Well, my music career is going again, with new live performances and new recorded product.
Randy Mundy & The Mundy Mourning Blues Band had its 1st official gig Saturday night (10/10/09). We were the last act to perform at the Utah Local Festival of Arts held at the Masonic Temple in down town Salt Lake. We had to start almost an hour and a half late because the other acts kept getting pushed further and further back in the schedule. This was the inaugural year for this event, so the crowd was sparse, and even more so by the time we got on stage. Even so, we w3ere a big hit with those in attendance and the folks in charge of the event. They told me they were pleasantly surprised by the quality of our performance and found it hard to believe that it was in essence our maiden voyage as a band. They said that they hoped that we would agree to repeat next year and that they would create the evening around us making sure that we would have the optimum slot and venue.
It was great fun. I was excited to have the whole group there for the performance. The band included: Bob Bailey and Steve Coltrin on keyboards; Bob Bonham on lead guitar; Eric Manning on Bass; Glen Meigs on drums; Berin Stephens on Saxophones; Jim Breardon on trumpet; and Dave Wayt, Cassie Wayt and Lacey Jackson on background and harmony vocals. I think everyone is fired up and eager to play again soon. Our next official dates are the last two weekends in November for the Lehi Arts Council, but I’ve talked to some other people about other possible dates.
I also finished up and released my 6th CD of my original music. This one is entitled BLUE MUNDY (Part 1) and includes 12 of the songs I have been working on for the last four or five years for a Blues album. It is, as the title suggests, the first installment of blues CDs. It has been a long time coming, but I feel like the work put into it has been worth it. “Part 2” will, I hope make its appearance within a month or so.
I also have a new website up and partially running after a half dozen years. I let my old one, mundymundy.com, die because I hadn’t been active with promoting my music and art, but I decided to revive the site quite awhile ago and have been rethinking how it should be and what it might promote. With the new direction of my music and a renewed interest in doing something with my sculptures, I have started a new site called randymundy.com to promote both of my interests. I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Overwhelmed and Amazed
I am overwhelmed by the remarkable events over the past week or so. If you have read some of my political blogs you will know that I do not have good feelings for ACORN. I am not at all surprised to see that they are ready and willing to be involved in criminal acts such as helping possible under-age prostitution businesses get off the ground. Anyone who has kept up with their history of involvement in election fraud strong arm tactics of banks and businesses knows that they are a bunch of thugs preying on the poor and stealing taxpayer money. They have been in bed with the extreme left of the Democrat party from their beginning and have helped the extreme left to gain control of the party. The amazing thing for me is the fact that the general public is beginning to see it for the first time. Conservatives have known this stuff for a long time and have been clamoring for the government and the news media to investigate the ACORN. I suppose that the reason nothing was done earlier, was because the democrats in government have enjoyed a degree of success because of ACORN's actions and the mainstream media are not eager to report on anything that might hurt the prospects of their political heroes--liberal democrats in general and President Barack Obama in particular for, whom they have worked so hard to protect. Any questions are immediately chalked up to racism on the part of the questioner. But thanks to several brave young people, who were willing to go under cover and do the work that the media refused to do, the rest of the media is being forced to acknowledge, regretfully, I am sure, that ACORN may be rotten to the core. Their reporting has been late and minimal, with as much spin as possible, but I suspect that they will continue to be dragged kicking and screaming to report on it because of FOX NEWS' coverage and conservatives in general taking the story on with gusto.
The other thing that amazes me is the audacity of the the left leaning media and idiots on the left in general who call everyone who disagrees with President Obama's policies as racists. Every where you look, simpering liberals in the media and politics--Ex-president Jimmy (the cry baby) Carter, is a good example--are calling the growing grass-roots opposition to the federal government's growth and efforts to manhandle the constitution a bunch of right-wing racists. They would have anyone who might listen to them believe that those opposed to his (Obama's)health care and cap and trade initiatives and efforts to place non-congressionally approved Czars in control of more than 30 government agencies could not possibly be opposed because they simply think the policies are wrong. Because our president is a black man, they would say, you would have to be a racist to disagree with him--the fact that the policies are stupid and wrong could never be the reason. This, of course, is ridiculous. Of course, no intelligent and informed person could fall for that, and I believe they know that. They play the race card because it is their trump card, as they see it, and they count on their belief that the majority of Americans either uninformed and unintelligent enough to by it. And, you really can not blame them for trying. It seams to have worked for them many times in the past, including the last general election. But, I find solace in the fact that we have a growing conservative base who are beginning to come alive again and a few legitimate, fare, and honest reporters and media personalities--thank you FOX News, Glenn Beck, others--who are willing to do hard work. It makes me look forward to tomorrow. In fact, I have "Hope" that things will continue to "Change."
