The results are in, and the vote is unanimous! All 5 participants in my Poll fell that President Bush has not committed any impeachable offenses. This survey includes responses from approximately .00000167% of the American population. I've seen some pretty wild headlines based on studies with groups not much larger than that, but I digress.
The truth is that, like him or not, President Bush has not committed any impeachable offenses... so far as we know. That is to say that all of the things that we hear murmurings about, that some Congressmen have implied that they might start impeachment hearings about, are not impeachable offenses.
So, what is an impeachable offense? The Constitution defines this way "High Crimes and Misdemeanors." In other words, an actual crime, not just something that someone else doesn't like.
This is pretty simple really, but I left the poll up there for so long, I wanted to address it. Now, please vote in my new poll... as soon as I think of one.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Reflection
I was taking an online survey today and something stuck me that I wanted to share. It asked a lot of general questions about a lot of different things, such as dining out at restaurants, it asked how often do you dine out, and the first choice was "Every Day," and then they went down from there. Then I got down to a section that talked about going to Church (actually I think it said "Religious Services"), and when it asked how often you attend Church, the first choice was "Never." All I could think was that they must have put the answers they thought would be the most popular at the top... I had to scroll down a little to find where it said "Every Week."
Of course, as some of you know, because of work, I'm not able to go every single week, but since I go every week that I am able, I figured that would apply. To me this is a reminder of how important it is that we instill in our Children just how important it is to be in church. Growing up my Dad felt it crucial that we be in church, in his words, "every time the doors are open," which was quite a bit... especially since he had a key! But seriously, in our family, Church never took a backseat to anything, and that is a good way to grow up. Amy and I faced a situation recently in which some friends, Christians and Churchgoers themselves, had a birthday party for their son, and invited us and our kids to go, and they had rented one of those really super fun kid party places for the party... the only problem was that they were having it on a Sunday morning, during Church hours. When Amy saw this Friend she asked if we were going to be there, and Amy told her, of course not, it's during Church, and he friend replied that it was only one Sunday, and Amy told her (and I'm so proud of this) "We don't want to teach our kids that Church is really important UNLESS there is something fun that you think you would rather do."
Always remember Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Of course Church is good for a lot more than just our kids, but they are a very good reason to be faithful to it.
Of course, as some of you know, because of work, I'm not able to go every single week, but since I go every week that I am able, I figured that would apply. To me this is a reminder of how important it is that we instill in our Children just how important it is to be in church. Growing up my Dad felt it crucial that we be in church, in his words, "every time the doors are open," which was quite a bit... especially since he had a key! But seriously, in our family, Church never took a backseat to anything, and that is a good way to grow up. Amy and I faced a situation recently in which some friends, Christians and Churchgoers themselves, had a birthday party for their son, and invited us and our kids to go, and they had rented one of those really super fun kid party places for the party... the only problem was that they were having it on a Sunday morning, during Church hours. When Amy saw this Friend she asked if we were going to be there, and Amy told her, of course not, it's during Church, and he friend replied that it was only one Sunday, and Amy told her (and I'm so proud of this) "We don't want to teach our kids that Church is really important UNLESS there is something fun that you think you would rather do."
Always remember Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Of course Church is good for a lot more than just our kids, but they are a very good reason to be faithful to it.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Prayer
Most people have a pretty good idea of what prayer is, basically, it's talking to God. There are a lot of uses for prayer, everything from praise and worship to asking for help in time of need, to seeking guidance for everyday life, to just keeping open communication with God, among other things. But at it's very core prayer is really about one on one conversation with our Creator. And that's what I really wanted to talk about today.
Now, please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with group prayer, or with a Pastor leading prayer in a church service, or people just gathering around the pray together, in fact, I would say that these are good things... unless the only time a person prays is out loud in front of other people, the Bible specifically tells us that those who pray for others to see already have their reward. But to pray out loud in front of people is fine, if you don't mind doing it.
What has always bothered me to some degree is when it is expected for you to lead prayer in a group, and I'm not talking about asking the blessing before a meal, that's something that pretty much anyone can handle, but in a group, to be put on the spot has always rubbed me the wrong way. For me it's like this, when I have to pray in front of other people, I think way to much about what they think of my prayer, and I end up saying whatever seems that it will sound good to them, and it doesn't really matter that they aren't going to judge me for what I say, I can't get past the hurdle, and so I end up saying a bunch of words, but I'm not really praying. When I am alone, and it's just me and God, then I'm free to open up and lay it all out in front of Him, with no concern for what anyone else would think if they heard it. It used to be that when I was asked to pray somewhere I would feel that I had no choice, and so I would say something that I thought sounded good, but in truth, I wasn't really praying, and for me personally, I finally decided that enough was enough, so when I was asked to pray in Sunday School this past week, I politely refused. Not something most people in church are used to, but maybe they should get used to it.
