HippiePuncher.com

A recent picture of my lovely bride and me.

2011-11-11T15:23:00.001-05:00

You probably can't tell, but she is over four months pregnant in this picture.

The next addition countdown

2011-09-16T22:45:00.001-04:00

Remembering Sept. 11th

2011-09-08T08:30:00.001-04:00

With the upcoming 10 year anniversary of Sept. 11th, I am sharing this photo. I found it shortly after the events of 9/11 and kept it. It is an artist's rendering of what the rebuild World Trade Center should look like. I am in full agreement. It sends a message to the ones who perpetrated the act. We are still here.

Finally, a legislator with a spine

2011-05-27T16:30:00.002-04:00

Finally, a legislator in North Carolina is standing up to the NAACP. Here is a story in which Stephen LaRoque had the guts to stand up against the racism of the NAACP and William Barber, its state president.

Raleigh, N.C. — An eastern North Carolina lawmaker is standing behind his characterization of the NAACP and its state president as racist.

Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir, sent a May 14 e-mail to the NAACP, which had issued an announcement the previous day about a Greenville news conference to protest budget cuts proposed by Republican lawmakers.

"I have no interest in receiving anything from a Racist such as William Barber," LaRoque wrote in the e-mail, referring to the state president for the NAACP. "He and the NC NAACP represent everything that is wrong with race relations in our state and country. You should be ashamed of yourself for continuing to promote racism but that is the modern day legacy of the NAACP as a racist organization led by Racist individuals who are Cowards."

Barber said Friday that he was shocked by the comments, but LaRoque said he has no intention on backing off.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger neither condoned or condemned LaRoque's statement when asked about it, but he said his colleague could have expressed his feelings without resorting to name-calling.

"I think many times people will talk about particular issues, and they probably articulate themselves in ways that are not helpful to the overall discussion. I would say that fits within that characterization," Berger said.

I wrote Mr. LaRoque and said the following:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: THANK YOU for showing the courage!
Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 16:30:01 -0400
From: Troy LaPlante
To: Stephen.LaRoque@ncleg.net

Thank you for showing enough courage to stand up against William Barber
and the NAACP. Racism is wrong, regardless of from whom it comes.
Barber is a race pimp who constantly incites racist views in order to
keep his job. Nothing will satisfy him on any topic as long as he can
find a way to come up with an angle that enables him to stir up racism.

I am not from your district (I am from Johnston County), but I am proud
of you for having the spine to take a stand. I wish that there were
more like you in the NC Legislature.

http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/9653960/ is the story I
read about you and I have shared it all over my web presence.

Why not email Mr. LaRoque to thank and encourage him, as well?

I found this worth sharing.

2011-05-20T15:33:00.001-04:00

Federal taxation

2010-11-05T16:14:00.002-04:00

From Federalist Paper #31

Revenue is as requisite to the purposes of the local administrations as to those of the Union; and the former are at least of equal importance with the latter to the happiness of the people. It is, therefore, as necessary that the State governments should be able to command the means of supplying their wants, as that the national government should possess the like faculty in respect to the wants of the Union.

But an indefinite power of taxation in the latter might, and probably would in time, deprive the former of the means of providing for their own necessities; and would subject them entirely to the mercy of the national legislature.

– written by Alexander Hamilton and published in the New York Packet on Tuesday, January 1, 1788.

Tim Hawkins - The Government Can

2010-10-02T08:16:00.000-04:00

John Randolph on the 2nd Amendment

2010-09-27T21:06:00.002-04:00

John Randolph in a letter to St. George Tucker on what would become the the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, 11 September 1789

"A majority of the Senate for not allowing the militia arms & if two thirds had agreed it would have been an amendment to the Constitution. They are afraid that the Citizens will stop their full Career to Tyranny & Oppression."

Basically, career politicians wanted to limit the right of the people to have guns out of fear that they would overthrow them from power or whack them.

Wedding photos from almost two years ago now.

2010-09-16T08:54:00.000-04:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

My news story about social media on WRAL TV

2010-07-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

The case for which I had jury duty.

2010-03-15T15:29:00.001-04:00

For the second time in two years, I got tagged for jury duty. Last week I spent Monday and Tuesday at the court house while a jury was picked for a criminal case. I never did get chosen since all 12 plus an alternate were seated before I got called from the jury pool. I found the case disposition online today.

DA's Office Convicts Two Habitual Felons
Both Defendants Found Guilty Of Eluding Deputies
A Johnston County man was sentenced to 80 to 105 months in jail on Wednesday after being found guilty by a Johnston County jury of speeding to elude arrest during a chase with Johnston County deputies. Jimmie Wayne Banks attempted to avoid a traffic stop by Deputy David Hildreth. Banks drover his car at a high rate of speed several times around a CVS Pharmacy parking then onto Highway 42 and Cleveland School Road before crashing and overturning his car. Banks had previous convictions for felony possession of cocaine and felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury.

Jihad Watch director offers an update on Islamist terror

2009-10-22T08:21:00.000-04:00

No First Amendment right in Smithfield?

2009-09-12T17:19:00.002-04:00

From WTSB Radio's news page. Though I disagree with the proposed boycott, punishing business owners for the stupidity of a town, I do certainly agree that the right to peacefully assemble was abridged. Granted the right was squashed by a municipality, not Congress. The First Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Police Shut Down Patriots Day 9-11 Rally On Courthouse Steps
Event Organizers Plan Boycott Of Smithfield Businesses

Organizers of a peaceful 9-11 “Patriots Day Tea Party” were shut down by Smithfield Police Friday afternoon. About 45 minutes after the event began on the Johnston County Courthouse steps, two Smithfield Police Officers arrived and told spectators the event was being held without a town permit and could not continue.

Birma Stemler, who spearheaded the Smithfield Patriots Day gathering, said she had been planning the event for four months and had been told by Smithfield Planning Director Paul Embler she did not need a permit. Later, Stemler claims Embler changed his mind in late-August, and said she would need Smithfield Town Council approval because a public address (PA) system would be used, but would have to wait to appear before the board in October. Stemler said October was too late for a 9-11 rally. As a courtesy, Stemler said she told a police lieutenant weeks ago about the rally.

Stemler did appear before Johnston County Commissioners on August 3, and was given permission by County Commissioners to hold the 9-11 event. According to minutes of the meeting, County Manager Rick Hester told Stemler he had no issues with a PA system but he wanted to make sure it would not disturb the court system that may be in session. In response, Stemler moved the timing of the event until after 5pm.

About 140 adults in attendance were shocked when police told them the event was not authorized by the Town of Smithfield. To protest the forceful police action, the group said they would boycott Smithfield businesses in response to the town’s decision to prevent them from holding a peaceful assembly on public property. “I was told I could do this and there would be no problems,” Stemler told WTSB News. “The officer argued with me, but did say I would not be arrested.”

Officer D.A. Tyndall was asked by a WTSB reporter, who sent the officers to the 9-11 gathering. He replied, “The police department.” When asked again, who specifically at the police department sent him he again replied, “The police department.”

Town Councilman Andy Moore, who was not present at the event, said he did not want anyone boycotting Smithfield businesses based on the actions of police. “I will be talking with the city manager to see what went on and to see if we can work something out,” Moore told WTSB. “Obviously I would not want anybody boycotting Smithfield businesses, especially during the touch economic conditions that we have.”

Chris Johnson, Executive Director of the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation, who has overseen the revitalization of the downtown business district, said the thoughts of a boycott makes him cringe, but said he hopes cooler heads will prevail. “Hopefully an amicable solution will be reached.” Johnson said the 9-11 event the group was trying to rally around would not occur for another year, and said he hoped it was a big misunderstanding. “We ask that any citizen, not just this group, that has any problem with an elected official or city government, they would not take it out on the small independent businesses that are struggling in this economy.” Reached Friday night, Stemler said plans for the boycott still stand. She hopes others will join in the efforts to let town officials know the groups rights to assemble peacefully - protected in the US Constitution - were denied. One citizen said a lawsuit might be considered. WTSB Photos

Cue the Queen song

2009-08-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

I am trying my best to keep down my lunch and not blow chunks all over my keyboard and monitor. I try not to be disrespectful of the dead, but when debauchery filled men are lifted up as paragons of virtue, I have a problem with that.

The death of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts is of course tragic for him and his family. I do not wish a death upon anyone, especially by brain cancer. I actually had compassion for Mr. Kennedy, since I could not imagine having brothers of mine assassinated as he did.

I have met and even exchanged brief words with Ted Kennedy, but I did not know him personally. I have, however, followed him politically for years. I do believe that he was perhaps the most powerful Kennedy of the bunch, considering his length of tenure in office and continuous Senatorial powers and influence.

His death was not unexpected. I quickly found the news of his passing in my morning news read. I found all sorts of flowery praise for his years of service, his compassion, his vision for our country, etc. I also found his detractors discussing Chappaquiddick some 40 years after the fact and his liberal record in the Senate.

Here is what I find extraordinary. When Senator Jesse Helms died, I heard quite a bit of rancor from his liberal detractors. There was a lot of hateful, spiteful commentary in the media and from his haters. People rejoiced at his death. Pundits swooned with glee. These same pundits are attacking anyone who now would criticize Helms' archetype in Ted Kennedy.

Today, I have been reading comments from different people I know online. Yes, I have some liberal leaning friends. I read things such as "God bless the Kennedys", "[God] will call a Kennedy home but he'll leave a Barack Obama to insure the vision is alive", and "the legacy [Kennedy] leaves is one of service and compassion for his fellow man."

I will admit that Kennedy had a long history of public service. I doubt he had a private sector job in his entire life. My commentary about blessing the Kennedy family is that I, too, wish blessings upon them. First, understand what the very first blessing is, and then you will understand my blessing prayer. At the end of the Book of Acts, chapter 3, Peter was preaching and said " Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." It is my honest prayer that an entire family who has never known Christ repents and comes to know Him, thereby finding eternal life.

I seriously doubt that Ted Kennedy is resting in peace as I am typing this. He led a life of drunkenness, debauchery, adultery, and deceit. I compare this to Senator Helms who was a born again Christian. Helms received scorn at his death from a sinful world, Kennedy is getting praise.

Just since I started typing away on this column, I have gotten personal messages from acquaintances touting Kennedy's accomplishments in the areas of civil rights and the passage of the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution. Actually, it was probably more the influence of Richard Nixon that helped in that regard.

There were some things Kennedy supported that I agreed with, but those constitute the minority of his voting record. I am looking at a long list of his major votes in Congress. The vast majority are laws for which no Senator should have ever voted, simply because they were unconstitutional, not to mention often immoral and/or just plain bad fiscal policy. We Americans are going to be paying dearly for the havoc inflicted by politicians like Ted Kennedy for years to come.

Here is the struggle I have when people like Ted Kennedy die. I wish to be respectful, but I also weigh principles such as Jeremiah 12:1 "Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?" Again, with Proverbs 11:10 "When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting."

Yes, I really do struggle with these. And I miss Jesse Helms.

Hitler on Obamacare

2009-08-07T11:59:00.001-04:00

This was just too funny to not share. It is a bit crude, but hilarity will ensue.

The brothers

2009-08-03T09:01:00.002-04:00

John, age 6. Matthew, age 3 weeks.
Photo taken 8/2/09

More pictures of Troy Matthew, Jr.

2009-08-01T21:35:00.006-04:00

Matthew is almost 3 weeks old now.

Being fair, giving honor where it is due

2009-07-28T17:46:00.004-04:00

I am often critical of Representative Bob Etheridge, my representative to Congress. I often disagree with Bob on many issues. When he does what is right, I also give him his due. In this case, he is doing what is right, but just not quite far enough. I just wish he went a little further and sought to totally eliminate the estate tax. Barring that, this is a good step in the right direction.

From WTSB's news site.

Etheridge Co-Sponors Estate Tax Bill
U .S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) has co-sponsored the Certain Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009. The bill would make permanent the current $3.5 million individual estate tax exemption, providing estate tax certainty for all Americans and will benefit family farmers and small business owners. “This legislation is a fiscally responsible way to protect small business owners and family farmers from the unintended effect of the estate tax,” said Etheridge. “This bill will end the estate tax for 99.7 percent of Americans and, equally as important, provide certainty in estate planning for those few who are affected.” The legislation would reform the nation’s tax code by maintaining the individual estate tax exemption at $3.5 million ($7 million per couple). Less than 0.3% of Americans would be subject to the estate tax with this exemption. Current tax law repeals the estate tax in 2010 for just one year. Under current law, the estate tax returns in 2011 with only a $1 million exemption, which would then affect nearly 50,000 Americans and 3,000 family farms. The Certain Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009 offers a fiscally responsible alternative that allows families the ability to plan for their estates with certainty.

Great video.

2009-07-21T21:35:00.000-04:00

Gun confiscation can and does happen in America. It happened to ME, too.

2009-07-21T21:19:00.001-04:00

Troy Matthew LaPlante, Jr. Born July 13, 2009

2009-07-13T22:09:00.006-04:00

It has been a long time since I have blogged anything. There are reasons for that, of which I will not get into. Maybe someday.

Anyway, earlier today, at 10:12 AM, my firstborn son came into the world. Troy Matthew, Jr. was born at Johnston Medical Center in Smithfield, NC. He was 19 inches long and weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces. Both baby and mother are doing well. I am sharing some photos here. In the first photo below, the red on his cheeks is actually from him scratching his own face with his little, jagged fingernails that were pretty long when born. Interesting. He has socks over his hands now and is getting a trim Tuesday.

Quote from Rufus King, 1787

2009-05-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

A great vice in our system was that of legislating too much. The most numerous objects of legislation belong to the States. Those of the Natl. Legislature were but few. The chief of them were commerce & revenue.

Rufus King
August 7, 1787
Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia, PA
As recorded by James Madison

Counting down the days

2009-05-17T20:22:00.001-04:00

Pregnancy Tickers

A 12-Step Liberal Recovery Program

2009-03-08T04:40:00.000-04:00

I found this online and thought it worthy of sharing.

A 12-Step Liberal Recovery Program
by Burt Prelutsky

Most 12-step programs start out by requiring that people understand that they’re powerless over their addiction and that only by turning their lives over to a Power greater than themselves can they be restored to sanity. Far be it for me to suggest that I am that Power, but clearly someone has to step in and try to rescue these poor liberal souls. Even the most harebrained among them deserves that much.

First, though, they have to acknowledge that Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Dick Durbin, Charles Rangel, Harry Reid and Charles Schumer, are not moderates, but, rather, leftists with a Socialist agenda. Furthermore, they must recognize that the New York Times, the Washington Post, the L.A. Times, CNN, the three major networks, the news magazines and the New Yorker, are not objective in their reporting of political events, and neither are Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher, in their commentary. If these entities and individuals are not on the payroll of the DNC, they certainly should be. They certainly put in longer hours than Howard Dean.

Step #1: It is high time that every American be guaranteed the right to speak freely. It is not reserved solely for left-wing college students who wish to take advantage of the first amendment to shout down conservatives. At the same time, they must not construe the conservative’s right to dismiss them as arrogant idiots as censorship.

Step #2: Affirmative action argues that African Americans and Latinos are intellectually inferior and are unable to compete academically unless other students are handicapped because of their race. Interestingly enough, when blacks and Hispanic students are given these unfair advantages, it’s rarely at any cost to white students, whose rate of college admissions remains constant; instead, it’s nearly always another minority group, Asians, who pay the price. This is what left-wingers refer to as leveling the playing field.

Step #3: Liberals always claim to be in favor of higher taxes, agreeing with Bill Clinton that the government invariably spends money more wisely than those who actually earn it. However, such prominent proponents of higher taxes as George Soros, Ted Kennedy and Mr. and Mrs. John Kerry, protect their own otherwise taxable income through trusts and offshore accounts. Obviously, any American who believes higher taxes are a good thing can do the honorable thing by spurning all deductions and paying Uncle Sam everything up to 100% of his income.

