D.A.R.E programs in the schools has me wondering if this is a good thing or not. From these programs in out school system, our kids know more about drugs than I did way back when. Today, the kids find out through the program what drugs are what and how to use them. All the devices are put on display and they are told what each is used for.
It is supposed to scare and inform them but I think that it makes them more curious. Not to mention, gives them ideas on how to get high and what everyday items they can use to get high. Things that many would never have even thought of otherwise.

And people say that music and movies are a bad influence and give kids ideas!

Rosa Parks to lie in the Rotunda.

That is so WOW for a women who came from being a seamstress, stood up for her rights, in a time that it took great courage for a black women to do such a thing.
What had happened during her day that made her be so defiant? I doubt that she planned on all the limelight that was cast on her. She was probably just a tired Black women, who became that day, sick and tired of being treated, like many others, as less than even a second class citizen. All she wanted to do was ride the bus to her destination and go about her business. But others would not let her be and caused trouble just because of where she sat on the bus.
Unbeknownst to her, she would be the catalyst that got attention to the treatment of Blacks in our country like no others had been able to do before. What was so wrong with what she did by sitting in that seat in the front? Nothing but the color of her skin back then. And that should not be a crime.

We could sure use more Rosa Parks in the world today. Sometimes it takes an extraordinary action of just one to make a huge impact and change the world for the better.

I'm strange okay! I admit it out loud. I'm a writer gald dangit so get over it. Some are bothered that I can sit here, which to them is a waste of time, and put things into words. This blog is not where I do my writing. It is just a place for me to vent or put things down while I am having writers block or just because I wish to put something here.

I have to have peace and quiet to do my writing; so most of the time I have to stay up late to be able to do that. It is not anything personal about anyone at all. Writers have to find their own time and place.
We are strange and weird but.................. that's normal for us. hehehehe

Gmail. Man do I love my gmail account for getting messages. A friend of mine turned me onto it when we were starting our business venture. I am so glad that he got me to try it out from the beginning.
I can access my email...er...ummmm, I mean, Gmail from any computer anywhere. I am not just tied down to my home or work system anymore. If I travel and want to read my messages, no problem at all. If I am at someone else's home or office and need to check my messages, well I still can. As long as the person has a computer, well, it's at my finger tips to get or send a note to someone.

If you want to have more than one Gmail address for what ever reason, it is no problem at all. This can also help you to sort your msg's so the address is intune to what you are looking for.

Gmail is Foogle perfect and just keeps getting better all the time. I absolutely love mine so go get yours and you will to.

Get your own personal Gmail at http://gmail.com. No! There is no www. before it either .... in case you wondered.

There's a Spider


There’s a spider on my wall
Its not hurting much at all
My wife, she wishes it not there
She won’t like it in the bed

There’s a spider in the hall
Its not doing much at all
Its just sort of hanging there
Don’t want it falling in my hair

There’s a spider crawling on the floor
He snuck right in under the door
Moving fast to try and not be seen
Why he looks to be , kinda mean

I attacked him with a spider spray
He danced a jig then ran off to play
It then came back wanting more
Then ran off behind a door

That old spider went in the den
Thought I saw him , but the light was dim
Oh! He won’t eat much , so they say
Not if I catch him, not after today

Well I found that spider in my bed
It woke me crawling cross my head
A frightening feeling that I did dread
I smashed him flat ..., now he’s dead

WooleyB / PR
8/02/04

Lynyrd Skynyrd is still my favorite band of all time and will always be. Twenty eight years later, after the plane crash, Ronnie's voice and lyrics get to the core of my being. He was a man with a great band who had a lot to say and ....... say it they did. From "Free Bird" to "Down South Jukin" to "Simple Man" and beyond, the man sung from the deepest depths of his soul.
The song about Curtis Lowe presents such a grand vision in my mind of this little barefoot kid. His going around and searching the roadside for Soda bottles to cash in to give to the black man who can play the hell out of an old Dobro, its just plain to see it. I can see this kid all wide eyed sitting on the porch with this whiskey drinking man all weathered of face playing and singing.

