A story that didn't grow legs, but interesting just the same.

This past Monday, July 29, 2013, at a town hall meeting sponsored by the Wetumpka, Alabama Tea Party, with Congresswoman Martha Roby, an attendee posed a question to Ms. Roby in this manner: “What can you do to stop these communist tyrannical executive orders laid down by this foreign-born, America-hating communist despot?” The congresswoman answered the question by indicating that Congress was doing their best in their oversight responsibilities. In addition to being picked up by FreeRepublic.com, this story was also picked up by MotherJones.com and Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC. MotherJones is a liberal blog and we all know about MSNBC. The take by Andrea Mitchell and company on MSNBC was that Congresswoman Roby should have called the questioner down and indicated that his language was disrespectful to the office of the Presidency of the United States.

After reading the article on al.com, I did some research, attempting to unearth some of the vile things that were said by liberals about President Bush while he was in office. About ten minutes of research produced a lot of quotes, most by Hollywood celebrities. The vilest that I came across was from Michael Moore (Surprise! Surprise!) Here is Mr. Moore’s quote: "I would like to apologize for referring to George W. Bush as a "deserter." What I meant to say is that George W. Bush is a deserter, an election thief, a drunk driver, a WMD liar and a functional illiterate." Now I know that worse things were said about the former President behind closed doors and we all witnessed were posters depicting his assignation, portraying him as a Nazi, calling him a racist, calling him evil, and characterizing him is so many negative ways.

Having said all of the above, was what the gentleman from Wetumpka said, in referring to the current President of the United States uncalled for, mean-spirited, etc.? Frankly, I loved it! But just because I loved it, doesn’t necessary make it right or acceptable. So, was it or wasn’t it acceptable?

The gentlemen from Alabama said some pretty damning things about POTUS. Furthermore, if someone threatens the President of the United States, that’s considered a crime. When threating the President whether you plan to carry out your threats or not, you’re sure to find a black sedan occupied with men in dark glasses outside your house. Then that black sedan may follow you everywhere you go.

This southern white conservative Christian from Alabama is of the opinion that the gentlemen from Wetumpka could have chosen his words a little better. I also feel that he could have made his inquiry by expressing concern over the many executive orders that the current president is implementing without the labeling. However, so many folks are frustrated and scared because they perceive that this president’s financial policies will put our future financial health in jeopardy, and I’m one of them. We’re also having concerns about what kind of health care we will have access to as we get older. When I was in my twenties and healthy as a horse, I wasn’t concerned about future health care; but after having a few things “go wrong” as I got older, I’m now concerned. There’s also a plethora of other things to be concerned about regarding the policies of the current president; things such as declining moral values (Sandra Fluke as a role model for women of child bearing age) and freedom of speech and expression. Sometimes the frustration just comes out, and with this gentleman it did and carried over to all of the folks attending the town hall meeting. Yes, his words were very strong, but I gotta be me, so I LOVED IT and I’m glad he said what he said.

 

 

My Thoughts about Juries

Trial by jury is a bad system of handing out justice, but in this imperfect world, do we have anything better? That’s what I ask myself every time there is a high profile jury trial. It is what it is, but I’ve made the following statement many times. “You have your attorneys and experts for both sides, then you turn the final decision over to a bunch of morons.” That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

I was an insurance claims professional for many years and have been a witness to many juries; of course, with civil cases. Professionally, I haven’t had much to do with criminal cases, but a jury is a jury. Having sat in courtrooms observing jury selections, I’ve had situations where I called my superiors and said, “Let’s put a little more money on this one and cut and run.” In other words, this jury is not going to do us, the defendant/hated insurance company, any favors. And there have been other times, I’ve said, “let’s roll”; only to have the plaintiff attorney call me aside and say to me, “add $250.00 to you last offer and you’ve got yourself a deal.” A day in that courtroom is, of course, going to cost us a few thousand.

In spite of all the social engineering and political correctness that has been forced on us for decades, the picking of a jury is not a social statement; in that both sides are trying to get the best group of people to favor their clients. Of course no one ever gets their ideal jury; and as a result, anytime something is sent to a jury, you’re rolling the dice.

My friends from Alabama will remember the Guy Hunt trial in the early 90s. Guy Hunt was governor of Alabama and was indicted and prosecuted for allegedly using campaign funds to pay off personal debts. I won’t go into the details of the case, but when the jury was chosen, I just shook my head because there was absolutely no way a jury of that makeup was going to acquit him. The jury foreman was twenty-three years old and at that age, one is very idealistic and not really mature. Also, there were a couple of union people that would be against him. And last, but not least, there was a black public school teacher on the jury. The blacks were against him and members of the teacher’s union, the AEA, literally hated him. Sure enough, he was convicted and removed from office; but was pardoned by Alabama Governor Fob James.

Another instance involved the company I worked for in the 80s and 90s. We took a contractual case to trial against a company domiciled in Chicago. We would have been better off with a bench trial (in front of a judge), but the decision was made to get the facts in front of a jury. First of all, this was a boring case and I felt that the facts would cause the eyes of the jurors to glaze over, especially if some of the jurors lacked higher education. The trial took place in Chicago against a local company and we were the rubes from Alabama. During the entire trial, our CEO sat at the plaintiff’s table and took notes. Also, when it was his turn to testify, he lost his temper a time or two; or so I was told since I wasn’t at the trial. Even though this was a case we should have won, we flat out lost. A few of the jurors were interviewed after the trial and they all said that they didn’t like our CEO. Well, whether they liked him or not, shouldn’t have mattered, the facts were in our favor and the case should have been cut and dried on our behalf.

