Visiting Churches

We have been attending a church lately but don't know if that's where we will make our permanent church home. Last Sunday we visited Cornerstone Church of Knoxville. I have some friends that go there, and really wanted to try it out. Mrs. Dude checked the website and everything looked great. We showed up Sunday and the place was gigantic but we were immediately greeted and walked through how to check the children in and things went smoothly. The music was fantastic and we were really enjoying ourselves thinking this might be a great place to learn more about. Before the senior pastor took the stage one of the other members got up and talked about the importance of reading, and during his speech about buying some of the books in the bookstore he mentioned that this church ascribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Senior Pastor said the same thing during his sermon, so we decided to look into this when we got home. I was unfamiliar with the Westminster confession until I learned it was Calvinist. I am not a fan of Calvin but I still needed to know more about the whole Westminster thing. Turns out it relies heavily on predestination, which I do not believe that God chooses to send people to hell before he creates them. This removes all free will from the equation which is ludicrous. Additionally, this statement of faith believes that only certain infants who die go to heaven, and that the Pope is the Anti-Christ. I am no fan of Catholicism, but the Pope isn't the Anti-Christ.

When one of the members of Cornerstone called to ask about our experience we said that we loved everything but couldn't ascribe to that confession of faith. Long story short he defended his position for about 25 minutes before he admitted he did not know what the WCoF actually said. The conversation was always pleasant but there were a couple of times where we were told we needed to study the scripture more so that we would come around to believing God may have created me to go to hell no matter what I do. We pointed out our position based on:

Rom 10:9

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus {as} Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Jhn 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

These two, of many, verses show that your decision is important. I DO believe God knows whether or not you will reject Him, I DO NOT believe he chooses for you to reject HIM. We also said that if you plan to ascribe to this elitist narrow point of view, you should perhaps call yourselves Presbyterian since they are really the only folks that ascribe to these points of view. Sects of the Presbyterian Church broke away from the main branch in the early 1800s over these very points. At this point the member said "What about Job?" "God did terrible things to Job." This is incorrect God selected Job, but Satan orchestrates all evil, no evil comes from God. Sometimes he allows it to happen but he does not do it. It was a good conversation, I hope he felt as well about how it went.

Agressive Drivers Suck

On Monday evening I was taking my 6 year old daughter to ballet at 1615 heading South on Cedar Bluff road. I was in the left lane going 40 or 41 Miles per hour, speed limit is 40 here, and coming up on a car in the right hand lane going slightly slower than I was. 20 feet before I reached that vehicles rear bumper a green late 90's GMC jimmy with the license plate number 006-BDC, Knox County Tennessee, raced up on my right and cut in front of me. I had to get on the brakes to avoid clipping the vehicle's left rear and also laid on my horn. The young person responded by flipping me off to which my daughter asked "What is he doing daddy?" I said, " He is being very stupid." I immediately called the police and phoned in what this person had done. I hope he enjoyed the visit he received.

After Dropping off my daughter I needed to run down Kingston Pike and make a deposit at our bank. The speed limit on Kingston Pike is 45 between the two locations I had to visit and traffic was pretty heavy so people were going between 40 and 47 I would guess. I was, again, in the left hand lane going right at 45 while traffic in the right hand lane was closer to 40. There were easily three cars ahead of me going the same speed but well-spaced. About halfway to where I was headed a little red Honda something pulled right under my bumper and stayed there. He would alternate trying to destroy his hood on my trailer hitch with swerving to the middle turn lane as if he was going to pass me there. This guy had definitely seen too many movies with great stunt drivers and over corrected his swerving at least three times almost causing him to slide into the slower right-hand lane.

Why is everyone in such a hurry to get places. You don't get there more than two or three minutes faster even if you go your vehicles top speed. Being a good driver doesn't mean you go fast. I refer you to one of my favorite web pages: Click Here!

Discovercard Customer Appreciation

This is a great story about how big companies love to take care of their faithful customers. I have been a Discover cardholder since 1995. I used this card exclusively over the years for everything unless a merchant did not accept discover. Unfortunately, I never paid one dime of interest even though i would often have 3k per month or more charged to the card.

Two months ago, Mrs. Dude noticed an odd charge we couldn't put our finger on. We called to dispute the charge having done this many times in the past as some merchants aren't easily identifiable on a credit card statement. During the conversation the phone-monkey asks, "Do you want to cancel the account and have a new card issued?" Mrs. Dude responds "No thank you." At this point we are transferred to a different department and notified that our cards have been canceled. When we inquired why we get told "It's standard policy." We, calmly, point out that this has never been the case and if it is standard why were we asked if we wanted it canceled? This question receives no answer. It was almost midnight at this point so I decided to handle this from work on Monday. We had also been assured our new cards were being sent overnight to us. When I called to find out why these people ask a question tehy intend to answer for you, the smartass young phone-monkey says "Listen, you might be upset but we are just trying to protect you here." I asked "What did you do to protect me? The charge was disputed correctly and I was not reporting card or identity theft." He says, "We know a lot about this type of stuff here, it's complicated but in your best interest." I decided to let him know that I work with identity theft, PCI compliance, computer crime, and other nuances of his "complicated" world and that he could feel free to transfer me to customer service. I got a very apologetic guy on the phone who was friendly but helpless. He also informed me my new cards had never been sent out and corrected that issue. He asked what he could do to make it right, to which I gave my typical response " I want a plasma TV." He instead offered me 5% cashback on certain purchases. This is available to everyone and I already had that so he offered me nothing.