Step #4: Even the most secular of liberals seems to believe that Jimmy Carter is a saint. The evidence for this seems to be that he has on occasion posed with a hammer in his hand at Habitat for Humanity building sites and is constantly walking around with a expression on his face that suggests he has just forgiven Pontius Pilate for betraying him. This is the same fellow, let us never forget, who called Yasser Arafat his good friend and who has accepted untold millions of dollars from Arab cut-throats, who ask nothing in return except that he go on insisting that there would be peace in the Middle East if only those darn Israelis would disappear from the face of the earth.

Step #5: Stop insisting that all wars are bad. It only makes you sound daft. Carrying signs that equate a U.S. president, any U.S. president, with Adolph Hitler is not only rude, but suggests you’re certifiably nuts. Every president has left office right on schedule. Aside from FDR, who just happened to get elected four times, not one of them has remained in office beyond eight years. On the other hand, Hitler ran Germany for 12 years and only death and the allied forces brought that to an end; Stalin ran the Soviet show for 31 years; while that hero of the left, Fidel Castro, held the reins, not to mention the whip, for about 50 years.

Step #6: Repeat after me, “Separation of church and state” exists nowhere in the Constitution. The first amendment does not require the removal of Christmas trees from the village green, the 10 Commandments from courthouse walls or “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. All it does is forbid Congress from establishing a state religion, such as the Church of England, and anybody who tells you otherwise is a liar and, most likely, a card-carrying member of the ACLU.

Step #7: Stop using the word “big” as a pejorative. There is nothing intrinsically bad about big oil, big agriculture or big pharmaceuticals. Overall, they do a very good job of keeping our cars on the road, food on our tables and most of us over 60 alive and functioning. On the other hand, big government, which so many liberals simply adore, represents a usurpation of the allegedly inalienable rights of individuals. A quick perusal of the Constitution should convince you that beyond declaring war, forging treaties, overseeing patents, printing money, running the post office, collecting taxes and protecting our borders — and a few other things that Washington doesn’t do at all well these days — the federal government has very limited responsibilities.

Step #8: Acknowledge that the United Nations is, in the main, an aggregation of venal diplomats who live high off the hog in New York City while representing the most corrupt and vicious regimes in the history of the world. Only a fool or a diplomat would continue to suggest that this gang of well-dressed thugs possesses anything resembling moral authority.

Step #9: Do not keep insisting that at a time when nearly all the large scale evil in the world is being perpetrated by Muslims that racial profiling is anything but a sensible approach to airport security. During WWII, Swedish Americans were not suspected of performing espionage for the Axis powers and for a very good reason; namely, because they weren’t performing espionage for the Axis powers. These days, their Swedish American children and grandchildren are not suspected of trying to blow up airlines, but the smarmy bureaucrats insist on pretending that they’re every bit as likely to be up to mischief as a bunch of 25-year-old Osama bin Laden look-alikes from Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Step #10: Stop trying to pretend that illegal aliens are the same as legal immigrants just so you can claim the moral high ground and accuse those of us who are opposed to open borders of being racists.

Step #11: Once and for all, stop forgiving murderers. Whether or not you’re in favor of capital punishment, only the victim of a crime has the right to grant forgiveness. And inasmuch as the killer has deprived his victim of that ability, don’t take it upon yourself. It doesn’t prove how compassionate you are, only that you’re as sanctimonious and as self-aggrandizing as, say, Jimmy Carter.

Step #12: Stop bashing the U.S. military and the Boy Scouts. The only reason you have the ability to shoot your mouth off is because men and women braver and better than you sacrificed life and limb for your right to do so. As for the Boy Scouts, they are absolutely right to keep homosexuals from taking youngsters on camping trips. While it’s true that many gays are perfectly fine people and that very few homosexuals are pedophiles, there’s no reason on earth to take unnecessary risks just so we can all prove how broadminded we are. For what it’s worth, as decent as most Catholic priests are, I wouldn’t let them take youngsters into the woods, either. It’s fine to be compassionate and understanding, but let the gays among us be understanding for a change and acknowledge that, every so often, common sense should trump political correctness.

And, finally, making this a baker’s dozen, Step #13: Let us all agree that while being a woman, a black, a Jew, a Catholic, a Mormon or even a gay, for that matter, should in no way preclude anyone from being elected president of the United States, none of those things constitutes a very good reason to vote for someone.

Observation and correction while at a NC aquarium

2009-02-28T17:46:00.001-05:00

Say Thanks to a Soldier. PASS IT ON!

2009-02-09T11:05:00.003-05:00

I started a web page (sure it is nothing major right now, but it will evolve) as a simple way to pass the word about saying "thank you" to our U.S. military. www.saythankstoasoldier.com is a simple way of saying thank you. When time and resources permit, I will build a full web site rather than just the starter page. In the meantime, pass the word.

A letter I sent both of my US Senators

2009-01-30T07:38:00.002-05:00

I strongly urge you to vote against Eric Holder's nomination for Attorney General. He has a long history of being unfriendly to something as fundamental as the right to keep and bear arms. This is a guarantee that was fought for when the Bill of Rights was founded, and this freedom has constantly been eroded over time. To have someone with a disdain and disrespect for this right as the chief law enforcement officer of the nation would be an act of injustice towards law abiding Americans. Please act to block the confirmation of Eric Holder.

You can do the same.
Richard Burr - 202-224-3154,
http://burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

Kay Hagan - 202-224-6342, Senator_Hagan@hagan.senate.gov.

From my friends at ALIPAC

2009-01-29T15:34:00.002-05:00

Just as certain hot spots in the nation became critical battlegrounds in the national fight against illegal immigration, such as Waukegan, Illinois, Farmers Branch, Texas, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Prince William County, VA, and many others, now Chatham County, NC is a focal point.

While the 287(g) program, which saves innocent American lives from criminal illegal aliens, is sweeping the state of North Carolina thanks in part to your efforts!

Unfortunately, the pro-illegal alien groups are trying to set a precedent to reverse or stall our progress. They got the Chatham County Commissioners to vote to block all local police in the country from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What is worse is that they did it in secret by voting on the measure as the second to last item in a planning meeting.

So while the NC media and taxpayers had no idea this measure would be voted on, the illegal alien supporters did and many of their leaders spoke in favor of the practice.

We need your help!

Please review the following materials and then craft your own call, e-mail, and letter to the Chatham County Commissioners.

Here is our main message...

"We call on the Chatham County Commission to reconsider this issue, reconsider their vote, and to do so with proper notification and public comment!"

Please take the following steps.

1. Please review these videos. We hope that the messages and tactics found in these videos will be of assistance to you in your efforts to get 287(g) in your community. If you approve of these videos, please send them to others in your network, vote them 5 stars, Favorite them, and make supportive comments.

Chatham County Illegal Immigration Debate: William Gheen Speech pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq16_qgVRJE

Chatham County Illegal Immigration Debate: William Gheen Speech 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vp3cCAcyyU&feature=channel_page

Chatham County Illegal Immigration Debate: William Gheen Speech 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EPocaL2d5U&feature=channel_page

2. Review our press release and the article about this issue.

Chatham Co. Residents Call on Commissioners to Reconsider Immigration Vote
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-144491.html

N.C.: Chatham County not involved with ICE program
http://www.alipac.us/article-3922-thread-1-0.html

ALIPAC's Open Letter to the Chatham County Commission
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-144366.html

3. Craft your own message and call, call, call these commissioners with your message! Then follow up with and e-mail and/or letter.

Here is the contact information you should use. With George Lucier leading the way, all five voted to block local police from working with I.C.E.

Chatham County, North Carolina
12 East Street
P.O. Box 1809
Pittsboro, NC 27312
TEL (919) 542-8200
FAX (919) 542-8272
http://www.chathamnc.org

Commissioners:

George Lucier, Chair (District 3)
628 Redbud
Pittsboro NC 27312
919-542-4629
glucier@earthlink.net

Sally Kost, Vice Chair (District 1)
1101 New Hope Church Road
Apex, NC 27523
(919) 367-0727 (home)
(919) 696-7840 (cell)
SallyKost@gmail.com

Allen Michael "Mike" Cross (District 2)
388 Cross Point Road
P.O. Box 173
Moncure, NC 27559
(919) 774-3309
duckdogcross@aol.com

Carl E. Thompson, Commissioner (District 5)
67 Robert Thompson Road
Bear Creek, NC 27207
(919) 837-2407
cethompson@embarqmail.com

Tom Vanderbeck, Commissioner (District 4)
8180 Old Graham Road
Pittsboro, N.C. 27312
919-545-2160
Tom@Vanderbeck4chatham.org

We are told that Chatham County Sheriff Richard Webster may be open to joining with Immigration and Customs Enforcement if the County Commissioners will stop blocking him.

Here is his contact info:

Chatham County, North Carolina
Sheriff's Office
295 West Street
P.O. Box 429
Pittsboro, NC 27312
TEL (919) 542-2811
FAX (919) 542-8272

http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=978

To email Sheriff Webster
richard.webster@chathamsheriff.com

The ALIPAC Team
www.alipac.us

And my email to all of the above:

I am writing to you all to express my dismay at your decision to prohibit participation in the 287(g) program by your county law enforcement agency. As protectors of the public, I find it beyond comprehension that you would decide to make Chatham County, in effect, a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, especially those with criminal backgrounds. It is bad enough that our federal government has abrogated their responsibilities in securing our borders, but for a county government to encourage such immigration and attract those who ought not be in this country to begin with and offer safe haven for known criminals is a violation of the public trust.

One of the few positive things that a government can do is actively protect its citizenry. There are some county Sheriffs that are attempting to secure such for their jurisdictions, such as Sheriff Steve Bizzel over in Johnston County. Instead of capitulating to politically correct twaddle, he actually gets support from his county commissioners to work towards securing that county from undue criminal influence.

I urge you to reconsider your breach of responsibility in your recent decision to fail to allow your county servants to participate in one of the few programs that makes sense any more in this country, the 287(g) program for dealing with immigration authorities, policies, and immigrants. Should you fail to do so, the future of your county safety and financial stability will be in serious jeopardy. You are going to attract the criminal element to your county as well as those who drain economic resources.

Please do the right thing for Chatham County and the entire State of North Carolina and reconsider your faulty decision, do so in a public spotlight rather than stealthily as you took your original decision.

Sincerely,

Troy M. LaPlante
A citizen that is very uneasy about your decision taking and reasoning abilities

Wackenhut is persecuting someone for being in the National Guard. Let them know what you think.

2009-01-26T22:07:00.002-05:00

From an email list I get:

First Class Gary Norris is from the Guard unit in the city where we lived for 18 years and where Marc grew up. Wackenhut Corporation is violating the USERRA laws that protect our reservist and guard members who choose to serve. He has been told "to decide where his allegiance lies; either with the military or with the company." They are trying to force his resignation and have demoted him from Lead Supervisor on Night shift, reduced his pay, taken his days off and vacation time. This is one of our brave warriors who has served two tours in the Middle East and preparing to go again in 2010 and he needs our help.

Please share this with everyone you know and stand behind this warrior and make phone calls and send emails. Also please copy webkey1@juno.com, (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve organization and Wally Bothum is the state ombudsman)

Oregon

The Wackenhut Corporation

pormail@wackenhut.g4s

5319 S.W. Westgate Dr., Ste. 125
Portland, OR 97221-2411
Tel (503) 291-1005
Fax (503) 291-1073

The Wackenhut Corporation
4200 Wackenhut Drive
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Tel: (+1) (561) 622 5656
OR: (+1) (800) 922 6488
Web: www.wackenhut.com

Thanking you in advance,

Debbie Lee crazilee007@msn.com

Wackenhut, you are just plain WRONG in this. If I am ever in a position to hire a security company for a company where I work, I will NEVER hire yours. And your company is fairly active around here.

Enough of the "impeach Obama" talk already!

2009-01-25T03:05:00.004-05:00

I am definitely no fan of Barack Obama. I don't like a socialist in office as my chief executive. Then again, George W. Bush has not exactly been a small government type, either and was a huge disappointment in many ways. In other ways, he did the right thing. They both deserves praise where warranted and criticism where warranted.

Obama has already made some huge mistakes, in my opinion, and has been in office less than a week. The decisions to allow embryonic stem cell research, fund abortion in foreign nations, close Gitmo, and nominate a huge tax cheat as head of the Treasury Department (including IRS) are the ones that readily come to mind.

However, I have a huge problem with the movement to impeach the sorry excuse for a decision taker. Just because a President takes decisions that I do not like, that I find repulsive, or are unethical does not make him a candidate for impeachment. It makes him a candidate for unelection.

The Constitution has specific states in Article II, Section 4, "The President, Vice President, and all other civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." Bad decision taking as described in the last paragraph do not qualify as treason, bribery, high crimes, or misdemeanors.

There are other things such as a disputed qualification for the presidency, also outlined in that same article, such as being a natural born citizen. If that qualification can be proven to be truly unmet, then I am all for removing Obama from office. Until then, I do not much care for the constant call by hypocritical conservatives for Obama's impeachment. I have gotten a bunch of emails, invitations, and solicitations to join internet groups, message boards, social networking groups, and messages from those who are calling for impeachment or are already planning for it. This makes us no better than the whack job liberals who constantly called for George Bush's impeachment and now for his arrest and prosecution.

Impeachment is akin to the indictment for a crime. Impeachment itself is NOT removal from office. A conviction after impeachment will result in removal from office. I am not into removing someone from office with whom I happen to disagree strongly and certainly not for unconstitutional reasons.

Rest assured, however, if Barack Obama commits acts consistent with a constitutional reason for removal from office, as did Bill Clinton, then I will be all for the clarion call and will be sounding it myself.

If you want to impeach someone, start with Hillary Clinton, who was not eligible to become Secretary of State under Article I section 6 of the US Constitution.

"No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time."

Hillary voted for a pay increase for the Secretary of State. Therefore, she is not eligible to receive the benefit of its salary. This is not just a political stance as some boneheads have alleged. It is the intent of the writers of the Constitution to prohibit the very thing that is happening. A legislator assented to raise the pay for a job that she herself was going to end up taking. The clause does not say that if the salary is lessened that she is then eligible. Law is law.

The Obomination begins

2009-01-20T13:17:00.005-05:00

It is finally over. The inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama is done. I have been so tired of hearing about Obama and the upcoming inauguration. Because it is a snow day and we have a good amount of it in our region, most of the area is shut down and I got to catch the inauguration.

Let me get this out of the way. I do not have a hatred for Barack Obama or racist feelings towards him. I do, however, despise his character, his lack of experience, his playing the race card, the racist (almost cult like) following he has, and his views. It is all about the issues and principles. I could not care less about the color of his skin. His supporters, however, apparently do.

I know decent Christians who abandon their belief system in supporting the "Black man", regardless of the fact that he is antithetical to their espoused belief system. I have heard so many well meaning people say that Obama is the realization of Martin Luther King's "dream" of racial equality and advancement of the Black race. Well, keep in mind that Obama is only HALF Black. Of course the half Caucasian ancestry is irrelevant to those who wish to self promote.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I despise the racism that got Obama elected and his socialist views. What amazed me was the benediction given by the Rev. Joseph Lowery. All I could do when I heard it was to raise a middle finger at the TV. Here is the end of the benediction speech.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen

Now THAT was blatant racism. "...and when white will embrace what is right." Sorry, but that is a very racist assumption that all whites in America are inherently racist and will work to suppress all other races. That is just wrong and in itself racist. I despise racism, and I do not care from whence it comes.

Possibly the most beautiful picture I have ever seen

2009-01-17T21:30:00.002-05:00

My lovely wife, Sharon, on our wedding day with her son, John.

Your chance to win Bible study software

2009-01-14T17:16:00.002-05:00

Head over to author, Anne Jackson's (Mad Church Disease) blog for a chance to win The Scholars' Library software. You can find the contest at this link, and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment with a verse of scripture that you find encouraging. The winner will be picked from those that leave a comment.

