September 1st, 2010: Building the Ground Zero Mosque

I consider myself a Republican, a conservative. Yet I disagree with nearly all my Republican friends who are making the argument that we ought not to allow a mosque to be built 4 blocks from where the World Trade Center site. Most will begrudgingly admit that by the letter of the law they are permitted to build such a structure, but then they point out that by the letter of the law they are allowed to make it a living hell for them in order to do so.
 

So the first thing I want to get off the table is this. If you oppose the building of the mosque, SAY SO. Its like saying that whites in the Jim Crow era were in favor of blacks voting yet they were also in favor of poll taxes. Making someone jump through hoops means you oppose their action. Just because you not going directly against the 1^st amendment, that does not mean you are in favor of it.
 

I, unlike most of my Republican friends, am FOR building the mosque. I want the government to make sure it’s not any harder for the group to build that mosque than it would be for 1^st Baptist of Anytown, USA to build their local church in the heart of the Bible belt.
 

Let me be very clear. I am against Islam. I think it is a religion that follows a false god and leads people into hell. As a Christian, I believe the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ the savior of the world. Yet, I am in total support of Muslims here. It is their right via the US Constitution that they are free to exercise their religion in this country. As long as what they are doing is practicing religion and not things that harm the United States, should be allowed to do it.
 

A friend of mine, where I have heard line of thinking on talk radio says this is a “Victory Mosque.” It very well may be (though I don’t think it is), but never the less if it is a mosque which is sole purpose is to rally the faithful jihad in the Middle East, I say it still ought to be built. I believe the mosque is not very different from the church I go to, they will try to reach out to the community in hopes of converting people to their religion.
 

When we start limiting religious freedom, we are approaching a very slippery slope. Right now you might say it’s ok to stop a mosque from built in the shadow of the biggest horror in my lifetime committed by people of the faith, however perverted or not radical Islam is from a “correct” reading of the Quran is. My church is against Gay Marriage, if we try to build a new church in Dupont Circle, a part of DC heavily populated by homosexuals, should they be allowed to make it a living hell to build because we have values that run counter to their lifestyle? Point is, once you start limiting freedom of religion, where do you stop?
 

I don’t know how this became a partisan issue anyway. It’s not a partisan thing anyway. As a conservative, I want to conserve the constitutional value of Freedom of Religion, even if it is a religion that runs counter to mine that I believe helps send people to hell and some followers of used the banner of in order to kill thousands of Americans on the horrible day in 2001. It is  freedoms such that makes us better than our counterparts, let us not fight down to their level.

June 14th, 2010: The vuvuzela

After 6 months off, I come back to blog about something that has the world up by storm, the Vuvuzela. Don’t know what it is, it’s a 130 dB annoying buzzing sound that you hear at every world cup game this year. The South Africans play this thing till no end in sight. The talk is that they are so annoying they ought to be banned. Well I just want to say that is a bunch of hogwash. This is the way they enjoy the game. Its not my thing, but its their thing. If you don’t like it, turn the sound down, or wear earplugs.
 

They aren’t hurting anyone. The argument seems to be. “They’re so loud we must ban them cause we can go deaf.” It’s true they are loud. 130 dB is a lot. Remember it’s a logarithmic scale, so something 130 dB is 10 times as loud as 120 dB. I hate when people aruge like this. No one wants these things banned because they are worried they are going to lose their hearing. Those who fear that are watching the World Cup at home. People want it banned because it annoys them or in the case of some players it even makes their job harder.
 

Go figure, a home field advantage.  To make Africa watch soccer the same way Europeans watch soccer is shameful. Thankfully FIFA seems to agree with me. Mike Huckabee drew some heat for once saying in South Carolina regarding the confederate flag: "You don't want people from outside the state coming in and telling you what to do with your flag. If somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell 'em what to do with the pole."

January 24th, 2010: What Obama Needs

People on the right are arguing that Scott Brown won because Obama is trying to jam healthcare and other leftist policies down America’s throat and the American people are saying no thanks. People on the left are saying that Scott Brown won because the White House has a message problem, and that is the reason that Americans aren’t buying what they are selling.
 

The people aren’t buying Obama because Obama has been a loser. He has passed nothing. The economy is showing mixed messages at best. Only due to a malfunction in the bomb in jihadist underpants was a tragic terrorist adverted. Now, I am not blaming Obama for the terrorist problem, but it was a failure. The only thing Obama did win? The Nobel Peace Prize, which did not count because it did not pass the laugh test.
 

If you’re to be a successful leader, you have to have successes. Despite all the outrage you see on the TV, most people are not Tea Party advocates. They don’t hate the health care bill with every bone in their body. Still, most Americans are happy with their current health care, though they do have concerns with problems in it. Still, they are willing to listen to someone who is pissed who thinks it will hurt them. The last thing people want is a good system with problems to change into a horrible system, and that is what is being sold by the anti-health care advocates who have gotten their message out. It’s very similar to what Bush tried to do with Social Security.
 

