Sweet Home Alabama!

Well many of you don't know that Cole and I are now residents of Alabama. Cole was given PCS (permanent change of station, military lingo) orders to Ft. Rucker to be an instructor pilot. This is great news because it's an almost (nothing is a sure thing in the military) guarantee he will not be deployed for at least 3 years! Yea! We were planning all along to buy a house and continue our rental house endeavors so we visited the area in mid-April and met with our realtor and looked at a bunch of houses. We went back to Texas with a few promising houses to decide on. Well the next month and a half was full of offers and counter-offers and two failed attempts to put a contract on a house. One family even took their house completely off the market! I guess we scared them with our tough bargaining skills. So we moved down here with Gus and Ginger and no home :( So we started the process all over again. Cole fell in love with this one house in Ozark. When I say fell, he talked about it in his sleep (jk). I liked the house but there were some aspects of it that were not so appealing to me. Well Cole needed some type of closure and asked what price I would be willing to ask for this house. Well I said some absurdly low number and we made up an offer. You should have seen my face when our realtor called and said the offer was accepted! I still can't believe it! So here are some pictures of our new home! We actually bought the house at $50,000 off the asking price (we haven't bought it yet, there is still the inspection to be completed). So we're hoping to be able to move it at the end of this week (we'll have to rent the house back from the original owners until the closing date). So enjoy and we'll have the address out when we know it!

Texas in Spring

I will have to say that I love Texas in the spring. I have never seen as many wildflowers as I have seen here in Texas. They're everywhere, on the side of roads, in people's yards, and even mingled with the goats. So here are some pictures od few weekeds ago as we visited some different location throughout central Texas!

Cole picking strawberries!

Look at all these lovely strawberries! (Watch out for the poison ivy though)

Meet my new friend!

A small winery near our home, very neat to see the whole wine making process!

A bed of blue bonnets, the state flower (I think)!

Christmas or Easter?

Believe it or not this is the day before Easter in Central Texas! Crazy! If you look closely at the first picture you can see my little tomato plant shivering in the freezing weather. Cole and I are hoping for some global warming to come our way soon! I guess we'll just start exhaling more and see what happens!

Inner Space Cavern

Over our long weekend, Cole and I ventured to some caves not too far from us. The Inner Space Caverns were discovered in the 60s when they were building I-35 in Georgetown, TX (that's about 15 miles north of Austin). We took the Adventure Tour that was about 1 hour and led you through the developed parts of the cavern (aka paved walkways and lights). It was really cool but our tourguide was a little goofy. Here are some picures from our adventure!

Paradise!!!!!!

We spotted this beach on the way to Islita. This beach is called Playa Corrillo! We had to stop and take a picture, we just couldn't resist it!

More Pictures from Costa Rica

Honeymoon in Costa Rica!

Cole and I spent the week after our wedding in beautiful Costa Rica!!! We started out in San Jose and stayed at the Orquideas Inn at the start and end on our trip. Here are some pictures!


















We then traveled by car to the pacific coast to Islita. We stayed at Hotel Punta Islita, the most beautiful place I've ever been! We had great meals, our own private pool, and lots of fun events. We went horseback riding, boogie boarding, and got a massage! It is a place we will visit again!!!!!

Cole is Home!!!!

Cole returned from a year long tour in Iraq on November 4th! I am so happy that he's home, safe and sound! Here's a picture from his welcome home ceremony! It's really cool, they have banners everywhere, a DJ blasting songs, and a smoke machine for the soldiers to run through. He had a short, but unexpected, lay-over in Germany so he was a couple of days later than was first expected, so it made the anticipation that much greater.

Pretty flower! I have like a million of these. Again thanks to the previous owner!

Yummmmm, tomatoes!

I'm not sure what this is, but it's pretty! I guess it was planted by the previous owners.

Here is some more squash!

The first fruits! Yea, it's so nice to be able to see the fruits of your labor! This is a squash from my garden. It's almost big enough to pick and eat!

Here is Gus the cat, our new addition to the family! He's a big ole cat that likes to get his belly rubbed!

Cole's Proposal

This was addressed to Brother Randy, the pastor at FBC Killeen. He was the one who read the e-mail and got on his knee for Cole!

I moved to Killeen, courtesy of the Army, against my wishes. Once it became apparent that God wanted me there I embraced the idea. I have spent years praying for, not just any woman, but a woman like Ruth, Esther, or Abigail, a woman like that described in Proverbs 31. That has been my greatest desire. I believe God has used circumstances in my past to show me just what a godly woman is worth, so for that I can be thankful. If you can find one, she is truly worth more than anything else this world can offer.

Once at First Baptist, I got involved in the Single's Dept. and met Beth McLaren. At first I, of course, noticed her and then got to watching her behavior to see if she was consistent. Everything about her just amazed me. I remember being surprised that here was this beautiful, single, young woman who could've been out anywhere else but here and she just always surprised me with her personality and convictions. I had a very specific list of traits I wanted in a wife and she met every one, and them some. God is truly able to give us more than we can imagine.

