Friends, I have not been able to get on line much as my computer crashed. So you are not hearing much from me. Given the political state of things at this time I want you to know what I have heard recently. So I forward this and ask for your thoughts. Personally I am voting for McCain. I would not unsubscribe to you if you are voting for the other candidate. So I hope you will stick around and continue sharing your thoughts with me also. You will notice I am sharing an opinion other than my voting preference. Here I am just sharing quotes from Obama himself. The last one is most interesting. Michael Loveswithspirit
Subject: FW: Obama's Books "DREAMS FROM MY FATHER" and 'THE AUDACITY of HOPE"
FORWARD TO ALL YOU CAN: Why is all of this going unnoticed by the media???? They send 1000 reporters to Alaska to dig up something on Sarah Palin and they have this right in front of their eyes! From: Dreams of My Father: 'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites. '
From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race. '
From Dreams of My Father:'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white. '
From Dreams of My Father: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names. '
From Dreams of My Father:'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself , the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela. ' And FINALLY the Most Damning one of ALL of them!!!
From Audacity of Hope:'I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.
Michael W. Loveswithspirit and Michael W. Smith cruise together
Category: Life
Ok Friends. I am leaving on a Cruise with Michael W. Smith and fans on the Carnival Liberty. Here is a pomotional video clip for the cruise liner if you are interested.
This will be a spiritual retreat for me. I know it is hard to imgine on a Carnival Cruise. But if you know Michael W. Smith you might understand. Here is Michael's official site if you want to get to know him a bit.
I will be gone for a week. We leave Miami Saturday
and head for Cozumel Mexico. I am so excited. I have never been there. I will wake up in port there Monday morning.
Then it is off through the Caribbean sea with the Grand Caymanas the next destination. The plan is to wake up there Wednesday morning. We will arrive in Ocho Rios Jamaica
over night and spend Thursday there. The last leg of the trip will take me to the home port of Miami. I will take some pictures. Not many. I don't want to be a slave to the camera. I will be in the moment. And I will share what photos I take. Blessings to you all. Michael
A friend sent this information to me. Raised some questions in my mind. I thought...why not share it with my friends. Maybe we could discuss this here...
What do you think about illegal aliens receiving Social Security Benefits? I love every one. I would not wish anyone to be harmed and think we should share the wealth. If you are an illegal alien please do not think this is an attack on you or an insult to you. I do remind the reader that there is a such a thing as Legal liens. I wonder if they are going to be rewarded for being legal.
Personally I am not sure why we would expose a weak SS program to such a burden as this. Nor do I see why we would give benefits to some one from a program they have not paid into. There are American Citizens who opt out of SS and do not pay into it and are therefore excluded from the benefit. What are your thoughts on this?
By the way, if you have some thoughts to share with those who made the decision here is some helpful information.
Michael Loveswithspirit
These are the senators that voted to give illegal aliens your and my social security benefits. Get this out to everyone you know. Now. Dr. R. J. Soukup Henson Professor Department of Electrical Engineering University of Nebraska 209N WSEC Lincoln, NE 68588-0511 Voice: (402)472-1980 FAX: (402)472-4732 rsoukup@unl.edu
The United States Senate voted to extend Social Security Benefits to Illegal Aliens beginning in 2008. The following are the senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits. They are grouped by home state. If a state is not listed, there was no voting representative.
Alaska : Stevens (R) Arkansas : Lincoln (D) Pryor (D) California : Boxer (D) Feinstein (D) Colorado : Salazar (D) Connecticut : Dodd (D) Lieberman (D) Delaware : Biden (D) Carper (D) Florida : Martinez (R) Hawaii : Akaka (D) Inouye (D) Illinois : Durbin (D) Obama (D) Indiana : Bayh (D) Lugar (R) Iowa : Harkin (D) Kansas : Brownback (R) Louisiana : Landrieu (D) Maryland : Mikulski (D) Sarbanes (D) Massachusetts : Kennedy (D) Kerry (D) Montana : Baucus (D) Nebraska : Hagel (R) Nevada : Reid (D) New Jersey : Lautenberg (D) Menendez (D) New Mexico : Bingaman (D) New York : Clinton (D) Schumer (D) North Dakota : Dorgan (D) Ohio : DeWine (R) Voinovich(R) Oregon : Wyden (D) Pennsylvania : Specter (R) Rhode Island : Chafee (R) Reed (D) South Carolina : Graham (R) South Dakota : Johnson (D) Vermont : Jeffords (I) Leahy (D) Washington : Cantwell (D) Murray (D) West Virginia : Rockefeller (D), by Not Voting Wisconsin : Feingold (D) Kohl (D) Here are 14 facts demonstrating what this country does for illegal aliens each year. It is never enough. And it does demonstrate compassion and costly concerns.
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year. http://...com/zob77
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two-and-a-half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Homeland Security Report. http://....com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period." http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States." http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml Total cost is a whopping.. $338.3 BILLION A YEAR!!! If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message, but on the other hand, if it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, then forward it. Snopes is provided for doubters: http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/bankofamerica.asp
My brother Tim went fishing in British Columbia. He caught himself a big Salmon. I love him and just want to help him do some bragging. Here is the link to a short slide show of his catch and those he was fishing with.
