So the health care bill passed. I am more than a little disappointed. I am actually awe-struck that our country has allowed this to happen. Are we just stupid?!?

One analyst said that this was a victory for those who wanted to expand government. I completely agree! I mean, the government basically “bought” a large portion of the private sector with all the bail-outs, and now they are simply “taking” the health care industry.

I, and many others, see this as a big step toward social health care and socialism. That said, has anyone looked at Canada? Yes, all Canadians get health care, but at what cost? They are paying a much higher percentage in income taxes than we are now. You may argue that ours won’t go up much, but are you taking into account the government mandate that we will have to pay in addition to taxes? Furthermore, take a look at the quality and availability of care in Canada. (I don’t mean to pick on Canada, it’s a beautiful country with a lot to offer) Notice the waiting list to see your doctor, and the leechers that won’t get a job because they don’t have to. We already have that here. How much worse are we willing to let it get?

Has anyone considered what effect this will have on health care workers? We should!

Now, the bigger picture. Government health care undercuts the rates of the private sector, the private sector has to sell out to the government, then the government has total control over health care. They can decide what doctors we can or can’t see. What treatments we can or can’t receive. They decide who can and can’t receive treatment. So, ultimately, they decide who lives and who dies.

Yes. We will all have affordable health care, but at what cost!

Just My Thoughts…

I was working on the road doing re-merchandising work at Lowe’s. I had been out for about sixteen weeks, away from my family. I was in southern Texas and they were here in North Georgia. The money was decent, but the cost was almost more than I could bear.

I didn’t realize that my marriage was falling apart. I was too busy making money and getting high. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those two things were all that I cared about. I mean, I was waking up to get high and getting high to go to sleep. Not to mention staying high in between. It became more than a lifestyle. It controlled my life.

This is Rita, the reason I left Texas when I did.

I started to notice that my wife didn’t really want to talk to me anymore. All we had was the phone, and we weren’t using it much. Katrina had passed before we got to Texas, and Rita was on the way. It came about that we had to leave town and fast!

The night before we left, I was sitting alone in my hotel room. I was miserable and mostly with my self. The realization had hit me that I had let everyone I know down in a major way! As I was sitting there in a fit of self pity, God got a hold of me. In a stern yet loving way He told me it was time to choose. Him or the life I was trying to live. He promised me He would get me through whatever came my way. He also reminded me that without Him, I had no protection from the world or the principalities in it. I chose quickly and got on my knees! I poured my heart to Jesus and I wept. I was so disappointed in myself and what I had become. I was ready for a change.

The next morning, my travel partner, Robert, and I got up early and joined the mass exodus leaving South Texas. It was a nightmare to try to travel in. We each out paychecks and per-diam checks, but nothing was open and we couldn’t get them cashed. We had about a quarter tank of gas and about twenty dollars between us with a thousand miles to go. As we crept along the interstate, we noticed that all of the gas stations were out of gas. We were getting dangerously close to running out of gas ourselves! Then we saw a gas station with several cars in line at the pumps. We pulled in with hope that we could get some gas. Robert took our money inside, he came out with a drink for each of us and gas paid for. I pumped the gas, it wasn’t much, or at least it didn’t seem like it at the time. The gas gauge showed about twice as much gas as we paid for! We started driving again. Things were looking bleak. It didn’t look like we were going to make it away from the approaching hurricane. I looked at Robert and,knowing what he had been through in jail and his encounter with Jesus there, I said “If you still believe in the power of prayer, now would be a good time…”. He replied, “I’ve been praying since we left…”. That little bit of gas took us several hundred miles and well into Louisiana! When we had to stop for gas again, we able to cash our checks and fill up the tank!

When I got home, there were still issues to deal with. You see, just because I surrendered to God, didn’t mean that everything would be instantly fixed. Of course, I didn’t understand that at the time and I was quite surprised to find my wife still distant and apprehensive. We only fought for about two days before days she left with the kids. Now understand that she had just given birth to our youngest son, Nathan about three months earlier. I don’t want to mislead anyone. She had valid reasons for her actions at that time. I brought the situation on us with my disobedience to God, and I understood that when she left.