Well worth watching

2009-01-01T02:41:00.001-05:00

Take the 16 minutes needed to watch this great short film. It will put a smile on your face.

A classic by Paul Shanklin

2008-12-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

Penn Gillette respects a Christian

2008-12-21T14:45:00.003-05:00

I actually like Penn & Teller. They are a very talented duo. They are gifted humorists and illusionists. They even have an entertaining show on the Showtime network. I may not always agree with them, especially when they deal with matters of religion, but they do have the courage to tackle some tough subjects. They are avowed atheists who crudely lampoon Christianity (and other religions). Here is a podcast by Penn Gillette about his encounter with a genuine believer.

Learn about the militia and the meaning of the 2nd Amendment

2008-12-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

Attacked by lesbians

2008-12-21T14:40:00.001-05:00

I can tell that I am going to have fun writing a column when I get attacked by a group of lesbians and homosexual men. People will make all sorts of excuses for their abhorrent behavior and turn the tide against someone who takes a stand for traditional family values.

I am active on the web site, Facebook. I have a lot of friends from church groups, political groups, family, and both local and long distance contacts on both Facebook and Myspace. I am more active on Facebook, however.

On Facebook, people often post links to news stories of interest. This one woman posted a link to a story about how some Congressional leaders are taking a stand against the radical homosexual agenda. As a Christian, a conservative, a parent, and a citizen, I have a major problem with the agenda of the radical homosexual movement. Don't get me wrong, I could not care less what people do in the privacy of their own homes. I just don't want it flaunted in public, taught as normalcy, and certainly do not want my children (yes, soon to be plural) indoctrinated into such a paradigm.

There were several people in this discussion who were lampooning conservatives for paying attention to such a thing as an advancing homosexual agenda when we have a "financial crisis", war, and whatever else they find to be important issues of the day. I find the repulsion of the homosexual advance just as if not more important, since it is a destroyer of family, of morals, and the very order of nature.

These people were clamoring that they have civil rights and that these rights are being denied to them by ignorant, Bible thumping fundamentalists such as myself. I was told that there exists a two way separation of church and state, though it is not in the Constitution, nor were the words of Thomas Jefferson taken in their context for the usage of that term.

There are several things I noted during the discourse. The homosexuals attempted to minimize their agenda to three things: military service, monogamy, and parenting rights. There was no mention of indoctrination of children, demanding the accepting of divergent sexual behavior as a civil right, and the recognition of a class of people who choose a particular behavior as a protected minority class.

The last one is a civil argument that few are willing to tackle or be intellectually honest concerning. The truth of the matter is that homosexuality is a choice. Regardless of the spurious claims, we are talking about behavior, not about something genetic such as skin color. If such behavior is indeed genetic, we can make excuses for criminal behavior, as well. Perhaps Charles Manson has a gene in his DNA that gave him a propensity for violence and murder. If it is genetic, then he can not help that behavior and we should release him from prison, since he is not responsible for his actions. Of course that rationality is absurd, but it is the end result of that thought process.

My assertions of homosexuality being a choice, that the homosexual agenda is much more far-reaching than the three points, and that homosexuality is a sodomite, divergent behavior were never denied. Instead, the sodomites chose to find personal fault with the messenger. This is a typical liberal tactic. Since they could not refute my logic, the discussion boiled down to a lesbian attempting to claim moral superiority over me because her lover is a female veteran of the Gulf War, whereas I was never in the military. Because she sleeps with a lesbian that was honorably discharged for the armed services, I guess that makes her above reproach. She gains credibility for her lifestyle by association with someone with military service, in her opinion. Ergo, in her estimation, I am not allowed to condemn sodomy as evil. The argument is so twisted it is not funny, but somehow the tactic, as illogical as it is, gets employed by homosexuals and liberals incessantly.

When I pointed out the hypocrisy of her supporting a candidate for President such as Barack Obama, who has zero military experience, to become Commander in Chief while impugning my stance for traditional family values, the finger was again pointed to me. I was told that I had no moral grounds to say that a female war veteran and sodomite is practicing evil.

It is this sort of perverse logic that is used to excuse sin as a civil right. Those, like myself, who stand up and say that it is inexcusable behavior and not to be given the status of a civil right, will be labeled as bigots and judgmental. If people want to label me as such, fine, just stand in line. We will continue to face such moral decay and cries for civil rights where they do not exist. Resist the cry. Stand for righteousness. There is an ultimate judge to whom we all must give account.

People have been warning of the economic situation for YEARS!

2008-12-15T22:27:00.001-05:00

An excellent talk on the proposed auto industry bail out

2008-12-13T04:43:00.001-05:00

This video was made just before the Senate voted down the bail out. HOWEVER, make no mistake that it will come up again soon.

Countdown to our blessed event

2008-12-06T15:13:00.000-05:00

New addition to the LaPlante family

2008-12-03T22:28:00.004-05:00

For years, I have wanted a family. I am not just talking about having a wife and in-laws. I first got married at age 26, back in 1994. I really wanted children, but my then wife was resistant to the idea like an Army mule. At one time she was receptive to the concept prior to marriage, but then she went right back to the disdainful attitude she once had towards children.

I have always loved children. Little kids often cling to me and climb on me like a jungle gym. I have always loved having little cousins, nephews, and children of friends to play with. I have enjoyed having cats and dogs over the years, as well. However, it was never the same as having your own. I languished and literally wept for years over being childless. I was the only one of the five LaPlante brothers to not have children.

Almost a year and a half ago, my now ex-wife was caught in adultery and she left to live with the man with whom she was cheating. I went through Hell with that situation for various reasons I have already blogged. Three months after she left, I met and dated one woman that I really liked for about 3 weeks, but she turned out not to be as she appeared on the surface. It was a crushing blow to have just gone through a betrayal, false legal accusations, and separation; then to go through a fast moving but very odd relationship that ended abruptly. I can say with all sincerity that I was wronged in that relationship and I was hurt by this woman.

One week after that relationship suddenly ended, I met Sharon. December 3, 2007 was a day that changed my whole life. That was one year ago today. God brought an intelligent, attractive, affectionate, loyal, caring woman into my life and we clicked immediately. After knowing each other just one week, we knew in what direction we were headed with the relationship. We both wanted a family together. She wanted another child (she already had a wonderful five year old son, who was four when we met) and I wanted my first. On October 12th of this year, we married. We has prayed, talked about, and shared about wanting to start a family together as soon as we got married.

I remember when the two of us were traveling for a day trip to the beach and I asked Sharon if she was happy. She said she was very happy. I asked her what would make her happier. She answered, "Marry me." I told her that as soon as I could legally do so, I would. We still had some legal matters to which I needed to attend, such as getting my divorce finalized. I asked her, "What else?" to which she replied, "Impregnate me." I thought that was an amazing response, being most unexpected in verbiage but not sentiment. I wanted to do that very thing with all my heart.

After our wedding day, we got away for our week long honeymoon in Duck, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. We both love the OBX (as it called). I had been there more often than she had and knew the area more so than she. If memory serves correctly, she said she had only been there once previously. We had a wonderful time on our honeymoon. It was a great time of intimacy, of relaxation, of reflection, and joy. It was also apparently a productive time...or reproductive time, as the case was.

My men's group had prayed about us having a family quickly. I had shared with my pastor about wanting this very thing. I had cried out to God about wanting children. I am now 40 years old and had been feeling gypped out of having kids and having wasted 14 years of my life for a long time. I have enjoyed loving on my new niece and nephew (Sharon's sister's children) whenever I have been able to do so and had been pretty much already a step daddy to Sharon's son for months before our wedding day. I have been his daily daddy, supporting him, playing with him, teaching him, and doing all the things daddies do for their children even if though he is not my biological son. I have endeavored to treat him as my own son as much as I can within the circumstances I find myself. But those circumstances are for another discussion for another day.

On Sunday afternoon (I am writing on Wednesday night), Sharon was not feeling well. She was extremely sick on Monday, stayed home from work, and went to see a doctor. She was advised to take a pregnancy test as a precaution. On Tuesday, my mother-in-law got on Sharon's case about taking a pregnancy test, since she was certain that she was pregnant and did not just have the flu. Her grandmother thought the same thing and just this weekend swore she was pregnant. To placate her mother, Sharon took a test and it was positive. She took another later on in the day with the same result. I bought a different brand as a control test and she took that one a few hours later. All three tests were positive. After just 51 days of marriage, we may had just found out that we are pregnant.

With that knowledge in hand, we called a local OBGYN practice for an appointment today. The last time I had called seeking information months ago, they said that there was about a one month wait to get an appointment since they were so booked. They got us in this afternoon. Sharon had been sick often during the day and had not been able to keep any food down. Another test in the office proved positive. We were not going to get an ultrasound done, we were told, since they were booked for the whole day. However, just before leaving, they squeezed us in just before the contract ultrasound technician left for the day.

We got to see our baby on the live results screen. He or she is just a tiny little thing, estimated to be 7 weeks, 2 days old according to the size. We have an estimated due date of July 20 of 2009. The incredible thing is that the estimate of 7 weeks or so puts the date of conception right in the first few days of our honeymoon. Our prayers were answered.

I am so very grateful and joyful that I am finally going to have a baby with a wonderful woman that I am proud to call my wife. Thank you, Lord God, for your abundant blessings.

I know, I know. So long between posts

2008-12-01T16:57:00.002-05:00

For some time, I have been reticent to write too much. I still have one outlet for writing, but I have been mighty quiet. This entire election season, I have decided to refrain from too much commentary. I do not know if it is a season I am going through or what. For the last year, almost, I have not been blogging much. I have not been doing my talk show in the internet. I have, however, been doing my teaching show with two other guys. I just have not felt like blogging too much for some reason. It used to bring me satisfaction. Then again, so did collecting firearms and being on firearms related web sites. I have seriously backed off from that, as well. I shut down one of my web sites. I have focused more on my relationship with my (now) wife and family, some studies, church service, reading, personal interests, and just plain being quiet. Maybe I will pick up the blogging again soon. I don't know.

Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think I am

2008-12-01T16:34:00.003-05:00

I was accosted a little bit ago by a little woman clutching a bag full of gospel tracts, a Bible, and other belongings. She was all of 4 foot 11 at the most. This may sound mean, but she would certainly make the top 10 list of ugliest women I have ever met in my lifetime. She had a bulbous nose that almost looked like a male appendage dangling from her face, a mustache, and she could floss her teeth with rope there were so many of them missing. All of this aside, she was rude and obnoxious.

When Sharon and I got out of the car a few minutes ago, she came up to us as we crossed the street for our stop at Creech's Drug Store. Sharon got an antibiotic prescription because she has the flu. This lady asked us if we knew the Lord. I informed her that both my wife and I were born again Christians. We kept walking, but she started to follow like a puppy dog. She asked if I was Spirit filled, to which I replied I was. By this time, Sharon kept walking and was entering the store. Then she inquired as to how often I read the Bible or had prayer time. I was getting annoyed at this point, since the purpose of evangelism is not to pester the saved, but to save the lost.

When I stopped and sighed, she said, "Oh, that's it, isn't it? You are comfortable and need to have a relationship with Him. You need to get on fire for the Lord. I have been saved 31 years now and am as on fire today as the day I got saved. You need to do [thus and so]..." I attempted to discuss that issue with her, but she kept being rude and running over even the first two words out of my mouth. When I did get in any words, I attempted to let her know that she is sadly mistaken if she thinks that the measure of spirituality is how much you read the Bible or spend in prayer and that she is being extremely legalistic if she believes that if people do not spend as much time reading scripture as she deems we should, then we are somehow weak or lukewarm.

She quickly informed me that she is not under the law and is therefore not legalistic. I let her know right quick that she is a Pharisee if she is attempting to lay a standard on others to her liking. Of course, she came back with the obligatory quotes that if you are lukewarm (according to her definition, of course) then God would spew you out of His mouth, that we are to study to show ourselves approved, yadda, yadda, yadda. She said that I was going to miss "the rapture" if I was not on fire and basically that her prescription for a measure of fire intensity was appropriate.

I informed her that she just exemplified why so many people do not respond to her message, which she refuted. She just claimed that it was divine providence that she met me and was to warn me...all because I was not in agreement with her methodology and did not feel like being pestered. It is one thing to preach on the streets. I have done so. I also preached in prisons for several years. I have seen hundreds take decisions for Jesus. I have also seen many self righteous, pompous asses give their own prescriptions for the way to have a relationship with God. This ugly little lady, though I admire the fact that she is preaching the gospel to people, is unfortunately just one more self righteous individual that places her standards upon other people. If the others do not measure up to her, then they are less right in the sight of God and need to follow her example.

I feel bad that I was annoyed with this lady and that I felt the way I did about her appearance. However, I do not feel bad about my resisting her call to the way to being "rapture ready" or to a right relationship with God. As soon as I told her that I was a born again Christian, that should have ended all efforts of evangelism. Instead, she chose to be offensive, rude, and legalistic.

And people wonder why their efforts to win the lost are oft in vain. I forgot more scripture than this lady probably ever memorized. She has no idea what sort of study or prayer habits I have or the fellowship I have with my Lord or my fellow believers. She has no idea the topics of discussion I have with others nor the measure of walking out my faith I exemplify. I will applaud a non-charismaniac who gives to and ministers to the needs of those who have needs over someone who randomly uses the shotgun approach to evangelism and is obnoxious any day.

When I informed her that I was in the ministry for years and that she is not going to get away with perpetrating a false rhema upon me, since I have walked in that calling for years, she immediately shut down, got all the more defensive, and made the excuse that she had to go catch other people she saw on the street before she left in disgust.

Maybe I am wrong, but I doubt it.

A former classmate, a hero

2008-10-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

I went to school with two brothers, Scott and Lee Dimond. We played football together, had classes together, and were involved with the local fire department together. Lee Dimond died years ago, I believe of an accidental drowning. His brother, Scott, became a local police officer. I had no idea that he had enlisted in the military. He was recently killed in Afghanistan by an explosive device. It was in today's Citizen. I am saddened to read this, but proud of my old friend. Here is a link to a video of a British journalist report of the bombing. He was traveling with the truck that hit the explosive.

Though I am not likely to vote for McCain, I love his perspective. Refreshing to hear.

2008-09-30T22:48:00.000-04:00

The latest Palin parody actually is funny

2008-09-17T11:46:00.000-04:00

2008-09-16T18:59:00.000-04:00

AWESOME movie line from Bob Hope

2008-08-28T14:32:00.001-04:00

So add me to the list of those being threatened

2008-08-28T06:13:00.002-04:00

Boo frickity hoo. Yet more threats against people exercising free speech and pointing out facts about Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama is warning TV stations and asking the Justice Department to intervene in an attempt to block the airing of an ad by a non-profit group that links him to an unrepentant domestic terrorist.

The spot by the American Issues Project questions Obama's ties to William Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground organization who boasted of a series of bomb attacks at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol four decades ago.

So add me to the list of those you will threaten, Barack Hussein Obama. I have started to call my dog, Barack O-dog-a.

If you can't stand the heat, Obama, well, you know the rest. Just within the past few days, I have been called a "neocon" (pretty un-frickin' believable, if you know what constitutes being a neocon), been ripped into by ignorant people who rewrite history, and arrogant for pointing out the rewrite. Oh, well. If Obama has been hanging out with domestic terrorists, then it should come to light.

My honeymoon hideout

2008-08-21T17:15:00.001-04:00

This place is mine for a week. I am not going to say where, but it is going to be my honeymoon hideout for a week. I am so looking forward to it, it isn't funny. Not only do I just want to get away for a while, but I am looking forward to having my new bride by my side. Thank you, Jesus.

Now that was funny.

2008-08-21T07:39:00.002-04:00

From Ann Coulter:

This week, Barack Obama's challenge is to select a running mate who's young, hip, and whose accomplishments in life don't overshadow Obama's. Allow me to suggest Kevin Federline.