Having said all of the above, trial by jury is definitely not a perfect way of serving up justice, but it’s all we have and probably better than anything else that we can come up with. And when you’re boo-hoo-ing over a jury verdict that you don’t agree with, remember that in a criminal case, all the defense has to do is plant a scintilla of doubt in the minds of the jurors. If that happens, the jurors are not supposed to convict.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN...

Some time ago I was invited to a post football game party by a friend. While I knew a few of the folks there, I was definitely the outsider. In other words, everyone knew everyone else and the party was kind of clique-ish. Most of the attendees were academic elites; therefore very liberal/democrat, compared to me, the private sector/white collar/professional. Of course, I was drivel in their eyes.

The elderly gentleman that was catering the party and serving as bar tender was black, and I have to say that he made the best barbeque ribs that I’ve ever put in my mouth. Dreamland was his major competitor and his ribs were hands down better. Before dinner, while everyone was enjoying appetizers and drinks, some of the liberals in the group were talking to the elderly gentleman in what I would call “black”, “soul”, “ebonics”. To me it was quite sickening how they were patronizing this nice man.

After dinner and dessert, the attendees kind of went into their own little groups to talk about whatever. Because the person that invited me to the party made no effort to include me and make sure that I was having a good time, I was ignored. So, I sat at the bar and talked to the elderly gentlemen while he was cleaning up. I tried to help him some, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I talked to him like I would talk to everyone else and we had a very nice conversation which lasted for over an hour.

When he had finished cleaning up and packing up, the clique came back in and once again a few of the liberals started in on the black/soul/ebonics talk. The old gentleman has been dead for a while. At one time he did open his own barbeque restaurant and the times I dined there, I was treated like royalty. Of course, everyone was treated well because that was the type of man he was.  

 
As a republican, I don’t see things in terms of race because I learned from Dr. Martin Luther King that we should judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Do I think liberals and democrats will ever do this? We can always hope. But it’s been a generation since Dr. King spoke these words and they haven’t done it yet. Sadly, I doubt they ever will.

DOUBLE STANDARDS AGAIN

I was in Vestavia at lunchtime and chose to have lunch at one of the local restaurants. Because the restaurant was crowded, I sat at the bar. The TV was tuned into SEC media days, but the sound was muted. What was showing was pretty much all Alabama, which you know is fine with me. Then they showed a video taken in the early 60s of the fire hoses and attack dogs being turned on civil rights demonstrators, an event that happened over a generation ago that I will probably be reminded of for the rest of my life. It doesn't matter that things have greatly changed here and everywhere else. But just mention that you still have questions about what happened at Benghazi, and we're told that it happened so long ago (Sept. 11, 2012), it doesn't matter anymore. Can you just imagine what would happen to me if I said the fire hoses and the dogs didn't matter anymore because it happened so long ago?

IT'S ALL ABOUT DESTROYING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Nothing Else...

Those of you who keep up with current events are aware that a substantial portion of news casts and opinionated news programs are being spent on the Trayvon Martin killing case. Authorities in the town of Stanford, Florida had no probably cause to arrest George Zimmerman because the case appeared to be one of self-defense, pretty cut and dried. Zimmerman was eventually arrested when the United States Department of Justice, along with the White House, put pressure on Stanford authorities to do so. The case eventually went to trial where then jury found George Zimmerman not guilty. Now I’m not going to slog through the low level details of this case, it’s not the purpose of this post.

It’s what’s happening after the non-guilty verdict that has me concerned and it should have you concerned also. There have already been many rallies across the nation protesting the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman, most of which are fueled by activist Al Sharpton, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and of course, the White House. In addition to the aforementioned, Reverend Sharpton is sponsoring rallies in 100 cities across the United States this coming Saturday, July 20. According to al.com, there will be counselors at the rally here in Birmingham to administer to those attendees who are having trouble coming to grips with the verdict.

All of these people attending all of these rallies just for someone they never knew. People are killed every day in this country, maybe every hour; it’s a common occurrence. Of course, it's not anything to be proud of, but it happens; and when it does, we generally go on with our lives, shaking our heads and saying that’s ashamed. Having counselors at this rally is just bizarre.

Ever heard of Saul Alinsky? He was an American community organizer and writer in Chicago and is remember by most for his book, “Rules for Radicals”. According to conservapedia.com, Alinsky developed a method of local organizing that was widely copied by democrats and influenced Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. In fact, Hillary Clinton’s senior honors thesis was an analysis of the works of Saul Alinsky and the effect they have on politics today. Barak Obama also had a passion for Alinsky’s work and before he left Harvard, he wrote “After Alinsky Community Organizing in Illinois”. Under the tutelage of an Alinsky admirer, John L. McKnight, Obama says he got the “best education I ever had, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School.”

Again, according to conservapedia.com, Alinsky’s rules derive from many successful campaigns where he sowed the seeds of class warfare with community organizing, convincing the people that those of power and privilege were the root of all their problems. “Rules for Radicals”, according to Alinsky, was written for “have nots” to overtake the “haves”. His methods included, but were not limited to organizing the masses through appealing to their emotions, in other words, whipping up mobs for the purpose of assaulting the status quo.

