Tragic Story

Proving yet again, nothing goes together better than little kids and guns. How sad that this child would lose his life so early to the simple idiocy of adults. How can people be so oblivious to danger. I guess the parents, and the man who fired the gun, will have a lot of time to thyink about it. May the boy rest in peace, those involved never will.

Chivalry Is Not Dead After All...

and neither is Nancy Pelosi's shoe! Aw, shucks.

In Case You Didn't Know: Pat Robertson is Nuts

Yep, certifiably crazy.

On This Week with George Stephanopoulos (no, I did not spell that right the first time), Pat came on and had some interesting things to say:

STEPANOPOULOS: Sir you have described this [judges/filiabuster issue] whole battle in pretty apocalyptic terms saying the "liberals are engaged in an all out assault on Christianity. The Democrats will appoint judges who do not share our Christian values and will dismantle our Christian culture and that the "out of control judicary" is the most serious threat that America has faced in nearly 400 years. More serious then al-Qaeda, more serious then Nazi Germany and Japan. More serious then the civil war?

ROBERTSON: George I really believe that. I think that they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together. There's an assault on marriage. There's an assault on human sexuality as judge Scalia said, "They've taken sides in the culture war." And on top of that, if we have a democracy that the democratic processes should be that we elect representatives who will share our point of view putting both those things into law.

A few seconds later Stepanopoulos interrupts Robertson:

STEPANOPOULOS: But sir, let me just stop you there. How can you say that these judges are a more serious threat then Islamic terrorists who slam into the World Trade Center?

ROBERTSON: It depends on how you look at culture. If you look over the course of a hundred years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings. I think we're going to control al Qaeda. I think we're going to get Osama bin Laden. We won in Afghanistan. We won in Iraq, and we can contain that. But if there's an erosion at home, you know, Thomas Jefferson warned about a tyranny of an oligarchy and if we surrender our democracy to the tyranny of an oligarchy, we've made a terrible mistake

Now you can see here, George tried to throw him a line and bail him out, but Pat would not take the rope. Pat instead blasts out about "a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." I was speechless. Also, did you know that only Christians and Jews should serve as judges? "They have said in the Koran there's a war against all the infidels," he said. "Do you want somebody like that sitting as a judge? I wouldn't." No Muslims allowed. See the whole vile thing here.

He also does faith-healings, has claimed to avert tornadoes and hurricanes via the power of prayer, blamed 9/11 (with Jerry Falwell)on America's growing acceptance of gays, lesbians, and feminists, and is just all-around hateful and full-of-himself.

Daily Kos points out his hypocracy as well:

When asked why God allows bad things to happen to huge numbers of people---specifically, the tsunami that hit Asia in December---Robertson batted it aside, saying, "The reason for that tsunami was the shifting of tectonic plates in the Indian Ocean. I don't think [God] changes the magma in volcanoes and I don't think he changes the wind currents to bring about hurricanes. So, I don't attribute that to God..."

Which got us to thinking about this little comment he made about God's wrath on June 6, 1998: "I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don't think I'd be waving those [rainbow] flags in God's face if I were you... But a condition like [Gay Day at Disney World] will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about...earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor."

But never a tsunami. That would be silly.

Guess Who's Last?

Interesting collection of polls here rating the nation's governors. Last is mine, Ohio's own, Bob Taft. Taft has budget deficits, spending cutbacks, a slowly recovering economy, a scandal-ridden statewide party, and made himself no friends in the latest election on the gay-marriage ban bill. (He opposed the specific bill as going too far, but does not support gay marriage.)

Find out how yours ranks!

I'm Back For Now

I have not posted in a while. I just seem to never have time for it, or the aggravating blogger website is down again. Right now work is consuming of all my time. We have more than doubled in size now in the past month and a half. I am really the only point of contact for all of these new people and just getting all the simple new hire stuff is driving my crazy. New e-mail set-ups, new passwords, new accounts, all the paperwork, all the training. Plus the non-stop questions! It seems somedays like we are just spinning our wheels, as right now we are adding loan officers but not closed loans. This weekend I have decided that it is time again to take a step back to go forward, to work on long-term projects rather than shor-term and take some time to just recover from the rush and get new people acclimated before we grow anymore. Our resources (and mine) are getting stretched thin, nearly to the point of breaking. We just need to take a cool down period for now.

Last weekend I went back home to help my parents move and celebrate Mother's Day. Saturday my father and I did a major project on the deck- invloving an hydraulic jack, many a power tool, and wrestling with a new 6X6 footer. My parents are moving father from DC to an absolutely beautiful new house up towards the mountains in Thurmont, Maryland. So they are completing projects around the old house to prep it for sale. We really did not have much time to just visit- all Saturday was spent working pretty much. I feel a little like I came home for Mother's Day and barely saw my mom. Oh well, it is a busy time for all...and at least I was a dutiful son! Hopefully next time will be nmore relaxed.

I am looking forward to being able to come down and just explore the area- amazing views and they are only a few miles from Catoctin National Park! I remember these hills from when I grew up, I feel so connected there. It's funny, those rocky hills hold so many happy childhood memories for me. I have not been back there for years, but I remember all over again why it is one of my favorite places on earth.

What a Great Idea

These brothers in NYC have decided to help out the soldiers in Iraq by feeding them, one salami at a time. They own Hobby's Deli and as one brother put it: "We know there are a bunch of homesick men and women over there, and to be able to do something. How do you put words to it? You have to do something. I can do salamis."

Maybe the most heartwarming part of it all is, the money to do this is all being donated by folks putting up as little as $10 each. Want to help give our soldiers a taste of home? Cut a $10.00 check to Hobby's Deli at 32 Branford Place, Newark, New Jersey 07102. Or call 973-623-0410 for more info. The official website is here. Throw in $100 and get an official t-shirt for your trouble.