The other thing that amazes me is the audacity of the the left leaning media and idiots on the left in general who call everyone who disagrees with President Obama's policies as racists. Every where you look, simpering liberals in the media and politics--Ex-president Jimmy (the cry baby) Carter, is a good example--are calling the growing grass-roots opposition to the federal government's growth and efforts to manhandle the constitution a bunch of right-wing racists. They would have anyone who might listen to them believe that those opposed to his (Obama's)health care and cap and trade initiatives and efforts to place non-congressionally approved Czars in control of more than 30 government agencies could not possibly be opposed because they simply think the policies are wrong. Because our president is a black man, they would say, you would have to be a racist to disagree with him--the fact that the policies are stupid and wrong could never be the reason. This, of course, is ridiculous. Of course, no intelligent and informed person could fall for that, and I believe they know that. They play the race card because it is their trump card, as they see it, and they count on their belief that the majority of Americans either uninformed and unintelligent enough to by it. And, you really can not blame them for trying. It seams to have worked for them many times in the past, including the last general election. But, I find solace in the fact that we have a growing conservative base who are beginning to come alive again and a few legitimate, fare, and honest reporters and media personalities--thank you FOX News, Glenn Beck, others--who are willing to do hard work. It makes me look forward to tomorrow. In fact, I have "Hope" that things will continue to "Change."
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Day in My Life
My daughter, Heidi, tells me that she has a hard time reading my blogs that have to do with politics or historical in nature. She says she likes to read the ones where I tell about myself. So, for her and those of similar taste, I have elected to blog about what I do most days.
Today, like most days, I drove around Utah going from jobsite to jobsite checking to see how our guys are doing with the safety procedures we have put in place. Often, I will spend as much time behind the wheel of my pickup truck as I do doing inspections and writing reports. As I do this, I entertain myself while driving by switching from music CDs or audio books to talk radio. I spend several hours each day doing this and it allows me to listen to my mixes of my recent recordings—I am a songwriter—checking to see if everything is blended properly, that I can hear everything and that the result is pleasing to the ear. I t also allows me some rehearsal time, to sing along and get my lyrics indelibly inked into my memory—we (my band and I) are supposed to play at the Utah Festival of Arts on October10th and we haven’t been able to rehears as often as I would like. I will also occasionally listen to my favorite recordings from other artists. Today I went through a CD of my stuff and then listened to the latest Eagles CD, “Long Road out of Eden”—a really good CD, though I have to look past Don Henley’s incessant liberal political drivel in the lyrics of most of his songs and focus on the lyric musical structure and performance, which are as good as ever for the band.
The books on CD that I listen to are varied in nature. I have probably gone through 50 or 60 this year. I will often listen to novels for a while and then catch up on political and historical books that I have wanted to read. Through the past year or so, I have gone through all of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series—the ones released so far (11) and completed by Jordan. I have also gone through, again, the first seven books of Burroughs’ Tarzan series and the first 5 of his Mars series. I also did a couple Vince Flynn books this year—I think I’m caught up there. And, all of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series—I had read them all in paperback when I was in junior high school. There have been a number of other novels, but you get the picture.
When I get tired of the diversions of novels, I slake my thirst for knowledge by listening to histories of political books. I just finished a book by Thomas Sowell that I thoroughly enjoyed called “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”. Others have included: Glenn Beck’s “Common Sense” and “The Christmas Sweater”; Bernie Goldberg’s “Slobbering Love Affair”; Ann Coulter’s “Guilty”—I’ve read all of hers—she’s brilliant; Amity Schlaes’ “Forgotten Man”; Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism”: and Lara Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit”—better than the movie.
Though I have listened to a lot of books on CD, I am also trying to finish several books I have started—actually reading—this year and have by the side of my bed. One is a biography of General Charles” Chinese” Gordon of Khartoum fame, a very interesting read. Another is a biography of Winston Churchill that I barely got into when my eye caught the Gordon biography. I also started into Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics”—I enjoyed his other writings on other subjects so much that when I saw it in the library, I decided I needed to put the others aside for a bit read what he had to say about his main field. There were a couple of others on my night stand by Terry Pratchett—“Nation” and “Good Omens” that I finished quickly, both really funny. Pratchett has become my favorite writer for comedy—I have read almost all of his books. I am waiting with bated breath for his next Disc world novel, “Unseen Academicals” to be released, and I understand that another Tiffany Aching is in the works.
But, I digress… I was talking about what I do when I drive around during the day to keep my mind entertained, wasn’t I? The other pastime for me during my driving hours is talk radio. I have several shows that I try to catch bits and pieces of. I like Glenn Beck, but he is only broadcast here locally for an hour—the last hour of his three-hour show--in the morning (9 to 10). His show is later broadcast in its entirety at 4 pm, but I’m usually trying to get home by then, so I miss his show a lot of the time. I will listen to Bob Bennet sometimes in the early morning—I am usually out the door and off to work by 6: am. Laura Ingraham is also on the same station as Bennet and comes on right after him and goes to 10: am. After Ingraham, Dennis Miller—I find that I really enjoy Miller’s wit and he has some good guests on sometimes like Norm McDonald, Martin Short, John Luvitz and Dana Carvey, with whom worked on Saturday Night Live—is on for three hours. On the other station that has Beck, I can listen to Rush Limbaugh—he is still probably the most astute analyst of politics around—until 1:pm. So, until 1:pm, I jump around and listen to whoever peaks my interest the most at a given moment. After 1:pm I have the choice of Michael Medved or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I find that I usually choose Medved, because he knows a lot of history at the drop of a hat, but I’ll sometimes check out the Doctor at a commercial break to see who she’s ripping into for being a low-life.