I am writing this because we have stopped using our discover completely and yesterday I got a letter that I was hoping was an apology. Instead it was a marketing letter saying how nice it was to talk to me and hey I could still get that 5%. I also just got this month's statement, instead of the normal thousands of dollars it was 1% of the norm, I hope they notice but doubt they will.

If anyone from Discover Card Service would like to respond please feel free to write captn.dude@gmail.com .

Hollywood Writer's Strike

Does anyone really care except for the employees affected by the fallout? I mean really, these people have churned out mainly filth for the past 6 years or so. I can't even let my kids watch daytime TV anymore because the commercials for prime time shows like "The Family Guy" or "How I Met Your Mother", or really anything these days, will come on and say something completely offensive in the middle of a children's show. Equally as bad, my girls were watching the "American Girl" series of movies one day and had to be subjected to Viagra ads. Try writing something decent and maybe the American people will care that you aren't getting what you feel you deserve. I need to get a Tivo or Microsoft Windows XP Media Center, which does the same thing for no monthly fee, so I can edit out commercials and program only shows that aren't vile.

What does a Jehovas Witness believe?

Do you know? This dude is brave, though he misspeaks about Lazarus, he meant "the rich man." Awesome job though.

What do Mormons believe?

Do you know? This guy's presentation gets some knocks from folks but his facts are accurate. Remember that many of these facts are actually kept from the body of the LDS church and they typically only know what they are told by the people higher up in the organization. The LDS church is not accepted as a Christian denomination by any Christian faith; also Joseph Smith was widely regarded as a con-man and treasure hunter when he decided, I mean had a vision, to start this church.

Great Song from one of my favorite artists

More from Dr. J.

Here are some more presentations from my favorite apologist. It is important to note that when he holds up a bible or references faith, he is speaking to believers. When he speaks to non-believers he sticks only to the science refuting whatever claims may be thrown at him. I am hoping he will soon put up one of his college presentations where he has open question and answer sessions with students and their professors who do not believe in creation, these sessions are amazing.

These videos can be seen in their entirety at the weblinks given below each. They will soon be available in better quality DVDs available for purchase at the Points of Origins website.

title : "Can a Cool Christian Chill with Evolution" compromising Genesis doesn't work
audience : private Christian middleschool science class
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/861673/
can_a_cool_christian_chill_with_evolution/

title : "Starlight and a Young Earth" why we can see stars a million light years away
audience : mixed ages at Indianapolis Creation Evidences Exposition
Part One : http://www.metacafe.com/watch/860489/starlight
_and_a_young_earth_part_1/
Part Two : http://www.metacafe.com/watch/861782/starlight
_and_a_young_earth_part_2/

title : "What's Wrong with the Truth?" evolutionary lies in high school biology books
audience : mixed ages at Indianapolis Creation Evidences Exposition
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/860424/
whats_wrong_with_the_truth/

title : "Alternative Views of Creation" smart-sounding ideas to make Genesis "fit" with Darwin
audience : mixed ages at Indianapolis Creation Evidences Exposition
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/865737/
alternative_views_of_creation/

Cool player

I posted last year in favor of these and wanted to follow up with some statistics:

The number of traffic accidents at more than a dozen high-volume Knoxville intersections dropped 17 percent last year after the installation of photo enforcement or "red light" cameras at those locations.

More importantly the number of total angle accidents - often referred to as "t-bone crashes" - were down 45 percent at those intersections in 2006 when compared to same period in 2005.

The camera-enforcement system installed pursuant to a contract with Red Flex Traffic Systems Inc. has also recorded over 62,000 separate instances of motorists running those red lights according to Knoxville Police Department Statistics.

The camera system became operational in April of 2006 and is currently operating at 13 different intersections.

"These cameras have cost the taxpayers nothing and have reduced crashes at the intersections where they have been installed," said KPD Chief Sterling Owen IV. "They've made our streets safer for the citizens who travel on them and have brought an awareness of driver behavior that we expect will have a long-term impact."

The complaints I have seen on blogs are hilarious. It's mostly guys not wanting to get caught with their mistress in their car. Other than that it's just President Bush's fault that these exist, which is hilarious since he's Republican and doesn't like big government.

Who is Al Gore?

How do you win the Nobel Prize the SAME DAY you are sued because your movie is completely inaccurate? I know FoxNews is a pretty biased source of information but the arguments in this article seem to be legitimate.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303525,00.html

Cheap Labor?