What do we see that’s going on in this nation even as I write this? Al Sharpton and company are doing nothing more than “whipping up mobs” of those individuals who disagree with the not guilty ruling in the George Zimmerman case, playing upon their emotions. The individuals attending these rallies are sure to be plied with propaganda such as anyone who agrees with the George Zimmerman verdict and wants to put the matter to bed is a racist. What do you think the purpose of these rallies are? To mourn the death of a teenager that none of them know personally. Yea, right! No, the purpose of these rallies are to whip up the attendees, then send the attendees out into the communities to perpetuate these emotions. This is most definitely a tactic to divide the United States of America by whatever means possible because a house divided cannot stand. Just another method by which the leaders of this nation can continue their mission to destroy the United States of America as we know it.

My Thoughts on the Documentary "Obama 2016"

I recently saw the movie/documentary, “Obama 2016” at a theater near me. Before I begin to comment on the movie, I will disclose that I am a main-stream republican and a Regan conservative. I believe that “things” should be handled in the private sector or the lowest level of government possible. The government that governs least governs best. I further believe that individuals should be given the opportunity to fulfill their dreams without the burden of extensive government regulations, and should be able to amass wealth without having to turn over an oppressive percentage of it to the government. A rising tide lifts all boats. 

I don’t like the current President of the United States and there’s not one issue in which I agree with him. Although I was glad that he didn’t pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan the day he took over as President. 

This film didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know about the current president. Instead, the film confirmed what I already knew about him, but brought everything together from a different perspective. I’ve been scared about the future of this country for quite a while, and this documentary didn’t make me more scared. However, I consider myself very politically astute, opting to watch cable news instead of network television. As you can guess, my TV stays tuned into Fox News and I religiously watch Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. I also follow Rush Limbaugh when I can. So, there you have it; you can like me, hate me, or be indifferent to me. For those of you who know me, but disagree with my “politics”, I really hope you like me and know that I would welcome a debate with you on the issues at any time.

Dinesh D’Sousa, producer of this film and author of the book on which it is based, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage”, is from Mumbai, India. As a boy in India (born in 1961), young Dinesh studied about his country and the effects of colonization by the British on the Indian nation. Of course the Indian nation had become independent from British rule in the 1940s. Still, there were obstacles in India that would hold someone back from utilizing their dreams. 

Dinesh marveled at the opportunity that the United States of America offered and moved here; achieving fame and fortune. He even married a southern girl from Louisiana. I’ve heard him say that the fact that he wasn’t white was not an issue when he married Dixie Brubaker.

Well, back to the documentary, Dinesh approaches his conclusions about the current president fro a different point of view that most of have. He indicates that POTUS’ actions are the result of the dreams that his father had for ending all colonialism. Now most of us can’t identify with this, but Dinesh can, having grown up in India where independence from the British took place on August 15, 1947. Even though this was well before he was born, he certainly felt the effects of colonialism.

Unlike POTUS, Dinesh considered the USA the land of opportunity where hard work, dedication and perseverance can lead to prosperity. POTUS, on the other hand considers the United States of America the greatest occupier of them all. The entire world is a colony of the United States of America. The current president’s father was pretty much a communist and associated with like-minded people. And he was a fierce anti-colonialist. To fulfill the dreams of his father, POTUS’s dream is to put an end to the United States of America as we know it. Two ways of bringing down the United States of America include the extensive taxing, in some instances, at a rate of 100%; and the running up of debt. Well, he is certainly an advocate of high taxes and has certainly run up our national debt.

The above was pretty much the central theme of the documentary. POTUS has family out there that live in poverty, but that’s never talked about. He’s supposedly worth several million; so why doesn’t he try to help his family. We knew a lot about all of our presidents up until this one. The American people knew so little about him, but still elected him as their president.

During the campaign, I was particularly disturbed by his association with Bill Ayers, a radical member of the Weather Underground, who took responsibility for the bombing ot the Pentagon. Another association that surfaced in the documentary was that of Frank Marshall Davis, a Hawaiian poet and Marxist.

I first heard of POTUS during the 2004 Democrat National Convention. It was quite a dynamic speech and had the democrats slobbering all over themselves. I, on the other hand, was kind of disturbed. There was something about this man that made my antennae go up.

As I posted on my facebook page, POTUS is not portrayed in a tacky manner, the film is the result of the extensive research done by Dinesh D’Sousa into the current president’s background and gives insight into what this president wishes to accomplish. But no matter which angle you approach from, the outcome is the same. A second term with the president will render a country that is unlike anything we can imagine and all of our lives will be different from what they are today; and not in a good way.

I encourage everyone to make an effort to see this film. Whether you love this president, hate this president, or are somewhere in between, you should see this documentary. If you consider yourself a liberal/progressive and think that government should take a more active role in our lives, do you really want the United States of America to be taken down to that of a weak socialist nation? I don’t think you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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Reasons why Alabama should not be National Champions

A spoof, of course and in no particular order.
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Sean Hannity’s wife went to Alabama.

Alabama’s starting quarterback is white while the backup quarterback is black.

Division II team, Georgia Southern, scored 21 points against the Tide.

The April 27th tornado…because this tornado caused massive destruction in Tuscaloosa, some of the human votes to put Alabama in the championship game may have been sympathy votes. No tornado, no championship game for the tide.

Alabama did not “go” for the current president in the 2008 general election.

Star running back Trent Richardson only gained 96 yards during the game.