I guess the point today is, if you are able to really pray in front of others, go for it, it really can be a blessing to listen to someone else talk to God, but if you're like me, and just can't really open up and pray unless you are alone with God, don't be afraid to politely decline. And if you are someone who is doing the asking for someone else to pray, and then inform you that they would rather not, please, respect that, and whatever you do, don't take it personally.
Now, please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with group prayer, or with a Pastor leading prayer in a church service, or people just gathering around the pray together, in fact, I would say that these are good things... unless the only time a person prays is out loud in front of other people, the Bible specifically tells us that those who pray for others to see already have their reward. But to pray out loud in front of people is fine, if you don't mind doing it.
What has always bothered me to some degree is when it is expected for you to lead prayer in a group, and I'm not talking about asking the blessing before a meal, that's something that pretty much anyone can handle, but in a group, to be put on the spot has always rubbed me the wrong way. For me it's like this, when I have to pray in front of other people, I think way to much about what they think of my prayer, and I end up saying whatever seems that it will sound good to them, and it doesn't really matter that they aren't going to judge me for what I say, I can't get past the hurdle, and so I end up saying a bunch of words, but I'm not really praying. When I am alone, and it's just me and God, then I'm free to open up and lay it all out in front of Him, with no concern for what anyone else would think if they heard it. It used to be that when I was asked to pray somewhere I would feel that I had no choice, and so I would say something that I thought sounded good, but in truth, I wasn't really praying, and for me personally, I finally decided that enough was enough, so when I was asked to pray in Sunday School this past week, I politely refused. Not something most people in church are used to, but maybe they should get used to it.
I guess the point today is, if you are able to really pray in front of others, go for it, it really can be a blessing to listen to someone else talk to God, but if you're like me, and just can't really open up and pray unless you are alone with God, don't be afraid to politely decline. And if you are someone who is doing the asking for someone else to pray, and then inform you that they would rather not, please, respect that, and whatever you do, don't take it personally.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Vigilance
A home health nurse was recently recorded on a video camera beating, and abusing in various other ways, a man in his nineties that she was supposed to be caring for. Kudos to the mans family for realizing that something was wrong and installing the camera.
As loved ones age we like to think that we will be able to care for them, and many families do so, just as long as they can, but there often comes a time when there is no choice other than either enlisting the help of a home care nurse, or placing that loved one in a nursing home, or similar elder care facility. More often than not the people we turn to for help are good caring people, who really want to help, but we need to remember, even though you will often pay them outrageous sums of money for the service, it is up to the family to make sure that the elderly person is receiving quality care, and not being neglected, or abused.
Another thing to remember when it comes to nursing homes is that, while the people working there usually do care, and want to do what's right, many of these facilities are understaffed, and it is not at all uncommon for what staff there is to be underpaid, and overworked, never a good situation. The only way to make sure your loved one is getting quality care in one of these places is to visit often, on a wildly variable schedule, and not always during designated visiting hours. If you are alone yourself, or have a very small family, and so can't get to the nursing home as often as you'd like, enlist the help of some friends to keep the visit frequency high, and remember, a patient that gets a lot of visits from an attentive and involved family is a well cared for patient. And if you have brought someone into your home to care for a family member, be vigilant there as well, installing video camera's is a good place to start, and keep an eye out for any other warning signs as well, and hopefully this will never happen to you.
As loved ones age we like to think that we will be able to care for them, and many families do so, just as long as they can, but there often comes a time when there is no choice other than either enlisting the help of a home care nurse, or placing that loved one in a nursing home, or similar elder care facility. More often than not the people we turn to for help are good caring people, who really want to help, but we need to remember, even though you will often pay them outrageous sums of money for the service, it is up to the family to make sure that the elderly person is receiving quality care, and not being neglected, or abused.
Another thing to remember when it comes to nursing homes is that, while the people working there usually do care, and want to do what's right, many of these facilities are understaffed, and it is not at all uncommon for what staff there is to be underpaid, and overworked, never a good situation. The only way to make sure your loved one is getting quality care in one of these places is to visit often, on a wildly variable schedule, and not always during designated visiting hours. If you are alone yourself, or have a very small family, and so can't get to the nursing home as often as you'd like, enlist the help of some friends to keep the visit frequency high, and remember, a patient that gets a lot of visits from an attentive and involved family is a well cared for patient. And if you have brought someone into your home to care for a family member, be vigilant there as well, installing video camera's is a good place to start, and keep an eye out for any other warning signs as well, and hopefully this will never happen to you.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Forecast
So, with Hurricane Dean bulking up out in the tropical Atlantic region right now, and all of us in Hurricane country making sure we get updates on it twice a day at the least, a few things struck me.