We eventually started dating and we had to have an honest discussion about where our relationship should head, given my upcoming deployment. This is where I turn into an idiot. We both knew we were interested in marriage and decided to "date purposefully". She agreed to wait for me while I'm deployed and she continues to be supportive of me. I thought I needed to see if she would still be there for me when I got back before I proposed. I was feeling really insecure. I just can't look at her and feel anything but gratitude to both our God and her for her unmerited love and devotion. Part of me has been afraid to really believe in God's answering my prayers, perhaps a bit like some people's hesitancy to accept His greatest Gift of all. How can I claim to believe she is His answer to my prayers and say that I must make her wait? I am now ashamed of my failure. I need her and God's forgiveness.

Bro. Randy, my failure to propose to this greatest of all treasures any man could hope to find now seems like such a denial of God's Grace on my part. Beth and her family have embraced me without cause and she could certainly have her pick of men, but she wants me. I can't escape the example of Boaz with Ruth. Once he was aware of her heart, he didn't hesitate. I want to correct my hesitancy. Beth should've seen me off to Iraq with a ring on her finger and the promise that I would return to claim her.

No, Brother Randy is not proposing to me, he's just standing in for Cole who's in Iraq (that's who I'm on the phone with). It might be a little non-traditional, but I loved it! So that means that I'm engaged to Cole (this is for those that are a little slow)!

Understanding the Left

Here's a link to a great article attempting to get inside the head of a liberal (I know, a scary thought) and figure out why they believe what they do. It's very informative and reinforces my belief that liberals have lost their grasp on reality.

Cole left Saturday for a year deployment in Iraq. This is a picture taken right before he left. He's currently in Kuwait, safe and sound!

Hurricanes and Global Warming

Well it seems the environmental alarmist will take anything and try to convince us it's caused by global warming. Everyday there are news articles concerning this subject. Of course these groups have come out and said that this so called "unprecedented" hurricane season is caused by, you guessed it, global warming. They could never believe that nature (and maybe even God) in itself is strong enough to create this much havoc and that this is not the first time we've had a healthy hurricane season. Below is an exert from an article about this subject.

At the 27th annual National Hurricane conference, University of Colorado
atmospheric scientist, Dr. William Gray explained that nature, in the form of
periodically changing ocean circulation patterns, not humans, is responsible
hurricane cycles including the cycle of increasing hurricane activity that the
world is currently experiencing. According to Gray, the number of Atlantic
Hurricanes during the last decade, including 2004's above average season, is
part of a completely natural, not at all unusual, multi-decadal cycle that
scientists have monitored for more than 100 years. For approximately the
past 25 years, the U.S. has experienced a relative lull in hurricane
activity. Unfortunately for those living near the coasts, we recently
began to come out of that cycle and into an active cycle like those experienced
from approximately 1930 through 1950. Indeed, in the 1940's 23 hurricanes,
eight of them category 3 or higher, hit the U.S. mainland

Katrina Commission?????

The city of New Orleans is still under several feet of water and many democrats are calling for a Katrina Commission. Michelle Malkin puts is best when she calls this a "Bush Bash". These politicians don't want to "figure out what went wrong" they want to make the president look bad. If they really wanted to prevent this from happening again they would be asking the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana some serious questions.

Cole will most likely be leaving today to help out with hurricane relief. He flies helicopters and will be running missions for the relief efforts. Please pray for his safety and for those that need him and his unit.

Neal Boortz was in Austin to sign his new book, "The FairTax Book". Of course since he is one of my favorite radio personalities, I had to go see him!

An Exercising President

The LATimes has an editorial article chastising the president for exercising, for doing something good for his body (my thinking, if it's good for the president it's good for America). This guy is obviously not a big fan of Bush and will take anything (and I mean anything) to cast a negative light on him. In a country where more than half of its populace is overweight, I think that Bush is a great example. Here's a guy with a super busy schedule (no one can refute that) and he still finds time to exercise, what a role-model! I say to President Bush, keep running, cycling, and lifting and ignore these negative comments.

For those that don't know, this is Cole!

Jamie, Me, and Sarah sharing good food and good times!

Chilling on the lake!

Our annual Peachtree Road Race after run brunch and picture!

Me, my Nanny, and Jamie.

Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!

Jamie, Becky, Collin and Me on my recent trip home.

