Community?

Checking out the Drudge Report I came across a link to the following story. Titled, Man Lay dead in bed for two years, the Toronto Star reports the story of a man who died in bed of apparent natural causes. Because all his bills were being paid by an automatic withdrawal, and a pension check was deposited monthly, no apartment management was aware of the mans death. Check the article here.



Which makes me think. . . . .

What does this say about our communal lives? A man died and no one knew for two years. His neighbors didn't question his absence. The postal service didn't ask about the filled mailbox. Family had lost contact years earlier.

From the article:

"Marcel Baril, executive director of the Family Centre in Winnipeg, called the situation bizarre and sad. "It's odd that we live in a society where technology can take care of our affairs like that, even if we passed away two years ago, and nobody's noticed.""

I think it's more an oddity that a man was living such a non-communal life that no one noticed his 2-year absence. How many people live lives similar to this man? What were his last days like? How long did he live in solitude? How many others walk the earth not knowing relationship?

What Kerry Supports

Here's a list of groups John Kerry supports.


The KKK
The Nazi Party of America
The American Communist Party
The North American Man Boy Love Association


I mean, given his own rational he obviously supports anything he doesn't openly condemn. At least, that's what he and his crew are saying about Bush.

Bush has called for the Swift Boat ads to be stopped along with others run by independent groups, and said Kerry should be proud of his war service.

But Bush stopped short of condemning the group or its specific accusations that the Democratic presidential candidate lied about his record in Vietnam.

The Kerry letter, signed by at least seven Democratic senators who have served in the military, calls on Bush to "recognize this blatant attempt at character assassination, and publicly condemn it."

"Call on this group to cease and desist," they wrote.

Cleland said Bush "owes it to every soldier and veteran in the nation to stop condoning their smears through his silence."
reference

I guess I'll start making my list of things I condemn, so I'm not inadvertently supporting something I don't really want to support. . . . .this will take awhile.

Cooper Time

No one has said it this well.

And I couldn't agree with Alice Cooper more.

Check out what the rock-legend had to say to the Edmonton Sun last Friday in response to rock stars campaigning for John Kerry.

"To me, that's treason. I call it treason against rock 'n' roll because rock is the antithesis of politics. Rock should never be in bed with politics," says the 56-year-old Cooper, who begins a 15-city Canadian tour on Aug. 20 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

"When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I'd run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as loud as I could. So when I see all these rock stars up there talking politics, it makes me sick.

"If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

John Kerry: 2 Things

So in the political arena, I don't mind differing views. I'm not one who simply hates opposition. On the contrary, without opposing views we become sloppy in our own thinking. We must be challenged in our beliefs if we want to know truth. In order to make rational decisions we have to be allowed to hear all sides. For instance. . .I don't really like Al Sharpton, but at least I can respect him for holding fast to his beliefs. Trust me, if Sharpton were elected president, we know what kind of policy changes he'd be making. He's a guy who tells you what's on his mind. Crazy as it may be, at least he's not a liar. You know what he stands for, and by voting him into office, you know what you're getting yourself into.

What I do mind, however, is a slipshod, wavering ideology. So I bring two things about Mr. John Kerry. The man who wants to be your next commander in chief.

Number 1:
Taking a cue from Michael Moore, John Kerry has, in the recent weeks, decided to take a stab at President Bush by commenting on his Sept 11 actions in that Florida classroom. Kerry even went so far as to say:
Had my top aide whispered in my ear, 'America is under attack,' I would have told those kids very politely and nicely that the president of the United States had something he needed to attend to," reference
So we have John Kerry taking a stab at the president's actions on that fateful day, saying he would have 'attended to' the situation faster and more effectively.

Now you might be asking, as I did. . ."How did 'ol John react on Sept. 11th?"
Glad you asked. . .here we go.