With all due respect to Ann Coulter, Federline did get to sleep with Britney Spears and make babies with her, so that seems to be more of a life accomplishment than Barack Obama has ever done.

Actual conversations with a 5 year old

2008-08-19T13:30:00.002-04:00

I had two conversations with a five year old that just make me chuckle. If you have ever read the comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes", you may remember some of the witty explanations given to Calvin by his father. I remember one in particular in which Calvin asked why some movies were in black and white. The father explained that at one time the entire world was black and white and eventually turned colored. I loved that particular strip. I often have the same sort of wit in talking to my five year old. These are actual conversations that took place within the last 24 hours.

John: Did I have breakfast yet?
Me: You don't know?
John: No.
Me: You mean you don't know whether or not you have eaten breakfast yet?
John: No.
Me: In that case, the answer is "Yes, you have".
John: Oh, OK.

And another one.

John: Mr. Troy, what is a pawn shop? (as we drove by the one in Selma)
Me: They sell chess pieces.
John: Oh.
John's grandmother, who was sitting beside me in the car: (hand over mouth) (snicker, snicker)

2008-08-17T07:29:00.000-04:00

Common sense

2008-08-15T09:46:00.000-04:00

Something I am seriously considering doing for vacation

2008-08-14T08:44:00.001-04:00

Praying for rain

2008-08-12T16:58:00.004-04:00

I know that it has been almost a week since I posted a blog entry. I have saved some story links for commentary, but have just not felt like writing. Anyway, here is a story I found amusing and figured I would share, anyway. Personally, I think it is a great idea.

From The Rocky Mountain News:

Focus on the Family Action pulled a video from its Web site today that asked people to pray for "rain of biblical proportions" during Barack Obama's Aug. 28 appearance at Invesco Field at Mile High to accept the Democratic nomination for president.

Stuart Shepard, director of digital media at Focus Action, the political arm of Focus on the Family, said the video he wrote and starred in was meant to be "mildly humorous."

But complaints from about a dozen Focus members convinced the organization to pull the video, said Tom Minnery, Focus Action vice president of public policy.

"If people took it seriously, we regret it," Minnery said Monday.

End Obama

2008-08-06T17:23:00.003-04:00

I thought it. I made it. Simple, yet it says volumes.

Tax hike alert!

2008-08-06T16:54:00.003-04:00

Johnston County property owners are about to take it on the chin again. I have no frickin' idea how construction costs can suddenly go up by 50%, but I do believe we are getting hosed. Now we are going to pay for it. Thanks, Johnston County. My taxes are about to go up yet again. I just got an increase in property taxes two years in a row from Selma. My electricity bill just went up 11% or so. My trash collection just went up another $2 a month. Now our property taxes for the county are about to go up because of a school being built with 50% cost over runs. Thanks. From WTSB's news page:

$30 Million Loan Will Pay For New Cleveland High School
Johnston County Commissioners have agreed to borrow $30 million to pay for a new Cleveland High School. However, in borrowing the money, the county can’t rule out a possible property tax increase to cover the debt. Higher costs for steel and petroleum products have pushed prices way up for proposed high schools in Cleveland and Corinth Holders. Voters had approved $60 million in a 2007 school bond referendum to pay for both schools at a price tag of $30 million each. However, construction cost estimates have risen to about $45 million for each school. By shifting most of the money from the bond to the Corinth Holders project and borrowing $30 million for the Cleveland High, both schools can be built and opened by the fall of 2011. But it could come with as much as a three cents tax increase. “Certain financial models show the possibility of that,” County Manager Rick Hester told WTSB, “but in the past we have been fortunate enough to absorb that, and we hope to do that this time.” The County will borrow $30 million from First Citizens Bank at 4.14 percent and repay the note over a 19-year period. Commissioners hope to use lottery funds to make the annual payments, however the county’s proceeds from the state lottery vary each year. Commissioners unanimously approved the loan with Commissioner Jeff Carver recusing himself due to being a board member of First Citizens Bank.

Thought police violate 2nd Amendment

2008-08-06T09:14:00.004-04:00

According to World Net Daily

A new report to the Connecticut state legislature shows police have used the state's unique gun seizure law to confiscate more than 1,700 firearms from citizens based on suspicion that the gun owners might harm themselves or others.

The state's law permits police to seek a warrant for seizing a citizen's guns based on suspicion of the gun owner's intentions, before any act of violence or lawbreaking is actually committed.

This is just plain illegal. I do not care what the Connecticut law says. The United States Constitution says

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

This right was deemed a PERSONAL right in the Heller decision just recently.

Ever see the movie Minority Report? It is about a crime division that used the precognition abilities of three people to determine future crime and arrest people for crimes they will commit, not that they have committed. This is no different. It is just an example of thought police taking away someone's rights based upon speculation. And it is wrong. It is illegal. It needs to stop.

One of the nicest things I have seen written about me in a long time

2008-08-05T10:19:00.002-04:00

I am a mother of a wonderful 5 year old boy; I am engaged to a wonderful man when I didn't think I was meant to fall in love again. I thank God every day for bringing him into my life.

From my sweetie's Facebook profile. I love you, baby, more than you will ever know.

At least a few Republicans grew some gonads

2008-08-05T09:39:00.003-04:00

Not many, but at least a few GOP members in Congress have decided to act like they have some 'nads when it comes to lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling. I wish that there were a lot more men like this. So the government may shut down. So what? It happened before and we did fine. As a matter of fact, the first time I tried to go to the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk, the park was shut down because of the government shut down. The problem was that government employees still got paid. They got a free paid vacation out of it. Refuse to pay employees when they are not working and I guarantee that more employees will take an active roll in pressuring their representatives to do the right thing and let drilling happen. Click on the link I gave you for the whole story.

I may be a chunky monkey, but I still say "Whack the guy!"

2008-08-05T09:22:00.004-04:00

I almost laughed out loud and woke up my family last night when I read this article about some shmuck that is on death row and about to be executed that says he is too fat to be executed. His claim is that it is hard to get his veins for drawing blood so it would be hard to put him to sleep for lethal injection, therefore making it cruel punishment. Apparently there is speculation that the drug he is taking, Topamax, will also make him resistant to the drug initially used to anesthetize him. So? Just give him a helluva lot more of it.

By the way, Topamax often causes weight loss when it is used. I know two people that have been on the drug and that was a side effect. Not a bad one, if you have to have one. My doctor put me on a drug for a while last year and I stopped taking it because it, er, ah, well, let's just say that this is a limp subject and I will not write about it further.

It is never tremendously easy for nurses to draw my blood, to give me an IV, or for me to donate blood because I am a big guy. That does not make me run from needles and getting jabbed. I tough it out. He raped and murdered two women. He wasn't too porky to commit the crime, so he certainly is not too porky to be put to death. You do not need to hit a vein to put a bullet in his head. I volunteer to do it, too. Don't give me "thou shalt not kill", since that would NOT be murder. It would be justice. It would be fulfilling GOD's command.

Whack this guy before he wastes more of the taxpayer's money. Now he is wasting MY tax dollars because he has filed a federal lawsuit. Sorry, but the feds should never touch this case. It is a matter for the State of Ohio, not the federal court system.

Here is the news story video.

Losing a $245k house for a $50 ticket is just wrong

2008-08-05T08:53:00.004-04:00

If you think you own your own house, just stop paying property taxes on it for a couple of years and you will find that you are just a serf that rents it from the government. I'll bet that you never thought a $50 parking ticket could get your house confiscated from you, though.

I will admit that the victim in this story was a moron for not paying a ticket after repeated warnings. Even after the fine became over $1500 and this dope had $2600 in the bank but never paid it, he should not have to lose his house over it. Yet, some dipstick judge thought it was worth taking away a man's home to recover the cost of the fine plus fees and whatever else got tacked on to the amount. The house was worth 163 times the inflated amount and 4900 times the original amount. That is a hefty penalty to place upon a man for just being a moron. It is unjust and should never have been allowed to happen.

Here is the story. Welcome to Amerika.

This sounds eerily familiar

2008-08-05T08:50:00.001-04:00

Will a humongo new shopping center be coming to Selma?

2008-08-04T20:20:00.006-04:00

I have heard for almost two years about a possible new large shopping center coming to town at exit 97 and Hwy 70 near JR's. Originally, the story was that a Home Depot and maybe a Target were coming. Recently, I have heard more rumors. Now there is a formal news story on the subject in The Selma News. The developer presented before the Selma Town Council on Wednesday. By the way, I am not so much in favor of constant special meetings of the town council as a matter of public policy, but that is beside the point.

The developer mentioned possible tenants as Target, Bass Pro Shop, Cabellas, JC Penney, and IKEA, along with up-scale restaurants and motels. Keep in mind that these are just suggested POSSIBILITIES. I am all for such a development, so don't get me wrong. However, keep in mind at this point, the developer is selling the idea and soliciting getting $15 million or so in reimbursements from the town for infrastructure improvements. I am not for corporate welfare programs. I am, however, for the town paying for bringing needed utilities to customers and helping with roads that benefit the town, not just the developer.

Personally, I am dubious over the claim of a Cabella's. I would LOVE to have a Cabella's. However, one already was proposed for Four Oaks and that project crashed and burned. Cabella's announced that they were going to put one in to Richmond, VA and figured that one here would be too close. I find that claim fallacious, but whatever. Just look at the map of their existing locations on their web site (the link I gave). I am not going to drive three hours to go to a Cabella's. If they reconsider because of a better location, highway access, and other development, then hallelujah. I would be thrilled with a Bass Pro Shops, as well.

Anyway, this development would certainly be good for the town for several reasons. First, the developer wants to be voluntarily annexed. Great. They would bring a lot of revenue for electricity and water, if they were to become Selma utility customers. The tax revenue would be wonderful. Other development would certainly come as a result, as well as possible residents.

It will certainly be interesting to see what "develops" in this situation. I am all for development of fallow ground and expanding this area. I am dubious as to the claims that "as much as $500 million in sales tax is leaving the county each year to go to Wake, Wayne, Wilson and Nash counties." That sounds like an excessively high estimate. It is part of the sales pitch.

I do agree with this quote, though.

Dougherty added that Selma is unique in the county in that it is ideally situated to host such a regional complex. He cited I-95 and US 70 and major thoroughfares. He said Exit 98 is excellent for such a complex because it has great access. "There’s no other city right on the an interchange like this," said the developer, who has had an office in Selma for the past two years.

Troy's note: Exit 98 must be a typo, since 98 is the next exit up the interstate and is not the JR's exit. That is exit 97. Access on and off 98 sucks and is difficult, and it could not support the heavy traffic that would come from such a complex. Exit 97 could. If it is not a typo and a direct quote, then it must have been a faux pas.

Either way, I am looking forward to seeing the addition to the town.

Welkum too edukashun n da Yoonited Statz uv Amerika

2008-08-04T16:21:00.002-04:00

When the Selma Elementary School instituted a dress code, I pretty much supported the idea. Even when I was in elementary and high school, there was an expectation of appropriate attire. As I look back at old school pictures, I marvel at the clothes we wore, although they were not as risque as outfits often are today. They were funky looking clothes, but it was, after all, the 1970's. I still chide my mother for dressing me in such weird clothes whenever we look over a photo album together. In high school, I grew up in an area where flannel button shirts, blue jeans, and work boots were normal attire for a large portion of the school year. We wore Buck knives in leather holsters on our hips (just like in "The Dukes of Hazzard") to school every day and never thought anything of it, nor did the school administrators. A Buck knife was seen as a necessary tool, not a weapon. Anyway, rabbit trail aside, I supported the school dress code until recently.

As I had written previously, I have been active in the life of a boy who is now five and about to enter kindergarten. In a couple of months, this boy will become my step-son, so I have an active interest in his success at school and getting him prepared for it. His grandmother took him shopping for some clothes, but you don't generally find school uniforms at Macy's. I took him and his mother to Target last weekend to buy the requisite school clothes and supplies we would need. After all, the school system was kind enough to post the uniform code and school supply list on the internet for us to find (after hunting down the information by surfing a while).

Like I said, I was all for a school dress code. I believe in modest apparel. What I found, however, was that clothes that should be perfectly acceptable by public standards are not necessarily so for school uniforms. The real trick was finding clothing for winter while still in August, of which we found nothing but a few pairs of pants that met the criteria. We did find some polo or golf type shirts. The real problem was finding them in solid colors with no brand logo on them, and in the appropriate size 5. The boy already had some nice, appropriate shirts in his closet, but they had stripes and a Polo logo. Those shirts are plenty nice for church, but not for sending a tot to kindergarten, apparently. We can buy solid shirts in orange, red, blue, purple, black, white, or whatever color we want, but they can not have logos, pockets, or stripes. If the school REALLY was shooting for a school uniform, one style of shirt of one color should be required, but I digress.

For pants, a good looking pair of corduroys or nice, new blue jeans are taboo. Wow, that would have shot my whole school career attire down, except for the bell bottom hound's tooth or plaid pants my mother used to buy me, along with white patent leather belt. I do find the requirement for cotton twill only to be a bit excessive. We are talking about 5 to 10 year olds, not teenagers. For kindergarteners, we are talking about children who just recently learned to wipe themselves after using the bathroom, may have just learned to tie their shoes, and have recently gotten used to the use of forks. They may still often use "sippy cups". Maybe my future step-son is the "Messy Marvin" of his day (wow, that is dating me a bit), but there is extensive clean up after each meal. He play rough with me, his toys, and my dog, so I am dubious about not putting the lad in denim to go to school.

I am not disturbed so much by the cost of adhering to the dress code, though. I would have to buy him new clothes anyway, since he has grown like a weed just since I first got to know him late last year. We did find some $5 polo shirts and $10 pants. It was the exclusivity without adherence to a true uniform standard that sort of annoyed me.

Here is what DID annoy me...the school supply list. Parents are expected to purchase an entire shopping list of materials and simply turn them over to the school at the time of a parental conference. We are expected to furnish brand name crayons, markers, scissors, baby wipes, paper towels, hand sanitizer, Ziploc bags, tissues, dry erase markers, napkins, highlighter markers, index cards, and more. We are not supposed to put the child's name on anything except his change of clothes and his book bag.

I am sorry, but the last time I looked, we still live in America, not the former USSR. Furthermore, I just got my Johnston County property tax bill this week and I am wondering why I am paying all that money in taxes, the school system keeps asking for more money, we constantly are having school bond referendums, and I am being asked to supply basic classroom materials. Does the school not have a janitor? Do they not have cases of paper towels somewhere in that building? Are the teachers not supplied with dry erase markers to write on their boards? Chalk was used in my day, right through college and that worked fine, but I can understand using dry erase boards now. But still, the school system, with all the millions of dollars we are paying in taxes for their operation, should be furnishing something as basic as paper towels. If the school can not afford the materials, I am sure we can afford enough dry erase markers for the entire school system by cutting Superintendent Parker's salary to a reasonable level for what he does for a living. I will do the same job only better for half of what he makes. That is an official offer to the Johnston County Board of Education, by the way. If not that, then one less assistant principal at the elementary school would furnish all the paper towels we would ever need.

Why I mention the USSR is that by confiscating the materials that we are furnishing for the classroom as a whole, we are teaching communism. When I was in kindergarten, all I had to show up with was my daily lunch and/or snack. The rest was taken care of by the school system, which was much smaller than that of Johnston County with a much smaller budget and much older facilities. Furthermore, we learned. We did not have issues in which we did not pass mandates for performance. As a matter of fact, the state where I grew up used to consistently score in the top of the national SAT averages while having the lowest per capita state expenditure per student for education in the country. Thus, I know that education is not a matter of dollars and materials can be furnished for said education.