The Farce of Live8

For the past several months the focus of the entertainment world has been on the Live8 concerts and their great cause. Wow, simultaneous concerts with some of the world's biggest entertainers all giving their precious time and talents to help those in Africa. For a split second (then I came to my senses and realized who I was dealing with) I thought, what a great idea, private citizens raising money to donate privately to help needy people out. But as I realized later that the Live8 concerts were not to raise money to send to Africa, it was to prompt people to get their governments to send money. Here is Jonah Glodberg with an explanation:

You may be wondering how much money this intercontinental jam session
[called Live8] raised for the sick and dying of Africa. Alas, not a farthing.
Sir Bob Geldof was very explicit about this point. Live8 was intended to raise
consciousness and exert political pressure on the G8 summiteers. No one was
allowed to actually raise money for the masses of starving people in Africa.
None of the dollars spent on the concert by fans, corporate sponsors, or
television networks will reach Africa. Charities couldn't rattle tin cups
outside the porta-potties and concession stands. This was solely an effort to
prod the West to get behind the slogan, 'Make Poverty History.' ... Very smart
people have been trying really, really hard to make poverty history for a long
time. Heck, they've been working very hard to make Africa just ever-so-slightly
less hellish for a very long time. Debt relief is probably part of a potential
solution, but without ending Africa's tendency to produce horrible, greedy
dictatorships, debt relief is more akin to paying off a drug addict's credit
cards. Even if the concert-goers were speaking with a single voice, they weren't
saying anything of much use, except 'we care' -- and aren't we special people
for it? Geldof summed up the attitude perfectly when he said, 'Something must be
done, even if it doesn't work.' This concert was an exercise in boosting the
self-esteem of the audience." --Jonah Goldberg

Connections

Why does this have to be explained to some people? Why does this connection between 9/11 and Iraq have to be spelled out in simple terms for those on the left? It makes perfect sense to me, terrorist were responsible for 9/11 and terrorists were being trained and harbored in Iraq. Here's a great article that explains it in simple terms for those that may be a little slow.

Moral Priorities?

Many on the left like to call Christian conservatives hypocrites because we don't seem to care about giving health care to everyone or ensuring fair wages for workers. This article about setting priorities gives a thoughtful analysis of why most evangelical Christians tend to lean to the right on the political scale.

He [Christian] might have a fundamental moral objection to the welfare
state per se. Compassion, after all, is voluntary by definition; coerced
compassion is a contradiction in terms. He might believe it’s an injustice for
the state to seize money from some people against their will so that others can
use it — a violation, in fact, of the Commandment against theft. He might
believe it’s even worse when an elected government does this, because that just
corrupts the people, drawing an ever larger number into complicity with what
19th-century writer Fredric Bastiat called “legal plunder.”

The Ultimate Culture War

Have you ever driven down a street in a major city and realized you were a little out of place or you were interrupting a special event. Last weekend, a friend and I were driving around Austin, TX getting a feel for the city and noticed there were more people than usual standing on the side of the streets and that they all seem to be holding hands with the same sex. Of course we had stumbled upon a "Pride" (picture the letters in a rainbow) festival. So as we quickly ended our tour of the city, I begun to think about any instance when heterosexuals marched because of their sexual orientation and why homosexuals insist on reminding everyone they are proud they are gay. Could it be they are trying to convince themselves that they are indeed proud of their choices (yes I believe it is a choice)? Could that also be the reason that the homosexual agenda is being pushed into public school sex education? If it's taught in government schools then it must be right, right.

New Favorite Website

I have found a new favorite website. Because of my conservative ideals, I have often been considered an oddball with fellow classmates and/or colleagues. You should have seen my thesis professor's face when I told him I was voting for Bush. You think I had just told him I had just run over his dog. (BTW, for those that don't know me, my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in environmental and occupational health) I have shot back at all my critics saying that I am a common sense environmentalist. ABetterEarth.org is a website that offers a view of conservation without all the wacko ideas that are so often associated with modem day environmentalism.
The following idea may shock some of you, but here it goes "wealthier nations and peoples improve environmental quality rather than degrade it." This article explains this concept and gives some really good points on how to improve the environment in poorer countries by helping them become wealthier (and it's not just giving them aid checks).

Atomic Power, The Answer to our Energy Needs?

America's "energy crisis" has become a big topic in both politics and the media. I have always been a big fan of nuclear energy as a (or the) major source of energy here in the US. Disasters like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have produced in many people's mind a false idea that nuclear power plants are too dangerous to be in large scale use. We are far behind most countries when it comes to nuclear power. Although our energy needs have increased dramatically, there has not been a new nuclear power plant built in our country since 1973. This is due partially to the initial start-up costs, but most are impeded by government legislations and the NIMBY (not in my backyard) mentality. ABetterEarth.org has a three part series on the positive aspects of nuclear power and how it could be a long-term answer to our energy woes. I, II, and III.

Honoring Soldiers this Memorial Day

As we take our time off work to enjoy the freedoms we have, let us not forget those that have come before us and given their lives in pursuit of that freedom. Let us also remember those serving right now in Iraq and across the world. As Lincoln said in his famous Gettysburg Address, "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." I would like to personally thank all the soldiers I know for their sacrifices.