So you see, besides my work that I do when I’m outside of my car or in the office, I have a really full day. I wish I had more time to fill with fun and educational brain candy. Now, wasn’t that interesting?
Today, like most days, I drove around Utah going from jobsite to jobsite checking to see how our guys are doing with the safety procedures we have put in place. Often, I will spend as much time behind the wheel of my pickup truck as I do doing inspections and writing reports. As I do this, I entertain myself while driving by switching from music CDs or audio books to talk radio. I spend several hours each day doing this and it allows me to listen to my mixes of my recent recordings—I am a songwriter—checking to see if everything is blended properly, that I can hear everything and that the result is pleasing to the ear. I t also allows me some rehearsal time, to sing along and get my lyrics indelibly inked into my memory—we (my band and I) are supposed to play at the Utah Festival of Arts on October10th and we haven’t been able to rehears as often as I would like. I will also occasionally listen to my favorite recordings from other artists. Today I went through a CD of my stuff and then listened to the latest Eagles CD, “Long Road out of Eden”—a really good CD, though I have to look past Don Henley’s incessant liberal political drivel in the lyrics of most of his songs and focus on the lyric musical structure and performance, which are as good as ever for the band.
The books on CD that I listen to are varied in nature. I have probably gone through 50 or 60 this year. I will often listen to novels for a while and then catch up on political and historical books that I have wanted to read. Through the past year or so, I have gone through all of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series—the ones released so far (11) and completed by Jordan. I have also gone through, again, the first seven books of Burroughs’ Tarzan series and the first 5 of his Mars series. I also did a couple Vince Flynn books this year—I think I’m caught up there. And, all of Ian Fleming’s James Bond series—I had read them all in paperback when I was in junior high school. There have been a number of other novels, but you get the picture.
When I get tired of the diversions of novels, I slake my thirst for knowledge by listening to histories of political books. I just finished a book by Thomas Sowell that I thoroughly enjoyed called “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”. Others have included: Glenn Beck’s “Common Sense” and “The Christmas Sweater”; Bernie Goldberg’s “Slobbering Love Affair”; Ann Coulter’s “Guilty”—I’ve read all of hers—she’s brilliant; Amity Schlaes’ “Forgotten Man”; Jonah Goldberg’s “Liberal Fascism”: and Lara Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit”—better than the movie.
Though I have listened to a lot of books on CD, I am also trying to finish several books I have started—actually reading—this year and have by the side of my bed. One is a biography of General Charles” Chinese” Gordon of Khartoum fame, a very interesting read. Another is a biography of Winston Churchill that I barely got into when my eye caught the Gordon biography. I also started into Thomas Sowell’s “Basic Economics”—I enjoyed his other writings on other subjects so much that when I saw it in the library, I decided I needed to put the others aside for a bit read what he had to say about his main field. There were a couple of others on my night stand by Terry Pratchett—“Nation” and “Good Omens” that I finished quickly, both really funny. Pratchett has become my favorite writer for comedy—I have read almost all of his books. I am waiting with bated breath for his next Disc world novel, “Unseen Academicals” to be released, and I understand that another Tiffany Aching is in the works.
But, I digress… I was talking about what I do when I drive around during the day to keep my mind entertained, wasn’t I? The other pastime for me during my driving hours is talk radio. I have several shows that I try to catch bits and pieces of. I like Glenn Beck, but he is only broadcast here locally for an hour—the last hour of his three-hour show--in the morning (9 to 10). His show is later broadcast in its entirety at 4 pm, but I’m usually trying to get home by then, so I miss his show a lot of the time. I will listen to Bob Bennet sometimes in the early morning—I am usually out the door and off to work by 6: am. Laura Ingraham is also on the same station as Bennet and comes on right after him and goes to 10: am. After Ingraham, Dennis Miller—I find that I really enjoy Miller’s wit and he has some good guests on sometimes like Norm McDonald, Martin Short, John Luvitz and Dana Carvey, with whom worked on Saturday Night Live—is on for three hours. On the other station that has Beck, I can listen to Rush Limbaugh—he is still probably the most astute analyst of politics around—until 1:pm. So, until 1:pm, I jump around and listen to whoever peaks my interest the most at a given moment. After 1:pm I have the choice of Michael Medved or Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I find that I usually choose Medved, because he knows a lot of history at the drop of a hat, but I’ll sometimes check out the Doctor at a commercial break to see who she’s ripping into for being a low-life.
So you see, besides my work that I do when I’m outside of my car or in the office, I have a really full day. I wish I had more time to fill with fun and educational brain candy. Now, wasn’t that interesting?