From
The Washington Post
"On July 8, Kerry recalled for CNN's Larry King his actions that day. He was in a meeting in the office of Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) when he watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center on television, while standing next to fellow senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). "And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table, and then we just realized nobody could think, and then, boom, we saw the cloud of the explosion at the Pentagon." "

Now, if you recall on that day, there were about 40 minutes between the second trade center attack and the attack on the pentagon. So by his own words, Kerry claims that he and fellow senators sat for 40 minutes "unable to think." Thanks John, that clears up a lot for me in November.


Number 2:
Remember how John Kerry has been badmouthing President Bush all these weeks? Remember how he's been attacking his every move? How nothing Bush does could possibly be the right thing. How Bush is the last person in the world suitable for the job. Remember how John Kerry rips into Bush's every move without thinking. . .(see number 1 above for further detail)

Recently President Bush received intel on more possible terror alerts. Well, as you can imagine, Kerry and his pal Howard Dean hit the campaign trail shouting about how the terror alerts were made up by the evil conservative party to make Bush look a little better. How do you think President Bush responded? He thought it would be good for a man who might be the next president to be briefed on the situation. He offered John Kerry a secure phone line while on the campaign trail so that he could be made aware of the situation. Sounds respectable to me.
Now what's Kerry's response to the offer? He turns it down. You see, Kerry was a little busy campaigning against the man who just offered him an inside view of the most recent threats against our nation. (That's you and me.) He was a little busy with his campaign events to spend any real time listening to real information. He finally got a secure line setup while his bus was parked in one place during a softball game in Taylor, Michigan. Seems after the phone call, Kerry kept his distance from Howard Dean. Smartest move I've seen the man make thusfar. Check out this msnbc article for more detail.

My problem with Kerry isn't that he's not Bush, which is the main reason most on the left consider him their newfound god. My problem is that he points the finger without offering any new insights. He talks about doing things 'differently' in Iraq and against terror. Well John, what do you mean by 'differently'? The only solution he's offered up has actually been to send more troops to the middle east to fight terror! A fact most on the left don't seem to acknowledge. Sure he's talking about UN troops and other nations helping out, but he's not talking about stopping a war, he's talking about revving it up.

Vote for John Kerry. He's the man who sat unable to think for 40 minutes on sept. 11th. He's the man who wants to send an additional 15,000 troops to Afghanistan. He's the man who didn't care about terror intel as much as he cared about softball. He's the man who votes for things after he votes against them. He's the senator who missed 89 percent of Senate votes this year. He's the man who didn't cast a single vote between March 25 and late June. He's the man who's wife said she joined the democratic party out of spite. Sounds like the position of opposition has a great frontrunner.


By the way. As a senator, it's his job to vote for his constituency. If you were absent from work 89 percent of the time, would you still have a job?

Things as they happen

Word up.

A quick recap of the past weeks happenings.
Last week I was in Orlando at the LCMS National Youth Gathering with our kids. It was a great time. I got to see lots of old friends from camp and college. It was good for our group to have some extended time together as well.

Monday I saw Napolean Dynamite with some friends. Dark humor masked in a light-hearted film. And funnier than anything I've seen in awhile. You'll either love or hate this movie. No inbetween. If you're not familiar with the dark humor genre here's a tip. When you see the movie, laugh at how crazy and absurd things are. That's the point. Just like the Cable Guy or Punch Drunk Love, the joke is absurdity. Trust me, you'll have a much better time if you go into it knowing that.

I've been reading Into the Wild, a Jon Krakauer book. I had it recommended years ago and never got around to it. Good stuff, though. Highly recommend it. I picked up another of Krakauer's books for when I'm done. Into Thin Air. I enjoy Krakauer as an author mainly for his writing styles. I listend to Under the Banner of Heaven on tape after Thomas let me borrow it awhile back. Ever since then I'd been meaning to read more of Krakauer's books, but you know how that goes.

New post over on the AM Radio if you're interested. Also check out this blog. It's written by a soldier currently in Iraq. I forget where I got the link, but it's well written. I just started skimming it, though, so forgive me if it turns out it sucks.



-Peace out-