Sure, when I got older, I had to furnish my own book covers, but an old paper bag from a shopping trip to the A&P did fine. I furnished my own notebooks eventually, but they were MY notebooks for my use alone. By taking the crayons that I purchase and pooling them with that of others, we are employing a communist system. I was told by the office staff that 60% of the students at Selma Elementary are Hispanic and from families in which English is not the primary language. If Jose and Maria can not afford to buy a 27 cent box of Crayolas, that is their problem. It is not my responsibility to furnish their children with crayons, markers, glue, and paper towels. I bought the crayons, so I know how much they cost. I bought my boy some pencils with his name on them some time ago. I surmise that he will not be able to use them at school, since not all children are so named. We are supposed to protect the self esteem of some illegal immigrant children or even some poor family's kids by furnishing them with Crayolas? All this redistribution of school supply wealth has got to be all one big joke, right? That is liberal academia social engineering with lower educational results for you.

First, I am ticked that the schools are not furnishing these supplies after we are constantly being asked to "pony up" an ever increasing amount of tax dollars for their operation. Then I am extremely annoyed that our children are being taught communisitic principles for politically correct reasons. If you can not afford a trip to Wal-Mart or the dollar store for your child to bring his/her own supplies and not take from others, then I suggest that you forgo that next DVD purchase, 12 pack of beer, tattoo addition, or carton of cigarettes and buy some 22 cent glue sticks and crayons (at least the non big named crayons were 22 cents, but the school specifically requested the five cent higher Crayola brand). Better yet, let the school system slash its over bloated bureaucracy and maybe we could afford to buy the needed supplies instead of double taxing us by demanding a grocery list of supplies before the first day of school. It gets better, though. We were informed that we will be furnished an additional supply list later. Doggone communists of academia. I miss America.

At least I know that someone on Congressman Price's staff has read my rant

2008-08-04T09:30:00.005-04:00

I found this on my site statistics today. I will assume it is Congressman Price's staff, although it could be someone else. Somebody emailed the link to my blog. Thank you, whomever. I hope that the Congressman enjoys being in the same category as communists and hippies. I see others have seen my blog this post being emailed, as well. Cool.

Domain Name : house.gov (U.S. Government)
IP Address : 143.231.249.# (Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives)
ISP : Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives
Continent : North America
Country : United States
State : District of Columbia
City : Washington
Language : English (U.S.)
Operating System: Microsoft WinXP
Browser: Internet Explorer 7.0
Time of Visit Aug 4 2008 9:18:11 am
Page Views 1
Referring URL http://mail.google.c...sp&ver=1qygpcgurkovy
Visit Entry Page http://troylaplante....moonbat-wannabe.html
Visitor's Time Aug 4 2008 9:18:11 am

Rep. Price is a moonbat wannabe

2008-08-03T21:44:00.003-04:00

Representative David Price is a moonbat enabler and wannabe, it seems. His leftist political views disgust me, quite honestly. I can not watch his show on cable channel 24 or I will end up shouting at the TV and raising my blood pressure to a dangerous level and I will need massive doses of Lisinopril to keep my BP lowered.

This liberal dinosaur is calling for a federal investigation into Aero Contractors here in Johnston County. From The Smithfield Herald:

U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has called on Congress to investigate a Johnston County company accused of ferrying terror suspects to countries where they are tortured.

On July 16, Price wrote a letter to the chairmen of two House subcommittees asking them to launch an investigation of Aero Contractors Ltd., which is based at the Johnston County Airport. Christina Cowger, spokeswoman for N.C. Stop Torture Now, said in a news release that Price’s involvement “is helping lead a growing movement to expose the use of public airports and private or nominally-private contractors to carry out the Bush administration’s kidnapping-for-torture program.”

Cowger’s group has been among the most vocal opponents of so-called “terror flights” and Aero’s possible role in them.

Activists have repeatedly called on state and federal officials to investigate the company since a “60 Minutes” report linked the company in 2006 to the war on terror.

Aero Contractors has denied the allegations.

Did you catch that handy phrase? "kidnapping-for-torture program". As far as I am concerned, put old Abdul on a waterboard. I wrote about this before and even put it in the paper.

In October of last year, I wrote columns, blogged, and did a talk show about moonbats that were protesting Aero Contractors with a big rally here in Johnston County. Just this weekend, the same sorts of whack jobs were in Raleigh protesting a war that has not even happened.

This is how scant the coverage was on WRAL's web site, which was about as brief as the actual video package.

A group protesting against a possible war with Iran demonstrated in Raleigh Saturday.

The North Carolina Coalition to Stop War on Iran held a march and rally to protest the growing threat of western-led attacks on Iran. Similar protests took place in 60 cities across the country.

What pissed me off about the news story was, as I wrote to the leader of the counter protest group:

[I] caught the 11 PM news on WRAL. Their footage made it look like there were hundreds of moonbats but only about a half dozen Eagles. Their footage had to have been purposely skewed to show a huge protest with a bunch of moonbats all together. When the Eagles were shown, there were only a handful in the shot which made y'all look like a loony, lonely bunch of extremists. That rather pissed me off when I saw the report.

I am going to take a little liberty by sharing his response.

We have learned, over the last two years, to never, ever expect decent coverage by the press. I'm working on my official report right now. As you'll see there were some interesting incidents that were very telling, me thinks.

The truth of the matter is what this same man shared with those on his email list (which includes me)

Here's a quick summary of the August 2 events in Raleigh, I'm still processing photos and will have the official AAR online as soon as I can.

Numbers:
It seems everyone always wants to know about the numbers. Head counts are something I never remember to do, but others tell me it was 42 to 31.
That's 42 moonbats, and 31 patriots. So my original estimate from mid-last-week appears to have been more accurate than the RPD's prediction of 300. But that's the way it always goes, we never know what's going to happen till it happens. I'm happy to report that Rolling Thunder accounted for a substantial portion of that number .

The moonbats gathered on the south side of the capital grounds. We rallied at the Vietnam Memorial on the north-east corner, and after a few minutes we began moving over to the south side. The capital grounds police stopped us just short of contact, and we were told that in order to stay on capital property we would have to abandon signs and flags. The answer was "We dont think so". We abandoned Capital property and moved across the street to the sidewalk where the Capital Grounds Police had no jurisdiction.

That was just as good, actually better. When the anti-Americans began their parade they had to pass right by us, so that worked out just fine. They marched around and through downtown chanting slogans and waving their anti-American signs (no flags, America that is). We followed them, with flags. Each and every person on the streets and sidewalks that witnessed their passing were informed by the Eagles that the previous Hate-America message was brought to them by the American Communist Party.
When they stopped (in front of the courthouse and in front of the Obama HQ) to chant and give speeches, the Eagles used the opportunity to move in close and add to what was being said. We pointed out that none of them had an American flag and offered to provide one. At one point, one of us walked into the middle of their sidewalk rally and offered a 3x5 American flag and pole to the leader of the group. It was refused. The flag was offered to seven different people, six declined even though their hands were empty. The seventh person took the flag and handed away his anti-war protest sign.
Of course, this made the police very nervous and we were asked to move away .... again.

After that, it all sorta fizzled out. By the time they returned to their original rally point - with less than half their original numbers - it didnt seem worth the trouble any more. We made a couple more offers on flags. The offers were declined, except 2 little 6-inch flags were accepted.

And that's the way it was, sez I.

So that you will know why I am publishing this, it is because the same bunch and ilk that populate Code Pink, MoveOn.org, and Stop Torture Now are the same sort of hippies who would populate this event. Actually, here is a link to some of the propaganda by the sponsoring organization. What they conveniently do not tell you is that the local group doing the march is an avowed COMMUNIST group. Surf that site for a while and enjoy.

Now you know why I call this blog Hippie Puncher.

Talk about bad karma!

2008-08-03T19:31:00.001-04:00

Actual headline: Stampede kills 145 at remote Hindu temple in India
Story link here.

Obama's $1k energy rebate just plain one of the dumbest things I have ever heard of

2008-08-01T14:19:00.002-04:00

Barack Obama is merely pandering for votes by playing class envy. He has obviously never studied economics. This has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard of, and I have heard a bunch of idiotic proposals by politicians in the past.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday called for a $1,000 "emergency" rebate to consumers to offset soaring energy costs amid fresh signs of a struggling economy with the nation's unemployment rate climbing to a four-year high.

Obama told a town-hall meeting the rebate would be financed with a windfall profits tax on the oil industry.

Click here for the whole story. There is no need for "emergency" relief. The idea of "windfall" profits is just plain fallacious. Furthermore, to abscond the profits of a legitimate corporation to redistribute the wealth is just plain communism. There is not hiding that concept; Obama is just plain endorsing full on communism.

The hypocritical part is that Obama flat out refuses to support the idea of offshore drilling to increase the supply of energy. You can not have it both ways. We would have lower energy costs and relief for consumers by having an increased supply. Simple economics dictate that increased supply equals lower cost. But Obama is apparently too blind to this by his communistic paradigm or is just too stupid to realize this. Perhaps he does know and is flat out lying for political gain, which is not beyond the scope of possibility, nay is probability.

Wal-Mart knows what is at stake. I wish all did.

2008-08-01T14:12:00.003-04:00

The largest private employer gets it. Why can't the rest of America?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.

Click here to read the rest of the story. A Democrat controlled government will kill more than labor costs at Wal-Mart. It will bankrupt the rest of us, too.

Here is my wish list. Buy me something.

2008-08-01T01:57:00.001-04:00

Since Shearon Harris is in Wake County, Orange County Commissioners can go pound sand

2008-07-31T15:17:00.003-04:00

When Berkley East, otherwise known as Orange County, NC annexes Wake County, then they can have a say in what goes on in Wake County. Until then, the Orange County Board of Commissioners needs to STFU.

From WRAL:

Progress Energy might build two more nuclear reactors at its Shearon Harris facility in Wake County. However, the company first has to get approval to do it.

Before company officials make up their minds, some local elected officials are moving forward with plans to oppose it.

The company is in the midst of public hearings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a requirement to build new reactors.

Progress Energy officials said a growing customer base and a higher demand for power justify the expansion. The company expects to add 500,000 customers in the next 20 years.

The approval process could take years, but Orange County isn't wasting any time. The Board of Commissioners called a special meeting for Thursday night to consider a resolution to oppose Progress Energy's permit to expand Shearon Harris.

The resolution says Orange County is concerned about the potential for spontaneous combustion of spent nuclear fuel rods during low water conditions. It also says expansion of the plant would enhance the attraction of the facility for terrorist attacks.

Wake County leaders are on record in support of the plan. The school district approves.

Oddly enough, the liberals in Orange County must be in support of burning more fossil fuels to run power plants and therefore, in their eyes, pollute the environment and contribute to (non-existent) global warming. The need for more electricity production is there, but leave it to whining liberals to try to stop progress. (Ha, ha, Progress Energy...get it?)

...and Obama wants to raise their taxes?

2008-07-31T10:11:00.002-04:00

the income share earned by the top 1 percent of tax returns and the tax share paid by that top 1 percent have once again reached all-time highs. In 2006, the top 1 percent of tax returns paid 39.9 percent of all federal individual income taxes and earned 22.1 percent of adjusted gross income, both of which are significantly higher than 2004 when the top 1 percent earned 19 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 36.9 percent of federal individual income taxes.

These are the people who hire workers. More taxation = less money to use to hire workers = layoffs or lower wages for lower income workers. Stupid. Economics 101. Source: The Tax Foundation

So much for the First Amendment

2008-07-30T17:15:00.004-04:00

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that we have freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

A town official praying a specific way does NOT violate the establishment clause. It is common sense that CONGRESS has not set forth an official religion when a town councilman prays to open a meeting in his municipality. There is no wall of separation between church and state found anywhere in the Constitution. That comes from a letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists in Connecticut who were concerned that there may be an official denomination (not necessarily religion in general) chosen as the official national religion.

As a matter of fact, it was in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (sometimes called the Philadelphia Convention) where Benjamin Franklin, arguably the least spiritual of the delegates, brought it to the attention of the assembly that they had failed to begin each day's activities with prayer and beseeched that they start doing so.

Being totally ignorant, secularly minded, and having the "spirit of anti-Christ", all three judges of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that praying in the name of Jesus is unconstitutional. Here is the article on the topic. Here is an excerpt from the article.

Using Jesus' name during public prayers is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The 2006 case involved a city councilman in Fredericksburg, Va., who had frequently used the name of Jesus during prayer to open meetings.

The three-judge panel for the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Wednesday that "the practice of members of Town Council invoking name(s) specifically associated with the Christian faith violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."

Here in Selma, we had the ACLU threaten a lawsuit for the same thing and the town council backed down. Finally, the mayor decided to continue prayer in Jesus' name. I personally offered to help pay for a legal defense should the town get sued. Some things are worth fighting for. This is a matter of principle, not just of Christian principle, but of proper application of the law and the Constitution.

Do you want to know what the Founding Fathers thought on this issue? Here is an excellent list of their own words on that subject. Also, a friend of mine with whom I co-host The Patriots Pub has an article on the separation of church and state...and he is an agnostic. Yet, he feels the exact same way I do in regards to original intent and the founding of the nation and the prevailing religious views of the day. If you want an emailed copy, just email me.

Some things are worth fighting over. This is one. It is a matter of freedom, truth, and the foundation of American society.

More asinine apologies for slavery

2008-07-30T15:59:00.003-04:00

I dealt with this subject once already for a complete hour. It is just plain asinine to offer apologies for something that happened hundreds of years ago and ended over 140 years ago. The United States Congress acquiesced and offered a formal apology for slavery as the State of North Carolina did over a year ago. Give me a break. NOBODY who was a slave owner is alive today. The lawmakers who passed Jim Crowe laws are long dead.

The concept of slavery was dealt with in the 1860's at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives. What is not often mentioned is that there were a lot of Negro slave owners here in America. In addition to that, it was Negroes who sold other Negroes into slavery. That is a side issue, but still relevant.

Here is the article on the apology. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the article.

US lawmakers Tuesday offered the federal government's first formal apology for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity" of slavery and the legal segregation of African-Americans.

The resolution, passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote, "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery" formal segregation laws known as "Jim Crow."

Lawmakers also said they were committed to rectifying "the lingering consequences" of slavery and segregation.

Here is how to listen to my talk show episode on the subject when it came up here in North Carolina last year.

Bush signed the bill in secret because it was WRONG to do

2008-07-30T15:55:00.002-04:00

I wrote about this earlier. This is just wrong. It is wrong to give open authority to bureaucrats on lending allegedly private mortgage companies money. It is wrong to bail out private citizens because they used bad judgment in getting mortgage loans. We are getting hosed.

Here is the story.

With none of the fanfare that usually attends a landmark bill becoming law, President Bush signed the huge housing rescue bill just after 7 a.m. Wednesday, shortly after he arrived in the Oval Office.

Only a few aides and administration officials were present, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Steve Preston and James B. Lockhart III, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The White House announced the signing by e-mail moments later.

The bill, the biggest overhaul of housing law in decades, provides a lifeline for an estimated 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure, and provides assurances to the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose books are loaded with bad mortgages.

This is just wrong. Charged for protecting your property?

2008-07-30T15:26:00.004-04:00

When your dog is being attacked by another dog, one should have the right to exercise lethal force to protect one's own property and friend. If I am walking my dog or I have my dog in my back yard and a vicious dog attacks either myself or my dog, I am going to use whatever force is necessary to protect my dog. If that means shooting the attacking dog, so be it. In protecting my own dog by shooting the attacker, there is no way under all fairness and common sense that I should be charged with animal cruelty. Allowing the attack on my dog would be animal cruelty, not defending my canine companion and property. This would be a JUSTIFIED use of a firearm in the judgment of any rational, fair minded individual.

The following news story was on WTSB's news page today. It is just wrong to charge this man with discharging a firearm in the city limits (which is a BS ordinance to begin with) and animal cruelty. This is NOT justice. It is just plain wrong.