Can someone verify or refute this?

Tomatoes and Cheap Labor

This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent
From a California teacher school - - -"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say
free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was
already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener
and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and legal way.

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts childr! en
getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about
"politically correct" that we don't have the will to do anything about it. If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.

The Golden Compass

Nice, a movie for children where organized religion is the bad guy and they, children, kill "God" at the end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials:_The_Golden_Compass

http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

America's Next Top Model

How is this even a show? I stopped while flipping channels yesterday and the judges commentary is absurd and all the women look ghastly. Do we even need models anymore? I remember when models used to be hot and wore stuff people might actually buy, now they all look like weird painted toothpicks and wear crazy crap that no one would ever wear.

Let's Get "Expelled"

Presidential Dark Horse

So far, I like this guy. You can learn more about him here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RonPaul2008dotcom

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

The Clinton "Body Count"

This is too weird, and seems to be true:

The Clinton Body Count

Why be bilingual?

More e-mail I have recently received:

American Suicide

FOR THOSE OF YOU ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE FENCE, READ THIS AND LEARN TO UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS BETTER THAN EVER. FOR THOSE OF YOU NOT ON THE "CONSERVATIVE" SIDE OF THE FENCE, PLEASE READ AND LEARN A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT.

Wherever you stand, please take the time to read this; it ought to scare the pants off you!

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of America's finest minds and leaders.
A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Davis Hanson talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America.


The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that “An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.”

"Here is how they do it," Lamm said: "First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country." History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy."
Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans".

Lamm went on: Second, to destroy America, "Invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal.
That there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

Third, "We could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: "The apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together."
Lamm said, "(To destroy America) I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."

"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common Language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" --From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead! of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits; make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow.



Profound silence followed. Finally he said,. "Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson’s book "Mexifornia." His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America - take note of California and other states – to date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path especially The American Dream.

If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you. NOTHING is going to happen if you don't.

Modern Math

I got this from my Mom and thought it was pretty witty.

The Evolution of Math in the United States


Last week I purchased a burger and fries at McDonalds for $3.58. The counter girl took my $4.00 and I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding
the nickel and 3 pennies. While looking at the screen on her register, I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for
help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this; because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1960's...

Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1970
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?


Teaching Math In 1990
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math In 2000
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this
so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel
as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)

Teaching Math In 2007
Un ranchero vende una carretera de madera para $100. El
cuesto de la produccion era $80. Cuantos tortillas se puede
comprar?

Cool Creationist

Check this guy out. I went to one of his lectures and found him to be quite impressive.

http://www.crossspot.net/origins/

Universal Healthcare

I got this forwarded to me from a relative. I don't know if any of it is true but Hillary scares me to death and I thought it was funny.

This was sent from Canada to a friend in the States.



I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her
new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I
also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in
Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with
the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about
this great medical plan that we have in Canada.

First of all:

1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every
month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What
they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care
system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my
earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the
exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense.

2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more
like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick
enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an
operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on.
We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the
road.

3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is
to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is
causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is
more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for
Government re-imbursement

4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.

5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the
emergency room waiting for treatment.

6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it
required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay
$125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we
have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week.

7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a
waiting list . Died before he could get treatment.

8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no
more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your
case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears.

9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are
increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get
shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it
never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but
they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee.

10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she
is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care
system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk
that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they
are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in
Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should
reduce our health care costs.

11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get.

12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes,
junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by
law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would
be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player
or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else
in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to
spend money to get healthy.

13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax
payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no
premiums.

14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them
healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and
stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health
care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered but
the health care system.

I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the
states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down
there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make
sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food
for thought and informed questions to ask when broached with this
subject.

Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.

Subject: SCHOOL 1967 vs. 2007

Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1967 - Vice principal comes over to look at Jack's shotgun. He goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, and FBI is called. Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail; nobody is arrested; nobody is expelled.
2007 - Police called. SWAT team arrives. Johnny and Mark are arrested and charged with assault. Both are expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1967 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the principal. He returns to class, sits still, and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey is diagnosed with ADD and given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a learning disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is placed in foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself, and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1967 - Mark shares aspirin with principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called. Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. Car is searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given a diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1967 - Ants die.
2007 - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Homeland Security, and FBI called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates parents; siblings are removed from home; computers confiscated. Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Heather. Heather hugs him to comfort him.
1967 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 - Heather is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in state prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.

Taser Incidents

I wanted to comment on the taser incidents that seem to be headlining the news lately.

Let me start with the video I saw in some university library where a kid entered without his ID at the protest of one of the workers present. The worker followed procedure and called the cops, the cops told the kid to leave. When he refused he broke the law and was subdued with a taser. Perfectly justified and I think they should have used their capiscum spray as well.