The local TV station that my wife and I watch our news and weather on most of the time is actually pretty good, but nothing is quite as fun as watching them forecast hurricane routes, especially when they are trying to figure out where it will be around ten days out. They always try, and always show you the long range models, but they are almost always wrong. The fact is, nobody knows that far in advance where these monster storms are headed. A couple of days ago Hurricane Dean was headed right to my front door, but now, just 48 hours later, it won't be coming within 500 miles of my house... or so they say right now. Of course, with them updating the forecasted track every 6 hours or so, when they finally do get it right, they are able to say, see, right where we told you it was going to go, forgetting about the part where they were wrong for days before that.
It strikes me that life can be a lot like that. There are a lot of commentators and such that will make all kinds of wild predictions, but they keep changing them as whatever event they are predicting about gets closer, so in the end, they end up being right... it's just that they were so wrong before they finally got it right. But people choose to keep believing in people anyway.
This brings up another thought, something that is a little bit related, but off track from the above discourse. Putting too much faith in any person can be a dangerous thing. How many people have walked away from Church, and even gone so far as to turn their back on God, because a Pastor, or some other senior person within a church, has done something wrong? You see it quite a bit, and a lot of the problem comes from that fact that too much faith is placed in that person, rather than God. People, be they Pastors or whatever, are only human, and will make mistakes, which is why we need to pray for our Pastors, that God keeps them strong, and keeps them from stumbling, but God is infallible, and if we put our Faith and Trust in Him, we won't be disappointed.
The local TV station that my wife and I watch our news and weather on most of the time is actually pretty good, but nothing is quite as fun as watching them forecast hurricane routes, especially when they are trying to figure out where it will be around ten days out. They always try, and always show you the long range models, but they are almost always wrong. The fact is, nobody knows that far in advance where these monster storms are headed. A couple of days ago Hurricane Dean was headed right to my front door, but now, just 48 hours later, it won't be coming within 500 miles of my house... or so they say right now. Of course, with them updating the forecasted track every 6 hours or so, when they finally do get it right, they are able to say, see, right where we told you it was going to go, forgetting about the part where they were wrong for days before that.
It strikes me that life can be a lot like that. There are a lot of commentators and such that will make all kinds of wild predictions, but they keep changing them as whatever event they are predicting about gets closer, so in the end, they end up being right... it's just that they were so wrong before they finally got it right. But people choose to keep believing in people anyway.
This brings up another thought, something that is a little bit related, but off track from the above discourse. Putting too much faith in any person can be a dangerous thing. How many people have walked away from Church, and even gone so far as to turn their back on God, because a Pastor, or some other senior person within a church, has done something wrong? You see it quite a bit, and a lot of the problem comes from that fact that too much faith is placed in that person, rather than God. People, be they Pastors or whatever, are only human, and will make mistakes, which is why we need to pray for our Pastors, that God keeps them strong, and keeps them from stumbling, but God is infallible, and if we put our Faith and Trust in Him, we won't be disappointed.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Two Things
I'm starting this off with two things on my mind. I could end up with ten, but I'll start with the two original thoughts.
First of all, recent headlines have told that President Bush's chief war advisor is talking "Draft." Now, isn't that a welcome thought? Now, to be fair, he's made it clear that this is just him talking, and that there have been no official talks within the White House about reinstituting a military draft, and that the President is not interested in discussing it, indicating that he doesn't think it an option that needs to be considered... at least for now. I think I've made it clear by now that I don't like the war in Iraq, and I wasn't in favor of the invasion to begin with, but one of the big selling points that war supporters have been using to pacify critics is the "fact" that it is an all volunteer force. Of course, even this is stretching the truth somewhat. While it is true that they have not drafted anyone into the military to meet the needs of the conflict, they have forcibly extended enlistments, that is, not allowed people to leave the armed forces when they were supposed to. They have also extended deployments, which, while not the same thing, can have a negative effect on our military forces. And besides this, they have sent Reserve and National Guard forces to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to keep troop levels up to the task at hand. Admittedly, this is what the Reserves are for, but not the National Guard. The job of the Guard is to defend the US against attack from abroad, and to lend a hand in the event of disasters and emergencies, not to go halfway around the world and leave the homeland precariously unguarded. So when John Kerry said during the last Presidential campaign that the US already has what he called a "backdoor draft," he wasn't far off the mark. For me personally, I don't like the idea of a draft except in the incidence of the most extreme of national emergencies, and I don't think this qualifies.