I'll never forget when I heard the news of the planes crash on October 20, 1977. Leaving from a show in Greenville South Carolina for another show to be performed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the plane ran short on fuel because of having to run the engine rich to keep it in the air. I was so numb and in a fog for a week at the sad news. Sitting in my room at home, spinning their records, playing my bass guitar and singing all the words that I knew by heart.

I wrote down this song lyric/poem some years later. I hope you enjoy it.


ANOTHER SHOW

Ronnie Steve and Cassie
Why did you have to go
You told everyone
That you had another show

Why did you have to be in such a rush
Why didn't you all just stay and ride the bus
You all went up to the sky ....... in that damned ole bird
That did not want to fly

All us people down on the ground
When we heard the news no one could make a sound
We all were just in such a shock
Wishing we could turn back the clock

All your fans their still out there
We think of you all year after year
Skynyrd fans man through and through
We all hoped and prayed you'd made it too

Ronnie Steve and Cassie
Oh why did you have to go
You know you told everyone
That you had another show

Plr02/1/03
Copyright lyrics /Paul R

Weapons in the house is something that I have been around for a long time.
My first shotgun was a twelve gauge that I still own. When I was single, I kept my guns all over the house. I did put trigger locks on them, except for the 44 Magnum which was my sleeping partner, in case they were stolen or something. Even took it with me where ever I went, fully loaded with hollow points, because a girl friends stepfather was a lunatic. He was the abusive sort to women and kids and a drunkard. I got a call on more than one occasion in the middle of the night to rescue my girlfriend and her two kids from one of his rages. I'd drive over and load them all into the cab of my old truck and bring them to my place. When I would get there, I'd wait outside as the kids would run out as soon as they saw my truck. One time they left the door of the house open and I could see and hear the drunkard bashing up the place with a ball bat. I knew better than to go into his house as if the cops came, I'd be the one arrested.

After several of these episodes, the drunkard had another bad rage and threatened to kill me and my girlfriends two brothers if he saw us. What it was with me was, the bastard wanted to screw my girlfriend and it pissed him off that she didn't want him.
Because I rode a motorcycle and wore my leather bike jacket, he hated me for being a biker type in his thinking. Plus, he knew I carried. He never came after me because he was only a tough guy when he was drunk or when he was beating up women. But I'd have drilled him a few big holes had he come after me with a bat.

Down the rode, when I started my family, my wife and I bought each other one gift for Christmas. A gun safe.
It is like Fort Knox and only I have a key and my wife has hers well hidden. We knew that kids would be around and the last thing we wanted was an accidental shooting with them finding a loose gun lying around. I just didn't feel safe enough with the trigger locks.

I can't tell you how many people, her mother included, that thought that it was the stupidest thing they had ever heard of. A husband and wife pooling their money for just one gift for each other at Christmas. Especially a gun safe.

I didn't think that and I still don't. I think that as parents, it was the most sensible gift we have ever bought.

Carrying through is something that I have been told that I do not do. But I must say that those who have said it are incorrect in their statements.

Seems that most things that I have tried have not worked out for the best. It is not that I didn't carry it through. Rather, I kept at it until it fizzled out. Most ventures take money and I have not much of that. Its not that I don't carry things through but I have become well learned in when it is time to quit beating the dead horse. It's not going to run anymore and feeding it becomes fruitless. Then trying to drag it along is a strain that only gets you further behind.

So I stop and find another horse to ride. If the business does not give a return after you have tried and tried, it's time to move on. You just can't start a business in your city homes back yard the way many were started years ago. Cities put a clamp on things and will fine you big time if your caught. Most suppliers will not even sell to you now if you do not have an actual building from which to conduct business.

I have one business that I still have not given up on yet and it is one that you can do from home. It is tough and hard however the outcome and the process of putting it all together is actually pretty fun. Only thing is, I have to build up some funds to do it again.
BUT, in the mean time, I have another business venture that I wish to embark on that has made my married half angry. This is one that is becoming a big thing elsewhere and I know that if I start it off small enough will grow faster than even I believe that it will. The money to get into it is not that much so I will go for it on the side and it will grow and grow. I'm tired of thinking and dreaming about it so I'm just going to go ahead and do it. I can think my self right out of things if I am not careful and someone else will do it and I'll be out. Time is a wasting.