Owner, Neighbor Charged Following Dog's Death
Two Selma neighbors are in trouble with authorities following the shooting death of a canine. It happened Monday night on Godwin Street. Selma Police reported William Lynn Godwin, 32, shot and killed his neighbor’s dog, reportedly while trying to defend his own animal. Godwin was charged with cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm within town limits. The dog’s owner, Kevin Campbell, was cited for violating a town ordinance of allowing his dog to run at large.

I agree with Obama on this one, too.

2008-07-30T08:35:00.002-04:00

According to Yahoo news:

Barack Obama told House Democrats on Tuesday that as president he would order his attorney general to scour White House executive orders and expunge any that "trample on liberty," several lawmakers said.

Presidents, as head of the executive branch of government, issue such orders to direct operations of executive branch agencies, like the Justice Department and the CIA.

I have said for years that I was wanting a President to go through all the executive orders issued by previous administrations and get rid of the ones that I disagreed with or wanted to change. Actually, to be more accurate, I feel that every last executive order should be nullified upon the leaving of the previous administration. There is no way feasible that the executive branch should be held to the standards laid down by a President from 30 years ago. Why should choices made by Jimmy Carter dictate how George W. Bush runs his administration? If an executive officer made the order, and executive officer can rescind the order.

I have no problem with the chief executive officer making administration policy. I do have a problem with using executive orders in place of law. For instance, Bush's order on bass fishing regulation (cited in the article) is not something a POTUS should be deciding. Whether the CIA is allowed to perform certain sorts of operations, however, is within the jurisdiction of the head of the executive branch.

Of course I expect someone like Obama to only keep liberally bending orders in place, but he does have the concept of eliminating those orders that do not coincide with his goals and purposes.

Louisiana had it right, SCOTUS had it wrong, NC getting there

2008-07-29T10:51:00.003-04:00

I served on a jury for a trial of a prisoner accused of beating a chomo. Chomos are scum. He got what he deserved, in my opinion, but the assault was also illegal and we had to judge the case as such.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States recently struck down a Louisiana law that allows capital punishment for people convicted of raping children. First of all, capital punishment is neither cruel nor unusual, but that was the court's ruling as it is applied to rape cases. They said that the punishment was unfit for the crime. Personally, I find it entirely appropriate.

Here in North Carolina, the governor just signed a bill into law making child rape and molestation offenses carry stiffer punishment. Personally, I think like Louisiana did and believe in the swift, efficient use of the death penalty for chomos. I wish we could do so.

From the WTSB news page:

Governor Signs Jessica Lunsford Act Into Law
On Monday, Gov. Mike Easley signed into law The Jessica Lunsford Act. The law means sexual predators convicted in North Carolina will face stiffer punishment for rape or sexual offenses against children. In certain criminal offenses the minimum sentence will be 25 years in prison followed by lifetime satellite-based monitoring, or the possibility of life imprisonment without parole. The law also increases the criminal penalties for sexual exploitation of a minor and promoting prostitution of a minor, and makes the sex offender registration requirements more stringent. The Act creates a new criminal offense making it unlawful for a sex offender to be on certain premises such as schools, playgrounds and child care centers. Sex offender registries must now be checked, by local school districts, of all school contractual personnel before allowing them to have direct interaction with students. "Today we send a message that North Carolina will protect our children from vicious predators," Easley said. "We will make sure they spend more time in prison and we will track them 24-7 to make sure they never abuse children again." Easley signed the bill in Gaston County, where Jessica Lunsford, the 9-year-old for whom the bill is named, was born and lived until she moved to Florida in 2004. In February 2005 she was raped and murdered by a sex offender. The offender, John Couey, was convicted of her murder and has been sentenced to death. Police had lost track of Couey, who was staying with his sister in the same neighborhood as Jessica. Appearing with the governor at the bill signing was Mark Lunsford, father of Jessica, who has lobbied legislatures around the nation, including North Carolina, for tougher child predator laws. The bill passed the House by a vote of 109-1, and the Senate by a vote of 46-0. The new law goes into effect December 1.

Mortgage bail out bothers me as a matter of fairness as well as legality

2008-07-28T09:40:00.003-04:00

I have written about this before and I probably will again. I am tremendously bothered by the idea that the federal government is about to bail out mortgage lenders and mortgage payers. I busted my tail to get good enough credit and income to be able to have a house. I did not buy more house than I could afford. I settled for a house that was within my desired price range and within the quality, size, and comfort levels I desired. Overall, I have been happy with that decision and I have never failed to be able to pay my mortgage as a result. As with any older home, there are things I have needed to dump money into for repairs and improvements. I would obviously prefer not to have to pay the money for such, but that is part of home ownership.

Neal Boortz wrote about this very concept this morning on his news page. It echoes my sentiments.

ANOTHER GUMMIT BAILOUT

This one could cost $25 billion, but what the hell. Actually ... that's a minimum estimate. Some analysts think the mortgage bail-out that Bush is oh-so-eagerly going to sign this week could cost $300 billion. The politicians who curry favor and buy votes with this money don't have to worry about where the money comes from. They're going to be long-gone when the bill comes due. They only have to worry about doing what they need to do to buy votes so they can enjoy the prestige and privileges of power until that time.

Who are these people who are going to be bailed out?

* People who knew they were buying more house than they could afford, and who thought that they would be bailed out by rising equity.
* People who got home loans in spite of bad credit ratings ... loans spurred by media and government anguish over the unavailability of home loans to bad credit risks.
* People who bought the house, took out the loan, and moved on in knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to make the payments when the interest rates went up. But what the hell .. they would just ride the cheap rates until then, and throw in the keys.

Yes...I know that there were some bad actors in the mortgage business. There are bad actors in every business. Me, for instance. But I can remember a dozen or so years ago when almost every major newspaper in the country was running investigative reports on the evils of the mortgage business. These reports told us that these evil mortgage companies were not doing enough to bring the American dream of home ownership to poorer people. The nasty mortgage lenders were actually using criteria such as income, job stability, credit ratings, loan-to-value ratio and other anti-inclusive measurements to intentionally keep minorities, single women and other poor, poor pitiful victims out of the home market. So --- before the feds stepped in and made them do it – the evil mortgage lenders started lending to people that should be renting. And here we are.

Remember...over 95% of the people in this country with home loans are making those payments each and every month. So what kind of crisis is this really? Can't it be said we're weeding out the chaff here?

It is NOT the job of the taxpayers of this nation to bail out those who have taken bad financial decisions in life. It is not my fault that others have taken loans they can not repay. It is not my fault that some people were stupid enough to take variable interest rate loans and are now paying the price for that stupidity. It is not my fault that people got mortgages that they had no intention of being able to repay over the long haul. It is not my fault or the fault of the rest of the tax payers who are or have been faithful in paying for our homes. Not only that, I do not recall any provision in the Constitution that would allow Congress or the President to spend taxpayer money on any such thing.

This is just another boondoggle in which we are getting screwed by our elected officials so that they can look like the knight in shining armor that came to the defense of the average citizen. No, they are the thieves who took from the average citizen and gave the collective wealth to corporations that should never have undertaken such bad business decisions and to other citizens who should never have been allowed to get such risky loans to begin with. Were it not for threats of government action to begin with, the mortgage companies probably would never have underwritten such loans.

We have the largest budget in world history. We have an unfathomable amount of national debt. We have spending on special interest projects that do not benefit the public good. We waste more money than some nations have as a GDP. We have confiscatory taxation levels that would cause a tea party and disgust the Founding Fathers. Quite frankly, I am sick of it all. Unfortunately, I see no end in sight. The world's system is corrupting our government and bankrupting our nation.

Here is a news article on the pending bail out. Bend over, grab ankles.

The measure, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes.

It offers a temporary financial lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- pillars of the home loan market whose losses have sparked investor fears -- and tightens controls over the two government-sponsored businesses.

Furthermore, the article states:

The legislation overhauls the Depression-era FHA. It requires lenders to show how high a borrower's payment could get under the terms of his mortgage. It provides $180 million in pre-foreclosure counseling for struggling homeowners.

The Treasury Department gains unlimited power, until the end of 2009, to lend money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or buy their stock should they need it. The Federal Reserve takes on a new "consultative" role overseeing the companies.

The measure includes $15 billion in tax cuts, including a significant expansion of the low-income housing tax credit and a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers for houses purchased between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

This is just unfair to others who have been faithful in their mortgage payments and the tax payers who have to foot the bill. This sucks royally.

Women DESERVE pro-choice.

2008-07-19T08:49:00.001-04:00

No, I have not lost my marbles. I refer to this.

I am not fond of a church 501(c)(3) status. The money changers love it.

2008-07-18T19:42:00.004-04:00

I realize that the government is supposed to be a servant of the Lord. The Church is supposed to be the of the Lord, as well. There are issues I see with churches having a tax exempt status. There has been a lot of abuse with that status in the name of freedom of religion. There are tax breaks for ministers that most people do not get. I had some web sites bookmarked for years. One of them dealt with churches and 501(c)(3) status. Unfortunately, that URL no longer is valid, or I would link you there.

There are a lot of churches who do finances correctly. They are prudent with their money and respect how it is spent. Other ministries become the personal wealth machine of hucksters. That is one major reason why I left the Word of Faith Movement (WOF) in the mid 1990's. I have no problem with apostolic authority, but I do have a problem with stacking the deck of a ministry's board of directors with family and/or "yes men". It is the unfortunate consequence of tax exempt status that a not for profit corporation has to have a board. I have seen some churches with only family on the board.

It is sad to see that people make money off the fears of others. WOF preachers scare parishioners into tithing and giving to "the man of God" so that they will themselves be blessed. Of course those tithes and offerings can go to no other ministers much less fellow believers or God will be angry at them and curse them. I sat through a lot of sermons to that end, as well as read plenty of books teaching those heresies. Yes, I believe that God honors your giving and blesses you for it. I do not, however, believe that people are going to be cursed by God if they do not give 10% of their income to their local congregation. I live under a new covenant, established upon better promises. Nonetheless, these WOF preachers will pull all sorts of cursings out of the Old Testament to back their claims. The most popular is the old Malachi 3:10. However, you never hear those preachers share the intended recipients of the message. I am not a Jew, I never was a Jew, and never was under the Law.

The sad truth is that people who often can not pay their own bills ignorantly pour money into the pockets of such charlatans, believing that God will honor their faithfulness and owes them more money in return, as if there is a formula or equation in Heaven to follow. I have seen poor people give money when they could not afford groceries of to pay the electricity bill with the expectation that God will bless them mightily. Years later, they are still poor. Do not get me wrong. I do believe that God does honor giving. He is not obligated, however, to honor a covenant that is not yours to begin with or giving in fear of his wrath.

Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Jesse Duplantis, Jerry Savelle, Benny Hinn, Robert Tilton, Marilyn Hickey, Oral Roberts, Frederick Price, John Avanzini, Morris Cerullo, E.W. Kenyon, and a host of others preach the "name it and claim it" gospel; the "blab it and grab it" theology, or the health and wealth gospel. Pick your term, I don't care. You see many of these same people and their ilk on television regularly. I have personally met some of them, been in their services, read their books, etc. Had I compromised, I would probably be a millionaire raking in millions of dollars every year and have a world wide TV ministry. God would not let me do so, and for that I am grateful. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and your mercy.

Side note: I am reminded of a joke.

A Christian Scientist and a WOF preacher both died and ended up in Hell. They both looked around at their surroundings and figured out their location. The Christian Scientist started confessing, "There is no such thing as Hell. There is no such thing as Hell. There is no such thing as Hell." The WOF preacher started confessing, "I'm in Heaven. I'm in Heaven. I'm in Heaven."

Those who understand the theologies involved will enjoy that one.

For some time now, the US Congress, having solved all other major issues in the country, have decided to start auditing and questioning televangelists and their ministry finances. I realize as well as anyone that there is a serious First Amendment consideration here. However, keep in mind that we are talking about a 501(c)(3) corporation here, not just a ministry. There is supposed to be some degree of accountability. Rest assured that if there is no accountability now, there will be in the future, and that will be to the supreme judge.

I believe it to be wrong that the IRS can threaten to take away the tax exempt status for a preacher that makes political statements in the pulpit. There is a righteous standard that a minister is supposed to uphold. Those standards transcends into politics. If the government is ordained of God, then we have a responsibility to ensure that the proper ethics are employed in selecting leaders who will exemplify God's character and nature. Not only that, but there is an abridgment of First Amendment freedom of speech when preachers are disallowed to preach righteousness to their congregations and encourage them to vote according to their ethics that are based upon their faith.

When people abuse their authority, then they must face the minister of God, as enumerated in Romans 13. When a church or para-church organization abrogates their responsibilities and fails to pay their employees, they have legal issues, not just church issues. When a charter is handed out by the state, the state can regulate and hold you accountable. For instance, a pastor I know was purchasing a radio station and failed to live up to his end of the purchase agreement. He owed several employees, myself included, thousands of dollars in back wages. One man was owed ten fold of what I was owed. That pastor insisted that nobody could sue him. Well, it is not exactly easy to go before a church when he runs that church body. I sued a corporation. Had that same pastor not committed perjury by lying his butt off in court about his involvement and stake in the operations of that radio station, he would have lost that lawsuit. He had to resort to dishonesty to win. That is sad. Here some of us employees had to move out of our housing because we were not getting paid, some had not even enough gas money to show up for work or get home, and others ran up debt to help keep the radio station going. Promises were made but not kept, and we all suffered. Sin affects other people.

I weep for my brethren who are still mired in WOF theology. There were people that I loved dearly that were and may still be stuck in the preaching of manna and false hope for healing. I believe in healing. I have personally laid hands on the sick and injured and watched them be healed before my very eyes. The problem with WOF teaching is that they proclaim that if you are not healed, it is their own fault for not having sufficient faith to be healed. What a crock of BS. If someone calls for an elder of the church and asks for prayer and laying on of hands to be healed, then according to James chapter 5, the prayer of faith is the burden of the elder, not the one who is sick. That is the great heresy. Blaming someone else for your inaccurate theology to the detriment and possible destruction of the afflicted just pisses me off royally.

I have seen this many times. One such instance stands out in my mind in that a church held a healing service. There were ads on the radio asking for anyone who is sick to attend this special anointed healing service. I should know, I made the ads. After a message delivered about having faith to be healed, one person came up in a wheelchair asking for God's healing touch. After struggling to her feet and the pastor laying hands on the woman, she was none the better. The pastor actually chided the woman for not having sufficient faith to be healed. As I recall, he told her to go study about having faith sufficient for her healing. I was disgusted, but I could not vent my frustrations at the time.

That same pastor taught more than once that if you did not tithe, that you were a "God robber" according to Malachi 3:10 and that as a thief, you would go to Hell. Funny, that same verse talks about extortioners. Obtaining money from people under a false or even real threat of punishment or retribution is extorting from people.

Main Entry: ex·tort
: to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power : wring; also
: to gain especially by ingenuity or compelling argument

It is not hard for me to equate WOF teachers with the money changers in the temple during Jesus' time. They twisted the law, extorted money, and made profit from the people of God. It is ironic that Jesus said, "make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" and yet when you go to many churches, there are book stores, tapes, CDs, videos, and books for sale of the preacher, singing group, or guest evangelist for sale. I have seen one particular preacher hock his books for some fifteen or twenty minutes. I have been in services where a so called prophet claimed to have a word from God as to how much money people should give that night. Another night, the special word from God was to take out your largest denomination bill and give it in the offering and you would get a 1000 fold increase by the end of the week. Another night he said that the Lord showed him that someone in the audience was keeping a $100 bill tucked away in his wallet in case a special need or occasion came up and that God instructed for him to give it in the offering. I saw this guy several times and it was amazing that in two totally different services in two different locations, God amazingly gave the exact same words of knowledge about money squirreled away in wallets and giving the largest size bill. Because I did not tolerate that crap or want any part of it, I was removed as a deacon in one church.