Alabama failed to score a touchdown until the fourth quarter.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, LSU was within two scores of taking the lead.

In the Associated press poll, it was not unanimous that Alabama should be number one, instead, there was just a majority.

The last three national championships were won by teams located within the boundaries of the state of Alabama; though some folks think that the team located on the eastern side of the state is actually in Georgia.

TV ratings were down for this season’s BCS Championship game. Obviously folks living in Eugene, Oregon, Des Moines, Iowa, Cleveland, Ohio, etc. might not have been interested in seeing two teams from the same division in the same conference, and heaven forbid, from the south, “duke it out”; even if those two teams were the nation’s best.

Here in the state of Alabama, a majority of us folks love our fried foods, our barbecue, think global warming “is a crock”, say Merry Christmas, are not ashamed of the fact that we adhere to Judeo-Christian values, think that marriage should be between a man and a woman, applaud Tim Tebow, and refuse to get rid of our pickup trucks, SUVs, and convertibles for smart cars, hybrids, and plug-ins.

The spot that Alabama got after the fake punt was questionable and we made it just by the hair of our “chinny, chin, chin. It could have been an entirely different ballgame had we not gained enough yards to have a first down.

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Again, these are the reasons that have come to me tonight and they are in no particular order. I may have more later and I'll post them. But in the meantime, RollTide RollTide! We're number one and that's that!

THE CURRENT PRESIDENT’S CITIZENSHIP STATUS

Ever since the current president of the United States became president, many folks have questioned whether or not he is a natural born citizen. His mother was citizen of the United States, but his father was a citizen of the African nation of Kenya. The current president claims to have been born in the state of Hawaii, which would make him a natural born citizen. However, to date, there has been no birth certificate produced.

The democrat governor of Hawaii, in hopes of putting this issue to rest, has searched Hawaiian birth records, but has not been able to locate a birth certificate for the current president. The only record of his birth is a notation in the archives that he had been born.

Call me a birther, a whacko, or whatever you want to call me; but the birth of this president is mysterious. I learned in American history in junior high school that one of the qualifications to run for president of the United States is that you must be a natural born citizen. That means that you must be born on United States soil or born on foreign soil to parents that are U.S. citizens. In other words, naturalized citizens cannot run for president. So, Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot run for president and neither can my boss. My boss’s daughters can. The oldest was born before my boss and his wife became citizens, but she was born in the United States; well, actually in Auburn, Alabama.

The current president was born in 1961 or 1962, hardly in the dark ages. So, the state of Hawaii should have a birth certificate for him if he was indeed born in Hawaii. Also, this president is pushing fifty. I can’t believe that he’s never had to produce a birth certificate for something in his entire life. Most people have theirs; a copy of mine is here at the house. Mr. President, if you were born in Hawaii like you claim, just produce your birth certificate. Snuff out all of this speculation, for goodness sake!

Bottom line, the governor of Hawaii can’t find a birth certificate for the current president, and the current president refuses to show us his birth certificate. It certainly appears that there is mystery surrounding this man’s birth, and it scares me. Who all is covering up for him? He deceived a majority of the American people who voted for him in 2008. Now, he appears to be gravitating to the center and may deceive others, as well A lot of folks think that something big is going to happen in 2012. It sure seems that we’re heading for that something, doesn’t it?

WHO’S THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE NATION?

As of this writing, we don’t know. The BCS Championship game is a week and a day away and we all know that the winner of this game takes home the crystal trophy plus a plethora of accolades. This is certainly not a perfect system, but it beats anything else that is feasible.

My football team was supposed to repeat in the BCS championship game for the second year in a row. Could we do a repeat? In the pre-season, everyone thought so. Who could possibly stop Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram, who would be splitting playing time with Trent Richardson, a talented young man who many think is a better runner than Ingram. There were some questions about our young defense, but with Mark, Trent, and Julio, we’d manage.

Now anybody that’s been associated with national championship teams, and I remember a few in my lifetime, knows that you have to be good and some luck is also associated with being the national champion. The ball has to bounce your way a time or two and it did for Alabama in the 2009 college football season.

Back to the 2010 Alabama team. As we all know, Bama will not repeat as national champions having lost to South Carolina, LSU, and Auburn. South Carolina considers its 2010 victory over Alabama the greatest in its gridiron history. Bless their hearts! Even after the South Caroline debacle, we still controlled our own destiny; but after losing to LSU, our hopes of playing for the SEC championship and eventually for the national championship were all but dashed. Following our third loss, a heartbreaker to cross-state rival Auburn, all we had left to play for was the chance for a ten win season. There’s something about winning ten games in a season that that labels you as a special team.

The Auburn game left me shaking my head about this team. It hasn’t been that long since Alabama was struggling to be considered above average. No one thought that we could bounce back after enduring devastating sanctions even with Coach Nick Saban at the helm. It seemed to me that the 2010 team was struggling to find its identity. The running game was a disappointment with Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson not having the performances that were expected. The defense was suspect, but kept us in some of our games. The defense improved over the course of the season while the offense seemed to stall. Much of the offense came from the passing of quarterback Greg McElroy and the spectacular receptions from wide receiver Julio Jones.

Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect from Alabama in its appearance in the Capital One Bowl. I kept having visions of the 2009 Sugar Bowl game against Utah where we were caught flat-footed and suffered an embarrassing loss. As a result, I hoped that Bama had learned its lesson and would be motivated to finish in style.