I was told, in an heated argument, that just because my father started his own business back in the early sixties with only a few hundred dollars, does not mean that I can do it today. My parents had six mouths to feed when he gave up his full time job for the unknown. We lived mighty fine from what he did I might add and wasn't long before we had a much larger home and plenty of grand vacations to boot. Mom was able to stay at home and she got plenty of things that he wanted also. 'Times were different back then." they told me. And "The economy is not that good right now." they added.

I said " Well, if I keep waiting for all the moons and stars to be just right, it will never happen. Besides, I'm sure that my Grandfather probably told my father back then "Son, the economy is not just right and you just can't do something like that anymore like you could when I started my business. You can't just take your savings and take a chance like that today."

My house has three mouths to feed and I hate that my wife has to work so danged hard. Can't even remember when we had a real vacation and didn't have to worry about money all the time. I'm sick and tired of it all and the small side jobs do nothing but barely get you by. It takes everything just to survive and we are just hanging on by a thread week to week. I remember a time when we had a few bucks in the bank and it felt good. Not a huge sum mind you, just enough to fell more at ease.

So, I must do it and prove the nay Sayers wrong. It is something that I have had training in from my past but only now it is a much better way of doing it. Others in other parts of the country are doing it and finding it grows fast.

This one will work. I know it will be some hard work in one way but something that will get me away from what I am doing that is wreaking havoc on my body. Not to mention, it is something that I have always enjoyed doing.

It will be in or near Burlington North Carolina where I have found the opportunity is already here; as the companies that do this operation out of town being sent the business for the process. It just isn't done around here so companies truck it off to be done then bring the items back to their place.

I see the opportunity for it all over for individuals as well as companies. I can be the first here that does it other than one shop near here that only does it with customers cars. They do not want to pursue it the way I plan on doing it. They want to keep it as a side line and small. I want to grow it medium to large and be the one to go to for the jobs on a larger scale. Hopefully, I will be able to bring in a few people that I know well that I know would enjoy doing there expertise and making a nice living. Not to mention that it is environmentally friend not like the other old process.

Oh! This is just the thing to get in on the ground floor on.

Searching for a job with someone else is a big pain in the rear. I left one job that was a dead end only to get another that is turning out that way in a short time. The job I left paid more but things had gone sour. The new job just doesn't have the potential for the money I was making before. Plus, I was told that the pay would be better only, they didn't say at the time that it would take years to get there. Today I found out that you won't even reach eleven an hour until after three years. That's less than I was making before and I don't have those kinds of years that it will take to even get to what I left.

Another problem with job searching is that now I am considered over qualified. When I was younger, I kept hearing that I was under qualified and should learn new things to advance. It's the old carrot syndrome I guess.
It is not a job seekers market today as so many are in the pool looking for work. Some places may have three job openings but four hundred will apply for the same job. Now, if you want to take a job that you can't make a living with, you can find those all over.

Pay wages in North Carolina are way to low for most jobs now. These crappy employment companies pay you very little while they make big bucks off of you for doing nothing really. They didn't even find you a job that meets your skill level. The wages that I earn at the moment are what I was earning back in 1984. I'm working six days a week most the time and still only have $2.87 cents in my pocket and any this moment.

I'm not a single kid anymore that can get along on these low paying North Carolina jobs. I have a mortgage, a wife, two old vehicles, a child and bills to pay.
I have a small engine degree, have been a warehouse manager and a public servant in the past. All the experience that I have doesn't add up to a hill of beans now. Companies want cheap labor today and even what used to be a good paying job is not. Carolina has been hit hard with job losses and more everytime I turn around.

Hell! Even mortgage companies are selling homes to illegal aliens giving them an edge that legal Americans and legalized Mexican workers can't get. They say these illegals have saved up thousands of dollars to put down on a home and should be able to live the American dream. Hello! They are illegal here and why should they be put first over Legal Mexican workers and Natural Born American's ??? If I hadn't had to pay taxes all these years either, I could have a ton saved up as well. Plus, most of these illegals don't pay health insurance. They use the walk in clinics that WE pay for. The rest of us have to pay out the butt for insurance and part of that covers the health for these people.

