10/26/2007

Westboro Baptist Church puts the "dam(n)" in fundamentalist

This Group makes me sick.


Now they have been sued and are in court for attacking a fallen Marine's funeral.


I hope they finally get what's coming to them. Here are some examples of their disgusting version of free speech and freedom of religion.













10/24/2007

Pull Your Pants Up!!

I must be officially old. It drives me up the wall when I see guys (and sometimes girls?!?!) with their pants like this.

This is a funny campaign for a city to have to do on a billboard. I can't see this working though. At least Dallas is trying though.












Politicians and "Personal Faith"

I just read this article and thought it explained some things nicely.

10/23/2007

Boxer Blames Bush For Fire Damage

Barbara Boxer, (yes it was difficult just to type her name) blamed President Bush, (watch the John Gibson video here) for the widespread fire damage because there would be twice as many guard troops and equipment to fight the fires if all those guard troops weren't deployed fighting that damn war in Iraq (that she voted FOR!!!).

What a load of crap. I looked into the facts, here they are;

California has somewhere between 21,000 and 25,000 National Guard members.

Currently about 3,000-4,500 of those troops are "deployed".

That's mostly from one unit, the 1st Brigade of the 40th ID.

around 85% of the California guard troops aren't deployed. A logical assumption would be that around 85% of their equipment isn't deployed either, (though you don't use army tanks and howitzers to fight fires).

Barbara Boxer is an ingnoramus attempting to make political hay from a tragic diasaster. What a Neo-Scalawag.

Christian Heritage Week

Much to my surprise, governor Chris Gregoire has declared that this week (Oct 21-27) as Christian Heritage Week. The News report on it is o.k. though there is some careful wording at the beginning of the article which establishes some opposition to the idea without coming out and directly opposing it. Here is the text of her proclamation:


WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence declares that governments are to secure our
creator-endowed unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness;” and
WHEREAS, our country was founded in part because of the desire of people to have the
freedom to worship as they please;
NOW THEREFORE, I, Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of the State of Washington, do
hereby proclaim October 21-27, 2007 as Christian Heritage Week.

I appreciate this effort on behalf of Governor Gregoire.

Here is an example of Christian influence in the settling of Washington State. This was written in 1912. You have to page down to find the specific portion regarding Christian history.

Here are the current demographics of religion in Washington
The religious affiliations of Washington's population are:
Christian – 63%
Protestant – 29%
Lutheran – 6%
Baptist – 6%
Methodist – 4%
Presbyterian – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 10%
Catholic – 20%
Other Christian – 11%
Latter-day Saint; 3%
Other Religions – 5%
Refused – 6%
No religion – 25%

As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state, and its Christian population is the lowest of any state.

10/22/2007

All Clear!!

The Troll(s) have been identified. It was only a drill. It was good practice in the case of an actual Troll sighting or infestation. Let's go over the procedures again

1. identify the Troll(s) [they often work in pairs or groups, like wolfpacks]
2. give the Troll(s) a warning
3. begin shoveling up their feces [offensive posts]
4. enact security measures [turn on the comment approval button]

Thanks for the training to you Troll simulators.

reader comments will now be posted without delay.

Pets

A previous commentor accused me of hating cats back in the This Is Stupid post.

Anonymous said...
So... you don't like cats? Is that what you are trying to say?


Nothing could be farther from the truth. I love pets. Just last shift we had a fire where the home was pretty much a total loss. The residents were out of the area. We rescued their two cats from the basement after we found them while searching for people.

The cats were very scared, wet, hot, and one had the hair on his tail burned. Animal control would not come out to take custody of the cats until the next day, (the fire was around midnight). So we took the cats back to the fire station in the engine. I stopped at safeway on the way back and talked with the manager about getting some cat food. You see, we didn't have any money on us. So there I am standing in safeway at 2:00 AM wearing my dirty bunker gear asking the manager for a free bag of cat food. He gave it to me of course, (I paid him after I got off duty).

We cleaned the cats up, fed and watered them. The owners stopped by and retrieved their cats later. Many, many times I have seen the positive influence pets can have on people. They truly are a blessing on us humans. They give us an opportunity to put into practice stewardship over creation and can help lead us to a certain degree of faith and knowledge of God's love. Caring for another life and nurturing it can give us some insight in to God's care and nurturing of us. When those pets die, they leave us with a very real sadness.

A friend's pet recently passed. It was a cat and was so magnificent that it was named "The MagnifiCAT".

Here is a poem dedicated to pets and their owners.


Because I'm only human,
it's sometimes hard to be
the wise, all knowing creature
that my cat expects of me.

And so I pray for special help,
to somehow understand
the subtle implications,
of each proud miaowed command.

Oh, let me not forget that chairs
were put on earth to shred;
and what I like to call a lap
is actually a cat-bed.

I know it's really lots to ask
but please, oh please, take pity;
and though I'm only human,
make me worthy of my kitty!

Author Unknown

SOCAL FIRES!!

Hot dry Santa Anna winds are fanning the flames in Southern California. I'm glad I don't work down there. What a madhouse.

Some things I've learned in my short 13 years as a firefighter:

1. When you are driving code (red lights and sirens) don't expect people to yield the right of way.
2. Corollary to #1; When driving code, expect other drivers to do the most ridiculous and unexpected things with their cars. (I actually had a lady come to a complete stop in the middle of the road and put both hands over her ears while closing her eyes.)
3. Whenever you go to an apartment complex for a medical emergency, someone will come up to you and announce that they are the manager. Then they will ask you what’s going on. After you tell them it’s none of their business (by politely informing them that it’s a private medical matter) they will again remind you that they are the manager. Then you tell them “o.k. are you their doctor? Because they don’t need their landlord right now.”
4. Those curbs with the red paint that appear to say “NO PARKING, FIRE LANE” actually say, “Park Here IF You Are More Important Than Other People”.
5. In an emergency situation the general public makes SSD’s, SNAP STUPID DECISIONS. In other words, put them in a situation where immediately making a good decision is necessary due to an imminent threat to life or property and they will make a bad decision.
6. People don’t like to leave their homes, their pets, or their “stuff” behind.

10/21/2007

Blog Trolls

Sorry for the delay in seeing your posts. I have some Blog Trolls
(see definition 1) who have decided that making witty and or insightful comments aren't enough.

I will be very tolerant of opposing viewpoints and commentary. I'm not looking to simply have a blog where everyone agrees with me and or eachother. But when the opposing commentary begins to degenerate into simple baiting, name calling, dead horse beating, or defamation, I won't let it stand.

So on an interim basis, I will be approving all comments before they are posted. Don't sweat it though, I won't censor authentic comments simply because I don't agree with the idea. It just may take some time before you see your comment on the blog.

What did they know, and when did they know it?

Not sure what to believe in this whole saga. I just smell something "funny".