Was I surprised? Yes, I guess I was. Bama found its identity and played a spectacular game against the Michigan State Spartans, ranked number 9. Were we the best team in the nation on January 1? Yes, we were! Could we have beaten anyone in the top 10 on January 1? Yes! The running game clicked, the passing game clicked, and the defense clicked. We stopped their running game and we stopped their passing game. As the last minutes of the game ticked down, tears came to my eyes. While Greg McElroy, a truly outstanding young man would never suit up for Bama again; I have a feeling that he will have a presence in our lives for many years to come. Would this be the last time that Mark Ingram and Julio Jones would suit up for Bama? We’ll have to wait and see.

On the sidelines, Mark Ingram was grinning from ear to ear. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner is a team player and there should never be any doubts about that. According to Coach Saban, Julio Jones is the hardest working player that he has ever coached. Whatever these two young men, along with their families and coaches, decide regarding their futures, they are loved.

For the young men on the team who also work so hard with the expectations of getting at least some playing time in an Alabama uniform, we love them just as much. When their names were called late in the second half of the Georgia State game, we shook our heads and said, “never heard of him”.

There’s no doubt that if we had played against South Carolina, LSU, and Auburn the way we did against Michigan State, we would be in the BCS championship game. But as you know, we didn’t. In the real world, you can’t sustain that level at all times. To be national champions, you have to be good and you have to get a few breaks. There were a few times that the “ball bounced our way” last year, and there were a few times this year that it just didn’t.

Do I see more national championships in the not too distant future for Alabama? I certainly do. Will other young men step up to fill the shoes of Mark Ingram, Julio Jones, Greg McElroy and the others who will or may be leaving? Yes, there will be others to rise up and be the ones.

Now that Alabama has finished its season, I’ll sit back and watch the remainder of the bowl games with interest. A top ten finish for us would certainly be nice. But no matter what happens, we’re Alabama and it’s great to be from Alabama. I just can’t imagine being for anyone else.

REFLECTIONS ON 2010

2010, it’s been quite a year! From the BCS Championship game to being in the hospital thinking I was about to have open heart surgery to save my life.

On January 7, 2010, Alabama beat the University of Texas to become the NCAA football national champions. After being left beaten and bloodied by the side of the road to die as a result of the NCAA sanctions leveled in 2002, we overcame and became national champions for the 2009 season. While I didn’t attend the BCS championship game in Pasadena, I watched from one or my favorite places and partied into the night. This was truly a magnificent evening that will live in my mind forever.

I did, however, attend the Jimmy Buffett concert in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Jimmy did a concert to raise awareness and assist local businesses with respect to the explosion of the BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico. I was able to attend the concert and drop some money into the economy. My favorite singer at my favorite place! How great is that?

While both of the events have shaped my year, the highlight of my year had to be the attending of my high school reunion. Since I graduated, I had not been back for a reunion, nor had I kept up with anyone in my class. Well, attending the reunion changed everything. I changed from a somewhat “I didn’t like those people then and I doubt I would like them now” to someone who really loves the members of my high school class. They’re great people and I almost missed out on their friendships. But I didn’t. For those of you in my class, I love you and look forward to our continued friendships.

Another high point in my year came when I was re-united with my best friend from high school. She was unable to attend the reunion, but I later re-united with her at her Mom’s funeral. While this was certainly a solemn occasion for all of those that had been touched by her mother, falling in to my best friend’s arms gave me a comfort I can’t describe. We’ve vowed to never lose touch with each other.

The 2010 football season has been a disappointment; but when I think about those dismal seasons in the mid-2000’s under Mike Shula, I have to be pleased that we’re once again competing for championships and top-notch recruits. We’re ALABAMA, and the rest is the rest.

I guess the low point of this year was being admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. I guess I could have died, but I didn’t. Medication and a change of diet will hopefully seem me through. This little episode made me realize how import friends and family are, and that mine are the greatest. To my friends and family who helped get me through this, thank you!

2010 will be a memorable year and one that is bringing so many changes to my life. And they’re good changes. There will be some challenges coming my way in 2011, but with God and great family and friends, I’ll surely come through. “Thank you, thank you, thank God for you!

A BAD RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE

TV shows have been written around them. We’ve all had them, and we will continue to have them. There are certainly worse things that can happen to you, but for some reason they make us very angry; sometimes to the point of showing our posteriors. What are they…bad restaurant experiences and I had once last night.

Twas the night after the Iron Bowl and I wasn’t particular happy. When that game was over, I wanted a nice dinner to get a little bit of consolation. Also, this has not been a particularly good week, even though I love Thanksgiving. I found out that a dear friend of mine, someone that I have been friends with for a very long time, has an aggressive cancer that is in stage three. She will soon begin an intense chemo regimen.

Back to last night! Wentzel’s Oyster House, an old established Mobile restaurant, opened a restaurant in Tuscaloosa about a year ago (I think). I like the Wentzel’s in Mobile, although I prefer Felix’s Fish Camp when I’m down there. A friend of mine that went to the game with some other friends and I decided that we would try this newer Wentzels’s.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the parking lot was not full. While this surprised me, I was okay with it because this should mean a shorter wait. We were told by the hostess that the wait would be about fifteen or twenty minutes. To me this is nothing and I was again pleasantly surprised. For the wait, my friend and I went to the bar and found two empty stools. This where our luck started to run out. We had a chatty bartender and I was definitely not in the mood for “chatty”. I was in more of a mood to sit and brood.