What other industry can our Government take away from North Carolina to drive us further down. Then to make up for the lost jobs, local and state Government keeps raising taxes and utilities on us at every turn to cover the loss from illegals and business's that have shut down or moved over seas. They killed tobacco in Carolina and now the Mills too.

Fuel prices have climbed so high that airlines are going bankrupt and now truckers (Who bring everything you have) are having to call it quits because of high fuel costs. Truckers are planning an all out boycott and are thinking about parking the rigs.

Bush doesn't care about us. If you still think he does, you've been living in a cave. He's out for number one and that is all. He is killing this country every minute. He has done more to ruin the internal fabric of this country more than any other President ever.

People like me can't even get a business loan but minorities and illegal's are handed it on a silver platter that I made and paid for.

I have no problem with a legalized workers over here. No! Not at all. I am against the ones who sneak in and reap the benefits and rewards that they do not contribute to or deserve.

Wooley on Deists

Someone, just not long ago, told me that they don't think I believe in God. I guess it's because I don't believe certain things the way they think that I should. Personally, I believe that Gods church is the whole world and you do not have to be in a brick building to prove you believe in God. He is everywhere and not just in a Church on Sunday mornings. He can hear you no matter where you are.

I must say that I have been confused myself as to what I am. Some things in the Bible just didn't seem to geehaw for me. Some have ridiculed me over time for either reading the Bible and others for not reading and studying it.

In my younger days, I was a bit of a bad apple at times. There are things that I have done that I am ashamed to admit that I did. Some would avoid my presence at all costs at one point in my life as I was not a very likeable person. Others I made miserable just because I could and it felt good at the time to find I had the power to do it.
Wasn't always that way for me, and I certainly was not raised that way for the most part.

But, certain things in my life did cause me to have to harden up for my own survival and to strike back. There was one person who would physically pound the crap out of me in my teens just because I was there. Until the one day that I'd had enough and struck back; tired of the physical and mental abuse thrust upon me when times had been hard enough as it was. I got angry at God for allowing these things to happen one after another and became angry at the whole world as a result. Even to the point of believing that I was an Atheist.

A distrust and paranoid feeling of others always gave me some cause for alarm. I would convey in someone only to have it come back on me two fold for the worst. So, I pushed people away and didn't want to let anyone get close to me. This was set in concrete even more when anyone or anything that I loved seemed to leave my life and others, rather than talk to me about it, would get angry at me. Only my dog believed in me and stuck by my side no matter what. He even saved my ass on more than one occasion.

I started carrying a .38 Snub with me and before that, a long lock blade knife ( Like a switch blade ). One kid started some crap with me as he had done before and I pulled the knife on him ready to stick him if he came at me again. Luckily, two of my brothers intervened on that one. My temper grew over time and I would go into a blind rage at times. I believed that people had said to hell with me so I said to hell with them. The anger would get the most of me sometimes and I would break 2X4's and holler at the top of my lungs to get it out of my system. Pounding a wall with my fists until they bled was another way to get my anger out for awhile. After words, I began to try and suppress the feelings but it would build up and explode out.

However, other people and things would happen that gave me cause to be confused. How could one part of my world be so grand and another be so painful? God was not there for me I felt and had cast me aside. The only way to survive to a point, was to be the aggressor. Find the opponents weak spot and take them down. It got to a point where I began to worry that I might kill someone in a fit of blind rage. So, I retreated into myself and dreamed of better days.
Motorcycles became one thing that gave me solace as well as brought me and the pounder together in a positive way strangely enough. We bonded over time and became truly allies in many ways.

At one point in my youth, I was sent to Michigan to stay with an Uncle of mine. He rode motorcycles too and we were able to connect because of it in a large degree. He worked at a local well known college, and I went with him a few times during my visit during the summer. Students were their for summer courses I decided to wait outside. Finding my way to some shade trees and sitting down to smoke some cigarettes waiting for my Uncle's return.

