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Small Town Soap Box Monday
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 8/25/2008
Letter from Danny Dunbar
We all have heard so many times that someone is upset over the Ten Commandments being displayed in a court house or a prayer being said before a meeting of a city counsel or some other government agency. The separation of church and state they say? People, our founding Fathers put that clause in the Constitution to keep the church from taking over the government as it did in England in their day. These people were Christians looking for a better life for their families. They wanted the freedom to worship as they chose, not the way the Church of England thought they should. They trusted in God and were proud of it. They risk their lives for it.
Now we have a minute group of people who are trying to change history by using the ACLU as their pawns. To interpret a law, you have to look at the people that created the law and the time that it was written. Let?s put some common sense back into America. We welcome people of every nationality, every religion, every color into this wonderful country. We encourage them to keep their heritage, but it must be understood that we will protect ours as Americans at any cost.
Our men and women are in other countries fighting to protect our life style and the freedoms we enjoy, while at the same time, others are using their interuptation of our laws to destroy the ideals that this country was founded on. ?In God We Trust? and ?God Bless America?, are terms that the majority of Americans hold dear and are descriptive of what to expect when you come to this country.
In Barrow County Georgia, ONE unnamed resident used the ACLU to get our Ten Commandments removed from the courthouse. One resident who didn?t have the courage or the conviction to use their name to fight this fight, used our system against the rest of us.
Should a Muslim be made to pray in a Christian way? absolutely not. But it must be understood that if you come into our house, or our country, you need to respect our customs. Atheist are free to believe that God does not exist, but don?t try to take Him away from the rest of us. If you don?t want your children to pray in our schools, fine, they can wait silently while our children do.
If I went to live in Japan, I would expect myself to learn Japanese. I would still worship as a Christian, and I would not expect the Japanese to change their customs to fit my beliefs.
If the Ten Commandments offend you? I am sorry, don?t read them. If laying your hand on the Bible in court and swearing to tell the truth offends you? don?t get in a situation to be taken to court. Of course, if you had read the Ten Commandments and lived by them, you wouldn?t be in court in the first place.
The only thing a true American wants is to be given the freedom to chose. It is exactly the same thing that we want for the people of the world. Let the masses vote and let the majority rule. If there is a Hitler, or any ruler who tries to dominate the masses, we will pay you a visit. We aren?t trying to convert Iraqis into Americans, we just want to give the majority the freedom to govern themselves, the freedom to chose. We want them to be safe from the cowards that call themselves terrorist, and from the monsters that dominated their country.
If you don?t agree with Americans in America, there are many other nice countries around the globe that you might find more to your liking. We used to say ?put your heart in Dixie or get your ass out?? now it applies to America. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Written By Danny Dunbar
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 8/18/2008
From My Sister Barbara
Dear Moby,
It was good to open my mail this morning and find a message from you. It really doesn't matter that it is short. I understand hectic. I have been working in the classroom for two weeks now. Kids will be coming tomorrow so things will get even more hectic. It was really cute to reflect with you on how you felt about Grace's first day of school. It is always harder on parents than the kids. I'll bet that she loved it and will be thrilled to share with you all the exciting things she is doing and learning. Always set aside "Grace time" no matter how busy you get. You will never regret those precious moments. It doesn't matter that Mary Beth spends hours with her. It is those moments with her dad that will mean a great deal in her out look on life and how she view's herself.
I have been so fascinated with the Olympics that I have been up late every night for a week. I think that I am going to catch a nap today that is after I write up a report on a student that came in early so that I could do some diagnostic testing on her. Poor girl is 12 years old and over six feet tall. She is in the foster care system and has such a sad story. She is half black (I know that is not politically correct) and was born to a white mother of "Red Neck" ancestry. The mother disappeared and the grand parents and aunts raise her. You can't really say that they raised her. They were embarrassed by her and kept her hid. She spent much of her life in a closet. about 2 years ago, someone broke into that house, and killed the grandma. I have heard that they were into the manufacturing of drugs. The police found the girl locked in a closed when they came to investigate what had happened. She started school with us last year. We could not qualify her for special education classes because of some of the stupid laws that state has. Anyway, I have done enough research that I think I know how to qualify her, it will just take a careful report.
