that was another example of America at its best. A plane full of strangers came together and helped each other out when in danger. The fact that everyone did what they were supposed to and in a fairly orderly manner. My hat's off to the crew of that airplane for handling the situation so professionally. I have heard conflicting stories on the back doors. One story said they are trained to leave them closed so the water wouldn't enter the plane. A story today said they were unable to get them open, so maybe they hadn't made a great call as initially suggested, instead their inability to open a door they wanted open had turned out to be a very good thing. My congratulations to the crew for a job well done and my warmest thoughts to the people who walked out of the airplane alive.

NFL Playoffs

Well, now that my Vikings have been knocked out of the playoffs, I need to find a new team to cheer for. Obviously will not be the Eagles, so maybe the Giants. I really don't care about anyone else out there. I always cheer for the NFC team (unless it is Dallas) and I don't care for any of the others. Wouldn't mind seeing the Cardinals do well though. AFC team is always Pittsburgh. They have been my favorite AFC team since Bradshaw and those guys played for them. So, guess I would like to see the NY Giants and Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl with the Giants winning again.

Israel & Palestine

Why can't they just get along? What is the problem with those Palestinians? What is the big deal with the existence of Israel? Israel, if I'm not mistaken, has accepted a peaceful Palestine, but the Palestinians and some of their fellow Arabs, seem unable to live in peace. Don't they get tired of the Israelis coming in an beating them up for awhile and then go home? If they would just recognize Israels right to exist and then stop launching missiles into Israel, there would be peace and that are could become something more than just a drain on the world.

Bosses

Why must some bosses be such jerks? I have a lot of problems with my current boss. We are on such different levels it isn't even funny. Seems like everything I do is wrong, so I am challenged everyday. I am about to go home after a long business trip over the New Year and go on vacation the next day. I travel all morning tomorrow but I need to go in to the office when I return. I am sure it is for some reason that is absolutely pointless. I firmly believe that the reason we have so many problems is due to racial and sexual differences. She is on a total power trip and I pay for it.