There were these squirrels milling about on the ground and in the trees. As I was watching them, two fellows came from out of nowhere and asked if I had been saved by accepting God into my life. I told them no and they asked if I would like to be saved. Feeling a bit strange but not alarmed I agreed. I must have truly looked like a lost soul sitting there when they approached me.
They sat with me and said a prayer with me and I let God into my life.
Then, they were off and gone but I sat there feeling so calm and almost cried

I still didn't believe in God the way others did to some degree. However, I did believe in my own way to tell you the truth. And I had not felt that in a long time. Things for me began to change for me right then. Not all of a sudden like but it was happening. Oh! I still would get angry at things only not as angry and I stopped doing other things that were dreadfully wrong as well over time.

Many, many years later, through a friend, I found that I am more of a Deist in my beliefs. Didn't even know what one was until just a couple of years ago. My anger over the years grew less and less and some people who didn't know me before have said they can't believe how I can seem so calm and not get angry at things that push other's buttons.
It has to be something really really bad to get me angry today. Most things just aren't worth the waste of energy to get that mad about. It just isn't.

It's so easy to be a bad ass but harder to not be. I prefer not to be anymore. Creating something good and giving a kind word gives me a longer and more satisfying feeling than the short term feeling of being a bad guy.

When I found out about Deist's, I discovered that many people who have done monumental things for mankind have been Deist's. They believe that God is the creator of the universe, but that he does not interfere with humanity. God does not favor one individual, group or Nation over another.
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Mark Twain, James Madison, Samuel Adams and Ethan Allen to name just a few famous Deist's. I'm in good company. I've been given the ability to write from an early age but only these past years have I put it to use.

God was there for me during those bad times in my life but it was up to me to find my own way up. God does love you but you have to love yourself as well. It's up to each of us to find our own way.

Psalm 103, 104, 105



Psalm 103 blessed the Lord for His kindnesses to the individual, the community, in history, and throughout the cosmos. Psalm 104 blessed the Lord for the wonders of creation. Psalm 105 gives thanks to the Lord for specific acts of providence in guiding Israel through history, especially saving the people from famine by sending them to Egypt, delivering them from bondage in Egypt, and protecting them as they wandered through the wilderness. This history has inspired generations of believers as they struggled with their own hard times, beginning with the Jews who were saved from their own faithlessness when God sent them to Babylon, then delivered them from Babylon, and protected them in those uncertain years of rebuilding Jerusalem, surrounded by enemies. (See Ezra and Nehemiah for more on this fascinating and often neglected period in the history of the Bible.) More recently, the black community clung to this history in the times of slavery, emancipation, and uncertain integration into society.
Often when I read or teach psalms which praise God for His works in history, I encourage my listeners to consider the blessings God has put in their lives. For me, meeting and marrying Kathy has been a touchstone of grace for over two decades. But Psalm 105 calls us to consider something bigger than our own lives, the grace which brought our community into being centuries before we lived. Do you know history? It's worth learning, at one level, simply so you can see the hand of God working through events. The Confederacy had several legitimate complaints against the north at the beginning of the War Between the States, and was winning the war up until the Battle of Antietam.
At the same time, Lincoln was considering issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, but wanted to wait for a Union victory to do so. Have you learned about Special Order 191, Robert E. Lee's entire battle plan, how a copy found its way into the hands of George McClellan, the commanding Union general? It is nothing short of miraculous, or a series of coincidences which no novelist would ever attempt for fear of being dismissed by his readers. But it happened. At the end of the battle, the Confederates retreated, which was close enough to victory for Lincoln to issue the Proclamation. When it went into effect three months later, the south won one more major battle, Chancellorsville, but lost Stonewall Jackson, and never again won a campaign. God's will.

Recently I have been reading 1776, the history of that pivotal year in the formation of the United States. More than once I have been wondering how the country survived, and more than once natural phenomena at convenient times, convenient for the Americans, have saved the army for fighting another day. Is this coincidence, or miraculous? What do you believe? And which is more comforting when we face a future when we don't know exactly what to expect? God's will is going to be accomplished, and He will see that it is done. Will you trust Him and follow Him forward?

Powell Sykes Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church A Confessing Church in the PCUSA

Being that I write articles elsewhere, I will put them up here from time to time.