The school that I work at is in one of the more "economically depressed" regions of Bakersfield. We have several "group homes" for kids in the court system. Many of them are in Special Ed. I would say that more than half of my case load involves these kind of kids. I can become very passionate about them. I am not always successful with them, but there are a few of them that I have made a difference with. This is why I keep working.
Enough of my soap box. I love you and love hearing from you.
Love Ya, Barbara
Afternoon Sis,
What a beautiful story about the 12 year old.
My sister, the guardian angel! of the defenseless. ! I love the sound of that.
Don't try to deny it, Barb. The story you've shared & what you've done, 10 years from now try to tell that 12 year old that Mrs. Johnston wasn't an angel in her life, sent directly from heaven just for her.
I'll write more later. It just isn't in me to let stories like this go unresponded to. Love (and respect) you!! God bless, MOBY
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 8/11/2008
Irena Sendler
On May 12th, 2008 at 8AM (Warsaw time) in Warsaw, Poland 98-year-old Irena Sendler quietly passed away. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.
She had an ulterior motive... Being German, she KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews. Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried, and she also carried a Burlap sack in the back of her truck, (for bigger kids). She had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her into and out of the ghetto. The soldiers, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered up the noises the hidden children might make. During her time of doing this, she managed to save 2500 Jewish children. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs and arms and severely beat her. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived the camps to reunite the family. Most of those parents, of course, had been killed. Those kids she helped, were placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.... She LOST. Al Gore won for doing a slide show on Global Warming.
This morning, we acknowledge her love, dedication, & saintly spirit as today?s Small Town Soap Box.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 8/4/2008
A Speech for an American Candidate
America is a place where common people can do uncommon things. It has always been this way
because its government was designed not to stand in the way of individuals being free to pursue their own dreams. The hope of Americans has never been in their government, but in their ability to realize their dreams by their own efforts with God?s blessing. When misguided people want government itself to be a source of hope, they?re really asking that those who produce be forced to give to those who don?t in accordance with the tyrannical principle spoken of by Abraham Lincoln. It must always be remembered that what government gives it can also take away, and it must take from some in order to give to others, or take from all in order to give back to all what was already theirs.
Government can never fulfill hopes and desires, it can only and should only provide a safe place for people to live and work to achieve their own ideas of success. If Americans begin to choose the easy path of depending on their government to provide what they want and need, then the greatest idea for government in the history of the human race will begin its inexorable path to extinction, and freedom and independence will slowly but surely give way to bondage and dependence. Dependence on government is like an insidious drug that feels good at first, but gradually it takes complete control and renders its abuser completely incapable of taking care of him or herself.
Government leaders in America should not dictate to passive, dependent people. They should motivate and inspire their fellow Americans to see possibilities where it seemed before that there were only impossibilities. Don?t choose a leader who promises to give you things, but rather choose one who makes you want to put everything you are and everything you have on the line in order to see what you can accomplish for yourself and others. The Spirit of America is to help others, especially those who can?t help themselves. America has a great tradition of people joining together of their own free will to help others because of their love for God and their neighbor.
Men and women in uniform volunteer to help their neighbors both within and without the borders of this great land. Some pay a terrible price for their service. Abraham Lincoln?s closing words at Gettysburg reach back to Lexington and Concord, and they span the decades from then right up to today wherever an American goes into harm?s way for his or her country. Hear these familiar words again and think about them in a new way. Think of them as applying to you right here and right now. Let there be a new birth of freedom in you, so that your country will endure, because America depends on each and every one of its citizens, not the other way around. This is the secret to its greatness.