Think-Tank gives Props to Bush

The London-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies is saying that Bush's policies of promoting democracy in Iraq and elsewhere look "increasingly effective. They even say the threat from terrorism abated slightly in 2004. Now don't expect this to get much press time from the MSM, but it's nice to hear some good news occasionally.

"Even though the Bush policy was bold, controversial and
sometimes divisive, his aggressive global agenda of promoting freedom, and
democracy appeared increasingly effective," the IISS said in its 384-page
"Strategic Survey 2004-05".

The Unrest in the Mid-West

IowaHawk is having a little fun with the Newsweek article and subsequent retraction. Read the whole thing, it's worth it!

Decorah, IA - The debris-strewn streets of this remote Midwestern hamlet
remain under a tense 24-hour curfew tonight, following weekend demonstrations by
rock- and figurine-throwing Lutheran farm wives that left over 200 people
injured and leveled the Whippy Dip dairy freeze. The rioting appeared to be
prompted, in part, by a report in Newsweek magazine claiming military guards at
Spirit Lake’s notorious Okoboji internment center had flushed lutefisk down
prison toilets. Newsweek’s late announcement of a retraction seems to have done
little to quell the inflamed passions of Lutheran insurgents in the region, as
outbreaks of violent mailbox bashings and cow tippings have been reported from
Bowbells, North Dakota to Pekin, Illinois.
Whether the violence was triggered
by Newsweek’s report of lutefisk desecration or frustration over chronic
shortages of Beanie Babies and Old Style, one thing seems certain – occupying
U.S. troops face a steep road to reestablish trust in this tinderbox of ancient
hatreds and delicious dairy products. Some analysts say the latest outbreak
represents the most vexing challenge to US strategy since its invasion the
region three years ago.
“It could be months before we get the area back
under control,” said Brigadier Gen. Glen Hastings of the US Army’s Southern
Minnesota Command. “We’re hoping the tractor pull and swap meet seasons will
help calm down some of the violent elements.”

Uchenna and Joyce Win!

After a season of cocky millionaires (Rob and Amber) and a bickering POW/Beauty Queen pair (Ron and Kelly), it was nice to see a really good couple receive such a deserving prize. If you're not a women you wouldn't understand, but after Joyce cut off all of her real hair (and cried like a baby) I was in their cheering sections for the rest of the show. Fighting back from loosing all their money and having to beg (humiliating) for money for the last leg of the race, Uchenna and Joyce overcame great odds to win. I've never been happier with the ending of a reality show since Trista picked Ryan in the "Bachelor". I am so hooked on the "Amazing Race".

Rise Up!

Who says college students only care about beer and frat parties. Students from several college campuses across the country are standing up for Bush's social security reforms. It seems that those who will be affected the most from reform (or lack there of) are getting off their futons and doing something. They're taking their marches to the doorsteps of the biggest lobbying group against reform of social security, the AARP.

Bush thanks soldiers and their families for their service and sacrifices.

President Bush arrives in Ft. Hood to the sound of cheering soldiers and civilians.

Presidential Visit

I just got home from "seeing" the President speak to soldiers at Ft. Hood. I was in a sea of green and the occasional tan to hear Bush talk of hope for the future of Iraq. There were a lot of yells and screams when Bush mentioned soldiers coming home. This is what we all want to hear, regardless if we know any soldiers personally or not. The military is in Iraq to secure that country and train their own people to protect and defend that country. That has been a primary goal since this war started. So I yelled and screamed too when Bush said that soldiers would come home soon and stay home. I am so proud of all the soldiers I have met and those that I have not, because they serve a great country and sacrifice so much.

Here we are again with the blushing bride!

The Party Girls together again!

Congrats to Ashley and Josh on their marriage!

I'm a Racist!

Perception if a funny thing. Because perception is so personal, each one of us takes things differently based on past experiences or what we think we deserve. Today I was labeled as a racist because of a comment that was perceived differently then was intended. What has the world come to when a person cannot express themselves without a another person being offended? When did political correctness begin to control our lives? As a federal employee, I have to be so careful and anticipate how someone may perceive anything and everything I may say, do, or write. How am I to do this and still perform my job? I don't know! I also want to know what happened to the concept of going to the person who "wronged" you and discussing it? Why does everyone and their equal opportunity representative have to become involved? Now time and money (your tax money) is being spent (wasted) on patching someone's pride. Here are some things that I have perceived: A woman doesn't like that another, fairly attractive woman who happens to be twice her age is a higher grade then her and therefore is making more money. Oh did I happen to mention that one is a white woman and then other is of Mexican decent (but I thought we were all Americans, silly me). We also have a person without the guts to tell me I offended her to my face, but has no problem telling her Hispanic friends (in Spanish no less) and any other person who might listen. Although she may be my parent's age, her maturity level has not risen above a high schooler's. So what can I do but be the bigger person and apologize? I will also watch my tongue as I rise up through the ranks with my masters degree and she struggles through her freshman chemistry class, again.