Black Gold and Tales



Black gold or Texas tea or what ever you wish to call it. The fact is that we are addicted to it all across the world. This liquid that we pull from the ground has us all so dependant on it like a bad drug habit we can’t kick. Think of it in the terms of the shape we know of as round. Without the shape we would still be in the dark caveman ages for sure.

Everything that we have, eat drive, and do revolves around the shape "round" or circle. Nothing would be, without the circular shape if you sit and think about it. Much is the same with oil in our world today. With out it we would starve, freeze to death, not be able to fly or ride a train or pretty much anything else you could think up.

The government knows this all to well don’t you think. As long as they control its source and all that is associated with it, their going to continue to control this country. Whom ever can control the oil industry can hold its people hostage. Hell, they can control the whole world by killing its economy in nations that don’t go along if need be. It all already happens as you know. So what is all this bull about shortages around here. I don’t believe a word about it rather it is something to keep us all in check.

Our illustrious Leader went to Canada to try and smooth things over according to the press awhile back. Remember? I think that the real thinking behind the whole ordeal was more about oil then mending fences and gaining friendship to help with other issues.

Surprised? You’re not alone as all this attention has been focused for oh so long on the lake sized abundance of reserves of the Middle East.
Do you realize how it has obscured the fact that the top crude oil suppliers for the U.S. are right here in North America. Let me spell it out to you about what a farce this whole thing really and truly is.
Canada now ranks second, in a little known fact, only to Saudi Arabia in oil reserves. That’s right, that’s what I said, second to Saudi Arabia in oil reserves. That’s due to the most part to the discovery of about 1.6 trillion barrels of crude in the providence of Alberta.
Bet you didn’t know that did you ?

So this was good news for American consumers since it provides accomplishable alternatives to the unstable sources of oil in the Middle East and South America. Can we say a little butt kissing was in order from our leaders to Canada’s leaders to be on good terms. Looks to me as if Canada has the power to be calling the shots here.

Which countries are the top three suppliers of crude oil for the U.S. ? The U.S. itself 37% along with Canada 10% and Mexico with 8% while Saudi Arabia has a 7.5% share in the oil suppliers group. Iraq is listed as 3% towards the bottom of this group. Notice I said suppliers here and not producers. We only get 3% from Iraq, people, 3 frickin %.

Meanwhile back at the bat cave, global demand is on the increase. China, the worlds most populated country, has had a 70% increase in the last two years of automobile sales. This is an indicator of growing demand there. Here is another hoot from some un-named analysts in, despite rising world demand. From a note from the North Carolina petroleum marketers association these analysts had said the think the expansion of Canadian reserves would outweigh higher demand as they predicted lower oil prices in 2005. Hmmmmm, all I keep reading and hearing about is how the prices are going upward steadily. Read the first four letters in analyst and that is what I think of their opinions. If all the info above is true, then what are the oil companies trying to pull over our heads this time around?

Ok, try this one on for size. Here’s another surprising fact to ponder. In 2003, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the worlds largest oil producer, according to National Geographic magazine. But, when Russia’s biggest producer, Yukos, was having serious production troubles in 2004, it was a major factor in pushing world crude through the roof. This whole mess sounds like to me the farmer with two thousand acres of rich fertile land to grow crops on, but the powers to be step in and tell him that his share of crops can only be to plant one hundred acres. The Government controls him much like the Opec nations control the oil.

From the U.S. Energy Dept data source on 11/04 is the list of U.S. crude oil suppliers and the percentages listed below.

U.S. at 37%

Canada at 10%

Mexico at 8%

Saudi Arabia at 7.5%

Venezuela at 7.5%

Nigeria at 6%

Iraq at 3%

Algeria at 2%

And others at 19%

So what are the justifications for all this business of the oil shell game that keeps being thrown at us?
It all a bunch of political board game antics to line already bulging pockets. Ever notice how when the travel and vacation season is upon us that gas prices always seem to rise with some bogus claim that we are beaten in to submission to believe is true. We are paying for someone’s personal vendetta or agenda again I suspect.