Abraham Lincoln said: It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ? that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion ? that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ? that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ? and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Copyright © 2008 Rick McCorkle.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 7/28/2008
$20.00
Sometimes we just need to be reminded!
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.
He proceeded to crumple up the $20-dollar bill.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
Well, he replied, "What if I do this?"
And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.
"Now, who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.
My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless.
But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.
You are special - don't EVER forget it."
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 7/21/2008
AMERICAN FIGHTING MAN
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometime s forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away? those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great- grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.' Please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan, sailors on ships, and airmen in the air, and for those in Iraq. There is nothing attached... This can be very powerful... Of all the gifts you could give a US Soldier, Sailor, Coastguardsman, Marine, or Airman, prayer is the very best one. God watch over our troops, please.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 7/14/2008
A German's Perspective
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis 'he said,' but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care.
I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.' We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is that the 'peaceful majority', the 'silent majority', is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China 's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people. The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up , because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghanis, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the European peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just ignores it, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world wide, think about it ? and apply pressure to the leaders of our still (for now) free world to intervene in this insanity.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 7/7/2008
As of this past Friday, America is 232 years old. What do you think are the odds of her seeing 300? How about 250? Are you as fearful as I am of the America we seem to be leaving our children? For the first time in American history, we seem to leaving less than we were handed from our patriotic parents.
Take note of this, my friends, ?We did not inherit this country from our ancestors. We borrowed it from our children.?
Have you recently taken time to thank God for the founding fathers that had the dream of a country, a liberated nation, that they borrowed from their children.
They dreamed of a land where every man could pray to ?his? God who or what ever he perceived him to be.
These were devoutly Christian men who, through their Christian benevolence, created a nation, one nation, under our loving Christian God, where men could come legally to new homes & new futures within our borders, put their shoulders to the wheel, work their part of American Utopia, and worship as they saw fit, without fear of persecution.
What have we allowed to become of Thomas Jefferson?s dream of truths he found to be self-evident? Those were also the dreams of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and on and on. Could the leaders of today, in either the executive, legislative, or Judicial branches of what remains of those self-evident aspirations, stand toe to toe with those great men in Philadelphia, and proudly look them in the eye.
Could any of our current day leaders of America, show with pride what they?ve allowed our nation to become to any of the dreamers the blazed the American trail?
When did the government of, by and for the people & the just laws of our land become the whim of seated justices that have never faced the American voter on a ballot, but none the less conduct themselves as royalty ruling over all American voters from their lofty bench?
The nine seated justices can?t agree that the Bill of Rights, and guarantees of the Constitution are for citizens of these United States alone.
Those deemed potential enemy combatants by the military devoted to protect us from them, are guaranteed no rights what so ever, and should certainly never set foot in an American court of law.
But by a 5 to 4 decision, we?re told by our American Supreme Court that I?m wrong.
Not only is the enemy at our gate, we must let him in and treat him with the same rights guaranteed Americans.
That same Supreme Court couldn?t unanimously agree with the 2nd amendment. 4 of the 9 wanted to deny us our rights to keep and bear arms.
Think about that. We came with in one liberal vote of becoming France or even worse, California.
So, if I understand all this correctly, at least for now, we have to potentially set the most violent free, but we get to keep our guns.
These might be good days to take stock of your ammunition.