The second video I saw shows a drunk woman not complying with a cop, so he zaps her. As she falls out of the frame he is yelling and appears to hit her again with the juice. Proceeding through the video she is completely violent once in the patrol car, so I assume when she went down the first time she was still being aggressive which, to me, justifies the second hit while she was down. While in the car she is trying to kick out the car windows, so she is removed and tasered again before being rendered unconscious. Once again, I think the officer was justified. He shouldn't have to put his hands on you if he doesn't want to and she should have stayed on the ground instead of trying to get up. Once in the car if she had behaved she wouldn't have gotten it again.


The last one is the University of Florida jackass at the John Kerry forum. He clearly did not comply with police when asked to calm down, sit down and shut up. I am a little jaded as I think anyone at a John Kerry forum should be tasered including John Kerry. Beyond that though this kid could have avoided everything that happened to him and he is accountable for what the officers did. I also think the phrase "Don't tase me bro'" was racist and that's why he got it so many times.

If police must cease the use of these devices I recommend they be allowed to start shooting people in the leg when they need to subdue someone.

Men's public bathrooms

The last five times I have been in a public men's restroom I have seen some shocking behavior. I am turning to my blog to plead with men everywhere to please observe some decency in these disgusting places. First, whoever keeps unloading his bowels everywhere I go and not flushing please start. What is the purpose of leaving that for all to see? I am assuming this is the same guys that pees all over the toilet and walls too. Second, I have noticed some men walking up to the urinals and dropping their pants (and underwear) to their feet to pee standing up. Boys, this is why we have zippers so please stop showing everyone your disgusting butt while you stand and pee. Please spread the word, and see the following vidoe for more etiquette.

Islam praying for a Democratic victory?

I heard a brief story on a radio show yesterday where some jewish guy was interviewing a bunch of terrorists. His book is called Schmoozing With Terrorists and I can't vouch for the validity of anything he said. I do think that terrorists would benefit from a Democrat more than a Republican but I found the context of what the guy was saying pretty funny. They had some excerpts of live interviews where he asked some of the terrorist dudes what they would do with Britney Spears and Madonna if they could actually rise up and take over. First they called them both prostitutes and said if they didn't convert they would kill them. While I don't advocate killing I do feel the need to point out to the terrorists that prostitutes charge money for sex, sluts give it away for free.

In a somewhat related, to Islam only, story I heard a dude sent his own video to Bin Laden telling him to convert to Christianity. It's about time someone thought of that. The guy's name is Bill Keller and he seems pretty widely disliked but hey, say what you want right? Here is someone else's blog entry summing it up, I particularly like the Osama/Usama reference made with regard to Obama:

An American televangelist has sent his own “convert or go to hell” video message to Osama bin Laden (by the way, have you noted how some of the big media is calling him “Usama” now… Rush pointed out the obvious earlier this week, they’re trying to get a little distance for Obama). In answer to bin Laden’s convert or else video, Bill Keller sends the following video response

..”Look at you, look at your life,” Keller says. “You live like a hunted goat in caves, totally dependent on a small group of people for your survival. At any moment, one of those you trust could betray you like Judas betrayed Jesus and your life would be over. The false prophet you follow, Mohammad, was poisoned to death by one of his wives.”

And a little straight talk about Islam

..”You followed the same path as the false prophet you have put your faith in – Mohammad – who, like you, was once a businessman, but who history has recorded was nothing more than a murdering pedophile who led men’s souls to eternal damnation with the false religion he created,” Keller says. “Islam is a 1,400-year-old lie that was born out of the voice of Satan – literally. Mohammad was correct when he stated it was Satan who initially spoke to him. He dreamed up his own god, Allah, a poor imitation of the God of the Bible, and inspired his own holy book, the Quran, a cheap imitation of the inspired, inerrant Word of God found in the Bible.”

Keller calls bin Laden a “coward” and a “tool of Satan.”

“There are no virgins waiting for you in Paradise when you die, only Satan and the everlasting punishment of hell,” said Keller.

Alright, there’s the lost condition, now, we need a proclamation of the Good News

..”The good news I have come to deliver to you is that you, yes, even you Osama, can escape God’s wrath. He loves you so much, that He sent Jesus to die for your sins, all of them, every last one! Yes Osama, even you can be saved and enter into the Glory of Heaven. Not some fictitious place called “paradise” with women waiting to have sex with you, but the home of God where you can find eternal peace and rest when your life on this earth is over.”

Regardless of what you think about Bill Keller, or his television program, you have to give him an A for effort. And, not surprisingly, the bullys at CAIR had already managed to get him tossed off the air at one station, a dhimmi affialiate of CBS.

..”I’m saying nothing now that I haven’t been saying for five years,” said Keller. “Ultimately, it was pressure by CAIR that intimidated these people into taking me off the air. It was not mutually agreeable. They told me they were taking me off the air, period.”