Friday, August 7, 2009
Randy vs. The Sprinkler System
I have lately been working hard on home improvements. We had been planning to do three important projects this summer: Install a sprinkling system, so that Karen would not have to continue devoting two hours every day to watering our lawn; building a shed, so that we can make more room in the garage—with some of Heidi’s stuff in there besides our clutter, we can barely get through to tools and the freezer; and build another section or two of fence to close in our back yard.
The plan was a good one, but it depended on money coming to me from the companies I work for apart from my usual weekly compensation. One third of my salary is paid to me in three installments throughout the year. The first comes after our first insurance captive’s spring safety audit, with the second coming after an autumn audit and the last coming at the end of the year. However, this year the first audit did not happen until half way through June and the total of the check was diminished by taxes and other withholding allotted for a week-long pay period. The result was a much smaller chunk of money than we thought we would have to work with for the summer. Nonetheless, we reevaluated our resources and chose our priorities.
We decided the sprinklers needed to be done as soon as possible, so we tackled it first. To be honest, I made several mistakes in the process of installing the system. To save money, we chose to do it ourselves. This was not in itself a mistake, but it would have been better if I had had better oversight by someone with experience. There were several brethren from our ward that assured me they would be glad to help and share their experience and knowledge, but they were not readily available for various reasons to join in when our window of opportunity arrived. We had gotten an estimate from one supplier—they required a map of out property so that they could figure the layout for us—but it was a little more than we wanted to spend. So, we went to another supplier to compare. They also needed a map, so asked Karen—she had produced the first one for the other company and had spent a good bit of time getting it very detailed—to do another map. This time around, Karen spent much less time on the map and it was not as detailed as we probably needed it to be—it did not show the front porch, and some of the dimensions were rough estimates. The price was better for the second estimate, so we chose it.
I knew I did not want to hand dig the trenches, because our dirt is extremely rocky, so I went to Home Depot and rented a trencher. I made the mistake of getting a smaller one, which broke down about ten minutes into the trenching process. I took the small trencher back and got a bigger “Ditch Witch” and started in again. The Witch was a better choice and dug well, but I did not remember the directions for getting the machine to operate with both-wheel drive. So, I spent the whole time struggling with the help of my sons, Tyler and Dylan, pushing and pulling on one side or the other to keep it on track—the two wheel drive would have pretty much done that for us.
Even with the trencher, there was plenty of hand digging trenches where the machine would not go and excavating under sidewalks for me to do. A couple of days into the project, some of the brethren from the ward eventually arrived to help out. They were very helpful in digging some of the last bits and showing me how to get under the sidewalks. They also got me started on putting the pipe together. The pipe went together pretty well, but because the map was not as accurate as it could have been, it became apparent that the count of the different sized elbows and other fittings we needed was not correct. Also there were several items that did not make it out with the delivered materials. So, I had to make several trips to get what I needed, often when the supplier had closed for the day, making have to go to Home Depot instead.
After getting all the system to the point of testing, a couple of times I would turn the system on and find a part that I had forgotten to glue. Luckily I had not started filling dirt back in yet. The project ended up taking us over two weeks. Then there was the problem of programming the timer. It has taken several attempts and several days to get it to come on when we want it to and to adjust the sprinkler heads to get the best coverage. We also had to go looking for some extra dirt to fill in some places. You would think that with all of the pipe and boxes we have placed in the ground that we would have plenty of dirt left over, but you would be wrong to think that.
At any rate, the sprinkler system is done and I am satisfied that I could do the job again and do it perfectly. But I really do not want to do it again any time soon.
The second thing on the priority list was the shed. We had enough money earmarked for the shed I wanted to do and a little left over to buy a new computer for Karen—the home PC she has been using for many years is on its last legs—so, we went out this week and purchased a shed kit and a new laptop. I have built pretty nice sheds from scratch in the past, but the location we had picked out for the shed would put it right up next to our neighbor’s fence and would preclude my having enough room to side and finish it properly. So, I decided I would buy an 8’X 10’ vinyl structure from Sam’s Wholesale that I could put together pre-finished. I plan to get on that shed project tomorrow. Wish me luck.
The plan was a good one, but it depended on money coming to me from the companies I work for apart from my usual weekly compensation. One third of my salary is paid to me in three installments throughout the year. The first comes after our first insurance captive’s spring safety audit, with the second coming after an autumn audit and the last coming at the end of the year. However, this year the first audit did not happen until half way through June and the total of the check was diminished by taxes and other withholding allotted for a week-long pay period. The result was a much smaller chunk of money than we thought we would have to work with for the summer. Nonetheless, we reevaluated our resources and chose our priorities.