It was only a day or two before she let me that she had a restraining order against me and I couldn’t see her or the kids without fear of being arrested. About a day after she got the restraining order, I went an hour north of where we lived to talk to someone at the church that I had grown up in during the summers that I spent there. That seemed to be a waste of time. All they could tell me was that although God didn’t want divorce, I couldn’t stop her from doing it and that I should accept it and move on. As I was walking out of the church, my phone rang. It was my wife. She said that I could come over and talk and get some of my stuff. I was VERY excited! You should also know that I had gotten rid of all the things associated with my drug habit, and I was free from that whole mess!

As made the drive back to the house to talk to my wife, I prayed like I never had before. I prayed openly, honestly, and boldly. I told God, “Whatever it takes, just do it. My family is worth it!”. Well, you know God! He did just that! When I came down our street, I noticed a sheriff’s car parked in our driveway.
Thinking I had nothing to fear, I walked up to him saying “I didn’t expect to see you guys here. What’s going on?”. I was offering a hand shake at the same time. Well, he took my hand, spun me around, cuffed me and read me rights! I know what you’re thinking, but the restraining order had nothing to do with it. He mentioned that there was one as a side note, but that I was going to jail on a warrant for non payment of fines. This was the beginning of this amazing journey that I am on….

I’m back on soapbox about Obama. This time, as you know, he has won the Nobel Peace Prize. And for what? Was it the record high budget deficit we hit this year of $1.4 trillion? Was it because he still hasn’t closed Guantanamo Bay? Was it because he still hasn’t brought our troops home from Iraq? Was it because he spent $787 billion on bailouts and stimulus packages that most of us never saw any results from? Was it his lack of support for Israel and his insistence that they give up Jerusalem? No, I don’t think so. I believe that all of this and more was overlooked! I believe it was simply because he made some speeches that sounded good with a lot of great promises that he still hasn’t kept! I also believe that it was because he is “black”, the first “black” president of the United States of America!

Go ahead, call me a racist! You won’t be the first! But let me assure you that I am no racist! Unlike the majority that elected this guy, I don’t see color as a problem or a validation. None of us chose what color we were going to be, so what does it matter what color someone is? It doesn’t. A person’s color doesn’t make them any better or any worse than another person. What they believe in and stand for is what makes the person. I don’t see that Obama believes in or stands for anything but himself!

I read some comments on a popular social network today. I just want to share them with you. I find some of this to be really troubling:

“Can you people be proud for once that we have a great leader? He is not perfect, nobody is, but  for god’s sake he is rebuilding what Bush ruined, and Bush ruined A LOT.”

A great leader? Really? Where has he lead us? What has he done?

“We are finally doing things we can be proud of, yet the American people have tried everything in the book against him: he’s a commy, a muslim, or a fascist. He wasn’t born here. He is hiding his grades from school. He is a liar. Did I miss anything?”

What have we done that we can be proud of? Have we never done anything else that we can be proud of?

“I think Obama becoming president is a great thing to have happened for americans”

“Congratulations Obama!!! He is a messiah !”

This one really bothers me! There is only one messiah! His name is Jesus!

“Congrats to the American people for having this great leader as their President”

“I must live in an alternative reality.  What exactly has President Obama done to receive a  Nobel Peace Prize?

What conflict did he end?  For what historic issue has his leadership provided a breakthrough?

Congratulations to him, but I thought prizes of this significance were awarded for high achievements.  His presidency has promise & potential, but at this early juncture, I fail to see any milestone to justify this honor.

If talking nice & playing well with others is what now constitutes the criteria for a Nobel Peace Prize, then I  nominate Big Bird or Burt & Ernie.”

They call him messiah, but will he die for your sins?

Yes, these people are serious. Some of them are not even from the U.S.! I hope you all get the point that I am trying to make. Obama cannot be the messiah! But, he can be something else. Remember this, he is also the same one that said that the Bible was just not appropriate to try to live by in this day and time. I cannot support anyone that holds this view. The Bible is the most appropriate thing to try to live by today or any other day! If you don’t believe in it that’s your choice. Realize that just because you don’t believe in something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. When Colombus sailed around the world for the first, no one believed it was round. Their disbelief didn’t change what was real.

I hope that I have not offended anyone, but if I did, then you probably needed to be offended!

Just my thoughts…

Realize, tolerance makes it easier to accept things that are unacceptable.