Not surprisingly, those who deal loosely with the truth or are downright deceived about the truth about money have a real motivation to keep these things private. Jim Bakker can attest to that. Somewhere here at the house, I have a recording of his first message after he got out of prison. I have his book, I Was Wrong on my book shelf. One by one, dirty ministers are being exposed. I wrote about one earlier this week.

Kenneth Copeland is refusing to let Congress see his ministry finances, hiding behind the First Amendment. He has some validity to his claim there, however I firmly believe that if the government is the one chartering a non-profit organization then they have the right to inspect to ensure that it is indeed non-profit. There is more than accountability to God, there is accountability in this world. Since Copeland elected to use the world's system to obtain tax exemption, he is bound to be accountable to that same system. Hiding behind the pretense of ministry and freedom of religion is might shady and casts a dubious light upon him, not that there was not one already.

The Bible has a stern warning about people who teach about greed and wealth. They usually covet it themselves. Convincing others that they will be wealthy by giving to your own ministry is self serving and as I pointed out earlier, extortion.

Here is one parting thought about those who extort money from the flock. I call it fleecing the sheep.

1Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into [this] world, [and it is] certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Water conservation and reclamation hurts American families?

2008-07-18T17:22:00.004-04:00

Water reclamation is not a bad idea. I am all for recycling used water, often called "gray water" for purposes of irrigation, construction, and other non-potable purposes. If the water is just going to waste anyway, then I say it is a great move to do so. However, I have a slight problem with the US government paying for a small town like Benson to build a pipeline to reclaim said water. Why should people in Arkansas be contributing to the project here in North Carolina?

Projects like this are what I consider to be pork barrel spending. Sure, some people may benefit. However, it is not the job of the federal government to act like an unending pool of money to be siphoned off for special or experimental projects.

When building or expanding the town's water supply is the time to innovate and include the gray water reclamation lines. I remember that the proposed ethanol plant in Selma was planning on using gray water for its plant. However, there was no such line existing anywhere. One would have to be built from way out in Smithfield all the way in to Selma's fringes. That of course would have been funded by tax dollars in one form or another.

Government grants are TAX DOLLARS. Never forget that fact. Whenever some town applies for a grant to revitalize its downtown, for people to renovate their homes, or whatever, we are talking about tax dollars. Multiply those local expenditures times the tens of thousands of other communities in this nation and you can see why we have such a huge budget in our federal government.

Government loans are probably even worse than grants. Why do I say that? Because the federal government taxes us citizens to get the capital. Then they turn around and lend it to municipalities like Selma or Benson, as is the case in this instance. Then the town has to pay back borrowed tax dollars with funds it derives from...yup, you guessed it, tax dollars. In essence, we are being taxed twice for the same funding.

The federal government has no business being in the lending industry. It has no business redistributing the wealth of its citizens. People wonder why I am passionate about such waste, why I decry it so. It is because it truly impacts each and every tax payer in this nation. There are some who pay no taxes. Even people who pay very little taxes often get back more money than they paid the government by nature of the earned income tax credit and the recent tax rebate incentive package.

In the 1950's, women were primarily stay at home mothers and wives. The man of the house went to work in the morning and came home in the evening. They usually lived comfortably on one salary. Nowadays, that is virtually impossible for many Americans. It means that more and more families can not survive on a single income so now both parents have to work. It means that children are placed in day care so that a stranger can raise the children instead of their own parents. It means that there is a lot more economic pressure that stresses out couples and fractures their marriages. It means that women have lost the sense of femininity and compete with men in the work place instead of glorying in the role of a mother that they were created to perform. It means that the high taxation rates have short changed our youth instead of helping them. It means that welfare queens can have more babies and get more money instead of marrying a man and settling down. It undermines the family. Yes, building a gray water reclamation pipeline in Benson helps undermine its own citizenry.

Here is the news item from the WTSB news page.

Benson Receives Federal Loan To Fund $3M Reclaimed Wastewater Project
Benson is one step closer to start construction of a nearly eight-mile pipeline to take treated wastewater and deliver it to CPC Wholesale Nursery on Benson Hardee Road where it will be used for irrigation. The town has accepted a low-interest loan for $886,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help fund the $3 million project. Reclaimed wastewater can be used to irrigate decorative plants and other crops not intended for human consumption. Commercial-scale grass growing operations, including pasture land, golf courses and turf farms, are common beneficiaries of reclaimed wastewater. While no other area businesses or farmers have expressed an interest in tying their irrigation systems into the pipeline, officials maintain it’s an excellent incentive to prospective agribusiness owners. Benson Town Manager Keith Langdon said the nursery was chosen as the initial recipient of the water because of the amount of water they use for irrigation: between 300,000 to 350,000 gallons per day. The pipeline is part of a water reclamation project that would capture an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 gallons per day of water that would otherwise be dumped back into Hannah Creek. The town is currently restricted to treating and discharging no more than 1.97 million gallons per day. While the reclaimed water project will reduce the amount of treated wastewater being released, it will not increase the capacity of the water treatment plant, according to Martin Morris, the plant supervisor. Water reclamation is not entirely new to Benson. For the past two years, effluent from the wastewater treatment plant has been routed to South Johnston High School - about a mile from the plant - to be used for irrigation. Mr. Morris said the school uses about 24,000 gallons per day.

Dealing with violence

2008-07-17T12:24:00.003-04:00

In our church men's group last night, we were discussing the topic of violence. The men's group has been reading the book, The Measure of a Man. This week, we discussed chapter 12, which dealt with violent behavior and attitudes. We had a great discussion, and many of the guys were transparent with one another. We talked a lot about sin and righteousness, anger and violence. I have been pondering such topics as the WWJD (what would Jesus do) philosophy, since a dear friend of mine and I have been talking about it this morning. I have been measuring my thoughts and attitudes, my answers, my actions, and such the past several days. I admit I am not perfect; I never claimed to be.

One can be violent in speech and not violent in deeds. Make no mistake, sometimes people deserve violent words. They may not respond well and the one dishing out the words may have the wrong motive and want retribution. Words are one way some people find that retribution. I admit that I am guilty of that. Also in those violent words can be the expression of righteous indignation, albeit encapsulated in carnal ways. Just recently, meaning in the past couple of days, I have been dealing with a great deal of hypocrisy from someone with whom I used to be very close. I admit that I let some sarcasm enter in.

In some cultures, the base of humor is sarcasm and there is generally no harmful intent. It is understood by both parties to be jesting lightheartedly. Other times, it can be mean or violent, especially when the recipient is not of that bent of a sense of humor. Intellectual victories feel real good, but are they worth it? I struggle with that, I admit. Such is how I may display indignation, irritation, and the declaration that regardless of what you have done to me I am moving on.

As I said, the book deals with those subjects, and I admit that I fall short. I am no stranger to lively discussion or argumentation. For the most part, I do not seek strife. It seems to find me. Quite often, I merely comment upon something in society, as I am a blogger and newspaper columnist. I have opinions. Yes, I judge (and Christians ARE supposed to judge, contrary to common misconception and excuses). There is a fine line, I guess, between having an opinion and being a shmuck.

When talking about being violent in the study, I thought of this:

Congratulations on the story, Lewis. You deserve it. Finally, someone recognizes your efforts.

2008-07-17T11:20:00.004-04:00

From The Selma News:

Local man uses hobbies to promote Selma
By Kelly Lake, News Editor 17.JUL.08

While his career brought Lewis Mullen to Selma, it was a love of the place that kept him here. Since his retirement, he’s made hobbies of photography and web design and uses them daily to promote the town he calls home.

Mullen relocated to Selma 41 years ago when Sylvania opened in Smithfield. He had previously worked with GE Communications in Lynchburg, VA, where he lived with his wife Marian. He spent many years with Sylvania as an engineer, designing test equipment to be used to test television sets before they were sold.

During that time Mullen and his wife had two children, Teresa and Robert. When the company looked at moving to Tennessee, Mullen took his family for a visit. He was told that in order to keep his job he would have to relocate along with the company.

“He took a vote and decided to stay in Selma and take our chance,” said Mullen. “When we moved here, I figured it was just another move, but once we got here, it was hard to leave. It’s home to me. I love my hometown.”

Mullen has made it his business, his passion even, to promote Selma in any way he can. At age 74, Mullen maintains countless web sites promoting the Selma community, business district, antique dealers, and civic groups, along with his own photography. Many of his photos are taken in a around Selma.

He got his first camera in Korea in 1953, where he was stationed in an aviation engineering group as a member of the United States Army and attached to the Air Force. The group helped to build an air strip there. Mullen used his “pull” with the group of pilots to fly over Korea and snap numerous photos. Many were lost when a bag containing most of pictures and negatives was stolen as he returned home.

Today, he promotes Selma everyday through his photographs. He bought a book of web design and designed a site so he could showcase his photography. He has more than 60,000 photographs archived on CD, about 10,000 of those from Selma. The photos were given to The Heritage Center in Smithfield for public use, said Mullen. Now he posts photos of the area on Selma Daily Photo. There are about 300 towns showcased on the site worldwide. “It’s a good way of promoting Selma, one of the smallest towns on the site,” said Mullen. “I get comment from around the world on my photographs.” Once he set up his own site, Mullen decided to offer his services to others, nearly free of charge. Most of the people he has designed sites for pay a small monthly hosting fee. Mullen’s time and efforts are free. He maintains a site to promote Selma Railroad Days, the Selma Car Classic, and Selma’s East Coast Antique Show.

As a member of the Selma Development Partnership (SDP), he created the web site selmanc.info. The SDP sponsors the site and Mullen maintains it. Through this site, which provides an abundance of information about Selma, Mullen offers links to business people who are also members of the SDP. “If they don’t have a web page to link, I’ll create one for them,” said Mullen. “Over the past five years, I’ve built web sites for our antique dealers. I still maintain two for Railroad Street Antiques and TWM’s Antique Mall.” He created the web site antiquesselma.com for the Selma Antique Dealers Association and continues to maintain it. “It is a way to promote antiques in Selma and the site gets a lot of hits,” said Mullen. He said his hobbies give him something to do – he “hates” retirement. “To be honest, I don’t know if I do it for Selma or for myself,” said Mullen.

Just before the All-American Festival in Selma to celebrate July Fourth, Mullen posted a fireworks photo from last year on selmanc.info. For several weeks it was the top fireworks photo displayed when people search Google for fireworks. The site received about 7,000 hits a day. “Those people now know something about Selma for having visited the web site,” said Mullen. Mullen also designed and maintains a web site for the Keep Johnston County Beautiful Festival of Trees. He donated numerous prints to the SDP this year to be sold to raise funds for the non-profit organization.

As a member of Selma’s Appearance Commission, Mullen helped choose recipients of the residential and commercial appearance awards. He took photos of each winner and provided them to the local newspaper for publication. He still can be found at nearly all events in town, snapping photos to preserve the moment. While on the Appearance Commission, Mullen came up with the idea to provide planter, complete with flowers, for each storefront in the uptown area. He personally planted flowers in each. Although some no longer contain flowers, the planter can still be seen on Selma streets.

Mullen more recently has posted several videos on YouTube and other various sites that promote Selma in a positive way. He frowns on those who would post video showing Selma in a negative light. “There is a lot on YouTube that people, especially children, shouldn’t see, but the site has a lot of potential,” said Mullen. “I believe technology should be used in a positive way, not in a negative one.” Mullen also has videos on Time Warner Cable’s public access channel 1233, which promote Selma.

“Selma has gotten a lot of positive worldwide exposure with its fireworks this year,” said Mullen. “I sent three to CNN ad three made it on television. The fireworks photos made it into our local paper and were featured on several web sites.” Mullen said he enjoys doing what he does and hopes that the town benefits from it. “I love taking pictures and showing them off,” said Mullen. “And, I love Selma and enjoy doing whatever I can to show it in a positive light.”

Fed Chairman admits that inflation is a tax. Inflation is caused by government.

2008-07-17T09:51:00.004-04:00

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admits it. "I couldn’t agree with you more, inflation is a TAX, and inflation is too high." Here is a good discussion on economics, inflation, and the Federal Reserve. It figures that the only Congressman that has the knowledge or 'nads to deal with the topic is Ron Paul.

A good lesson on how our economic system works.

Campaigning for Liberty

2008-07-17T09:43:00.000-04:00

The only choice left

2008-07-16T17:01:00.004-04:00

The NC Constitution Party may be a bunch of whining babies, but I do side quite heavily with the national platform. Chuck Baldwin is a familiar name to people in radio and in evangelical Christendom. He is the only sane choice left in the upcoming election. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was a third party candidate in a fledgling Republican Party. It can happen again. It is not likely, but it can happen.

Being wary of false prophets

2008-07-14T12:02:00.003-04:00

Perhaps I am too sensitive to the topic of the false amongst the flock of God. I have met some of the people who are big named ministers today. I have had the opportunity to have meals with, be involved with, listen to, and correspond with several such ministers over the years. I lost a position as a deacon because I refused to sit under a false prophet's teachings during a revival. I left a couple of churches because of their false teachings. I have even been thrown out by those with false teachings. One was a congregation I helped found.

A friend of mine who has seen many of the same things I have seen with false prophets called me over a month ago about some revival going on in Florida. The revival is on television on some obscure satellite network that I do not get on cable. It is also web cast on the internet. My friend named a few ministers who are involved in this "revival". I personally have been around one of the names he mentioned and knew from whence this man came. I sat for several days right behind him in a prayer gathering in Jacksonville, Florida that lasted several days. I saw this man "in action" so to speak, as he was one of the "one and twenty elders" as I termed them. 21 people that the lady who organized the meeting felt were at the "forefront of the prophetic ministry" were guests and acted as elders to judge every prophetic word or deed in that meeting.

What the leader missed was that there were people who walked much deeper in that office or anointing that were sitting in the pews than the ones she hand picked. Of course she did not know those people, but it was not hard to pick them out by the Spirit of God.

I watched as this particular man, who is on the internet a lot and if I mentioned his name, many Charismatic believers would know exactly who I was writing about and the company he keeps. I will say that I witnessed some way off judgment, a lack of maturity in the very subject they were supposed to be elders and the forefront of, and some serious control/posturing by the one and twenty.

Another man who is at this revival is Todd Bentley. I have seen his name on the internet quite a bit. I have checked out his web site and heard a bit of his teachings. Today, the Religion News Blog had an article on Mr. Bentley which I find curious.

I have seen and heard many ministers that had great claims in the faith. They had alleged healings, allegedly raised the dead, and performed miracles. Hey, I have not raised the dead, but I have seen healings and what some would consider to be miracles at my own hand. I have heard claims of men talking with angels. One such man in particular was Mack Timberlake. The same claims are being made by Bentley.

The Religion News Blog asks a simple question. Where is the evidence supporting his claims? That is a reasonable question. I have no problem with the idea of making claims that are true. I just made a few in my post about my own self. Nonetheless, Bentley is preaching to thousands, maybe millions. He is making some grandiose claims of things way out of the ordinary. Apparently, he has had to distance himself from the revival after an expose on network television.

From the RNB piece:

Bentley told stories of remarkable healings. In fact, he claims that in his ministry 30 people have now been raised from the dead. Are these stories credible? A common pattern in his accounts of healing was an absence of specificity. Bentley claims that one man, unembalmed, had been dead for 48 hours and was in a coffin. When the family gathered around at a funeral home, the man knocked from inside the coffin to be let out.

But what are the specifics? Who was this man? What’s his name? Where’s the death certificate? And why not parade the man at Bentley’s meetings? If I am ever raised from the dead through anyone’s ministry, you can be sure I’ll put in a guest appearance. Bentley claims that he is having a team investigate healings performed under his ministry and will soon go public with the evidence.

It is people like this that give the rest of Christendom a bad name. I believe in tongues, prophecy, healing, and miracles. I have often said that the prophetic ministers in the church have shot themselves in the foot and ruined things for those who came after with a legitimate and mature gifting. The same goes for healing evangelists and others. It is sad that in order to find sound teaching, I have to fellowship with cessationalists, meaning those who believe that such spiritual gifts are no longer for today.