Interesting Questions Raised

This essay in The Australian, raises some very important questions:

Why are so many Westerners, living in mature democracies, ready to march
against the toppling of a despot in Iraq but unwilling to take to the
streets in
support of the democratic movement in the Middle East?
Is it
because many of
those who will be marching in support of Saddam Hussein this
month are the
remnants of totalitarian groups in the West plus a variety of
misinformed
idealists and others blinded by anti-Americanism? Or is it
because they secretly
believe that the Arabs do not deserve anything better
than Saddam Hussein?

I wonder what these, as he calls "useful idiots", have to say?

Religious Leaders on the Left Finally Take a Stand

Several religious leaders from the left-leaning denominations (Episcopal, Presbyterian Church U.S.A, United Methodist Church, etc.) are complaining that Bush's new budget goes against the biblical teachings of Jesus. This coming from leaders that condone homosexuality and abortion. This is why I'm Baptist!

Movement in the Middle East

The Lebanese are making their requests known: They want Syria out!

A Religious Look at the Environment

With the Kyoto Protocol finally going into effect, many may ask, Why did the United States choose not to sign the treaty? The Action Institute has an interesting article looking at why the US is not a part of the Kyoto agreement and why that is a good thing.

The principle of stewardship and the related imperative that the goods of
the earth are intended for the good of all require that human beings treat
natural resources not merely as objects to be exploited for short-term pleasure,
but as gifts that are to be used responsibly, with a view to their preservation
for future generations.
The good intentions of Kyoto matched this imperative,
to conserve the planet’s resources so that our descendants were not saddled with
an environment irrevocably degraded. Where Kyoto failed was in projecting
blanket restrictions, without sufficient regard for the freedom of individual
nations—and individual persons—to express what might be differing evaluations
about the tradeoff between economic development and environmental
protection

IFilm

A friend (thanks Jamie) exposed me to a really cool website that is full of funny commercials and short films. It has all the commercials from the SuperBowl plus movie trailers. Check it out: IFilm.

A Look into the Mind of a Liberal

Answering the questions: What constitutes a contemporary liberal -- and why? and Why do liberals believe what they believe -- and act the way they act? Compliments of The Federalist Patriot.

Liberals are almost uniformly defined by their hypocrisy and dissociation
from reality. For example, the wealthiest U.S. senators -- among them Kerry,
Kennedy, Corzine, Kohl, Rockefeller, Feinstein, and Rhode Island RINO Lincoln
Chaffee -- fancy themselves as fighters for the poor, but they have no idea of
what it's like to live paycheck-to-paycheck. Liberals speak of unity, but they
appeal to the worst in human nature by dividing Americans into dependent
constituencies. Just who are these liberal constituencies? They support freedom
of thought, unless your thoughts don't comport with theirs. They feign tolerance
while practicing intolerance. They resist open discussion and debate of their
views, yet seek to silence dissenters. They insist that they care more about
protecting habitat than those who hunt and fish. They protest for nature
conservation while advocating homosexuality. They denounce capital punishment
for the most heinous of criminals, while ardently supporting the killing of the
most innocent among us -- children prior to birth. They hate private-gun
ownership, but they wink and nod when it comes to WMD in the hands of tyrants.
They advocate for big government but want to restrain free enterprise.
Liberals constantly assert their First Amendment rights, except, of course,
when it comes to religion. Here, they firmly adhere to the doctrines of secular
atheism. They believe that second-hand smoke is more dangerous than marijuana
smoke. They believe that one nut accused of bombing an Alabama abortion clinic
deserves far more law-enforcement attention than Jihadi cells planning the 9/11
attacks. They call 9/11 victims "Hitlerian" while calling their murderers
"oppressed." They hate SUVs, unless imported and driven by soccer moms. They
believe trial lawyers save lives and doctors kill people. They believe the
solution to racism is to treat people differently on the basis of their skin
color. They deride moral clarity because they can't survive its scrutiny. They
promote peace but foment division and hate -- ad infinitum.
Liberal
pathology is well defined. Liberals tend to be mentally rigid and closed-minded
because they are insecure, the result of low self-esteem associated,
predominantly, with fatherless households or critically dysfunctional families.
They exhibit fear, anger, and aggression -- the behavioral consequences of
arrested emotional development associated with childhood trauma, primarily
rejection by a significant family member of origin (as noted above) or some
other childhood trauma. Liberals display pessimism, disgust, and contempt for
much the same reason. They focus on loss prevention because they have suffered
significant loss. They fear death because they have little or no meaningful
connection with their Heavenly Father -- often the result of the disconnect with
their earthly fathers. They often come from socially and/or economically
deprived homes. Liberals reject individual responsibility and social stability
because these were not modeled for them as children.