We decided the sprinklers needed to be done as soon as possible, so we tackled it first. To be honest, I made several mistakes in the process of installing the system. To save money, we chose to do it ourselves. This was not in itself a mistake, but it would have been better if I had had better oversight by someone with experience. There were several brethren from our ward that assured me they would be glad to help and share their experience and knowledge, but they were not readily available for various reasons to join in when our window of opportunity arrived. We had gotten an estimate from one supplier—they required a map of out property so that they could figure the layout for us—but it was a little more than we wanted to spend. So, we went to another supplier to compare. They also needed a map, so asked Karen—she had produced the first one for the other company and had spent a good bit of time getting it very detailed—to do another map. This time around, Karen spent much less time on the map and it was not as detailed as we probably needed it to be—it did not show the front porch, and some of the dimensions were rough estimates. The price was better for the second estimate, so we chose it.
I knew I did not want to hand dig the trenches, because our dirt is extremely rocky, so I went to Home Depot and rented a trencher. I made the mistake of getting a smaller one, which broke down about ten minutes into the trenching process. I took the small trencher back and got a bigger “Ditch Witch” and started in again. The Witch was a better choice and dug well, but I did not remember the directions for getting the machine to operate with both-wheel drive. So, I spent the whole time struggling with the help of my sons, Tyler and Dylan, pushing and pulling on one side or the other to keep it on track—the two wheel drive would have pretty much done that for us.
Even with the trencher, there was plenty of hand digging trenches where the machine would not go and excavating under sidewalks for me to do. A couple of days into the project, some of the brethren from the ward eventually arrived to help out. They were very helpful in digging some of the last bits and showing me how to get under the sidewalks. They also got me started on putting the pipe together. The pipe went together pretty well, but because the map was not as accurate as it could have been, it became apparent that the count of the different sized elbows and other fittings we needed was not correct. Also there were several items that did not make it out with the delivered materials. So, I had to make several trips to get what I needed, often when the supplier had closed for the day, making have to go to Home Depot instead.
After getting all the system to the point of testing, a couple of times I would turn the system on and find a part that I had forgotten to glue. Luckily I had not started filling dirt back in yet. The project ended up taking us over two weeks. Then there was the problem of programming the timer. It has taken several attempts and several days to get it to come on when we want it to and to adjust the sprinkler heads to get the best coverage. We also had to go looking for some extra dirt to fill in some places. You would think that with all of the pipe and boxes we have placed in the ground that we would have plenty of dirt left over, but you would be wrong to think that.
At any rate, the sprinkler system is done and I am satisfied that I could do the job again and do it perfectly. But I really do not want to do it again any time soon.
The second thing on the priority list was the shed. We had enough money earmarked for the shed I wanted to do and a little left over to buy a new computer for Karen—the home PC she has been using for many years is on its last legs—so, we went out this week and purchased a shed kit and a new laptop. I have built pretty nice sheds from scratch in the past, but the location we had picked out for the shed would put it right up next to our neighbor’s fence and would preclude my having enough room to side and finish it properly. So, I decided I would buy an 8’X 10’ vinyl structure from Sam’s Wholesale that I could put together pre-finished. I plan to get on that shed project tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
One of My Dreams May Be Coming True!
I have been encouraged lately by videos shot of the response of some people attending various town hall meetings set by the Obama administration to sell his “economic” and “health care reform” plans. Apparently most people aren’t buying the crazy plans. The democrat congressmen and cabinet representatives are being blasted by unbelieving electorate. I say, “Wahoo!” Maybe the majority of the American people are begging to wake up and take an interest in what their government is doing.
I am also encouraged by the outrageous actions by some of the stupid actions of some of the more arrogant and clueless democrats in office and the unflattering media coverage their stupidity is getting. House Judiciary Chairman, John Conyers (D-Mich.) speaking recently at a National Press Club luncheon, commented on his fellow House members on the right side of the aisle wanting to read the health care bill: “I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill.’ What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” Then there is Barbara Boxer, US Senator (D-Cal.) trying to speak down to Harry Alford, CEO of the Black Chamber of Commerce, in a climate change hearing in a smug, racist manor in a climate change hearing, and having Alford ream her out for her efforts. And then there is Boxer insisting that a military officer refer to her as “Senator” rather than “Ma’am”—I think that is the customary polite salutation by the military towards women—because she “worked so hard to get that title”. And then again, there is Boxer claiming that people protesting Obamacare are obviously fakes because they were “too well dressed”. She knows this because when she went to Florida to wade into the 2000 Florida Presidential recount farce in behalf of Al Gore, the people calling for her to go back to California were dressed similarly. Then, she goes on to make the brilliant political observation that these people are just trying to “hurt our President and it’s to change the Congress.” Whoa, SENATOR Boxer, do you really think so? I certainly hope it is working. And the there is one of my favorite democrat mental giants, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal), who responded to a reporter asking if she thought there was agenuine grass-roots opposition to Obamacare by saying "I think they're Astroturf... You be the judge. They're carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare." Let us face the facts: Pelosi is NUTS! I am pretty sure that if there had actually been someone sporting "swastikas and symbols like that" they would have made to the nightly news.