CAIR said it had asked earlier this month that CBS remove Keller’s nightly talk show. CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ahmed Bedier had told CBS chief Tom Kane as well as WTOG that he objected to the programming.

“In the hate-filled program, ‘Live Prayer with Bill Keller,’ Islam and Muslims are referred to in the most vicious and bigoted of terms. For example on May 2, 2007, host Bill Keller said: ‘Islam is a 1,400-year-old lie from the pits of hell. It’s leading a billion peoples [sic] to hell … those who follow this false religion will die and be lost for all eternity.’ On the same program, he also said, ‘The false religion of Islam is about hate, lies and death,’” the letter said.

“It is our belief that anti-Islamic rhetoric like that used in ‘Live Prayer with Bill Keller’ is exactly the type of language that is likely to incite hate crimes against the American Muslim community,” the letter said.

Inciting hate crimes? I don’t know about you, but Bill Keller’s rhetoric makes no difference to how I feel about Islam. Flying airliners into buildings, hostage taking of Christian missionaries, cutting the heads off of innocent people, stoning women to death, hanging “apostates”, slavery, and the whole ‘convert to Islam or we’ll kill you’ thing is more likely to influence a feeling of hate than any televangelist. After all, when the imams preach hate against the west and the muslims boil out of their mosques with their signs and their demonstrations, you have to be honest and ask yourself why do Muslims act this way, and Christians do not. I am always struck by the difference between Islam and Christanity, and I am reminded that God said “my sheep hear my voice” and “by their fruit you shall know them”.

Are you afraid of one little girl? (Barry Manilow)

I was reading my buddy Mike's blog and felt the need to jump in on this post he has. I, used to anyway, actually like a couple of Barry's songs. I cannot stomach these insane, petty, know-it-all celebrities anymore. Here are some articles that sum up my anger:
E! News

TMZ.com

CBS

MSNBC

These all say pretty much the same thing. Barry has canceled, or some sites say was canceled by the show, because he disagrees with Elisabeth Hasselbeck's opinions and thinks they are "dangerous." So if I do the math, there would have been four raging liberals and one little conservative girl. Wow those odds are poor for Barry, and wasn't he just supposed to be promoting his album anyway? When did it become a political debate? Why do liberals hate free speech so much, especially celebrities?

Shut up Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb came out with some interesting quotes on HBO's "Real Sports." First off that show is hosted by the somewhat racist Bryant Gumbel, see this post. Secondly, it was two very wealthy black men on a very popular TV show whining about their blessed lives. Here is the Yahoo article please give it a quick read. I agree that what Rush Limbaugh said awhile back was stupid but not racist at all. I also disagree that black quarterbacks are viewed any differently. I never give it a second thought and have never heard undue criticism of any of the QBs, black or white, especially McNabb. I HAVE heard McNabb come out and say something like this EVERY YEAR for the past two or three as his athletic ability begins to decline. It's similar to how TV and movie stars all of a sudden announce they are gay as their popularity wanes.

Movie Review (The Guardian)

I had wanted to see this movie since I first saw the commercials almost two years ago and just never made the time. I rented it last night from one of those $1 kiosks at Kroger which I think is a fantastic invention. Anyway, I finally grabbed it last night and started it around 2130 last night.

The cast is pretty star studded and I think that several of the instructors they used were actual coasties. I wish this would have been pointed out somehow. The cast was great and everyone did their best, but the movie is just not written or directed well. Several scenes come off as disjointed as they try to reel you in with Top Gun or Officer and a Gentleman type scenes. The scenes never seem to play all the way out before the director shifts gears to the next, usually unrelated, scene. Ashton Kutcher didn't suck near as bad as I thought he would and paced Kevin Costner, brilliant as usual, very well. This movie has enormous undeveloped potential to pay tribute to the coasties, who often go unnoticed. But really, what do you expect when you are in the Department of Transportation? I think the movie falls a little short and the ending was quite stupid. The movie has two endings wrapping up two separate story lines and both came off as goofy to me. One of the "endings" also seems a bit pointless but that's just me. They also did not do a good job of portraying how difficult SAR school is. That may have been the lack of athleticism on the part of certain cast members.

Unique to coasties the movie shows women attempting to become rescue swimmers. Female coasties must meet the exact same requirements as their male counterparts for this position. As a result, there are currently only three qualified females in the field. In other services females are either not allowed to serve in certain jobs or they are not required to meet the same physical standards. I like the CG model.

I do not recommend this movie.

The Captain's Travels

I spent the last week on the road for a family visit/vacation. I have one Grandmother who is very ill in Colorado and another in Kansas that had never met my children. We drove three hours to Nashville and flew 2 hours to Denver. We fly from Nashville because plane tickets are $300 cheaper if you are willing to drive a little. My son acted like someone who had just snorted ten lines of cocaine the whole time on the flight out which further reinforced my resistance to flying with little ones. He also LOADED up a diaper mid-flight which I had the privilege of changing in the airplane's bathroom. Do those really need to be that small?