So, Obama needs a win. He is not going to get a win with the current health care issue, so he needs to scrap it. The only win that will matter for 2010 is the economy. It’s not going to be fixed, but if the Democrats want any hope, they need unemployment to be clearly going down by November. Another possible win? Send the next terrorist we catch in the USA to a military prison, torture him for some information and then kill him. Just an idea.

January 17th, 2010: Domino’s New Pizza

When I order Pizza, it’s from Domino’s. Why? Well because its cheap and its at the end of my block. Plus, the domino’s near my place runs all kinds of local specials, such as a 1 topping large for $5.99, which just ended. The thing I get most often is the 3 medium 1 topping for $5.55 each, which they have all the time when a friend is over.
 

I used to tell pizza while the pizza is good, it’s not great. I don’t expect great, because I pay under $6 for a stinking pizza. Frankly, I think Papa John’s pizza stinks and it cost a lot more. Other places around here though have better pizzas for over $10, but its that, over $10.
 

Well Domino’s Pizza is still cheap, and now its great. They put this amazing topping over the crust, and it’s some of the best pizza I have ever had. It’s like going to McDonalds and getting a Sit-Down restaurant quality burger. So for my cheap fellow 20 something’s, go to Domino’s, its cheap and amazing. For you higher end pizza buys, get the new domino’s pizza, you will be surprised, a great pizza for well under $10.

January 15th, 2010: Rush and Robinson

First off, I want to say that my heart goes out to the people of Haiti and I pray for the those who are close to death even now, the friends and family of those who have died, for restoration to even what horrible lifestyle Haitians had before the Earthquake and lastly I pray that good comes from this and lives will be won over for Christ.
 

Rush Limbaugh out to be ashamed for suggesting to people not to send aid to Haiti via the White House because all it will do is make Obama look good and the money won’t get to the Haitians but rather stay in the coffers of the White House. This accusation is baseless, mean-spirited and in horribly poor taste in the midst of this tragedy.
 

It is well within ones right to suggest the government ought not to be spending money on foreign aid, even in a situation as dire as this. I don’t agree, I think Obama is doing the obvious right thing here and I approve of it. Still, its not un-American to take a position such as this, which is the feeling I get many in the mainstream press are trying to guilt the American people into.
 

This is not the position Rush was taking. He was saying not to give your private money. Rush, who I heard many times as a listener back in the day say that Americans are the most compassionate people on the planet, suggested that people ought not give because the Obama administration will benefit. Hopefully Rush clarifies his remarks at least, but his raking over the coals here is well deserved.
 

Pat Robinson has been being raked over the coals because he said the Haitian people are cursed because they formed a pact with the devil in order to free themselves from the French. All Robinson did was make a point that is often made when Christians do to Haiti on missions. I was told about this Haitian pack with the Devil and their Voodoo culture back when my campus minister want me to come on a short term missions trip to Haiti.
 

She wanted to go to Haiti more than any other country because of the poverty. I ended up not going but a team was slated to go back in 2004 but had to move the trip to Guatemala due to a coup d’état that happened shortly before their planned trip.
 

My point in bringing this up is that people who believe the whole pact with the devil thing don’t bring it up because they don’t want to help the Haitians. Actually it’s the exact opposite, they bring it up because they want to help. My campus minister brought it up to me when trying to persuade me to go to Haiti back in 2003, and Pat Robinson brought it up to try to persuade Christians in 2009. No one is noting that Pat Robinson brought up a number to donate right after he said these supposed horrible words.
 

This is just another case of it being ok and even PC to be a Christian, but if you actually believe it affects life today you are deemed some kind of a kook.  

December 16th, 2009: Bill Plaschke’s Bad Writing

Bill Plaschke is a sports Writer for the LA Times. His recent Op-ed is “The Tiger Woods story grows bigger, and juicier”  Basically, is a horrible conjecture that Tiger Woods has been using HGH because he looks big. And why does Plaschke come to this idea. Because of Woods adultery, of course. The man believes we are now free to question if Woods is a cheater in Golf because he is a cheater on his wife. He claims that a while back he saw woods from the back and he looked a lot like the cheater Barry Bonds. Yet, at the time he could not write about it because the story was not believable. Not that this has come out, it is believeable.
 

Woods used a doctor who is involved in the HGH business after an injury and claims that everyone who deals with these kind of doctors ends up being found guilty. What is sick is that people are piling onto woods sins he may or may not have done just because he is hurt. Woods approval rating has fallen from over 80% to under 40%. Plaschke is a fraud just like Woods because he would not call out an 80% approval Woods, but now he will at 35%. Either make your accusations at the time you notice them or don’t make them at all.
 

Don’t use one tragedy to be an opportunist to be in front of another. The NY Times did some good reporting in finding this link between Woods and the Doctor, now don’t go make your own conclusions in order to make a buck.