The second thing I've had on my mind is something else I read about yesterday, and that is another frivolous lawsuit against McDonalds. This time they are being sued because some guy claims that he ordered a quarter pounder without cheese, but it came with cheese, and he had such a strong allergic reaction that he almost died. He wants to be paid $10 million! I see several problems with this; First of all, how is he going to prove that he ordered the sandwich without cheese? Does he have a recording of this? Second, how could you not notice the cheese on one of these sandwiches, since it tends to melt around the patty and goo all over the wrapper? Third, can you imagine that anyone who is that allergic to cheese wouldn't check the sandwich before biting into it to make sure that there was none there? (Besides, remember if you will, it would have been all over the wrapper!) For me, there is also the fact of how much he is asking for. I might see this as something legitimate if he were only asking for McD's to pay his medical bills and lost wages (if any), but asking for $10 million... smacks of SCAM to me.
One more thing that comes to mind are the trapped miners in Utah. Things are not looking good for them being found alive at the moment, but lets all remember to take some time and Pray to Almighty God that we could see a happy ending out this.
First of all, recent headlines have told that President Bush's chief war advisor is talking "Draft." Now, isn't that a welcome thought? Now, to be fair, he's made it clear that this is just him talking, and that there have been no official talks within the White House about reinstituting a military draft, and that the President is not interested in discussing it, indicating that he doesn't think it an option that needs to be considered... at least for now. I think I've made it clear by now that I don't like the war in Iraq, and I wasn't in favor of the invasion to begin with, but one of the big selling points that war supporters have been using to pacify critics is the "fact" that it is an all volunteer force. Of course, even this is stretching the truth somewhat. While it is true that they have not drafted anyone into the military to meet the needs of the conflict, they have forcibly extended enlistments, that is, not allowed people to leave the armed forces when they were supposed to. They have also extended deployments, which, while not the same thing, can have a negative effect on our military forces. And besides this, they have sent Reserve and National Guard forces to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to keep troop levels up to the task at hand. Admittedly, this is what the Reserves are for, but not the National Guard. The job of the Guard is to defend the US against attack from abroad, and to lend a hand in the event of disasters and emergencies, not to go halfway around the world and leave the homeland precariously unguarded. So when John Kerry said during the last Presidential campaign that the US already has what he called a "backdoor draft," he wasn't far off the mark. For me personally, I don't like the idea of a draft except in the incidence of the most extreme of national emergencies, and I don't think this qualifies.
The second thing I've had on my mind is something else I read about yesterday, and that is another frivolous lawsuit against McDonalds. This time they are being sued because some guy claims that he ordered a quarter pounder without cheese, but it came with cheese, and he had such a strong allergic reaction that he almost died. He wants to be paid $10 million! I see several problems with this; First of all, how is he going to prove that he ordered the sandwich without cheese? Does he have a recording of this? Second, how could you not notice the cheese on one of these sandwiches, since it tends to melt around the patty and goo all over the wrapper? Third, can you imagine that anyone who is that allergic to cheese wouldn't check the sandwich before biting into it to make sure that there was none there? (Besides, remember if you will, it would have been all over the wrapper!) For me, there is also the fact of how much he is asking for. I might see this as something legitimate if he were only asking for McD's to pay his medical bills and lost wages (if any), but asking for $10 million... smacks of SCAM to me.
One more thing that comes to mind are the trapped miners in Utah. Things are not looking good for them being found alive at the moment, but lets all remember to take some time and Pray to Almighty God that we could see a happy ending out this.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
I'm Back
Well, the vacation is over and it's back to normal life. Had a great time though. Don't get to see Mom often enough, so it was good having her here for a couple of weeks. Wish she could have stayed longer, and so do the kids, they had so much fun with her, and I'm sure are missing her already, though she just flew back to New York today. My son, Josh, tried to tell Mom on multiple occasions that she was staying here and not allowed to go back to New York, and my daughter (still struggling to understand the realities of money) is trying to get her to buy the house across the street that is for sale. Kids do have a way of making you feel special, don't they?
Must've been a slow news day here in Central Florida. The big stories are about a mother who left her six month old baby in the car while she went shopping, said she forgot him... yeah, having two kids of my own, I can assure you that they are so easy to forget about (dripping with sarcasm), and something about some people who found out that some of the land near their nice new homes was once a WWII bomb test range, and there may be some unexploded bombs there, and they all want to know why they weren't told before... I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that nobody else knew either.