We were taken to our table in the promised fifteen or twenty minutes, which was good. However, after we were seated, no one came to wait on us. The ones that were waiting on other clientele were running around with frowns on their faces and acting like they didn’t want to be there. After I was unable to make eye contact with any of them, I suspected that we might have been seated at a table that was not assigned. I also suspected that they were short of help. And that’s not good for what is sure to be a busy evening.

I was finally able to flag a young man down and asked if anyone was assigned to our table. He was nice and indicated that he would take care of us. Of course, we immediately put our orders in because we didn’t want him to get away and not come back. The young man, whom we later found out was one of the managers, appeared to be very capable and our food arrived in what I would consider a timely manner.

While the appetizer that we shared was decent, my entree, flounder béarnaise, left a lot to be desired. It was soggy and I question whether it was real flounder. It was supposed to be topped with a crab meat dressing. There was soggy dressing on top of the flounder, but I found no evidence of crab meat. The béarnaise sauce was bland and probably came out of a jar. The lettuce in my salad was primarily made up of iceberg and I don’t particularly care for iceberg, preferring spring mix or romaine. To top it off, the baked potato was a bit undercooked, and we all have experienced undercooked baked potatoes. My friend ordered the friend oyster/fried flounder combination and said that her food was overcooked and a bit tough.

When the waiter came back and asked if we wanted desert, we said no and indicated that we were ready for our checks. We didn’t complain, but were ready to get out of there and head back to Birmingham, When our checks arrived, we were given small discounts and that was nice. The waiter/manager indicated that they were indeed short of help because a number of the wait staff had been allowed to take vacation that day. That was a mistake, in my opinion, because the evening after the Iron Bowl would surely be one of their busiest days of the year.

While the above was certainly not a major disaster, it wasn’t the satisfying dinner that I was hoping to have after a disappointing afternoon. Will I go back there? Sure, I’ll give them a second chance, but that’s all.

I don’t think I’ve ever written about a good restaurant experience and I do have a lot of them. It’s always the bad ones that you remember and sometimes end up laughing about for months and even years.

Iron Bowl Memory

The year was 1980 and I was going to the game with my Dad. The game was still being played at Legion Field in Birmingham. Even though we had lost two games already, one to Mississippi State and the other to Notre Dame; we were good. I don't remember what Auburn's record was that year, but fourth year coach Doug Barfield was walking on thin ice. Alabama won. I don't remember the score and I don't think it was a real nail-biter.

We had parked at what was the old Big B Warehouse at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Highway 11/the Bessemer Super Highway. Walking to the car after the game, Daddy and I got to the intersection of Hwy 11 and Eight Avenue where a policeman was in the middle of the intersection directing traffic. We were standing right at the curb and there were some folks right behind us. The light changed for us to walk, but the policeman had not stopped traffic on Hwy 11 for us to cross. So, we were a little hesitant to begin crossing.

Well a couple of Auburn fans behind us started yelling for us to go on ahead and cross and said, "it looks like we're going to have to teach these Alabama fans how to cross the street." The policeman did stop traffic and we crossed. When we got to the other side I turned around to the Auburn fans and said, "You can teach us how to cross the street and we'll teach ya'll how to play football". The guys, who were cute, started laughing and said, "you got yourself a deal". They were very anxious to get rid of Barfield and talked to us for a minute or two before we went our separate ways.

In the car, Daddy laughed and said he thought for a second that I was going to get us in fight. Well, Daddy had to call everyone he knew and tell them about that.

Daddy's been dead for a while now, but that is a memory I will always cherish.

BEEN QUITE A SUMMER

No rental cars or westbound trains as Jimmy Buffett sings about, but a summer that I will never forget.

Not having kids, summer is just another season to me, albeit my favorite season because I like warm/hot weather and summer clothes. Well, I like pretty much all types of clothes. Back to summer, I generally do most of my vacationing in months other than the summer months in order to avoid the summertime crowds. So, I generally go to work everyday, attend local concerts, attend a Birmingham Barons baseball game, and go to a Jimmy Buffett concert, depending on his tour schedule. This summer was a little different, though.

In June I attended a high school reunion, the first one I’ve attended since I graduated. Like a lot of folks are, I was a bit apprehensive about attending; but after much deliberation, I decided to go. My decision was probably the best decision I have ever made in my life. I now have a bunch of new friends and acquaintances. I’m facebook friends with people I thought I would never cross paths with after leaving high school. I’m even planning to attend my school’s homecoming this fall. Are we talking about the same Nancy Graham? I really think my high school graduating class is great, and not very many people will say that. They’re really just good people and I’m proud to be one of them. There’s a few, of course, that I never cared for and still don’t; but we’re talking very few. And who knows; maybe if I had gotten to talk to them a little more at the reunion, I would have changed my mind. Anyway you look at it, going to this reunion has changed my life forever and for the better. Again, are we talking about the same Nancy Graham?

About a month after the reunion, I attended the event of a lifetime. My favorite singer in my favorite place…Jimmy Buffett in Gulf Shores. Getting everything together to get there took some doing, but we made it and ended up in a VIP section for the concert. Jimmy and his Coral Reefer band performed for free in an effort to get folks to visit the Alabama Gulf Coast following the oil spill caused by the explosion of a BP oil rig in the Gulf. The concert was broadcast on CMT with some of my friends and I actually getting on TV. The concert was great and the beaches were beautiful. There was a little bit of oil on the beach in front of the condos where we stayed. In fact, I picked a little up and squished it between my fingers. If my four friends had scoops and garbage bags, we could have cleaned it up in no time. But, of course that would have been strictly forbidden by the third Reich, I mean the USEPA.