All this economy downward spiral over 3 fucking % share of Iraq camel worshiping towel headed oil is beyond me. I say screw them and their stupid ass country. No more aid of any kind to them. Let them have their precious oil cause if they can’t sell it they can’t buy ammo or food. We can kill their economy too you know.
It’d be like me trying to keep the county in my control by sitting on my warehouse full of bottled water. I divvy out a few bottles then claim some story as to why I need to charge you more. You get tired of my crap and go to the guy down the block cause I’m not the only game in town. Or dig your own well ..............

That’s my bitch and moan for this month.

WooleyBugger

He's handing them the keys

The new job that I have right now
Man, it really sucks
I work my ass off everyday
But make so little bucks

They say we need to work harder
In each and every way
But with all the extra that we do
They still won't increase the pay

No benefits are offered anymore
If you want them
It will only cost you more
More burden thrust upon the poor

What is up with Bush's thinking?
Driving the jobs away
Is he mentally so unstable?
Are we his truest prey?


Who has benefited from this CAFTA?
It isn't us you see
They get our jobs for their after
He's handing them the keys

Here's what advanced technology can do

An Israeli doctor said, "Medicine in my country is so advanced, we can take a kidney out of one person,put it in another and have him looking for work in six weeks."

A German doctor said "That's nothing! In Germany, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another and have him looking for work in four weeks."

A Russian doctor said, "In my country, medicine is so advanced, we can take half a heart from one person,put it in another and have them both looking for work in two weeks."

The American doctor, not to be out done, said "Hah!We took an ass out of Texas, put him in the White House and half the country was looking for work the next day."

The Lie Clocks


A man died and went to heaven. As he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.

He asked, "What are all those clocks?"

St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock will move."

"Oh," said the man, "whose clock is that?"

"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie."

"Incredible," said the man. "And whose clock is that one?"

St. Peter responded, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock.The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abe told only two lies in his entire life."

"Where's Bush's clock?" asked the man.

"Bush's clock is in Jesus' office. He's using it as a ceiling fan."



(So if you say you've never told a lie in your life, well............... the hands just moved again.)

10-4

I forgot to post this the other day. I think that October the fourth should be a national day of thanks to all those that keep us safe and come to our rescue in times of need.

Law Enforcement, Fire personal, Dispatchers, School Crossing walk guards, Ambulance personal, Animal Control, Street crews, Sanitation workers. They all do things that are very important to all of our lives health and safety. All of them are important, but, we pay sports and movie stars outrageous amounts of money for things that just don't really truly deserve that kind of support. More often than not, an officer has to work extra duty jobs just to make ends meet. And we think we have it tough.

They all use a Ten code therefore, October the fourth (10-4) should be the day we take the time to thank them all for what they do for us. You may also wish to read Corinthians 10:4 and see how it relates.

If you ever had any real idea of what a Police officer sees and has to deal with each and every day, most of you could not handle it. It's not like Television of the movies. Crime scenes are messy and gut wrenching things to see. They see the ugliest side of life and we get pissed because they give us a speeding ticket. You should thank them for not having to process a scene of your dead and mashed body to put it bluntly. How many gun shot or murder victims have you seen in your life? How many dead children have you pulled from a dumpster or roadside ditch?

And you wonder why they have Choir practice at the end of their rotating shifts.

Think about that next time you see an Officer working his beat. 10-4?

The sky was a beautiful sight tonight as I was standing outside letting the dogs do their thing. A peacefulness came over me like I have not experienced in a long time. Looking up at the sky, I noticed that the sunset, at 7:25, had made the clouds the most wonderful shade of purple. Purple mountain majesties settled in my mind and I was humming it before realizing it.
A couple of crickets began chirping in the cool nights air. Even the sounds of a distant train coming a mile away and a dog barking in the distance just all felt .... So good.
I felt a heavy burden lift off my shoulders and all the world, for me, felt so calm. It was like a fog lifting and allowing me to see things clearly, if even just for tonight.

I'm thankful that God was smiling down on me. You See, I believe in God, just, maybe not the way everyone else does. But I do believe.