I agree with this some extent. I think that we all have the right to believe or not believe as we see fit. Obviously we all need to live here together peacefully. That is where the tolerance comes in. The problem with tolerance is that a line has to be drawn or we will be tolerating everything! I’m sorry, but there are some things that I just can’t tolerate!

I will tolerate the Foundation For Freedom From Religion, their views, their beliefs, and their lack of belief. However, I have a hard time justifying tolerance of anyone trying to steal part of my country’s heritage!

You see, whether any of us likes it or not, “In God We Trust” and the Pledge of Allegiance are a part of our Country’s heritage. It’s not just a Christian thing. It is part of the history and heritage of the United States of America. If you don’t believe in God, surely, as a reasonable human being, you can still appreciate the historical aspects of this. If not, then you are just being intolerant, ignorant, and selfish.

Furthermore, let me say that I believe the desire to remove “In God We Trust” comes out conviction.

I hope this post clears up what I was trying to say, and I thank you for reading.

Just My Thoughts…

There is a new three story underground visitor center in our nation’s capitol. Pretty cool! On the entrance there is an engraving that reads “In God We Trust” and also the Pledge of Allegiance. Any one have a problem with that? Well, the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation does!

Isn't praising Darwin a religion of it's own? Oh yeah, Darwinism!

The group has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in western Wisconsin, claiming the taxpayer-funded engravings would be an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

“The House and Senate passed identical resolutions this month directing the Architect of the Capitol to engrave “In God We Trust” and the pledge in prominent places at the entrance for 3 million tourists who visit the Capitol each year.”

“The resolution came in response to critics who complained Congress spent $621 million on the new three-story underground center without paying respect to the nation’s religious heritage. The center opened in December after years of construction.”

The foundation is claiming that the engravings would discriminate against people who do not practice religion and unfairly promote Christianity.

Seriously, do these people need a history lesson? These engravings are a big part of our nation’s history! You can pick up any history text book and read that in simple English that even the lesser educated can understand! I mean, what would they have the evgraving say? “In Nothing We Trust”, “In the Lack of A Higher Power or Any Resemblance There Of We Trust”, or ” There is Nothing to Trust In”.

To this foundation: “GET A GRIP!!!” This is America. We were founded on Christian principles. If you don’t like it, leave it! I challenge you to go to a Muslim nation and try to voice an anti-religious opinion that conflicted with their belief in Allah. You would likely be killed immediately and your family told: “It was Allah’s will”. At least here you are safe when you say or do something STUPID like this.  I find it quite ridiculous that anyone would spend money on a such a crybaby lawsuit! This country was trusting in God long before you, what makes you think you have the right to change that!?!

Just My Thoughts…

The future of America?

Did you catch the Obama speech this morning? Me either. I am glad we have the internet, or I would have missed it completely! I did watch it all in it’s entirety this evening. It left me feeling all warm and fuzzy! You know, that love, peace and all that good happiness stuff feeling! It made me think that maybe I want to become a Muslim, or maybe even a… Muslim!

Hmmmmm…. Must have been the Kool-Aid! Seriously people, DON’T DRINK THE KOOL-AID!!! It is something like a suicide cult. He gets everyone to drink the Kool-Aid, and then tells them what was in it. In more realistic terms, he gets everyone to love and support him and his every move; and then tells them what they have actually agreed to!

Kool-Aid anyone?

It seems his speech was focused almost exclusively on Islam and Muslims. I felt a bit left out. He quoted the Holy Bible once in the entire 55 minute speech. I lost track of how many times he quoted the “Holy Koran”. It seems that he knows the Koran quite well, but the Bible,well, not so much! That kind of bothered me. He also claimed to be a Christian, but he didn’t talk much about Christians or Christianity. He focused almost exclusively on the Muslim world. It really made me feel that if one is not a Muslim, they will be left behind and even become outcast from the rest of the world! Do we Christians just not matter to Obama?

Obama gave Cairo speech on the anniversary of the rebuilding of this stone.