There are literally too many examples of ignorance, stupidity, arrogance and out-and-out duplicitous and criminal behavior among some of the high profile democrats to catalogue in a short blog, but I encourage anyone reading this to search out comments and actions on the internet by the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Charlie Rangel, etc. and then find a good explanation for why these people keep getting elected. Granted, there are plenty of phonies on the Republican side as well, as can be attested to by the likes of Alaska’s Ted Stevens, Idaho’s Larry Craig, South Carolina’s Mark Sanford, etc. but they are now political toast and we can say “Good Riddance!” However, the former group of political stooges and malfeasants need to go.
Clearly, it appears that the democrats have been feeling pretty feisty now that they are in control and they do not realize that they have only gotten there because of two things: Firstly, because the conservative voters were fed up with the republicans trying to be democrat-lites and they sat on their hands—I am unable to find much fault with them on that count; and secondly, because the moderate voters and independents, who generally do not pay attention to politics at all until about a week before an election and depend on the left-leaning mainstream media for their news and information, do not realize who the democrats really are politically, and how genuinely stupid, inept and dishonest they can be. If democrats continue to expose themselves as the silly and corrupt leftists that most of their leadership truly are, and the news media do not cover for them, and a good conservative leader takes control of the republican party or a new conservative party, the democrats’ control of our government will be short-lived and there will be less damage done.
If the scenario I have described actually happens—the majority of Americans actually paying attention and voting as an informed and self-educated electorate—one of fondest dreams will have come true.
I am also encouraged by the outrageous actions by some of the stupid actions of some of the more arrogant and clueless democrats in office and the unflattering media coverage their stupidity is getting. House Judiciary Chairman, John Conyers (D-Mich.) speaking recently at a National Press Club luncheon, commented on his fellow House members on the right side of the aisle wanting to read the health care bill: “I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill.’ What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” Then there is Barbara Boxer, US Senator (D-Cal.) trying to speak down to Harry Alford, CEO of the Black Chamber of Commerce, in a climate change hearing in a smug, racist manor in a climate change hearing, and having Alford ream her out for her efforts. And then there is Boxer insisting that a military officer refer to her as “Senator” rather than “Ma’am”—I think that is the customary polite salutation by the military towards women—because she “worked so hard to get that title”. And then again, there is Boxer claiming that people protesting Obamacare are obviously fakes because they were “too well dressed”. She knows this because when she went to Florida to wade into the 2000 Florida Presidential recount farce in behalf of Al Gore, the people calling for her to go back to California were dressed similarly. Then, she goes on to make the brilliant political observation that these people are just trying to “hurt our President and it’s to change the Congress.” Whoa, SENATOR Boxer, do you really think so? I certainly hope it is working. And the there is one of my favorite democrat mental giants, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal), who responded to a reporter asking if she thought there was agenuine grass-roots opposition to Obamacare by saying "I think they're Astroturf... You be the judge. They're carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare." Let us face the facts: Pelosi is NUTS! I am pretty sure that if there had actually been someone sporting "swastikas and symbols like that" they would have made to the nightly news.
There are literally too many examples of ignorance, stupidity, arrogance and out-and-out duplicitous and criminal behavior among some of the high profile democrats to catalogue in a short blog, but I encourage anyone reading this to search out comments and actions on the internet by the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Charlie Rangel, etc. and then find a good explanation for why these people keep getting elected. Granted, there are plenty of phonies on the Republican side as well, as can be attested to by the likes of Alaska’s Ted Stevens, Idaho’s Larry Craig, South Carolina’s Mark Sanford, etc. but they are now political toast and we can say “Good Riddance!” However, the former group of political stooges and malfeasants need to go.
Clearly, it appears that the democrats have been feeling pretty feisty now that they are in control and they do not realize that they have only gotten there because of two things: Firstly, because the conservative voters were fed up with the republicans trying to be democrat-lites and they sat on their hands—I am unable to find much fault with them on that count; and secondly, because the moderate voters and independents, who generally do not pay attention to politics at all until about a week before an election and depend on the left-leaning mainstream media for their news and information, do not realize who the democrats really are politically, and how genuinely stupid, inept and dishonest they can be. If democrats continue to expose themselves as the silly and corrupt leftists that most of their leadership truly are, and the news media do not cover for them, and a good conservative leader takes control of the republican party or a new conservative party, the democrats’ control of our government will be short-lived and there will be less damage done.
If the scenario I have described actually happens—the majority of Americans actually paying attention and voting as an informed and self-educated electorate—one of fondest dreams will have come true.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Buyer's Remorse?
Is it not ironic that President Obama’s approval rating has been going down in recent weeks? I saw where it has now hit the 48% approval level. Buyer’s remorse is an interesting thing. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised that he would not be as bad as I thought he would be, but that hasn’t happened yet. Instead, he is just about as bad as I suspected he would be. What has surprised me though is the fact that, though try as he may, his federal health care plan looks to be stalling and the cap and trade plan is in similar straights. I guess we can thank some blue dog democrats for that. Appently, the democrats strategy of enlisting more conservative democrat candidates to run in traditional republican districts and states has not worked out as well as they hoped. It has given them the strong majorities they wanted, but the blue dogs aren’t playing along with the more drastic spending and taxing schemes cooked up by the Obama, Reid and Pelosi cabal. So that is a good thing.