In Denver we got to spend sometime with my Aunt, Uncle, Sister, and Grandmother. We had a pretty good time but spent the night in a different location every night. Monday we drove to Fowler Kansas to visit with Aunts, Uncles and cousins. The top picture is from Castle Rock Colorado and the bottom picture is from Fowler Kansas. From Fowler we drove to Hugoton Kansas to visit another Grandmother. GrandDad died in 2002 from Alzheimer's and she had never met the kids so this was a necessary stop. We spent one night there and then back to Denver for a final night with my sister before flying back on 09/06.

This was a busy whirlwind trip, but was still fun. We did rent a Dodge Magnum which on the plus side was nice and roomy and on the minus side looked like a creepy hearse. Now I am off to WV on Monday for the week.

W00T!

The WNBA

How is this league still around? I noticed today it was eating up some perfectly decent airtime for no apparent reason. I watched for about 30 minutes and was intrigued by how carefully the shots are angled so as not to show the crowd, or lack thereof. No one watches this sport, why is it on TV. Arena football has a bigger following! Don't get me wrong, I don't want to say they shouldn't be allowed to play, but do we have to pretend it's a major professional sport? I think most people just don't want to see women do these kinds of things. I don't know why people don't want to see women play golf, or basketball or whatever but that appears to be the case. Maybe it's that female athletes seem to lack some femininity or some crap. Anyway, get this crap off TV so we can have more MMA and football.

Little League World Series

Today I was trying to nap and turned on the Little League World Series. I do not like baseball so this was perfect for my nap. I ended up watching since they were in the 8th inning, little leaguers only play six innings, and Warner Robbins Georgia was tied with Japan 2-2. The Georgia team had just retired Japan's offense. Their lead off hitter blasted a 230 ft home run to win the game.

As is typical the winners began to celebrate and the losers began to cry. After a few moments of celebration the winning team turned and saw their dejected counterparts. As a team, with no prompting from any adults, they walked over and began hugging and consoling the team that had tried so hard but come up one run short. That is sportsmanship. Play hard, play fair, and win like a champion. So rare these days is the gracious winner; too often we see the stupid end zone dance, or the trash talking boxer, or some other stupid athlete who doesn't understand how fortunate and gifted he/she is.

If you ever saw Barry Sander score a touchdown, and there were a few, you got to see some class every time. When he scored, he walked over and handed the ball to the referee and ran to the sideline. Class act!

Barack Obama

I thought this guy was smarter than this:

Asked whether he would move U.S. troops out of Iraq to better fight terrorism elsewhere, he brought up Afghanistan and said, "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."

So, we just hunt and kill civilians? What a turd! This guy was all about a new perspective and fresh hope until he dropped in the polls, now he is just railing against the typical crap and saying stupid crap as quoted above.

Where is the ACLU

I was reading this article the other day and couldn't help but ask, where is the ACLU? These poor firefighters were MADE to participate in a gay pride parade. What a ridiculous double standard since they would never be allowed to participate in something like an Easter or Christmas parade. You can read their actual complaints here. This is not equality and goes beyond ridiculous. For the record, I also don't think people should have been telling the firefighters they were going to hell for being in the parade. The lewd, obnoxious behavior by the attendees seems pretty typical to me. No wonder we have kids begging their parents to get transgendered these days, look what we expose them to.

The Music I Miss

The guys weren't always classy but at least the could play and sing well.

"Dangerous" Dogs and their stupid owners

One of the neighbors behind me now has her son's pit bull. A few weeks ago, the dog broke through a fence and entered the yard of the neighbor beside me while her young children were playing in the yard. The dog did not move, just stood there. No sniffing, no tail wagging nothing. The dog owner's mother said "Just throw her over the fence." Forget it. Let me say I do not think pit bulls are the only breed that is not a good social animal, there are several. I singled them out since there is one near me right now. I will not call out specific breeds but will say it's pretty obvious when some guy/girl is walking a dog that is made to look intimidating with either a spiked collar or some other paraphernalia that shows his/her dog is a compensation for something lacking in the owner's life. Anyway, I keep reading all this CRAP about how some of these breeds are misunderstood. I disagree. I do believe some of these animals are kind and make good pets, but after debating one of their advocates on a message board they are truly blinded by their loyalty and simply like to argue.
I posed a question to a female pit bull owner "Does any dog have any propensity for aggression?" Her answer was "No, all dogs are the same it depends on how you raise them." I then asked "So, a hunting dog has no greater ability to hunt than a working breed?" She said "That's correct." This is obviously crap since a 10 week old weimaraner will instinctively "point" at bird scent or a downed animal whereas a working dog, say a german shepard, will not stop and instead approach whatever makes it curious. Some dogs will solve their issues by running away or compliance, others solve their problem by biting. Now here is the big difference. A Cocker Spaniel, and most herding dogs, is likely to nip to play or resolve issues it's an instinct. The difference is the size of the animal and strength to weight ratio. Also the dog's natural instinct once adrenaline sets in, please observe the following article:

What is gameness?