Between 42,000 and 45,000 attended the concert and it was a site to behold. I’m so happy that I got the chance to be a part of such a historic event.

I’ve always acknowledged that summer is my favorite season and that I could easily live in an all year round warm weather climate. The summer of 2010 was long and hot, and made me realize I probably should stick to living in a place where the climate is seasonal. With actual temperatures in the high 90s/low 100s and heat indexes in the 110 to 115 degree range, I experienced a lot of migraine headaches and generally felt bad. Once the temps got back into the mid-90s, the headaches went away and I felt much better.

As a result of the oppressive heat here in central Alabama, I stayed inside a lot. However, friends and I did make one trip during these oppressive days. We traveled to Florence, Alabama to see Mac McAnally in concert. Mac has been named CMA Musician of the Year for two years in a row. He’s also the guy with the red hair and beard that stands just behind Jimmy and to his right while the band if performing. The concert, of course, was wonderful and we were able to meet Coral Reefer band members Roger Guth and Jim Mayer. Now, there are very few Coral Reefers that I haven’t met. Mac also remembered us from some of his previous concerts.

To most people, my summer would be considered a very “dorky” summer; but to me it was one that has changed my life for the better, making “old/new” friends and attending events that were not only fun, but made some lifetime memories.

Football season has now started and while Alabama certainly looked good in its opening game; the team has a grueling season ahead. Can we repeat? I’m not making any predictions. Life goes on.

Global Warming Rebuked Again

In an article linked by the Drudge Report to the New York Post online, the global-warming establishment took a body blow this week, as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received a stunning rebuke from a top-notch independent investigation. For two decades, the IPCC has spearheaded efforts to convince the world's governments that man-made carbon emissions pose a threat to the global temperature equilibrium -- and to civilization itself. IPCC reports, collated from the work of hundreds of climate scientists and bureaucrats, are widely cited as evidence for the urgent need for drastic action to "save the planet".

But the prestigious InterAcademy Council, an independent association of "the best scientists and engineers worldwide" (as the group's own Web site puts it) formed in 2000 to give "high-quality advice to international bodies," has finished a thorough review of IPCC practices and found them badly wanting.

In this article, several examples were cited such as the IPCC's claim in 2007 that Himalayan glaciers were rapidly melting, and would possibly be gone by the year 2035.

Global warming, now referred to as climate change in a lot of circles is probably the biggest hoax on mankind in the history of the planet. Al Gore and many other alarmists have insisted that "the debate is over," that the science was "settled." That claim is now in shreds -- though the grants are still flowing, and advocates still hope Congress will pass some version of the economically disastrous "Cap and Trade" bill.

About a year ago I was at some function or club meeting and commented that I would love to drive a Hummer...gas guzzling and environmentally challenged... just to spite the climate change alarmists. One of the folks that I was talking to said, "you're bad, you're bad". She was being good natured about it, though. I went on and she kept saying, "you're bad". Finally, I said, "I'm not bad, I'm good", and let loose about climate change and some other things. This lady then kept saying, "I didn't know that." She assumed without a doubt that the planet was warming and drastic measures had to be taken to save civilization. I told her to read my blog and do some research because there is definitely a strong credible other side; and she said she would.

This is Birmingham, Alabama, not Palo Alto, California, and still folks are duped about climate change. The mainstream media says it exists and so it must. I've run into a few other people who definitely believe there is climate change those that don't buy into it are somehow self-centered and think only of themselves.

Well, maybe this time we can "put a sock" in climate change and stop this viscious assault against the middle class that regulations to lessen the emmission of greenhouse gasses will surely bring. We have a long ways to go to get our country and our way of life back. Can we do it?

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE FEDS

For the last nineteen months, we have seen an attack on our freedoms by our country’s leaders. There has been out of control spending that has increased our budget deficits and the national debt to levels that will haunt our grandchildren and possible our great grandchildren. We see that our current president has indicated that the United States is not a Christian nation. The current president now says that it’s okay for a mosque to be built at ground zero. Further more, there are many proponents for Sharia law being adopted in the USA. I could go on and on, but you all know what’s going on here. Our current president appears to be an Islamic sympathizer as well as a socialist. Our country’s leaders want to impose their socialist/big government beliefs and principles on the American people. To their credit, the American people don’t want any part of this; and hopefully these leaders who choose to take us down claiming that the United States of America is a bad country will either be taken out or rendered impotent in the upcoming November elections.

Now I’m coming to the crux of this post. The federal government and our country’s leaders are doing some terrible things to the United States of America, as we know it. Can we take our country back and repeal these things the current president and our country’s other leaders have foisted upon us against our will. I believe we can, but we have to arm ourselves and be strong.

Michelle Obama has made one of her causes childhood obesity. Being obese as a child affects children in many ways. If you were obese as a child, you’re going to have the propensity to put on weight all of your life. You can diet and exercise and take the weight off, but it can certainly come back.