He did say some things that I agree with. I think religious extremists that pursue violence should not be tolerated. Other than that, it all tasted like Kool-Aid! He basically said that in each conflict, both sides are right, and both sides are wrong. As usual, he didn’t really offer any solutions to any thing, just a lot of pretty rhetoric to make people feel good and clap to boost his growing ego. It amazes how many people are fooled by the flash! He is on the fence on almost everything! I mean, he agreed with both sides on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, and then he disagreed with both sides! The whole speech was like that! Can he not choose a side? Can he not stand for something instead of trying to stand for everything?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Here in America, we are even entitled to express our opinion. Unfortunately, we are entitled to lie also. I would really like to know what Obama’s HONEST opinion is. I just can’t tell from watching this speech. I do hope for the best outcome for everyone. I am no Rush Limbaugh. I don’t hope that Obama fails. However, like Rush, I do hope that Obama is not able to accomplish some of the things he is trying for as I see that they will be a detriment to our country.

Finally, I refuse to become a Muslim, a woman, or a Muslim woman! So I guess I am just going be left out! Oh well! I prefer wine over Kool-Aid anyway!

Just my thoughts…

Related External Links

Does this flag offend you?

My last post was an article that I read on Fox News. I am blown away by that whole situation! (I also have that feeling that I am about to offend some people…)

Well, last I checked Texas was still a part of The United States of America. I also seem to recall that Texans are particularly patriotic. I am completely befuddled by anyone in The United States of America, especially Texas, being offended by OUR flag! I am offended that they took Debbie McLucas’ flag down. The people in this country used to take a certain amount of pride in being “American”. Now, the majority just seem to want to make sure that they don’t offend anyone. (Are you seeing the pattern here..?) Is it wrong for a woman to take pride in her country? Is it wrong for her to display an “American” flag, in America, to honor her husband, two sons, and a daughter? The short answer is: “NO!!!”. I’ll let you be creative with the long answer.

Remember what it stands for?

Now, for those offended by the flag. You live in America by choice. If you don’t like it here, you are free to leave! YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE OFFENDED BY THE AMERICAN FLAG!!! There, I said it. I am prepared for the backlash, so don’t hold back! If you came here by choice, you should be just as proud of that flag as the rest of us. If you are offended by our flag, go back where you came from. I dare anyone to go to Ireland and tell an Irish man or woman that you are offended by Guiness, much less their country’s flag! They would run you off the Island! We should be more like that here! In fact, we used to be!

Listen up people: Something bad is happening to our country, and only we can stop it! Don’t be afraid to stand up for what is right. “If it offends someone, then they probably needed to be offended”

Just My Thoughts . . .

Related External Links

• THE THIRD PRINCE: THE FIRST 100 DAYS IN ALLEGORY « Marylou's America

• American Flag Is “Offensive” « Giovanni's World

• Broadway's Record-Breaking Year! « On The Scene « FOXNews.com

• Latin Masses in Ireland: May/June « Ireland – Semper Fidelis

Debbie McLucas comes from a patriotic family – her husband and both of her sons served in the U.S. military, and her daughter is currently deployed to Iraq on her second tour of duty as a combat medic.

So when McLucas arrived at work at a Texas hospital last Friday, she was stunned to be told that the Stars and Stripes she had hung in her office in advance of Memorial Day were offensive, and that the flag had been removed.

“I got into work, I was met by my supervisor and told that there had been multiple complaints, that people found the flag very offensive and it had been taken down,” McLucas told FOXNews.com.

“I went to the office to retrieve it and found the flag wrapped around the pole, sitting in the corner on the ground. I was speechless.”

McLucas, a supervisor at Kindred Hospital in Mansfield, Texas, had displayed the 3-by-5-foot flag in the office she shares with the hospital’s three other supervisors. McLucas said one of her colleagues, a woman who immigrated to the United States from Africa 14 years ago, complained about the flag to upper management, and the hospital decided to take down the flag.

“I was told that as long as my flag offended one person, it would be taken down,” McLucas said.

She said the hospital told her that the American flag flying outside the building would have to suffice. “I was told, ‘There is a flag hanging out front, everyone can see that one. Is that not enough?’”

No, she said, that wasn’t enough.

“It is more than I can even fathom, that you would find the American flag offensive, in America,” McLucas said.

A Kindred Healthcare spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Kindred issued a press release stating, “Kindred Hospital Mansfield has a great deal of appreciation for the service that many of our employees and their families have given to their country. We honor our veterans and active military through a variety of benefits and service programs. This was an isolated incident between two employees that we are working to resolve amicably.”

The statement went on to explain: “The disagreement was over the size of the flag and not what it symbolized. We have invited the employee to put the flag back up.”