Happy birthday, America. I?ll fight alongside those who still believe in you, old girl. And I?ll pray to my Christian God for the courage to stand shoulder to shoulder and fight against those that do not.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 6/30/2008
Did you see this over the weekend? 'Hanoi Hilton' jailer says he'd vote for McCain "If I were an American voter, I would vote for Mr. John McCain," Tran Trong Duyet said Friday, sitting in his living room in the northern city of Haiphong, surrounded by black-and-white photos of a much younger version of himself and former Vietnam War prisoners. At the same time, "he denies prisoners of war were tortured. Despite detailed POW accounts and physical wounds, Duyet claims the presumed Republican presidential nominee made up beatings and solitary confinement in an attempt to win votes." When confronted with stories of our POW?s who claim they were brutally tortured. They are liars. What they said is not true," said Duyet, who was a jailer at Hoa Lo from 1968 until the POW release in 1973, serving as prison chief the last three years. Duyet claimed McCain "invented that story that he was tortured and beaten to win votes."" BULL...BULL...BULL..... I know for a fact those POW?s were brutalized, and so does everyone that remembers the gaunt faces that could barely stand & cried as they deplaned in front of a nation that wasn?t nearly as grateful as it should have been. Those men that touched the faces of wives they never thought they'd see again.That's absolute BULL!!!!!! Anyone that would make these claims is totally delusional or unpatriotic wastes of flesh. It's like the morons that claim the Holocaust didn't happen. It's like saying Normandy was a French Beach vacation. The Germans didn't bomb London, and the twin towers fell because of internal detonations by black ops American spies. If this is the kind of crap that's gonna be said in this campaign, it's a slap in the face to the men who died there or barely survived that HELL in Hanoi. Let's ask Jane Fonda to endure for just 5 minutes what our American heroes endured for all those years!!!!!! You know she was told by those that imprisoned them that our men were being well treated, too. And that's the story she came back to America with At that point, she should have been locked up for treason. Who even remembers, that treason was a crime then, and it still is today. I wonder if it was Duyet's gun she was photographed sitting on while our guys were being beaten and starved. I was absolutely enraged to read this. (Can you tell?) Maybe this type of liberal media B.S. will unite patriots to rally for the America that was, and with the grace of God, can be again. Personally, I will, for the remainder of my life, pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands. You think the swift boat veterans stood up to show us what John Kerry was as opposed to the man he claimed to be. Wait till you see the uprising to show support as the truth comes out regarding our Viet Nam war POW?s. God bless them, and ?Welcome home? soldiers?
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 6/23/2008
ATLANTA (June 22) - Bob Barr's Libertarian Party bid for the White House is the longest of long shots.
Bob, my dear fellow conservative, how can you think this story isn?t right on the money?
Buddy, you have to KNOW you can?t win this. No one really gives you a chance in hell. You gotta bail on this thing, if only for now. If only for the ?08 election.
Let?s spend a moment with this.
Until you made the confusing decision to insert your self in the ?Degrade in ?08? fiasco, there was only the Demo (ultimately Barrack Hussein Obama) & the conservative 71 year old war hero, John McCain...
2 choices for the type manure will fertilize the White House grounds in January? Caca de Elephante or caca de donkey? Because the public is sure it?ll some kind of critter caca regardless.
Then, Bob, buddy you jump in on the ?we need a third party? Libertarian ticket, at the worst possible time you could have done this.
Congressman, I was with you & your unbelievable wife, Jeri all the way through your tireless work during those ?have all our morals & ethics been flushed down the crapper?? Clinton years.
I cheered when the brilliant, but totally self-serving liar was impeached. He had lied under federal oath, and you wouldn?t let up until he admitted it. He lied to our nation on all network TV, and you wouldn?t ease up until he would admit it.
Then I was totally dismayed when you couldn?t convince your peers in Congress to convict him.
You did try because it was the right thing to do, and you were trying to get on he path of fixing what?s really wrong with America.
But now, Bob, buy now?!??Let me run a little scenario by you, congressman.
Let?s say I?ve already made my mind up on who I?m gonna vote for, even if I really don?t feel like there?s a good selection, and it?s horrifying to me.
Then the Congressman from Georgia, with the name I remember from nearly a decade ago, insists on putting poop in the political punch bowl & gives me a 3rd choice at a time I?m already freaking out a little bit.
I listen to your thoughts and What your plan would be if the White House fertilizer ending up being the droppings of what the heck ever kind of mascot you & Boortz dreamed up for the Libertarians at the Holiday Inn ballroom where you folks had your convention.. Well, that?s what it looked like on the news.