What's Left Out of Sex Education

The Independent Women's Forum has a special report about how young women are being mis-educated about sex, love, and marriage. It goes into dept about the message coming from women's study classes and popular culture.

Unfortunately, much of the information young women receive will
come from a
skewed perspective. They might hear that sexual liberation
is synonymous with
women’s liberation; that the instinct to associate sex
with love is
old-fashioned and stems from a patriarchal structure
designed to oppress
women; and that marriage is a prison women are
tricked into pursuing.

This is a rather long read, but well worth it. Just another example of how feminism is actually hurting women.

Paranoia

In his article "George W. Bush, The Cowboy Dictator", Arthur Shaw reveals the paranoia of the left and how out of touch this group of people are with mainstream America. Read this article for a good laugh and a view into how the left still cannot comprehend the fact that they lost the last two presidential election.

Reform in the Highest Court?

We have all heard the terms "activist judges" and "legislating from the bench" as it pertains to the supreme court and other lower courts. Although there are no vacancies right now in the supreme court, there is the potential for several openings to be filled during the Bush administration. Rush Limbaugh gives us some insight on about not only filling vacancies but also redefining the role of the court, bringing it back to the definition set up by the constitution.

Could It Get Any Better?

After Tim Roemer declared on Monday that he would bow out of the race for DNC chair, Howard Dean became the last standing candidate. People on both sides of the isle are seeing this as a victory. Many on the right are celebrating once again with the unveiling of poll results that give Dean only a 31% favorable rate from Americans. I guess we'll all see where Dean will lead the Democratic Party.

Social Security Blog

The Club for Growth has started a new blog called the Social Security Choice. This blog is dedicated to promoting the "ownership society" by advocating personal accounts in the social security program. Check it out!

State of the Union

Transcript of Bush's State of the Union Address

Surprise, Surprise

Does it shock you that those who said the election in Iraq was too soon and would not be successful are now quiet? The Moores and Soros of the world have decided to hide instead of coming out and saying they were wrong. Huge shocker, right!

Now That's What I'm Talking About

The new major of Baghdad, Ali Fadel, has proposed a new monument to be erected in his city. But it's not of an important Iraqi but of President Bush. Not that would ever happen any time soon, but it seems like a nice gesture.

Iraqi women vote in first free election in 50 years.

Iraqis Vote

The polls in Iraq have closed with a initial report that 72% of eligible voters did vote. That was a higher percentage than in the US November election. One man who lost his leg in a car bomb said, "I would have crawled here if I had to. I don't want terrorists to kill other Iraqis like they tried to kill me. Today I am voting for peace." The mayor of Baghdad says what I am feeling, "This is a vote for the future, for the children, for humanity, for love."

Iraq Brave Bombs to Vote in Millions
Polls Close in Historic Iraq Elections

A Hard Kick in the ....

Face it, we live in a very selfish world. So when things don't go the way we plan, we look for someone or something to blame. Sometimes we even go so far as the blame God. What we forget is that God works through good and bad. What we also need to remember is that our desires may not be the best things for us. So says (hottie) Clash.

Remember the Alamo!!! I'm here in San Antonio for training. It's a hard life! I just went down to the river walk, it was beautiful!

Battle of the Birds

Well I was hoping to cheer on my home town Atlanta Falcons in this years' superbowl. Oh well, no big lost because I don't really care much for professional football. I'll still enjoy my chili and cheese dip at this years' party!

Copy of Inaugural Address

Here's a hard copy of Bush's speech.

Sen. Clinton Grabs on to her Faith

No doubt gearing up for the 2008 elections, Hillary Clinton is reiterating that she too is religious saying "I've always been a praying person." Well isn't that nice. Just because she supported one piece of faith-based legislation, that doesn't make Clinton a faith-based politician.

Lets all Move Forward

On this Inaugural Day, lets all move America forward (especially all those on the left that can't seem to get over it). Enjoy these commercials at MoveAmericaForward.com.

Happy Inaugural Day!!!

Well we finally made it! Today Bush's second term becomes official. He takes his oath at noon eastern time! Go out and buy something today to celebrate. I made a special trip to Starbucks to do my part! Check out the schedule of events at Fox News.

JibJab Does it Again!

JibJab.com, famous for their political parodies like "This Land" and "It's Good to be in D.C.", has come out with another parody just in time for the Presidential Inauguration. The piece "Second Term" is ready to view here.

Good Sign for Pro-Life Movement

The women that started it all, Jane Roe a.k.a Norma McCorvey, is asking that Roe vs. Wade be reopened based on new scientific knowledge that abortions are damaging to the physical, emotional, and mental health of the mother.

"Now we know so much more, and I plead with the court to listen to the witnesses and re-evaluate Roe vs. Wade," McCorvey said. "It was a dreadful day in America when the Supreme Court allowed a woman to kill her own child."