Before I started school, I was quite thin and picked at my food. I was a little bit sickly and had lots of stomach aches. My reluctance to eat made my family unhappy and I sensed this. I was told I needed to eat more. Well, guess what? I decided to do just that. If it would make the family happy and get them off my back, why not? So, I ate when I really didn’t want to and started putting on weight. Then when I became a chubby little girl, the family wasn’t satisfied either. To this day, I will never feel that what I do is right or good enough. Whatever I do will not be acceptable. Do I blame the family? Of course not! They were concerned about my well being and did what they thought was best. Do I blame my failures in life on this? No, I really don’t.

Childhood obesity can certainly cause problems, both physically and emotionally for the overweight child; and all parents should do their best to make sure that their children maintain a healthy body weight and stay in good physical shape.

But now, the feds are going to require that your BMI (body mass index) be a part of your medical records as well as you height and weight. These records will be accessible to the feds, so they will know if you’re fat or not by their standards. I’ve posted about this many times and I won’t re-invent the wheel. However, if you want the feds to stay off of your back with regards to body weight, perhaps we should all loose a little weight so that the feds will leave us alone.

While our country’s leaders were busy bailing out banks and automobile companies, many were struggling with credit card debt. To show that they were just as concerned about private individuals as they were about the large corporations, the feds implemented a program whereby they would assist you in paying off your credit card debt. Supposedly, if you have more than $10,000 in credit card debt, you could qualify for this government program. I never checked into the particulars of this because I was in the process of refinancing my house to pay off mine. I firmly believe that if the feds get their claws in you while you’re working with them to lower your credit card debt, they will never take their claws out of you. In other words, you will be a “marked” person and subject to federal regulations for the rest of your life. We bailed you out of your oppressive level of credit card debt; now you are ours. Could all of this possibly be a segway into the feds knowing about your level of debt and forcing you into their debt relief programs if your debt reaches a certain level? So, in addition to losing the weight, perhaps you should take steps to get rid of your credit card debt without fed assistance.

Also, a bill has been signed into law allowing for stricter regulations of financial institutions. As you know whenever the feds level new taxes and regulations on businesses, those businesses are just going to seek to find other areas to recoup what they have lost due to any new regulatory statutes. I was talking to a couple of friends the other day. One of those friends is a small business owner. She was telling me that even though you get you may get your deposit to the bank before 2:00 pm, your checks may bounce. In other words, in reconciling after 2:00, now results in banks clearing your checks before crediting your deposit. This can result in multiple checks bouncing because they didn’t add your deposit in before attempting to clear your checks. Banks are also being known to attempt to clear larger checks first so that they can bounce the checks for smaller amounts and charge those fees. So, I’m also recommending that well all keep a few thousand in our checking accounts as a cushion against the above.

So, three things that we can do to possibly keep the feds off of our doorstep would be to pay off or pay down drastically your credit card debt; maintain a healthy body weight, and keep several thousand in your checking account.

Now, the above are things that we all should do; but we should not be doing these three things because we’re scared for the federal government to find out that we may have problems with weight control, that we may be struggling with credit card debt, and living from hand to mouth with our income and expenses. If the feds were to find out about these things, they might try to help. Heaven forbid! When someone contacts you and says, “I’m from the federal government and here to help.” Run like hell!

WHAT IF I LIVED IN A LIBERAL STATE?

Earlier this week I read a NewsMax.com article that indicated that Alabama was the fifth most conservative state in the United States. The four that came in ahead of Alabama included South Dakota, Utah, Mississippi, and Oklahoma (I think).

Alabama has always been a very conservative state. As the current president says, “we hold onto our guns and our Bibles”. In the last forty-six years, voters in Alabama have only supported a Democrat candidate for president once. That was Jimmy Carter in 1976. I can go up to most people without even knowing them and say that we (the Republicans) have to take back the House and the Senate in November or the United States of America, as we know it is gone. I then can then indicate that we have to get rid of the current president in 2012. I have never had a stranger that I’ve said this to disagree with me. I do know some Democrats/liberals/current president supporters; and some of them I’ve said this to. They, of course, disagree; but it doesn’t take very long for me to argue them down.

Back to the title of this post…how would I fare as a resident of Massachusetts, California, New York, or any of the other predominately liberal states? Actually, I would probably be more politically active and maybe even aspire to leadership within the state’s Republican party. These states have some very strong Republican organizations. When I was a Young Republican, Massachusetts had some very outstanding Young Republican clubs. Would I get in trouble at times for expressing my opinion? Probably.

But I live in the fifth most conservative state in the country. As you can see from my picture and my profile, I’m a southern white conservative Christian. Several years back a friend of a friend who is very liberal, vacationed in the British Isles. When he returned, he indicated to me that he liked it because there were very few conservatives over there. I immediately asked him why he didn’t stay there. He then indicated that even though the southeastern United States was fully of southern white conservative Christians like me, he still liked it better here. I retorted that he had better think twice before wishing for us to be annihilated because southern white conservative Christians are about the only group you can make fun of and still be considered politically correct.

In connection with the gulf oil spill, I think the current president did set foot in Alabama, but I think most folks didn’t want him here. As I’ve said in previous blog posts, he doesn’t care about the gulf coast states. With the exception of Florida peninsula, we didn’t vote for him. So according to him, we’re irrelevant and useless, and that’s just fine with me.

My roots are in Alabama’s sod and I’m southern by the grace of God. I take pride in where I’m from and the in the values that are part of this state. It’s nice here and quality of life is very good. And it doesn’t hurt that our football team in number one (at least for now).