Most people think of me as some uncaring hard assed person who doesn't love a thing. And I have been told that more than once. You'd be wrong.
Many are the things and kindness I have shown others. I just don't broadcast it and wear it like a badge to say " Hey! Look at me!"

Harleys are music to my ears and just enjoying something without a lot of talk is music to me too. People miss so much because they won't shut up long enough to really truly hear and feel. A barking dog in the distance is great music. A simple thing. A simple thing.

Man injured in motorcycle wreck

A Whitsett man who was riding his motorcycle just outside of Burlington, NC on Saturday, was flown to Duke University Hospital for head injuries sustained in the crash.

Lawrence Theodore Sisk, 42, will probably be all right according to N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper R.E. Fort. "He had some injuries to his head, but I don't think it was life threatening," said Fort.

The Highway Patrol received a call at 12:44a.m Saturday about a wreck on Bellemont-Alamance Road near Dr. Pickett Road. Sisk was Life Flighted to Duke where he remained Saturday Morning for monitoring. Troopers believe that Sisk was riding east when he lost control on a curve, struck a ditch and flipped several times.



Source, Burlington Times News.

Dear Paul, Senator Edwards has been quite busy and we wanted to let you know about some of the things he's been up to! Recently, he delivered a very well-received speech to the Center for American Progress in which he laid out his plan for fighting poverty in America, and this past week he traveled to Moscow on behalf of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sen. Edwards and the Hon. Jack Kemp (Red Square in Moscow)
Mark Your Calendars!Senator Edwards will be on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart Wednesday, October 5.Harkin Steak Fry VideoClick here to see the video of Senator Edwards' remarks at Senator Tom Harkin's Steak Fry in Iowa.PodcastPlease remember to submit your questions for the upcoming podcast, which will be released next week.Book ClubWe will begin the next book in October. Stay tuned! The Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on US-Russia Relations Senator Edwards serves as Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations Task Force, which assesses the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. His co-chair on the task force is former Congressman and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp, who joined Senator Edwards on the trip. In Moscow the two of them met with an array of officials and experts - including Kremlin officials, Russian Duma (parliament) members, business leaders, NGO experts and activists, and journalists - and they also had a chance to meet some Russians as they walked through Moscow (Senator Edwards says that the traffic there is so unbearable that they found it easier to walk to many of their meetings). Now that he's back, he and Mr. Kemp are preparing to convey their findings to the task force, which will in turn issue a formal report suggesting specific, bipartisan policies for improving our relationship with Russia. Senator Edwards says during his trip he heard many things that left him with a deep sense of possibility for this relationship, but he also feels that he has a greater appreciation of the challenges that he and the other members of the task force will face as they try to improve that relationship. We'll be hearing more about the task force and its findings next year, when the official report is published. Click here to learn more about the Council Task Force on Russian-American Relations.
Sen. Edwards Speaks at Center for American Progress
Don't miss Thomas Oliphant's column about Senator Edwards. Restoring the American Dream On Monday September 21st, before leaving for Russia, Senator Edwards spoke at the Center for American Progress. He discussed the widespread poverty exposed by Hurricane Katrina, and he proposed steps that we as a nation can take to combat poverty in the Gulf Coast and across the country.Download the MP3 of the speech, read the speech, or watch the video. A key part of Senator Edwards' plan is the New America Initiative. It's modeled after FDR's WPA program, which employed millions of Americans during the Great Depression. Through the New America Initiative, residents of the Gulf Coast region would rebuild their communities with the help of the government, nonprofit organizations, unions, and private businesses. This concerted effort would restore the region, and it would provide the residents with good-paying jobs and benefits. In addition, the residents would develop valuable work skills that would enable them to get good-paying jobs in the future. This initiative could not only get the region and its people back on their feet; it could make life better than it was before for the thousands of Gulf Coast residents who were living and working in poverty before Katrina struck. To convince the President and leaders in Congress that this initiative must be implemented, the call for it must be loud and continuous. Thousands have already joined in. Please add your voice to this call. Thank you for your support! And if you haven't already, please visit our web site. There you will find regular updates on Senator Edwards and the issues he's tackling, and you can also participate on our Blog, which is frequently updated with new threads and content. Check it out!