You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona , who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink prison garb. Well.........SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN! Oh, there's MUCH more to know about Sheriff Joe! MaricopaCounty was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the CountySupervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a MaricopaCounty shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals. I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the Prison. Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote. Now he's in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He's kind of a 'Git-R Dun' kind of Sheriff. TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONACOUNTYSHERIFFAND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY: Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the ' Tent City Jail': He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut off all but 'G' movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then He Started Chain Gangs For Women So He Wouldn't Get Sued For Discrimination. He took away cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again Only Let In The Disney Channel And The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel He Replied, So They Will Know How Hot It's Gonna Be While They Are Working ON My Chain Gangs. He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This Isn't The Ritz/Carlton.....If You Don't Like It, Don't Come Back.' He bought Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place. More On The Arizona Sheriff: With Temperatures Being Even Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 Inmates Living In A Barbed-Wire-Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer Shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138 Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK SOCKS. 'It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,' Said James Zanzot, An Inmate Who Has Lived In T he T ENTS for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.' Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear, But They Didn't Commit Any Crimes,So Shut Your Mouths!'
Way To Go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves. If you agree, pass this on. If not, just delete it. Sheriff Joe was just reelected Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona
There is much in this life that can cloud our awareness of love. We fear we are lost forever with out it. Some seek it diligently and loose hope. Others think they have found it's secrets.
I am resting in the peace that love has found me. And we are one.
Life on the Highway.
Current mood: reflective
Category: reflective Life
I spend a good bit of time on the road. As a Chaplain visiting patients in their homes I get around town. Most of us probably spend a good bit of time just right of the center line. Unless you are from one of those countries where you drive on the wrong side. lol
Well I have noticed through the years that there are many moments on the highway which reflect some of life in general. I have observed driving habits that show character or the lack of it. Here is a story from last evening on the road heading to Gina's for happy hour and dinner.
It was men's night out. I had visited 7 patients. Went home and cleaned up. I was just moments from my home on a divided Boulevard with 3 lanes going in both directions. I immediately got in the far left lane anticipating my left turn 1 mile ahead. As I came around a wide curve in the road I noticed that traffic in the left lane was backed up. Seems a lot of people were going to take that left onto Interstate 4 up ahead, just like me. Well the two lanes to my right were open and traffic was buzzing by heading east to points they might soon arrive at. I was stuck for 15 minutes stop and go. There were 2 lights slowing progess and merging traffic up ahead onto I 4 during rush hour's back up limiting how fast I could proceed. I could not even move forward during my long awaited GREEN light because I might be stuck in the intercetion when it turns red. Then is started.
Just as the traffic across the intercetion began to move and I could safely go forward through my green light a driver in the lane on my right side jumped into the left lane filling the space I had waited for. I was now in the middle of the intercection and the light was changing.
Now horns started blowing and I was contributing to grid lock. It was a brief eternity before the cars ahead of me inched forward enough for me to clear the intercection and get my back end out of the way. The car that was now in front of me had butted in line. He had passed a hundred cars and saved himself 7 minutes waiting in line. Now he had 7 minutes bumper to bumper avoiding his rear view mirror which I was glaring at with anger wanting to make eye contact. Oh if he was God and could read my mind I would go straight to hell. I had a few words for him that I will not share with you.
Then I noticed looking up ahead that when traffic started moving in our lane some drivers were slow leaving huge openings in the lane ahead of them and cars in the lane to my right were just helping themselves to the space and off they went onto the interstate. I was at my wits end. Where is the school teacher when you need one. These children should be grabbed and pulled out of line and sent to the back after a good scolding. NO BUTTING IN LINE you)(*&)*%$!!!!
The driver in front of me then did the unforgivable. He jumped out of line and sped up ahead at least a dozen cars and squeezed back into line forcing those behind to hit their brakes. At that point I was wishing an uninsured motorist would total his car.
Well I made sure to stay very close to the bumper in front of me. So no one stalking in the lane to my right would find an oportunity of weakness to butt in front of me. I was protecting the right of all those behind me. No. I did not rear end anyone. Thank God.
Soon though it would all come home to roost. I eventually made it onto I 4. I went north 1 exit and got off. Merging into traffic on 436 during rush hour heading to the mall takes skill. There are 5 lanes to cross to take a left at the first light. Moving the speed of traffic I did not signal my left intention because if I did the car I was about to cut off would speed up closing the space and blocking my move. So I skillfully and covertly cut off others and crossed the first 3 lanes of gently moving traffic. As luck would have it the left turn light ahead had just turned green and the two left turn lanes started moving. One slow poke in the right place and I was in front of him in a jiffy just getting through the light which he ended up sitting at blasting his horn at me and making rude jestures with an up raised arm and finger.
At first I felt great success and good forturne. Then it occured to me that I was some one else's ()*&*%. No telling how long that fellow had waited in his own left turn lane to watch me waltz right through. I had just been right were her was. And had just become exactly who I was so upset with.
Now I am not so critical. I realize that kindness to them is kindness to myself. Here is inner peace and a gentle path. Now I know when I look at you I can see me. So "I love you." This is self embrasing. How is that for life on the Highway.
We are every one this child We live in a dull peace of bridaled fears. And then at some point The presence will appear which we will instantly remember. We will run with revelation wild and unbridaled tears Arms up and open to be lifted into love again Love is coming.
Special thanks to my dear High School Alumna Cheryl for helping me overcome some myspace troubles and present this blog to you.
I will never forget attending Revival meetings when I was in 7th grade and the pastor making an alter call. He went on and on. My friends and I were getting embarassed and got the giggles. We could not contain ourselves and burst out with uncontrolable laughter while at the same time just certain they were going to kill us after the meeting.
