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I've recently discovered Joe Dan Gorman and his Intellectual Froglegs. For some reason while watching his videos, I'm reminded of USA Network's 1980's quirky but entertaining late night variety show NIGHT FLIGHT. Joe Dan is a multimedia professional who's also a conservative. He's got a wit that's been sharpened to a fine edge. I think of Joe Dan as a modern day Will Rogers. Here's a fellow who's found the perfect medium for his unusual brand of political commentary.
"In case you haven't seen it yet - the 'basis' of Froglegs is to be covertly educational with humor, wicked cool graphics and classic tunage. And we're not following the media narrative...or chasing the 'media-driven outrage of the day" - but we will talk about things that matter, from the historical to the hysterical."
-Joe Dan Gorman
With liberals, there's just so much material to laugh at'em about...and yet too few people out there taking advantage of the plethora of comedic material. Most political satirist today are neither funny or relevant because they too are liberal. They don't seem to be able to pick up on the irony coming from the left daily.
We need more voices out there like Joe Dan Gorman, entertaining and truthful. Enjoy the show and SHARE the fun with your friends.
"If you are going to tell the truth, be funny or they will kill you."
-Billy Wilder
As a man in my mid-fifties, I've been in a lot of public bathrooms. One thing I've noticed while in the men's restroom, is how few men actually wash their hands after using the potty. Even when they do, it's more like wet their hands and exit. A few days ago I was in the bathroom and a fellow approached the sink next to me and commenced to washing his hands like a surgeon. That's strange, I thought I was the only one that did that.
About 90% of the men in restrooms either just walk out after doing their business or briefly wash their hands. This is not a Pew Poll, but rather a P-U statistics that I have acquired via personal experience. I think if businesses quit furnishing soap in their bathrooms that it would only occasionally be missed.
I don't like the hot air blower. I'd rather have a paper towel to dry my hands. If I have a paper towel, then I can use the towel to open the door to get out of the bathroom. Think about it. All those men walking out of the bathroom had their hands all over the push-plate/doorknob with their crotch germs still on their hands. Ewwww!
Consider the hot air blower for a moment. Public bathrooms are infested with all kinds of bacteria. Once you push that button the hot air blower blows hot air. That hot air stirs up and makes for a wonderful transport for all that bacteria in the room. Give me paper towels any day.
I like it when a trash can is close to the exit so I can throw my paper towel away as I exit. If there's no paper towel, then the only thing a public potty patron can do is to use a part of the hand that will least likely be needed for eating...say the back of the hand. Having travel size container of Purell on hand would be handy.
Another thing that many men don't do is flip up the toilet seat when they have to pee. This is an all to common nasty habit. Even with the lid up, the men's room floor often looks as if a bathroom peeing patron had an epileptic seizure while standing over the toilet. It would be considerate if those trick shooters out there would just use a wall urinal or just have a seat so there's not so much collateral damage on and around the toilet bowl. Sheesh!
Last Friday I went into a facility there was toilet paper not in a holder. Instead, the patron has no option but to manipulate the roll and un-spool their own tissue. By the disgusting appearance of the only loose toilet roll in the room, I decided not to find solace there.
I once exclaimed to my wife how disgusting I find men's restrooms. She quickly replied that the women's restrooms are probably even worse. I just couldn't comprehend that being the case ~ surely women are the cleaner of the sexes. Men have the option of doing their business standing. Gina corrected me and said that women hover. That's amazing, I thought. I knew that men and women were made different, but I had no idea that women had the ability of becoming human hovercraft! Why if I could hover ~ I'd go to more places. I'd get out more. If I could hover ~ I wouldn't mind going to the mall with my wife to shop. My feet would never get tired, never have to touch the ground if I could hover too.
...But I digress.
What I am trying to say is that public restrooms are not safe. Public restrooms are full of disgusting germs, disgusting sights and sounds. When you have to go, be careful and by all means be considerate. Above all, BE CLEAN! Cleanse thy hands thoroughly after going in there. Most public restrooms are not fit for the public.
PS: Women, when your man comes back from the bathroom, ask him if he washed his hands real good. Make eye contact with him and ask him a second time. If he cannot maintain eye contact - turns away and says "yes". Demand that he return to the men's room and wash his hands properly.