And it will go back up and stay up, McLucas said.

“I do think they’re trying to do the right thing. I have no reason to believe the flag won’t remain there as long as I’m employed.”

-FOX NEWS

Not My Thoughts, I’ll be sharing those soon. . .

Related External Links

I know that I may a little behind here, but I am so completely blown away by the events of the Miss USA pageant that it has taken me a minute to respond! Carrie Prejean; way to go! I am so proud of you! I am thrilled that there are still people willing to stand up for God publicly and lose it all for His sake! That loss can be counted as gain!

I first heard about all this in a blurb on a news channel. Today, I had the time to read up on it and watch the videos. I was really expecting a wishy washy response from the contestant that made the comment, but I was so impressed by the intelligent and “true to self” response offered by Ms. Prejean. I feel that she is a wonderful example for young girls around the world! I will likely be talking to my 11 year old daughter about this event. I want her to see how strong a girl can be. I want her see that winning the “contest” is not always the most important thing. I want her to understand that Ms. Prejean won a bigger battle than the Miss USA contest. I want my daughter to look up to women like her mother and Ms. Prejean.

Perez Hilton. What a joke! I think it is important to keep this fool in perspective. If he does not want to hear a contestants view on a particular topic, he should not ask for it! Now,(Oh I’m gonna get heat for this!)  homosexuality, by definition, is a deception, a lie, a deviation, a perversion of nature. It goes against God, and it goes against all things that are natural. The problem is that homosexuals believe the lie and work hard to propagate it and convince the rest of us to believe it also. This Hilton kid was offended by Ms. Prejean’s answer and seemed to feel that she had no right to answer that way. What gives him the right to decide anyone else’s rights? He asked the question, he should be ready to accept the answer! I assure you he won’t be asking me any questions, and if he does, I am certain that he will spend a lot of energy trying to overcome what I would say. That’s okay by me! P. Hilton is exactly the kind of person that keeps me from allowing my children to watch television or use the internet. Now keep in mind that I don’t hate Mr. Hilton, only what he stands for. There is still hope for him. God can change anyone that will come to Him.

I think it is a sad state of affairs when we can not openly stand up for what we believe and what our nation was founded on because we might offend those who are against God. I know that the “politically correct” response is that we are not to offend anyone but the Christians. Well, you know where I stand on “political correctness”. If the anti-Christians are offended, good, perhaps they needed to be offended.

Just My Thoughts…

I’ve been reading up on the economy. The general consensus is that the banks are still broke, the economy is still in recession, and we’re still facing hard times all around. It seems that on an individual level, Americans are not spending nearly as much as they used to. I’m sure we would if we had it to spend and felt like it was going to keep coming in.

We recently had $787 billion in economic stimulus and bailouts. Where did it go? I certainly don’t feel like my financial situation has changed. Has yours? I don’t see that there is much difference on any level that effects the average American citizen. If I have missed something, please let me know. What I do see is businesses filing bankruptcy, families tightening up their budgets, and less money coming in for a lot of people. I heard that as a part of the stimulus bill, we would each receive $13 dollars a week on our normal paycheck. That works out to be a bit over $600 a year. I’m not scoffing at that, but really, $787 billion, and we each get a little over $600? Where did the rest of it go? I don’t feel like it went anywhere that is helping the majority of us.

I got to thinking about this huge number ($787 billion – or – $787,000,000,000) and I wondered how much that broke down to if it were divided evenly among Americans age 18 and over. Keep in mind that this includes everyone over the age of 18 regardless of employment status or anything else, so you could narrow this down even more.  I did the research, and according to the census report, there are approximately 225 million Americans age 18 and over. If you were divide $787 billion evenly to this population, each individual would receive around $3000.00. Imagine what would happen to the economy if 225 million people suddenly had $3000.00 each to invest, put in the bank, pay a bill, or buy a car! I think the recession would likely have ended. The auto industry would be just fine, and the banks would be overflowing with money!

Now that sounds like a real bailout and stimulus plan! Let’s not forget that some of that would go back to the government. I mean, you know they would tax it!

Just My Thoughts…

Related External Links

• Mitchieville » Blog Archive » Politically Correct, eh??

Related External Links

• Mitchieville » Blog Archive » Politically Correct, eh??