For anyone who hasn't checked it out yet, the new CBS game show, "The Power of 10", hosted by Drew Carey (Yeah, the same guy who is taking over hosting "The Price is Right") is a pretty cool show. The very first contestant, on the very first episode, won $1 Million, so that was a lot of fun to watch. This show gives people the chance to win up to $10 Million, but I almost think that is a social experiment, just to see if someone will risk $900,000 (if they miss for a 10 million, they leave with $100,000) for a chance at 10 Mil. With a cool million in hand, I'd be hard pressed to take that kind of a risk. Either way, the show looks pretty cool.
New episodes of Mythbusters are coming on, so that is always fun. If you've never checked out the Mythbusters on Discovery, you are really missing out, they put on a great show, and you learn something in the process. And, on the subject of TV, we are getting on toward the end of
"Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel, and that's a show I wouldn't want to miss out on either. My wife has been watching a lot of shows on the Food Network lately, and I must tell you, in all seriousness, I never realized what fine programming they put out on that network. There are some really cool shows, like "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," "Dinner: Impossible," and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" just to name a few. Most years, coming into the fall TV season I find myself excited to see what new shows will be out, and what the returning shows will bring back to the screen, but this year I find it hard to work up much enthusiasm, though there are a couple of shows I'm looking forward to.
Went with some friends on Monday, and took the kids, to see "Underdog." It's a great movie. Really good for the kids, but a cute movie for adults too. I'd highly recommend it.
I can't say for sure, but I've been thinking about trying to move away from writing about politics as much as I have been, but we'll see how that works out as we go forward.
Must've been a slow news day here in Central Florida. The big stories are about a mother who left her six month old baby in the car while she went shopping, said she forgot him... yeah, having two kids of my own, I can assure you that they are so easy to forget about (dripping with sarcasm), and something about some people who found out that some of the land near their nice new homes was once a WWII bomb test range, and there may be some unexploded bombs there, and they all want to know why they weren't told before... I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that nobody else knew either.
For anyone who hasn't checked it out yet, the new CBS game show, "The Power of 10", hosted by Drew Carey (Yeah, the same guy who is taking over hosting "The Price is Right") is a pretty cool show. The very first contestant, on the very first episode, won $1 Million, so that was a lot of fun to watch. This show gives people the chance to win up to $10 Million, but I almost think that is a social experiment, just to see if someone will risk $900,000 (if they miss for a 10 million, they leave with $100,000) for a chance at 10 Mil. With a cool million in hand, I'd be hard pressed to take that kind of a risk. Either way, the show looks pretty cool.
New episodes of Mythbusters are coming on, so that is always fun. If you've never checked out the Mythbusters on Discovery, you are really missing out, they put on a great show, and you learn something in the process. And, on the subject of TV, we are getting on toward the end of
"Ice Road Truckers" on the History Channel, and that's a show I wouldn't want to miss out on either. My wife has been watching a lot of shows on the Food Network lately, and I must tell you, in all seriousness, I never realized what fine programming they put out on that network. There are some really cool shows, like "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," "Dinner: Impossible," and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" just to name a few. Most years, coming into the fall TV season I find myself excited to see what new shows will be out, and what the returning shows will bring back to the screen, but this year I find it hard to work up much enthusiasm, though there are a couple of shows I'm looking forward to.
Went with some friends on Monday, and took the kids, to see "Underdog." It's a great movie. Really good for the kids, but a cute movie for adults too. I'd highly recommend it.
I can't say for sure, but I've been thinking about trying to move away from writing about politics as much as I have been, but we'll see how that works out as we go forward.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Vacation
I have been, and still am, on vacation, which is why I haven't been blogging for several days, but I will get back to it at some point. My Mom is visiting from New York, and we are having a great time. Took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese, so that was tons of fun. Also went to see a kids movie this morning (one of those free summer re-runs) and looking forward to going to see Underdog here pretty soon.
Today was the first day all week that we haven't had thunderstorms, so we were able to go do some swimming so that is always fun. Having a great time, and looking forward to more.
On a side note, recently discovered how much fun (and addictive) Sudoku can be. If you haven't tried it, do so, it's a lot of fun.
Have a great day all!
Today was the first day all week that we haven't had thunderstorms, so we were able to go do some swimming so that is always fun. Having a great time, and looking forward to more.
On a side note, recently discovered how much fun (and addictive) Sudoku can be. If you haven't tried it, do so, it's a lot of fun.
Have a great day all!
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