I finally got around to reading Dick Winters' autobiography Beyond Band of Brothers. For anyone out there that enjoyed reading Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers and D-Day ~ you're sure to appreciate Winter's own humble telling of Easy. This is a wonderful read about one of America's greatest combat leaders. This isn't just autobiography, but the story of Easy Company. Winters' was a leader of men, and is a leader who humbly gave credit to the men who served under him. Every page of this book was fascinating, every page an example for men to follow.
Beyond Band of Brothers isn't just about history, and the great men who fought in a war. This book is about character. Wartime or not, this book is about what makes men great. I'll confess that I was personally inspired by this incredible man and the company of heroes he served among. Beyond Band of Brothers is more than history ~ it's a challenge.
"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and the man who leads that gains the victory."
-Gen. George S. Patton
We all know someone who's self-destructive. We also know of someone else who out of a sick compassion enable their loved one's perpetual self-destructive behavior. The worst thing to do is to aid and abet the behavior...perpetuating it. Often the best thing to do for someone who's exhibiting self-destructive behavior is to stand aside...allow that person to bottom out. But the enabled doesn't wan't that to happen and the self-sacrificing enabler won't allow it to happen. The enabler feeds, protects, sustains and ever ready to bail-out the self-destructive loved one.
It's good to speak out. But truth is something a self-destructive, enabled soul doesn't want to hear. It's too bitter of a pill. An enabler doesn't want to hear it either. They just don't want to rock the boat. Even in silence toward bad behavior, we can enable.
Leaving a loved one in the cold, letting reality soak in is far too brutal for the enabler. The enabler will dodge whatever bullet, pay whatever cost, promote any lie, all in the name of love. What the self-destructive/unhealthy person needs is to be moving toward a constructive/healthy place. This will never happen because the enabler will never expel their loved-one from their unhealthy womb. They don't have the common sense or the nerve to inflict tough love.
Often love has boundaries. Often love must say 'NO'.
I remember reading an item back in 2008 about a woman who stayed on a toilet for two years. Who knows what was in her head, but when her boyfriend finally decided to finally get help, her butt had to be surgically removed from the toilet seat. Her compassionate boyfriend enabled her to remain there all that time by bringing food to her while she was ensconced on her throne. Sure the boyfriend pleaded with her daily, but fed the sickness.
It's a twisted kind of love.
When it comes down to it, something is just as unhealthy with the enabler as the enabled. They both need help.
Disclaimer: David is not a head doctor nor does he play one on TV. He's just witnessed a whole a lot of enabling and co-dependency in life. It's everywhere.
"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."
This quote is attributed to George Washington. I agree with it wholeheartedly. Conservatives on the most part are...well conservative. We don't rile that easy, we've let a great deal slide. Looking back, we should should have stood firmer earlier in the game, go nose to nose and not let the left gain so much ground. The Democrat Party turned a hard left a long time ago. Kennedy is dead. Progressives are daily pushing forward toward totalitarian rule. Our Constitution, our Bill of Rights are the only thing standing in their way. They see our founders as wrong, that our Constitution is an antiquated instrument that gets in the way of their utopian pursuits.
Lately Democrats across the country have been trying to rob Americans of our 2nd Amendment rights. Our rights were not bestowed on us by government, and can not be taken from us by government. In fact, it's the governments job to uphold and protect our rights. Instead Democrats are attempting to rob the giant of his teeth while he sleeps. And we've got Republicans who have forsaken their conservative ideology and have betrayed us.
slowly-slowly
If we allow government to rob us of our God given right to keep and bear arms, then we are no longer truly free ~ we are mere subjects. What does it take for the sleeping giant to wake up and push the liberty usurpers back. The truth is, progressives in Washington are not concerned for our safety. The tears they shed for the dead children from Newtown, CT massacre are not real. The children and their grieving parents are but mere props for the progressives. I've seen plenty of crocodile tears. The Newtown massacre was a tragedy, but our right to bear arms shall not be infringed. No tragic event will ever warrant the people loosing our right(s).
This has been nothing but a power grab. Government does not trust us to have guns. They do not like for We The People to have the power to bite back against their tyranny.
"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed ~ unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
-James Madison
The Federalist Paper
Now government is a necessity ~ but it is an evil necessity. It must be kept accountable ~ government must be limited! We are long past having a government accountable to the people. Somehow, through the grace and guidance of God, we must push our way back, and regain freedom lost. To me, trying to restrict our right to bear arms is the last straw. If the giant doesn't wake, then we will no longer be a free people. We will have lost America and we will become slaves ~ and our children will become slaves too.
"One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offense to keep arms."
-Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story (1840)
"Men trained in arms from their infancy, and animated by the love of liberty, will afford neither a cheap or easy conquest."
-from the Declaration of the Continental Congress, (July 1775)
We conservatives have let things slide because of our overall worldview. We don't depend on government, so we'd rather not think about it. We have a life, we just want to get on with life. We have families and responsibilities. We realize the necessity for government, but the government has become too intrusive and getting in our way. Problem is, government needs to get out of our lives, stand back and stay away from our rights, our pockets. We want to continue to be free, free to succeed.
the roll of government
As conservatives we don't depend on government. We don't want anything from government but for it to perform the primary functions it was designed to do. As conservatives we just want the beast to please STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES ~ get out of our way! Even though we have our own lives, want to remain independent and free, we have to become vocal, we must become involved. It is not only our right but our responsibility. As caretakers of this great nation, we must wield our rights. We must speak out. We must act!
naming RINO's
RINO's have been bending over time and time again. We can't count on career politicians on either side of the aisle. The GOP establishment has failed us too many times. It's time to thin the herd with each election. It is our responsibility to know what our political representatives are doing, not just in Washington DC, but in our state capitals, and locally as well. We have to stay abreast of matters. We as citizens must be active citizens ~ caretakers of this wonderful land God in which God has blessed us. It's our responsibility to vote for good men. We have to push the Republican party back to stand for conservatism....or LEAVE THEM!
"A diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."
-James Madison
We must quit voting for self serving, weak kneed clowns. We've witnessed many battles loss because of representatives not taking a stand for what is right all in the name of getting along. The terms 'moderate', 'bi-partisan', are terms of turncoats. All their deeds are neither cold nor hot ~ lukewarm and cowardice. They will always blow with the wind and buddy, we've been enduring hard dark winds. We need strong representatives who can take them on.
We must each WAKE UP, stand our ground, not give an inch in this war against tyranny. We must start truly fighting battles daily and begin to TAKE GROUND BACK!
"You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments, rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws, rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe."
-John Adams
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
- Hebrews 10:25.
I became a Christian when I was thirteen years old. Much of my time as a Christian I didn't really like going to church. I don't really like church services. I don't really like church programs. I don't really like going somewhere to go say 'Hi' before the service and then 'Bye' after service.
Even though I didn't care for church in my youth, God gave me an outlet to still assemble with the brethren I didn't realize at the time that i was going to church because Christian Brothers Coffeehouse wasn't a church..it was a coffeehouse. It was a place where Christians met and actually fellowshipped. We were doing church without knowing it. I like to fellowship with fellow Christians. I just never cared for what most people call church.
I must be some kind of odd ball because most Christians I know love the church scene.
It was when I got married that I started 'going to church'. I'd been on the outside for a long time and God whispered to me not long after Gina and I married and moved to Bowling Green, KY. He said, I know you're okay outside the church, but your wife needs it. You're the head of the household and you will go find a church for Gina's sake.
Oh crap!
I didn't like it, but I knew in my heart that if I did what I wanted to do in this matter I would be being disobedient. So Gina and I started looking for a church. We eventually found one and I met many new brothers and sisters there. It ended up being a good time. No, I never really enjoyed 'doing church' but I always enjoyed the fellowship.
Gina and I moved back to Gadsden, AL when Gina was expecting Katie. We started attending the Vineyard here. We've been here ever since. The church is kind of an odd ball church. It's good for me because like I said, I'm an odd ball kind of Christian. Vineyard is filled with artists and musicians. It's filled with people who love to worship God, hear God, and follow God. The church like any church has it's faults (because it's filled with people), but it's a good place for me to worship.
There are still some days I don't want to go. Some days I just want to withdraw, stay in my tent and rest on the outskirts of town...away from people. I want to be alone in the dark cool cave of my basement. It's then that I hear a familiar small voice.
"Daddy, are we going to church today?"
I roll over in my bed and cover my head as God grins.
"Yes, we are going to church, you girls get ready."
This is a confession from a man who's been a Christian for 41 years. I often go to church because of obedience alone. I often go to church as a sacrifice. I don't like 'doing' church, but it's a wonderful experience to worship God corporately and then God shows up. It's a wonderful experience to be with The Body and lift each other up, pray for one another. Each week we enjoy God's presence together. I find that when I gather with the saints on Sunday, I am more connected to God throughout the week.
Come out of the cave David, I've got something for you!