Gameness in APBT's is a canine virtue that is most akin to the human virtue of unflagging courage. It is determination to master any situation and never back down out of fear. It was developed in pit bulls by many generations of selective breeding. It is what allows a pit bull to keeping fighting non-stop for two or more hours, in spite of broken bones, torn muscles, blood loss, dehydration, and exhaustion. But it is also valued by APBT owners who would never think of fighting their dogs. It is manifested in the can-do attitude of pit bulls toward any type of challenge, whether agility competitions, climbing up trees, or protecting their family against an armed attacker, etc. Generally speaking, a game dog is an emotionally stable, easy-going dog, especially good with kids. Gameness should not be confused with aggressiveness. There are plenty of aggressive dogs that are not game, and there are game pit bulls who are not aggressive toward other types of dogs. Aggressiveness will propel a dog into a fight but will only sustain him for the first few minutes. Gameness on the other hand will not necessarily make a dog fight-happy, but if the dog has no other choice but to fight, a game dog will fight until it wins or dies trying, and will keep going as long as necessary. Gameness is an inner quality of pit bulls. There is no way you can tell by looking at a pit bull whether it is deeply game or not the only test--and for many years the main criterion for selecting a dog for breeding purpose--is actually fighting the dog to see how it stands up to other dogs that have likewise already proven their gameness in the pit. Dogs that are emotionally unstable, or that fear-bite human beings are generally not game. If you want a nice pit, you're generally better off getting one that has been game-bred. These dogs represent the truest exemplars of all the best qualities in the breed.

This was taken from here. Some would argue this is just an irresponsible breeder, I would say at least the person is honest and disclosing some traits of the animal. Back to my statement about the cocker nipping, when a cocker spaniel bites you it doesn't matter. At worst you will get four stitches, if one of these large strong working dogs bites you, you may need a prosthesis. That is of course if you survive at all. One of the sites I came across had a link to dog attacks by non-pit bulls. In the interest of fair reporting click here. The title is little misleading since it says :

The Dog Attacks You Won't Hear About...
Because They Did Not Involve Bulldogs.

She meant Pit Bulls, and you do hear about them as these were all from regular news sources just like they would be if it had been a pit bull. Finally, I would like to end with one more exchange from the Pit Bull owner/defender from earlier.
Captain Dude: "What about the Staffordshire Terrier, is it just as gentle as the pit?"

Ignorant defender:"No, that dog is a bully."

Captain Dude:"Thank you for proving my point that you are blindly loyal without looking at the facts."

These dogs come from the same ancestry and when dog fighting was banned in the United States, the fighting strain was labeled "The American Pit Bull Terrier" while the show strain of the SAME BREED was labeled "The American Staffordshire Terrier."

My Amazing Baby Boy!

Last Night (Mark Schultz Live)

Last night I went to see the Tennessee Smokies play the Montgomery Biscuits. I felt I would bring two moments from last night to the rest of the world. Moment one is pictured above, running bases with your zipper down is no way to beat the heat. Moment two was the concert after the show.

Mark Schultz is awesome!

Hear the truth!

I stole this from Mike's blog. If you don't agree go ask a communist country member why they all want to come live here.

Free Online Games!

Game of the Week

Baseball It is bottom of the ninth; rally your team to win the game with only 3 outs left

Play this free game now!!

Global Warming/Whining

This was in the "Perspectives" section of the Sunday paper; I felt it deserved being spread around, check it out. I have to say that I don't mid the idea of conservation, but we need to quit trying to vilify others and not be led by all these ridiculous hypocrite celebrities. Their goal is only to bash certain government figures and promote their own fame. If their goal were truly reform they would lead by example.

Jessica Davis has something to say about global warming and carbon footprints

Jessica Davis, Jess.Davis@alumni.duke.edu
Sunday, July 22, 2007

Tempting as it was to hear Jane Goodall execute a series of chimpanzee calls on the miserable failure dubbed “Live Earth,” I was preoccupied with offsetting the quarter million tons of carbon emissions created by the aging musicians and pot-smoking tree-huggers by leaving the television off. Our own beloved Al Gore, who boasts a carbon footprint 20 times the size of the average Tennessean, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, hosted the event.

Though Gore was armed with an almost cultish seven-point pledge he expected the world to recite and obey to combat global doom, the only planetary catastrophe that night appeared to be the ratings. Many hypocritical celebrities joined him in Godzilla-sized footprints and in offering tips to save the world from this “crisis.” As a fellow citizen of the world, I offer a few of my own, as space constraints will allow:

* The brilliant sage Sheryl Crow imparted a tiny nugget of wisdom on her blog:

“I propose a limitation be put on how many sqares [sic] of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting. we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit.” I suggest we heed her advice and lobby the federal government to pass and enforce such a law. Even better, in lieu of producing more toilet paper, I suggest Americans use a handy copy of the Bill of Rights. Clearly, it has passed its prime in this new era of forced conservation trumping individual rights.