But still, the rascals are in office and there can still be a lot of damage done in the next year and a half before we can take out the trash. The republicans are polling better at this point pretty much across the board, with Mitt Romney currently polling even or ahead of Obama and the democrats in Congress are polling worse than ever. I suspect that the democrat brand will continue it’s slide, if they continue on the spending and taxing track they are on. So what’s going on?
My guess is that the American voters, who were hoodwinked by the mainstream media’s used-car-salesman’s slight of hand and seduced by the prospect of proving to the world that they were not racists, and were caught up in the “Historical” moment of the “First Black President”, have recognized, as the Reverend Jeremiah Wright would say, “America’s chickens have come home to roost!” The bloom is off the rose, as they say. It should be obvious to anyone paying attention that Obama has shown himself to be every bit as liberal as his critics said he was. Those who were not really paying attention, or didn’t really think there was that much difference between the candidates and the parties—I was often of the same mind myself—are staring to realize that they really made a mistake, that jumping towards socialism is not a viable answer to our problems. At least I hope so.
It is, of course, a crying shame that we had to do this and waste four years of a presidency and possibly six years for Congress before we can get this country on the right track again. But, hopefully, we will get our stupid fantasy out of the way and come back to reality. If the Republican Party can realize that conservatism is the winning strategy and the answer to America’s economic woes, this last election will not have been a total waste. We had a similar situation during the Carter administration. We just need another Reagan and a new conservative contract with America.
But still, the rascals are in office and there can still be a lot of damage done in the next year and a half before we can take out the trash. The republicans are polling better at this point pretty much across the board, with Mitt Romney currently polling even or ahead of Obama and the democrats in Congress are polling worse than ever. I suspect that the democrat brand will continue it’s slide, if they continue on the spending and taxing track they are on. So what’s going on?
My guess is that the American voters, who were hoodwinked by the mainstream media’s used-car-salesman’s slight of hand and seduced by the prospect of proving to the world that they were not racists, and were caught up in the “Historical” moment of the “First Black President”, have recognized, as the Reverend Jeremiah Wright would say, “America’s chickens have come home to roost!” The bloom is off the rose, as they say. It should be obvious to anyone paying attention that Obama has shown himself to be every bit as liberal as his critics said he was. Those who were not really paying attention, or didn’t really think there was that much difference between the candidates and the parties—I was often of the same mind myself—are staring to realize that they really made a mistake, that jumping towards socialism is not a viable answer to our problems. At least I hope so.
It is, of course, a crying shame that we had to do this and waste four years of a presidency and possibly six years for Congress before we can get this country on the right track again. But, hopefully, we will get our stupid fantasy out of the way and come back to reality. If the Republican Party can realize that conservatism is the winning strategy and the answer to America’s economic woes, this last election will not have been a total waste. We had a similar situation during the Carter administration. We just need another Reagan and a new conservative contract with America.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Religion and Man's Search for Meaning
I have recently seen and heard reports about the state of religious belief in America that may seem troubling for Christianity. It seems that surveys reflect a down turn during the past two decades in some aspects of some Americans’ religious belief and adherence. One survey showed a drop of about 11% of people who claim a “Christian” affiliation. But, the percentage of people claiming to believe in God or a “higher power” remains roughly the same, around 90%. Some surveys show significant drops (between 5 to 8%) in membership in some of the largest mainstream Christian denominations, including Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal Churches, etc. Of course surveys also show some growth in extreme “spiritual” practices, such as paganism and wikka, but I doubt that that is where all of the Christian believers are going. Some of the American Christian denominations, which are considered by some to be less mainstream in their doctrine and practices, like Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Pentecostals, have continued to hold their own or grow during the same timeframe. Happily, for me, the Mormon Church—I must remind you readers, or inform you if you are unaware, that the actual name of the “Mormon Church” is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”—has grown about 11% in America and Canada during the past 10 years. Reasons for this, I conclude, are that we live in a time when people are questioning their traditional faith and practices and are seeking spiritual awareness and meaning for existence that the faith of their ancestors fails to provide them. If they are like me, they want to know the “Hows”, “Wheres” and “Whys” in respect to religion, and those answers need to stand up to logic as well as provide a powerful spiritual strength and reinforcement.
Last week, to celebrate our wedding anniversary, I made a short trip with my wife to visit a couple of our church’s older temples in the state of Utah. She had never attended the St. George and Manti temples before. It was a very nice time together to reflect on my spirituality and our thirty years of marriage. A few months ago, I participated in the last dedicatory service for the Draper Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I am anticipating the dedication of the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple in a couple months.
