My Absence from Blogging

I have been away from blogging for quite some time now and I wanted to start up again. For those who care, there have been two reasons for my absence.

The first reason has to do with my decision to go back to school and finish my degree. I started last August at Fresno Pacific University in the Organizational Leadership program and hope to be finished by this September. In addition to the regular assignments, we have also had to write a thesis, and this has been very time consuming. Instead of taking tests, we write papers at the end of each module and frankly, I have just been tired of writing.

The second reason has to do with things going on in my personal life that I cannot share right now, but hope to be able to down the road.

Posting will be light, but I do hope to contribute some material for this blog each week.

My Absence

It has been three weeks since my last post. I have been busy writing the first part of my Thesis, along with two long papers for other classes. I have come up this week for a breath and I will be out of pocket again (more papers due).

Thanks for being patient with me. In the mean time enjoy the three new posts.

Jim

E-Coli Claims Its First Celebrity

Can Democrats Be Trusted to Govern in Wartime?

The Investor's Business Daily doesn't think so. They give 97 reasons why, here.

The Ant and the Grasshopper - 2006

My liberal mom sent this to me, she thought I would like it...and she was right!

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER - OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, ABC & CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Ted Kennedy & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Dan Rather that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act," retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Vote Republican

He's Wagging His Finger Again - Watchout

Does this seem familiar to you? When he starts wagging that finger you better start checking his facts. Check out Michelle Malkin on the topic. Allahpundit at hotair has a great round up. Here is my favorite exerpt,

5.Despite the fact that it’s central to a debate that’s been raging for weeks, Wallace’s question about whether he did enough to eliminate Bin Laden is a “conservative hit job” designed to appease Fox’s right-wing viewers, who’ll all be very, very sore when they find out Rupert Murdoch is working with Clinton on climate change. Presumably Wallace should have stuck to the script followed by Meredith “Giggles” Vieira, CNN schlockmeister Larry King, who bombarded Clinton with tough questions like “How’s your health?” and “Have you seen Gore’s movie?”, and of course Keith Olbermann, who played his part perfectly except for the lack of a blue dress.

It always amuses me when liberals get mad because of the questions they are asked when they go on Fox News. They are so use to getting fawned over and asked softball questions by the MSM that they become undone and lose their composure. Instead of answering the questions they attack Fox as being "right wing." Well guess what, at least half of the country want those questions asked, and answered. Since no one from CNN or MSNBC is going to ask those questions, somebody has to. Conservatives are much better at this than liberals because they are used to tough interviews.

Mr Pot, Meet Mr. Kettle

HT realclearpolitics

How Nerdy Are You

A Smack Down GW Bush Style

This is the George W Bush I want to see more of, I love the finger in the chest. Matt Lauer is a joke. The day after we were reminded about what kind of enemy we are facing he is worried about waterboarding Al Queda members. It makes me ill.

Been Busy

Posting has been light over the last week because we have been very busy. This was Rose Festival week in Wasco and we had a lot going on. First, my daughter was a contestant in the Rose Queen pageant. It has been a great experience for Alysse, but it has taken up a lot of our time and energy (especially my wife and daughter's). Then we had the Rose Parade along with the Arts and Crafts Fair in the park, which took up Friday evening and the entire day yesterday. In addition, my son Aaron came home from college for the weekend with four of his new friends!

In one of my first posts on this blog, I wrote about why I love the Rose Festival weekend, and you can read the original post here. This year of course was special because of Alysse's participation in the pageant. The parade was great, it really is Americana. I took pictures of the parade so that I could share them with you. I hope you enjoy them.

The Crowd gets ready for the parade.

The parade always begins with this large American Flag.

The Color Guard

You won't see this kind of float in the other Rose Parade!

More Parade Pics

The Grand Marshall

Some lovely parade watchers (that is my wife in the middle and my youngest daughter next to her).

During the parade we congregate in front of our church which just happens to be right on the parade route.

Aaron's friends aren't sure what to think about small town U.S.A.!

Mr. Reding has been riding a scooter in the parade for over twenty years. It is his job to keep the parade entries moving along at the right pace.

Parade Pics Continued

Last year's Rose Queen

This year's Queen

Rose Queen and some of her Court

My Rose Queen

She definitely favors her mother!

Even More Pics

The Shriners are always a hit.

The Wasco High School Band

The Thomas Jefferson Junior High band

The Wasco City Council

Yes, There is More

It must be an election year!

The Last of the Pics

Every parade needs a pooper scooper!