Ms. McCorvey, who became a Christian in 1995, now runs the pro-life ministry Roe No More.

Come on Girls, What's Going On?

I guess I'm in the minority! Why are females buying into the feminist movement? They do nothing for the advancement of females. I just don't get it!

MSM: Aiding and Abetting the Enemy in Iraq

This is a must read! It's from LTC Ryan over in Iraq. He's part of the 1st Cav. Div. stationed at Ft. Hood.

Eastwood vs Moore

At an Awards Ceremony in New York, Clint Eastwood shocked the audience by claiming that "if you (Michael Moore) ever show up at my front door with a camera — I'll kill you. I mean it." Whoa those are fighting words, guess who'd win!

The Security of the Left

Why are Liberals in this country clinging to the broken Social Security system? What is it about this program that they think is so great? One answer may be that the Left receives power (and votes) from people being dependent on the government. Now I have a huge investment into Social Security Reform. In 41 years I will be eligible to receive my first social security check. All evidence points to this program being bankrupt by this time. That is one reason I've already started to plan for my retirement. Bush acknowledges this and is pushing for a change that will guarantee that I will see some of the money that is being taken from my paycheck. Those on the Left that know their power is being pulled away are fighting and talking out: Kennedy, the AARP, and even FDR's grandson.

The Heritage Foundation has a Social Security Calculator, based on my current pay and age I would recieve $7439 more money a month with a Personel Retirement Account than with the current system. Sounds good to me!

Saddam Hussein Did Much Worse

I'm sure you've heard about the Abu Ghriab "torture" incidents and seen the pictures. Well the trial of the so-called ring leader, Spc Graner, is ongoing now right down the road here in Ft. Hood. Yesterday, former inmates testified to their treatment while at Abu Ghraib, saying about the torture that "even Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein did not do such things." No all he did was murder and rape hundreds of thousands of people. If only this kind of torture, that has been the focus of the main stream media since the pictures came out, was all that Saddam did.

CBS Memogate Revealed, Again

So the Independent Council set up by CBS to investigate the Bush/National Guard report reveals that there were serious flaws in the preparation and reporting of this piece. Oh really, tell me something I don't know. One good thing that did come out of this was the resignation of three top CBS executives and the termination of the producer of the piece. It's about time!

Here are some thoughts on the release:
From INDC Opinion
Of course Instapundit
And RatherBiased.com

Abu Ghraib Quiz

The Mudville Gazette has summerized the whole Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal into a fun quiz. Take it and learn some new things, I sure did.

Bush is Certified

Despite challenges from the left, Congress certifies Bush's reelection. Let's see if this stops the left from crying foul and saying the election was stolen. Right!

Why America is Still on Top!

This Washington Times article explains why America is still on top of the world in terms of influence and power. This article goes on to examine America's "hard power" i.e. our military and research and development, and our "soft power" i.e. our culture and it's perpetuation into other cultures. It's a very interesting read.

I'm Destined to be Single!

Seems to be, based on one British study, that the higher an IQ a man has, the easier it is to find a mate, on the flip side, the smarter a women is the harder it is to find a husband.

"For boys, there is a 35% increase in the likelihood of marriage for each 16-point rise
in IQ. For girls, there is a 40% drop for each 16-point increase."

Wow, isn't that encouraging for us females that are so lucky to be born with a higher IQ, a quicker wit. Maybe it's not because the women are smart, maybe it's because the men are shallow. Hmmmm.....

"The results may explain why a sharp-witted man like Vic Reeves, 45, the comedian, appears to have found wedded bliss with Nancy Sorrell, 30 — perhaps she is highly intelligent, but her jobs as underwear model and lap dancer have certainly enabled her to hide the fact."

Yeah, ole Vic looked far and wide for a smart girl, he just couldn't find one that would give him lap dances for free and model her underwear for him.

Georgia Wins!!!!

Georgia wins the Outback bowl! Final score, Georgia 24, Wisconsin 21! Pollack was named player of the game. He's a cutie!!!!!

Why Do Some People Have to be Told This?

Is it just me or is this just common sense. When a disaster of the magnitude that happened in South Asia, isn't the decent thing to do is forget our differences and band together for the good of all. There is always time later to complain. Well Podhoretz of the NY Post, has to remind some that it's about the tragedy- not more Bush-bashing!

My cousin had a baby! Her name is Grace Lenore and she's beautiful. I saw her on Christmas and she was an angel!

Don't forget, UGA plays Wisconsin tomorrow at 11am eastern in the Outback Bowl. Go Dawgs!

The Left Just Can't Get Over It!

