about those Halloween pictures...
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| From november pics |
Yeah, I mentioned I'd post pictures from Halloween. Well, it turns out we only have a few. Seems again we sort of forgot to take the obligatory pics of the kids in their costumes. Click on the above pumpkin for some of the pictures we did get.
6 Comments:
Too funny - it looks as though Megan & Logan dressed almost identically for Halloween this year! Logan's costume doesn't have a zipper in front though!
I didn???t write this, but I admire the person who did! Good reminders as we enter the New Year! Try to see the glass half full and not half empty! In this case, MUCH more than HALF full! What you Think?
Discontented?
The Newsweek poll alleges that 67% of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69% of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.
So being the knuckle dragger I am, I starting thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4% of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all involved. Whether you are rich or poor they treat your wounds and even, if necessary, send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
Perhaps you are one of the 70% of Americans who own a home, you may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of having a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes; an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31% approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.
So why then the flat out discontentment in the minds of 69% of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads, and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells. Just ask why they were going to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book and do a TV special about how he didn't kill his wife but if he did, how he would do it . Insane!
Stop buying the negative venom you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.
I close with one of my favorite quotes from B.C. Forbes in 1953:
''What have Americans to be thankful for? More than any other people on the earth, we enjoy complete religious freedom, political freedom, social freedom. Our liberties are sacredly safeguarded by the Constitution of the United States, 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.' Yes, we Americans of today have been bequeathed a noble heritage. Let us pray that we may hand it down unsullied to our children and theirs.''
I suggest we sit back and count our blessings for all we have. If we don't, what we have will be taken away. Then we will have to explain to future generations why we squandered such blessing and abundance. If we are not careful this generation will be known as the ''greediest and most ungrateful generation.'' A far cry from the proud Americans of the ''greatest generation'' who left us an untarnished legacy.
To bad there aren't any more posts.
I typically do not rebuttal articles, but since a question was asked, I will volunteer to answer it.
My wife and I have 3 children (be patient, I am going somewhere with this), they don't do drugs, they attend church faithfully every Sabbath, they all love to go to prayer meeting and Friday night Bible study. Our son even rides 5 miles to church on his bicycle when we can not take him. They are not disrespectful, etc. etc. Given the fact that I have mentioned all of these wonderful things about my children, one would think that James has nothing to be concerned about concerning his children. That would be categorically false. Although God has been very good to my wife and I and our children, we must still correct them when they are wrong. We must still right any injustices that they are a part of causing. We must still facilitate their matriculation through school. Why...? The reason is a Biblical one. To whom much is given, much is required, Luke 12:48.
We have a great country. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. However, we can not compare our country to other countries and based on that comparison, declare that we have arrived at the pinnacle of success. That is not the correct metric. We must compare ourselves to ourselves to determine progress. It is because we are so great that I voice my opinions on the radio and in speeches. It is because we are so great that we should have health care for EVERY American, it is because we are so great that we must mitigate homelessness, it is because we are so great that we must take responsibility for the actions that we take in the world that lead to discontent.
It is the duty of every leader of a country to protect its citizens. I do not fault our president for attempting do this. He did not take us to war alone. There were many who voted to go to war. He could not have done it alone. However, the problem in America today is trust. I find it somewhat curios that whenever pertinent questions are asked of our government, that the media is blamed for somehow mesmerizing the masses such that we can not think or read and comprehend what we read. It is as if there is information that is available only to some Americans and that the rest of us are simply pawns of the media who simply regurgitate what we hear on CNN.
Did the media make up the fact that Scooter Libby has been convicted of crimes, did the media make up the fact that we went to war based on flawed information, did the media make up the fact that the current administration was voted into office via a state whose people were vehemently angry because there were allegations of miscounted votes (that had to be recounted; the hanging chads) and that the state's governor was the brother of the current president, did the media make up the fact that Bill Clinton had an affair with an intern, did the media make up the fact the American voters overturned the political landscape of the House and the Senate.
Don't get me wrong, I am by no means suggesting that the Democrats are the end all solution to anything, what I am saying is that the government needs to listen to the very people that it is trying to protect. I personally have great respect for President Bush. He is doing what he believes what is right in the face of overwhelming pressure for him to conform. However, I respectfully disagree with our current posture in the Middle East. We are in an unsolvable war. In my opinion, we can not win this war unless we fight like the terrorists and have no compassion. However, this is not a direction in which we can go. We can not become what we abhor. Therefore, we must leave. Our objective is not an achievable one unless the peoples of the region come to some political solution. We do not know who we are fighting. Our presence continues to bring radical individuals into the region.
Finally, I would like to pay homage and great respect to our troops. They are in an untenable position. The fact that they are volunteers in no way lessens the pain and hurt that is being caused from deaths, injuries, divorces, etc. We need to bring our troops home. We can use the 300+ billion dollars to protect our country HERE.
This is the greatest country on the planet. I love my country. We can, we must do better...
May God bless us all as we continue navigate these tumultuous times...
Great statement, but if not compare our countries to others, how can one try to better itself?
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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