There was a lesson I learned while Gina and I had our little clinic. We had many people who would come in for lymphedema treatment. Some fared better than others. Gina was with the patients at the clinic more than I was. She was the lymphedema therapist. Pretty much all of our patients showed improvement, but some showed dramatic results. I asked Gina why that was. She said that patients have to be compliant. If they refuse to do what they are asked to do, the results are never as good as they could be. Patients have to do their part. True, I saw patients from time to time who would come in day after day and do their part, they drank water, they exercised, they did what Gina asked them to do when they went home. We experienced incredible results, and what the patient was asked to do wasn't that much.
Then there were the patients who would come in expecting the therapist to do their thing. They didn't commit to the process of their treatment. Lymphedema is chronic disease. Those who have lymphedema not only have to work at getting the swelling down, but have to take on the responsibility to keep the edema down, manage for the rest of their lives.
Some folks came in expecting some kind of magical treatment that would take all their problems away. There's no magic pill, no magic anything. Those folks thought that they could just come, plop on the table, get treatment and not take any kind of ownership of their problem.
In life, if someone wants to do better, they have to be motivated to do their part. They must own their problems and be ever proactive. It's necessary that each person take charge of their life and do what is necessary to get to a better place. Some folks would just plop down on the therapy table expecting someone else to be responsible for their problem. When it came down to it, our problem wasn't there problem. Sure, we did what we could do, but we were limited many times on how far along the patient could get. Our slogan was "Reaching your goals together!" But what can the therapist do if the therapist is doing all the work? With Manual Lymph Drainage, it's up to the patient to get the most out of the therapy sessions. That's the patient's responsibility.
Many would just come and complain and make excuses as to why they weren't compliant. They'd say "I don't like to go on walks or do the exercise. I don't want to drink the water." The therapist would not ask much of each patient, but what was asked of the patient to do was crucial. Many were not willing to own their disease.
Therapy ended when the patient showed no more progress. If the patient wasn't compliant, the therapist would go as far as she could go and then discharge the patient. Once the fluid levels plateaued, there was no proceeding forward. Those who owned their lymphedema, always showed greater results. For those who didn't, we could only go as far as we could go. What can be done if the patient gets his/her edema down ~ to then opt not manage it from there forward? That's the patient's responsibility.
Most bad situations in life don't go away, whether the issue is physical, mental, financial or what have you. Almost all of our predicaments require ownership of the predicament. It takes personal commitment to overcome. No one can overcome trials for someone else. No one can help a person if that person doesn't own their own problem. Like I said, there's no magic. One must take charge of their life, be responsible for it, and do everything he or she can do to manage it.
Yesterday we had to put a new septic line in our backyard. It's nice to be able to have use of the downstairs bathroom again. Looking out at our backyard I see the earth turned upside down from the new line. Now we'll need topsoil, landscaping. It's always something.
I had someone come to the house tonight to look at my refrigerator. The ice-maker isn't working. Instead of making ice, it's only leaking water. We also need to replace a gasket that fell off around the fridge door. While he was there I told him that my washing machine was making a loud noise. It's working, it's just making a loud noise. He put it on spin and smiled. It's the bearings, you'll need a new kit. It's always something.
Everything requires maintenance. Things require maintenance. Places require maintenance. People require maintenance. There's always a need to fix things. Nothing lasts forever. To keep going, we must stay on top of things. We don't just own things, we must be responsible and maintain our stuff if we want to keep them.
Last week I dropped my GPS (that I've only used four times) after
charging it. It fell on the cement floor and the screen cracked. To fix it would probably cost as much to replace it. My wife gave it
to me as a Christmas present and it's not a need. It's just a want, peace of mind on road trips. It still works, so
I'll just use it till it can travel no more.
Three weeks ago I hurt my toe. It was such a small thing but I'm a diabetic and the toe quickly got worse. I've been tending to it daily, doing what my podiatrist tells me to do. I'm not sure how much a need a big toe is, but I didn't want to lose it. I've become quite attached to it after all these years. I've been back and forth to my podiatrist. Even though my toe is BLACK, he said that the tissue is still pretty and pink underneath, that I should be fine in a couple of weeks. I must learn to own and be responsible for my disease. I'm still praying for God to take it away from me, but I must own it as long as I have it. I have to maintain my diet, take my Rx and watch my feet. With diabetes, as with life in general, we must take care of ourselves, maintain our health.
There are things in life that we must do. We can opt not to, but we'll have to deal with the consequences if we don't. If we do what it takes to maintain, we'll last longer.
Take care!
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