While listening to the messages delivered by some of the principle leaders of the Church at the Draper Temple dedication, I was again impressed by the simple and logical concepts of God and Man that I have embraced since becoming a member of the “Mormon” faith. Mormon doctrine answered my questions about who God is and my relationship to Him. It was their doctrine and practice that appealed to me and provided a religious and spiritual home, or would likely have found myself joining the growing percentage of Americans who believe in God, but do not affiliate with an actual church. I was a religious child growing up. When I was eight years of age, I was moved by a sermon at a Wednesday evening service and came to the front of the church when the call went out to be “saved.” It was a powerful experience for me. I received an assurety at that moment that Christ loved me and had atoned for my sins, that he was my personal Savior. As a youngster of about 10 and 11 years of age I would occasionally strike up conversations with my family’s Baptist minister and I often asked questions about God and religion—he once told my mother that he thought I had a “keen little mind”. My oldest sister and her husband were renting a basement apartment from the pastor in those days and on one occasion, when I had come by to visit; I found that I had just missed her. So, I took the opportunity to have one of my religious discussions with the Reverend. I asked him a question had been on my mind as of late: What happens to people who are born in places or times in history where they have no opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ? He responded that anyone who does not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior (become “Saved”) will go to Hell. I was thunder struck. I thought, “This does not compute!” How could a loving and just God penalize one of his supposed children or creations to an eternity of torment for something completely out of their control? Of course, this idea seemed ludicrous to me, and as I thought about it since, I am sure it seems crazy to most right-thinking people. No wonder people turn away from such doctrine when family pressure and traditions become less influential in society. Having said that, I must add that it is not my intention to insult anyone of such religious persuasion, and who holds to such doctrine. I know many people, even beloved extended family who adheres to such, whom I know to be good, loving people, who try every day to live according to the Gospel of Christ, as they understand it.
Probably within a few months of my conversation with the pastor, as I recall, my uncle, Leonard Nicolay, joined the “Mormon Church.” He underwent a wonderful change. He had been a generally worldly man, as I recall, but had become dynamo of missionary zeal and approached all of his family and friends about his new faith. His approach was rejected by the majority of his many siblings, but his mother and father followed him into the Church and my own mother (his sister) agreed to listen to the Mormon missionary discussions. This caused great distress for many in the family, both among my mother’s five sisters and among my two older sisters. I had no initial interest in joining a new church at that point—I actually had begun to feel, like my father and older brother, that going to church was not really necessary—but as I listened to the discussions the missionaries presented, I found that they were actually answering many of the questions that had begun to trouble me about God and Man.
The Elders, as they were called, opened the Bible and showed me where I came from, why I was here, and where I was going after this life. I learned that I was literally a spirit son of God and that, as his son, I stood to inherit all that he had if I lived according to his commandments. I learned that because I lived with him in a pre-mortal existence and was a witness and party to the planning and creations of the Heavens and Earth, I had free agency given me to participate in humanity’s mortal quest on the Earth: to gain a mortal body; to learn to live by faith; and gain the knowledge necessary to become like my Father in Heaven. This idea of free agency or free will is paramount when one tries to understand the judgments of God. Without free will we could neither sin nor do good. If we were to be judged for things we have no control over, we have no free will and the judge, God, offers no justice. God must be just to be God and make righteous judgments.
I came to realize that these concepts were familiar to me, like things that I had known all along, but did not have the references for to make them my life’s faith. I also learned that Jesus Christ was literally God the Father’s Son, as the Bible clearly teaches, not some weird personification of the Father, as is taught by much of mainstream Christianity. In essence, Jesus was not doing a ventriloquist act when it was announced from Heaven to John the Baptist at Jesus’ baptism at the Jordon River, “This is My Beloved Son.” Jesus was a literal son of the spirit—making Him our Brother—as “the only begotten Son of God” in the flesh. He was a perfect man and lived a perfect life and with the physical attributes of his mortal mother, Mary, He had the capacity to experience pain and death, and with the attributes of His immortal Father, he had power over death.
I also learned that if we live on this world at times and places where the Gospel for Christ cannot reach our ears, we are allowed the opportunity to be taught it in the spirit world where we all wait for the resurrection. That we will be resurrected with perfect immortal bodies like the Father and the Son both have at this point. These and many other doctrines and teachings, such as baptism for the dead, degrees of glory in the resurrection and eternal marriage are to be found in the scriptures for us to read and understand, however tradition and prejudice prevent most of us from understanding them.
It is therefore understandable to me why there seems to be growing disinterest in most traditional mainstream Christian sects, or what is considered by many to be organized religion. And, it is easy for me to appreciate why some other lesser known faiths, such my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are growing in membership and influence. My study of traditional Christianity today affirms my findings from my research into the ancient Church that Christ established. There is little resemblance except within the Mormon Church today. Mankind, to some extent, is thinking more and not leaning as much on traditional ideas. They want something that is intrinsically logical and makes them want to be better people. Also, a religion must, as the Prophet Joseph Smith affirmed, require sacrifice of its adherents to create the faith necessary for them to progress and obtain salvation. I believe people need and want meaning in life. They want to know why they are here. They want to know that they have choices and freedom. It is a powerful heady feeling that you can be whatever you want to be, and people, if they have not had that innate Heavenly spark removed from them by traditions and degrading life choices, are willing to sacrifice whatever it might take to obtain it.
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