You know what, I like what I hear, and you get my vote. I like ya. Frankly, I?m not positive you?ve got many answers, but in many cases you & I share similar visions & values. I?m sold on the whole Barr ?08 enchilada.
I?ll enthusiastically jump on the bandwagon with all 2 or 3 percent other voters also make the decision I?ve made.
?Bob Barr is the man to lead us back to a future we can be proud to leave our children.?
I?m not sure I could even have the ability to say we were all fooling ourselves, and you didn?t stand a snowballs chance in (you know) of winning.
Now, we?ll lose, but look on the wagon with me. Do you possibly think many of those 2 or 3 percent came from the Barrack Hussein Obama camp?
In 2012, if you & your party do nothing in the next 4 years except establish your party, maybe then. I?d even be proud to come sing the Anthem under God at a Bob Barr event. But Bob, Buddy, Buddy, Buddy?.don?t make a horrifying situation even worse in ?08
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 6/16/2008
COURT FAVORS DETAINEES - The Supreme Court has ruled that detainees at Guantanamo Bay can file legal challenges to their detention.
Has our Supreme Court lost their collective minds? Next thing you know, these detainees will be filing petitions in Arabic to be tried in L.A. & the bleeding heart liberals will think it?s a beautiful thing.
They?ll probably sponsor fundraisers in their behalf, and finding lawyers to be on their side will be easy, because it?ll be the lawyers that make all them money from it while our nation continues to crumble.
We?re the citizens of our United States of America, and beyond our borders, I don?t personally see how the Supreme Court has any right to expect their voice to carry policy making power.
Honestly, the American judicial system should not have a dog in this fight.
The people the military feels are a threat to us, are not protected by the Constitution, and thank God for that simple fact.
These are things that should strictly be under the authority & scrutiny of the United States Military.
These detainees have no American rights what so ever. Nor should they.
They are potential enemy combatants. I promise you, any one of them would kill and decapitate you or your children if given half a chance to do so. And they?d do it amid American screams for mercy. They?d consider American screams entertainment. The torment of Americans would have the folks back home in their foreign cesspools dancing in the streets.
How dare our Supreme Court be arrogant enough to intervene in this arena of our international safety & security?
As I understand it, the job of the American Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution as it pertains to our American laws, not to dictate international policy.
That?s why we have brilliant men and women with stars on their shoulders, and the legions of those that have sworn to protect us all. They?re pledged to not only protect and uphold our Constitution, but to stand between all American families, and any aggressor. They consider it their prideful and honorable duty to place themselves, at the risk of their own lives, between the wolf and the sheep.
Being an American citizen, you have every right to disagree with me on this, but in my opinion as an American patriot you?re wrong.
No gray areas here. Right/wrong Good/evil Enemies/Patriots.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 6/9/2008
Do Good Anyway
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the
smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may
be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have
and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
Anonymous
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 6/2/2008
THE OLD PATHS
I liked the old paths, when Moms were at home. Dads were at work. Brothers went into the army. And sisters got married BEFORE having children!
Crime did not pay; Hard work did; And people knew the difference.
Moms could cook; Dads would work; Children would behave.
Husbands were loving; Wives were supportive; And children were polite.
Women wore the jewelry; And Men wore the pants. Women looked like ladies; Men looked like gentlemen; And children looked decent.
People loved the truth, And hated a lie; They came to church to get IN, Not to get OUT!
Hymns sounded Godly; Sermons sounded helpful; Rejoicing sounded normal; And crying sounded sincere.
Cursing was wicked; Drugs were for illness; And divorce was unthinkable.
The flag was honored; America was beautiful; And God was welcome!
We read the Bible in public; Prayed in school; And preached from house to house To be called an American was worth dying for; To be called a Christian was worth living for; To be called a traitor was a shame!
Preachers preached because they had a message; And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY! Preachers preached from the Bible; Singers sang from the heart; And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!