* Cameron Diaz lauded the idea of showering together to conserve water. I propose Diaz head up the new Shower with the Homeless state program in California. Not only would water be conserved, but celebrities can feel good about sticking another Band-Aid on the homeless problem (like brand-new shopping carts).

* In order to conserve more water, “Live Earth” should have had the attendees at the Johannesburg concert bottle up the record snow that fell there the previous week, to which they attributed their low turnout. While I am suggesting these ideas at the peak of their irony, why not have them store the water in the thousands of plastic cups that the London concertgoers left behind across the stadium despite exhortations to deposit them in recycling bins?

* Presidential hopeful John “I’m a man!” Edwards could simply use 10 percent of what he pays for a haircut to purchase carbon offsets for the entire country of China for the next decade.

* Since energy conservation will render the world dimmer as the completely dark opening of Madonna’s act on “Live Earth” demonstrated (too bad it didn’t stay that way), crime will undoubtedly increase. Let’s put these new prisoners to work planting trees as “carbon offsets” for the rest of us. We should expect an array of convicts to come from Americans who defiantly refused to use one square.

Gore assumed exhibiting such a barn-door effort to raise awareness must lend truth to his argument of pending calamity. Never mind questioning the validity of attributing the slight rise in temperature to mankind and presenting the infinitesimal fluctuation as an imminent global destroyer, though scientists have found now that the sun’s current sunspot cycle is also heating up several other planets in our system that harbor no known SUVs. I guess, in science, general consensus equates truth — right, Galileo?

Jessica Davis has a B.A. in political science with a minor in military history. Her e-mail address is Jess.Davis@alumni.duke.edu .

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

Movie Review (The Good Sheperd)

I rented this last night at one of those new $1 per night DVD rental things they have in grocery stores now. This may be the best idea ever, I wish I had thought of it.

Anyway, this movie is about the CIA and how it came about. Specifically, they spend a lot of time teaching that these men (and women now) are truly patriots. These people will do anything that they believe is in the greater good of our country as a whole. This concept is particularly hard to grasp for most people. There is a belief out there that if people can all sit down with a cup of coffee almost anything can be worked out via negotiations and chit-chat. This is a ridiculous way to view the world and is simply no true. That said I am not condoning every action that any espionage agency takes, I just understand their intent. Back to the movie, these patriots sacrifice their bodies, lives, and families for what they believe is the greater good of The United States. The entire movie is acted out very well and has some definite Hollywood heavyweights that each deliver perfectly on-screen.

The bad news was the direction and screenplay. The time line of the film jumps too many times and does not remain sequential. If you miss one of the hard to read little notations at the bottom of the screen you will be confused quickly. It's also hard because Matt Damon just can't play a 40 something father with a 20 something child he simply looks too young. The only thing they did was change his glasses to make him look older. This was not successful but also no one's fault, he's just too pretty. There is also a scene at the very beginning and at the very that are intricately connected and I am not sure most people would understand what happened since they were sooooo far apart. De Niro tried hard but I think this movie could have had much more punch with some congruity on the time line and a little better light in some scenes. Perhaps some of the "personal" weaknesses of the main character did not make much sense to me either. Some of the indiscretions by Matt Damon were also odd and the reactions of his wife were weird since she had the same issues but whatever.

This movie is good but could have been great, go check it out

Movie Review (Live Free or Die Hard)

So John McClane comes back for on more (final?) round. We haven't seen Mr. McClane since 1995 but he hasn't changed much, he's still the baddest guy on the block. This movie is everything a Die Hard fan wants to see. Great pace with good actors combined with mass mayhem requiring a hero. Beyond that there is one particular scene where the camerwaork is phenomenal. In the beginning there is a shot that follows a "bad guy" as he jumps of a ten story roof and traverses some fire escapes down the side of the building in "urban ninja" style. The camera starts above him and swivels down underneath throughout one continuous shot, amazing work!

Now, for the negatives. I really had to dig for these but there were just a few things I though could have been done better. First the "hacker/hacking" scenes were mixed with actual screen shots and typical Hollywood auto cad drawings. The real thing would have looked fine. There were also a couple of scenes, one with McClane and several with the kid from the iCrapple commercials, where the lines they delivered didn't seem to have the intended affect or punch they needed. I'll have to watch the movie again but if I had to blame it on anything it would probably be either the score (music) or perhaps ambient noise in the scene drowning out the vocal inflection. I know it wasn't the actors as they were great during most of the film. Lastly, the same guy in the scene with the incredible camera work earlier was the victim of sub-par camera work in his final scene. His demise was also a touch anti-climatic for me.

John McClane is asked at one point why he does his job since all it ever got him was disowned by his kids, broke and divorced. He looks at the iCrapple kid and sums up today's society perfectly saying "No one else will do it."

This film is great, go check it out!