So we all know that Bush won Ohio and thus won the election, right? So why can't those that lost (i.e. the Left, the Greenies) accept the results and go on with celebrating the new year. So we've got some third-party candidates that want another recount. Isn't that redundant, another RE-count. The votes have already been counted again and guess what, Bush won big. Give it a rest. So now we've got some Congressmen that plan on objecting to the votes of the Ohio electors when the electoral College Ballots are opened before the joint session of Congress next Thursday. Guess who's the leader of this typical pack, that's right, my man John Conyers. And guess who's a part of this Motley Crue, Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. Now if memory serves me right, she just got reelected this November. She's not even technically in the House yet. Doesn't she have some Islamic terrorist to meet with and accept money from.

The UN Thinks We're Stingy?

I personally think we may be too nice and too giving. Who wants to give aid to those that will just as soon as turn around and stab us in the back. We're giving out billions of dollars worth of aid and we're getting nothing back from it. Here are some numbers dealing with the money we give to the UN and what we get back in return, a lot of oposition!

Why Do We Pay Billions to the United Nations?
The United States gives out $13.3 billion tax dollars in direct Foreign Aid annually. The United States is above and beyond the single most generous benefactor of the United Nations, donating $2.4 billion dollars of YOUR money, to primarily third-world dictators.This amount is 25% of the United Nations budget. In addition, the United States also gives another $1.4 billion tax dollars to United Nations' programs and agencies. The American taxpayers fund more for the United Nations than ALL of the other 177 member nations COMBINED.What most Americans do not realize is that the vast majority of the recipients of the of US Foreign Aid routinely vote against the wishes of the United States in the United Nations at an average rate of 74%. In other words, of the $13.3 billion tax dollars invested in direct Foreign Aid only about 26% or $3.5 billion went to support people whoendorsed American initiatives or causes. A staggering $9.8 billion tax dollars went to causes and people who were and are in open and direct opposition to the United States' interests and objectives.Listed below are the actual voting records of various Arabic/Islamic States which are recorded in both the US State Department and United Nations' records:

Kuwait votes against the United States 67% of the time.
Qatar votes against the United States 67% of the time.
Morocco votes against the United States 70% of the time.
United Arab Emirates votes against the U. S. 70% of the time.
Jordan votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Tunisia votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Saudi Arabia votes against the United States 73% of the time.
Yemen votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Algeria votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Oman votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Sudan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Pakistan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Libya votes against the United States 76% of the time.
Egypt votes against the United States 79% of the time.
Lebanon votes against the United States 80% of the time.
India votes against the United States 81% of the time.
Syria votes against the United States 84% of the time.
Mauritania votes against the United States 87% of the time.

US Foreign Aid to those that hate us:
Egypt, for example, after voting 79%of the time against the United States, still receives $2 billion annually in US Foreign Aid.
Jordan votes 71% against the United States and receives $192,814,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.
Pakistan votes 75% against the United States receives $6,721,000 annually.
India votes 81% against the United States receives $143,699,000.

Perhaps it is time to get out of the UN and give the tax savings back to the American workers who have to skimp and sacrifice to pay the taxes.

Tsunami Videos

Well I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the Tsunami that hit in south Asia. Here is a link to some video of it hitting. What's amazing is all the people walking on the beach ands standing around watching all the big waves. It's hard to believe that there was no warning for these people. What a mess!

Homeless?

Well here I am at work again (just taking a break), back in Texas from my holiday in Georgia. On the plane ride back I started to think about where my home is. It's confusing to say that I'm going 'home' for the holidays and then say to everyone back 'home' that I'm returning 'home' soon. Can I say home #1 and home #2?
They say that home is where the heart is. Well my heart is split. My family and friends are in GA while my work and new friends (not to mention all my stuff) are here in TX. I have a dilemma. The Lord wants me here (the reasons are still being examined) so this is where I am. It's foolish of me to live and anticipate exclusively for my next visit home. That can lead to a sad and lonely stretch of months with only a couple of days to be enjoyed. Is it worth it?
I say I can keep part of my heart, and subsequent home, in GA and learn to love TX (or wherever I may go) and start another home here.

What Do You Say?

This is an interesting map. I'm so fortunate to move within a region. I can still call that refreshing beverage by the same name!

And I Thought I was Having a Bad Day

This is too funny! You'd think they would stop trying!

The Beginning of Understanding

This is a very insightful article not only for us red-staters, but also for those that reside in blue states. They claim that people that voted for Bush are stupid. I guess they call anything they can't understand and have never experienced stupid. Some people may call that close-minded. Hmmm, the pot calling the kettle black, maybe!

No Respect!

Well it looks like the Auburn football team is being shafted by the BCS. Despite a perfect season, they will not be able to vie for the national championship. Maybe it's the red and black that is coursing through my veins, but I have a hard time feeling sorry for the team. I guess this gives the opponents of the BCS one more thing to add to their lifts of grievances against that imperfect system. Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing USC and OU battle it out. Oh and we can't forget the Bulldawgs playing in Tampa on January 1st. Go Dawgs!