A new birth meant a new life; Salvation meant a changed life; Following Christ led to eternal life.
Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God; Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord; Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus; And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!
Laws were based on the Bible; Homes read the Bible; And churches taught the Bible.
God was worshiped; Christ was exalted; And the Holy Spirit was respected..
Church was where you found Christians on the Lord's day, rather than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, Or being entertained somewhere else.
I still like the old paths the best!
'The Old Paths' was written by a retired minister who lives In Tennessee
I wish the old paths were before us instead of behind us. AMEN
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 5/26/2008 (Memorial Day) No soapbox was avail for this date
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 5/19/2008
We went to a movie yesterday afternoon I want to talk about. It gave me the idea of writing today?s Small Town Soap Box about it.
You?re probably not gonna like today?s Soap Box, and I apologize in advance for that. But, on the off chance there are any scientists that are also country music fans; I wanted them to hear this.
This wonderful and mentally challenging movie, I hadn?t even heard about until the link regarding it happened to be attached to an unrelated email I got Saturday. It?s called: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed????by Ben Stein
It?s probably the most thought provoking movie I?ve ever seen.
It was great, but it ain?t really a date flick that you?d hold hands through. No chase scenes & no kissin?.
It?s more of a micro-biological documentary that asks modern science to challenge itself in areas where it refuses to do so.
It?ll not win any awards for very apparent politically correct reasons, but it reveals an unasked and unanswered scientific question that the academic community needs to broaden its collective mind to ask and attempt to answer, regardless how much it challenges Charles Darwin, and his theory of evolution that itself hasn?t evolved one little bit even though it came from the mid 1800?s.
According to Darwin, we all evolved from a single cell that somehow rose from primordial muck to become all the life we see on planet Earth today, and that it?s impossible that intelligent design could have played any role in life at all.
By the way, Adolph Hitler was a devout Darwinist.
In other words, Expelled really wasn?t a Gracie movie, but I?m very glad I saw it.
Oooh, that?s a side of Uncle Moby you haven?t seen before, ain?t it.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 5/12/2008
The Duck Derby parade Saturday morning was a hoot! It was a well organized event with some dedicated young cadets in uniform carrying the colors in front of us. I was proud of them, of the parents that raised them, and the old master sergeant that trained them. Those young people both males and females have been raised with a love of country, and a respect for authority. In my opinion, they're truly entitled to the blessings and opportunities of the United States, because they'll honor the flag they so proudly carried Saturday morning, they'll support those in uniform defending it, and if called by our nation to do so, will join in the fight along side of those that come before them.
That was my beautiful spring Saturday morning, riding in the bed of one of Terry Reid's big ol' Chevy trucks, Mary Beth at my side, waving to good Americans that had come out & brought their children to watch the parade. Let me share with you the event I was at Saturday night. It was a charity event, and the first of what they hope to make an annual affair. There were truly good people doing good work for a cause they deeply believe in. I was asked to be there as MC, and I was more than happy to oblige. I was to lead those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance, and then to sing the National Anthem. At the very front table were four individuals that I feel needed to be noticed on the show this morning. 2 were what I can't help but describe as punks. Probably late teens or early 20's. One male and one female. The others were 2 fully grown women. When I asked everyone to stand for the pledge, all that were in the room quickly complied except that front table. They eventually did get to their feet. The boy was wearing a ball cap. So, I asked everyone to remove their hats. He rolled his eyes, and I said. "Freedom ain't free, son. Take off your hat." He was obviously not happy with this, but he took it off, and I led the room in the pledge. I then, as I'd been requested to do, asked everyone to remain standing for our National Anthem, and I began to sing. By the time I'd gotten to "the dawns early light" I looked to my left and noticed that both of these spoiled brats along with both adult females had taken their seats, and remained there through the remainder of a song all patriots stand for with their hands solemnly over their hearts. That table to me represented the most frightening issue we have in America as we struggle to finish this first decade of the 21st century. They represent the apathy and sense of entitlement that is rampant in every corner of what used to be the greatest country in history. They feel they owe nothing to anyone, and feel too self righteous to show respect for the dedicated generations of heroes that have paid the ultimate price for them to have the freedom to behave in such a disgusting manner without paying any price for the privilege. There was an auction that followed that portion of the evening. I went back to the table where my wife and daughter were seated, and told them we needed to go. On the way out, I asked the president of this group who were the individuals seated at this unpatriotic front table, and told her what I had seen, and how mad it had made me. She sincerely apologized, and assured me that she was a very patriotic person. I've no doubt she was telling me the truth. I'm sure she loves the country that guarantees us the freedom to gather for what ever cause we choose. I told her that she didn't owe me an apology, and that I'd enjoyed meeting the good people that were there, but I wouldn't be back for their second annual event if those at the front table were there. That's the least I owe America, and those that defend her. I honestly don't wish anything bad for the front table, but I'm ashamed to share my country with them. Keep patriotic passion burning deep within your chest. True love of God and country, and pursuit of happiness.