Here is a video on Youtube that is on one of the web pages I linked you to.

I weep for the Church because of things like this. I stayed away from Christianity for years because of such people. After getting saved, I hung out with such people. After learning to discern the true from the false, I again separated myself from the Church for years, but not before I attempted to have regular, sustained fellowship with different groups and after seeking something different. I ran across hyper critical pastors, hypo critical ones, ignorant people, some apathetic ones, and some just plain heretics. After beating your head against the wall for years, it makes you want to withdraw.

For the past 8 or 9 months, I have been fellowshipping in two different churches. One of which I decided that I would no longer attend regularly because of its leadership, control, and lack of fellowship. The other I have attended more regularly since and have become fairly involved. As much as I love miracles, healings, signs, and wonders, I have a great appreciation for doctrine. I find it ironic that those who major on the gifts of the Spirit often lack the fruit of the Spirit. Those who major on developing the fruit often never experience the gifts. What irony. I have been attending a solid, evangelical congregation for a while, and have enjoyed the participation and fellowship that has been growing amongst the brethren. I need to step up my fellowship with other believers, and so I should probably do so soon. I will still feel like Jeremiah and weep over those who are duped by the false, though. It not only makes me sad, but indignant with a righteous anger within.

Apparently I am "snarky"

2008-07-11T08:34:00.002-04:00

The N&O actually made a news story out of the reaction to a state employee taking early retirement rather than lower the flag to half staff in honor of Jesse Helms. I have been quoted thusly:

Former N&O columnist Dan Gearino pondered whether liberals would be celebrating if a conservative made a similarly defiant gesture toward, say, Barack Obama. And in a snarky vein, Selma conservative Troy LaPlante wrote: "Good riddance. One less state employee on the payroll."

So I was snarky. Cool.

It's about friggin' time!! WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!

2008-07-10T17:29:00.003-04:00

I have been waiting for one of these nearby for YEARS!!! Hallelujah!!!! Now I finally have a place nearby to get a good, consistent cup of coffee

From the WTSB news page:

Dunkin' Donuts Headed To Smithfield

Volga Corporation plans to build a 6,000 square foot retail building on this North Brightleaf Boulevard lot. One of the tenants will be Dunkin' Donuts.

The Smithfield Town Council has approved a special use permit paving the way for a 6,000 square foot retail building on North Brightleaf Boulevard at Dail Street. Volga Corporation of Cary plans to have four tenants occupy the building, including Dunkin' Donuts. The council also approved a drive thru window for Dunkin' Donuts. The site is located adjacent to the Wilco Hess convenience store. Charles Parrish of Four Oaks owns the property. The Smithfield Planning Board and Appearance Commission signed off on the project in June. Pending no delays, the building could be finished by this fall.

Oh, by the way, Krispy Kreme SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finally gave in to Facebook

2008-07-10T10:31:00.002-04:00

I have been getting a lot of requests to join Facebook by friends and relatives. I resisted for a long time, since I already had a bunch of sites for my web presence. I already had a myspace page and did not really want another social site. I finally broke down and got one.

Don't screw over the millions of responsible people because of the irresponsibility of others

2008-07-10T08:35:00.003-04:00

I fully realize that there are people in this world to whom stuff happens. I know that a downturn in the economy can hurt people. Also there are people who just plain make bad decisions in their finances such as taking out a mortgage that they can not really afford. There are others who are just plain irresponsible. Just because there are some people like that plus the unfortunate cases, does not mean that the rest of the citizenry need to pay for relief of their mortgages. There is no "mortgage crisis". There is only the end result of companies that wrote loans they should not have written and customers failing to meet the obligations they could not afford to meet to begin with.

Of course the nanny state believes it has to come to the aid of people who are going through tough economic times. Let us forget the fact that there is no such provision in the US Constitution that allows government backed loans for personal mortgages. How about common sense? How about the belief that if someone made a mistake, they it is their consequence to deal with, not that of everybody else?

I have written of this previously, but it still frosts my flakes that this garbage is still going on in the Congress.

From the Yahoo news page:

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could get safe, cheaper loans rather than losing their homes under a massive election-year mortgage rescue that's drawing bipartisan support.

The housing aid package — on track for Senate passage as early as Thursday — is far from completed, however, with House leaders planning to rewrite key portions and the White House still threatening a veto.

The centerpiece of the plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back up to $300 billion in new loans to provide struggling homeowners with more affordable, fixed-rate mortgages. It allows lenders who agree to take a substantial loss on the mortgages to reclaim at least some money and avoid a costly foreclosure.

It is NOT the responsibility of the government to bail everybody out of their mortgages. It is not MY responsibility to help pay for someone else's housing. It is not the problem of the entire nation to foot the bill for a small portion of the populace. We are no longer a republic. We are a socialist state.

Good riddance. One less state employee on the payroll.

2008-07-09T17:18:00.004-04:00

I can understand not wanting to pour accolades on an individual with whom you have great disagreement. However, in the military, you are told to salute the rank, not the man. That is how I feel about flying flags at half staff. Like him or not, Jesse Helms did have a long history of loyal public service. One state employee retired rather than lower the flag at his facility to half staff. Good riddance. He is ticked over Helms' opposition to the MLK holiday. I detest that holiday for several reasons, not the least of which is that it replaces other official holidays such as Veterans' Day or Presidents' Day in government as well as private company calendars. I believe it to be an appeasement of a minority at the expense of the majority.

Here is the story from WRAL news:

State worker retires after refusing to honor Jesse Helms

Raleigh, N.C. — A state worker who worked 29 years for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture decided this week to retire instead of lowering a flag to honor the late former Sen. Jesse Helms.

L.F. Eason III, 51, told his laboratory staff not to fly the U.S. flag or North Carolina flag at half-staff, despite a call from Gov. Mike Easley to do so.

When Eason's supervisor confronted him about the decision, he said he would rather retire, Brian Long, a spokesman with the Department of Agriculture, said.

Eason could still face some type of disciplinary action, Long said, but the nature of the action was never determined because he voluntarily said he was going to retire.

Eason told The News & Observer of Raleigh that he did not think it was appropriate to remember Helms because of his opposition to civil rights legislation and the national Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

I am glad you are no longer working off my tax dollars, Mr. Eason. You have zero class and no concept of honor.

ADDED:
The N&O has several stories on the subject. I will add a couple of quotes and links.
From this page:

In an interview, Eason said he was given the ultimatum over the phone.

"I was not given a choice," he said. "I was told if I lowered the flags completely or raised them up, I would be fired."

Here is another piece and a couple of quotes:

"Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week," Eason wrote just after midnight, according to e-mail messages released in response to a public records request.

He told his staff that he did not think it was appropriate to honor Helms because of his "doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice" and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday...

In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately.

Though he's only 51, Eason chose to retire, although he pleaded several times to be allowed to stay at the lab. Eason, who had worked for the Agriculture Department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235 a year as the laboratory manager.

Several people, including his wife, argued to Eason that the flags belonged to the state, as did the lab. But Eason said he felt a strong sense of ownership.

The N&O got the actual emails containing Eason's stupidity. Here is what he wrote the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor. He paints with a broad brush and exaggerates. Good riddance.

"Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week.

"This is in no way a political decision. I simply do not feel it is appropriate to honor a person whose epitaph of government service was to have voted against or blocked every civil rights issue that came before the US Congress. His doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice cost North Carolina and our Nation much that we may never regain."

Excerpts from an e-mail message that Eason sent later that same day to Gov. Mike Easley and state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler:

"I made a decision to refuse to lower our flags at the NC Standards Laboratory to half mast in honor of Jesse Helms as soon as I heard of his death. I cannot in good conscience honor such a man who fought so hard against Civil and Human Rights throughout his life. Even to his death bed, he refused to apologize for the damage he caused. Now, I stand by this decision. It is a personal decision, but obviously affects my job at the lab. It has been over ruled by Division and Departmental Management and as I look out my window, I'm ashamed to see the flags lowered ...

"I also understand that my decision is not acceptable. You cannot ignore that fact. There is the law, but there is also a higher law I must follow as a matter of conscience."

Possible the best animated movie ever

2008-07-09T14:37:00.004-04:00

I have already been part of an online message board argument over the premise of the animated movie, "WALL-E", by Pixar/Disney. The premise is that humans made Earth uninhabitable by polluting the world. All people left on a space ship, allegedly for five years, for a clean up operation by automated robots. The robots were to clean up the trash by compacting it into cubes and building piles as high as sky scrapers. Only one such robot remained operational, 700 years later. I simply disagree that we are making the Earth uninhabitable, whereas some others think we have been doing so.

That premise aside, I took my soon to be step-son, John, to see "WALL-E". It was just him and me time and we had a blast. The animated short called "Presto" that opened the movie was just hilarious. It was about a stage magician who failed to feed the rabbit he was supposed to pull out of his hat and the rabbit ruining his act as a result. It was reminiscent of the old Warner Brothers cartoons and I loved it. John and I laughed the whole way through the short.

"WALL-E" itself was perhaps simply the best animated movie I have ever seen. It was witty, cute, charming, and just a lot of fun. The movie had the most imagination used in animation since "Fantasia", I think. I loved "WALL-E" as a family friendly movie that all ages can enjoy. The animation and action was wonderful. I was very impressed.

I am also happy to see that Hollywood has started to get the message that family friendly, clean movies are where the money is. Family type movies almost always make more money than rated R movies do, with few exceptions. There have been several good ones to come along in the past few years, even the past seven months, since I have been in John's life. I have been able to go see "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "Horton Hears a Who", and "Kung Fu Panda" with him and Sharon. "Kung Fu Panda" was great, but Horton sucked. There are several others coming out this fall. We saw previews for others animated movies and saw posters on the theater walls.

Money talks. Parents spend money to take children to the theater. They buy the incredibly expensive snack foods. Parents nowadays seem more willing to lavish such extras on their children than in times past. Me? I just love seeing a good movie with my boy. Movies like "WALL-E" can be enjoyed just as much by adults as by children. I am loving becoming a dad.

It took a while for the local radio station to report it, but here it is

2008-07-08T16:43:00.003-04:00

I have written a few times about Selma's tax rate going up. Here is what WTSB reported today.

Selma Tax Rate Jumps 4 Cents
Selma residents will be paying higher property taxes under a budget approved by the town council last week. The $15.4 million spending plan includes a 4 cents property tax increase from 49 to 53 cents per $100 valuation. This means, for a resident with a $100,000 house, they will be paying about $40 more a year in property taxes. Residents will likely be faced with an increase in electrical rates during the next year. Town employees will see a five percent pay increase.

Affirmation that I need to start CCW more often

2008-07-07T19:57:00.003-04:00

I took the family out to supper this evening at CiCi's Pizza in Smithfield, as we are want to do every so often. It was me, Sharon, John, and Edna (Sharon's mother). We four often dine out together. While there, a tribe of rednecks came in for supper, as well. They were big folks, too. One man had pizza stacked high on his plate, a half dozen slices at least. They had probably a half dozen adults at the tables that were pushed together as well as three elementary school aged children. The three children were at their own table across the aisle.

These three children were little hellions. At least two of them acted as such in the restaurant. They were cutting people in line, running up and down the aisles, and bumping into people. More than once, Edna exclaimed that she wanted to get a hold of a yung'un. We observed this sort of behavior for some time. Finally, two of the hellions were running up and down the aisle near our table and were bumping into Edna some. I finally said something to this child and asked him to please go sit down and not be so rowdy. He immediately went over an whined to his mother. His mother stood up and hollered over to me across a few tables, asking me if I told him to sit down. I said that I did. She chewed me out, saying that I should not be telling her child what to do and to keep out of it. I replied simply, "Uh, no." I felt that someone needed to do something about the unruly children before someone got hurt.

When I said, "Uh, no", a stocky, haggardly looking guy with a Harley Davidson t-shirt immediately stood up and attempted to confront me, asking me to step outside. I just sat there and looked at him acting foolishly. Three of his companions all got in front of him, telling him not to start anything inside the restaurant. He kept hollering at me to step outside. I just sat there quietly, calmly, sipping my lemonade, observing the fray.

The mother came over and attempted to chew me out. Sharon explained to her that her son was being rowdy, was running into people, and that I was not obnoxious or rude to her son. She backed down after Sharon's explanation. The boy apologized and she went back to the crowd, who were all on their feet grumbling and fussing. They eventually filed out into the parking lot. The rednecks all stood around two or three cars for a while and we just sat at our own table talking about what just happened. Discretion being the better part of valor, I allowed the hot headed rednecks simmer down a while and leave.

I have no problem speaking up when it is needed. I have no problem with the idea that once in a while, violence is necessary. I do have a problem with the idea that violence and threats should be a first resort. Small minded people are that way. Sure, the stocky redneck would have done some damage to me, but I would have done a helluva lot to him, as well. The problem was that there were two other adult males and three females in their group. Ergo, I stayed calm and observed for a while.

As she was leaving, one angry woman (certainly not a lady) exclaimed that I was "one lucky man" and then she called me a "son of a bitch". Whatever. If the man, or any of the men at that table were really men, they would have thanked us for bringing the problem to their attention and say that they would handle it. That is what a real man would do. Manhood is not a product of one's physical prowess or one's extremely short fused temper. To be accurate, they were males. One is a man by choice. The lack of maturity was astounding. The example shown to the children explains why they were the way they were.

One thing for certain is that I am going to step up how often I carry my concealed handgun(s) in case some hot head tries anything really stupid.

Thoughts on the passing of Jesse Helms

2008-07-06T20:58:00.004-04:00

I took the weekend off from blogging and a few other things over the weekend to spend time with my new family. It was the second weekend I had off in a while. Two weeks ago, I managed to get away to the beach and this weekend I took a day trip to New Bern. I originally wanted to go to a museum in Kinston, but ended up going to a similar one in New Bern, instead. For true fire buffs, it was great, but for children and non buffs, it was boring. It was also over priced, charing $5 admission for a museum about the size of my house.

Anyway, I read with sadness about the passing of Jesse Helms, longtime NC Senator. Helms, like him or hate him, was a staunch conservative, often being called "Mr. No". Helms was a straight shooter, which I admired greatly. You always knew where Jesse stood on issues. Politically, I had a hard time faulting him on many things. This quote from his Wikipedia entry says volumes to me.

He was an outspoken conservative who opposed communism, tax increases, abortion, gay rights, affirmative action, food stamps, secularism, and government-funded healthcare.

I wish we had 100 men just like Jesse in the Senate.

I do not support some of Helms' apparently racist views. I do, however, support his conservative view points. He was never politically correct in his approach to politics. At least he was consistent. I still have a taped interview that an old friend of mine did with Senator Helms in the early 90's. Perhaps sometime soon, I will digitize it and put it online. I did support his stance in opposition to the MLK holiday, his stance against homosexuality, and a host of other conservative principles that most so called conservatives today dare not touch because a lack of spine.

One evening, I had the distinct pleasure of having dinner with a lady and her husband who live here in Johnston County. This young lady (now married with children) served as a clerk or legislative assistant of some sort in Senator Helms' office in Washington, DC. She apparently kept up with Jesse over the years. She said that he still met with friends and associates, though his dementia had taken its toll on him. It was obvious that this lady had a lot of fondness for the late senator. She recounted several stories of her time spent working for Senator Helms.

Oddly enough, that dinner was one of the things that helped to seal my departure from the Republican Party. I was a charter member of their local county men's club. That night, we had invited Ms. Littler and her husband to speak on her time with the senator. As it turned out, I was the only one to show up from the Johnston County GOP. The ONLY one. Had I not taken my (then) wife with me, the invited guests would have outnumbered the hosting party. I found such a lack of commitment and attendance not only rude but despicable. It was that sort of poor leadership that made me realize how ineffective the GOP really is. That was a portion of my reasons for leaving, but a strong portion.

I pray to God that we had more elected officials with the guts that were displayed by Jesse Helms.