Small Town Soapbox, Monday 5/5/2008
Then: BLT---Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Now: BLT--- Black Liberation Theology
I listened to Reverend Wright's full sermon on the radio. I am 56 years old and have been all over the world. I know what some people will do for money in this country and "over there". I've seen some honorable methods and despicable ones. I heard the HERD in the background of his church wail with every castigation made as the impression was levied that everybody but America has EXCREMENT that doesn't stink. This message is really for Al Queda. The reason total war has not been levied on you is because of people and mentalities like Rev. Wright who would not allow it. "CHA CHING," says ABC, CBS and NBC. I know---I worked in TV for 22 years. "If it bleeds it leads" was their mantra. And white liberals rule in television. They thrive off of mayhem because of the residuals of those children who weren't loved, children who now flock to the Wright's of the World. Many are people who never read a history book a day in their lives. I hate believing this way but it's the horrible truth. Bush could have nuked Mecca after 911. He could have rounded up every Muslim in this country and interned them or deported them the way FDR did after Pearl Harbor. Or he could have told the UN that Iraq should just fester in puss and to continue gassing people as a method of crowd control. Bush could have done what republicans of the past did, say "screw the world" and stay home. Bottom line that the public school mentalities will not want to hear: the only way you'll get peace is though what Harry Truman, a DEMOCRAT, promulgated in August of 1945. When Japan surrendered he said: "We now have total victory over all our enemies". That's right you naïve, lost in the 60's, dumb downed FRUSTRATED BUFFALO HERDS---PICK UP A HISTORY BOOK IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME because I don't care how much you hate Bush, the fact is your hate will never equal let alone exceed the hate this new breed of stone age, "my way or the highway" sado-excrement in the Middle East has for you. So go for the isolationists, the socialists, the OLD in the form of an exploited, fatherless black man with intelligence who was dumped by his father that share a name with the dictator we captured and Iraq executed. Or go with a woman who wants the White House the way a jilted wife wants that big rock after her husband broke vows made before GOD and bought in to the the Madison Avenue hype that the "arrival" is more "powerful". Or go with the man who knew what "control freaks' were all about given the years in the Hanoi Hilton. He knows what's coming and, trust me, it will not take 100 years to achieve victory---after we wake up to the "deer in the headlights" expression on the liberals faces after we learn that one of our cities has just been reduced to radio-active glass. That is going to happen and you know it, Al Queda knows it, the world knows it. Good has always walked with a bulls-eye on its back. The thought of doing that to us makes them giddy if not outright tumescent. The unloved and fatherless have always felt that way---and always will. What's your choice America? I've made my peace with God because I think you just might do something stupid. I only pray that I am with my wife and son when the flash occurs and we are incinerated. I've asked God to grant me at least that. Michael Riles
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