Funny Guy Friday... Arlington Echo...

     I just got back from a two day field trip with Matthew at a camp called Arlington Echo... an overnight camp that teaches the kids about conservation, recycling, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, etc.
     Almost from the moment we arrived, the kids went from station to station learning different things like soil conservation, water properties of the bay, the mysteries of the marsh, how to read a map and use a compass. They also did fun things like a nature's art project, team building activities and canoeing.
     Personally, I learned two things----the fifth grader is a mysterious beast, and I am not smarter than a fifth grader.
     I must admit, I did not do enough pre-trip research, as I thought that the camp went from Friday to Saturday. It was, in fact, a Tuesday and a Wednesday. Rearranging my work schedule was a bit of a problem because, as you may know, I have a college degree and a juris doctorate, so clearly, I am smart and have lots of smart things to do at work.
     Anyway, that all worked out, and Matthew and I reported to school bright and early on Tuesday, packed with enough clothes for a week. As we sat in Matthew's very small, very warm classroom, one of the dads asked if I were driving or taking the bus. My response showed just how little I knew about the trip. "I didn't know we could drive, but had I known, I wouldn't want to drive all the way to Arlington, Virginia, anyway."
     "Uh well," he stammered, "that information was all in the packet that was sent home along with the minute-by-minute schedule, and uh, well, the camp is in Millersville, Maryland, about fifteen minutes away."
     With such a great education, you'd think that I would at least have known what state I was supposed to be in. Ignoring the fact that I had no idea where I was, or where I was going, I realized I had a completely new problem. Wow, someone should have told me about this minute-by-minute schedule that is, in all likelihood, still sitting in my son's backpack at our home.
     No minute-by-minute schedule for the team leader... This is a potential disaster. Nervous, but not discouraged, I had two thoughts... Why don't they call this place Millersville Echo?... and... I hope they assigned a responsible parent to REALLY supervise my group.
     We loaded the bus and headed off to Millersville. The fifteen minute ride took about thirty five minutes by bus, because we took the most ridiculous route. Had I known that I could have driven, I would have crushed the bus in a race. And so, for thirty of the thirty five minutes, we were entertained by twenty seven kids singing pop music.
     Do you ever really listen to the words of those songs? When you hear ten year olds singing with such gusto, you cannot help but wonder if they understand the words. For example, IN MY HEAD, YOU FULFILL MY FANTASY... Really, because I am pretty sure that my son's fantasy is hitting a homerun in the seventh game of a World Series, and not hitting on some stranger in a club.
      I did not understand all of what they were singing, but I looked up some of the actual lyrics to some of today's most popular songs... LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR MISSIN', PARADISE, WITH ME, YOU'RE WINNING GIRL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ROLL THE DICE, SHAWTY, YOU'RE MY EENIE MEENIE MINIE MOE LOVER... or yet another... SHAWTY GOT A BOOTIE LIKE POW POW POW, SHAWTY GOT SOME BOOBIES LIKE WOW OH WOW. Are you kidding? Not at all!
     Apparently, Shawty is a very popular girl because all the singers seem to know her. I must admit she does seem to have a nice figure, so her popularity is not surprising. One of these songs is sung by a fifteen year old, so at least the ten year olds are getting their views on love and relationships from a wise old sage. Unfortunately, I really do have underwear older than Justin Bieber.
     Once we arrived at camp, it was clear that the minute-by-minute schedule was important. As it turned out, they were smart to pair me with not one, but two very responsible moms who had it all together----one actually took notes, so I didn't need no stinkin' schedule. I was also not the stinkin' leader, the moms were. Thank God... we had a chance of survival!
     Our group consisted of three girls, all tall, athletic, and confident, and four boys, not tall and for the most part, not very athletic or confident. Matthew tended to have more in common with the girls than the boys. I must say, except for when he dressed up like a cheerleader last Halloween, I have never been so proud of my boy.
     At lunch, I was paired with another dad and was assigned to table 11 with six boys. I was told by one of the moms before the first meal that after every meal they measured everybody's waste. I crinkled my nose at this information, and asked incredulously, "That's gross... how in the world do they do that?" She looked back at me with a similarly incredulous look on her face, and advised that they measured the food waste left on their plates, not that kind of waste. Oh, I was going to say... they take recycling to a whole new level! 
     Table 11 crushed, we had no food waste at any meal, and I cannot comment about the other kind of waste. The only questionable call came when one of the boys got sick at breakfast before finishing his milk. The boys were quick to point out to the judges that he would have finished had he not had to rush out to throw up. We got a favorable ruling, and our Cal Ripkin type streak continued--a great start to the day.
      You would think that something funny would have happened in the cabins at night, but the kids were pretty tired, and settled down at about 9:45. At least, I, their fearless leader, was asleep by 9:45, so if something funny did happen, I was not awake for it. It really is just good chaperoning.
     Unfortunately, we woke up on Wednesday to a driving rain. At breakfast, we were advised that the weather was supposed to have "pockets," and it looked like we could press on with the day's activities. This was great news because our first activity was canoeing.
     The rain cleared out, and God provided us with perfect conditions, a high tide with beautiful blue sky, the sun shining through white fluffy clouds, and 70 degree weather. I was very happy to be paired with Matthew, and the two of us got to spend about an hour together out on the water.
     Over the course of two days, all of the kids were well-behaved, and the sessions were fun and educational. We had a great time... but the time spent canoeing on the water with my ten year old was by far, my favorite event.
    Because on this day... with my son... on this water... Arlington, Virginia never looked so good.

An Act of Spiritual Communion...

I got the idea for this over at my friend Sam's blog...
For the complete story, click here.
Act of Spiritual Communion 
"My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present
in the Blessed Sacrament. 
I love Thee above all things and I desire Thee in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, 
come at least spiritually into my heart.
As though thou wert already there, 
I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee;
permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee."
Amen.

Charles Lollar for Congress in Maryland... Send Steny Hoyer home...

     It's a clear choice, Maryland.
     Steny Hoyer, the progressive. Or Charles Lollar, the Constitutional conservative.
     If you want a progressive who is for big government, out of control spending, high taxes, socialized medicine, cap & trade legislation, bailouts, hundreds of billions in stimulus spending, union favoritism, voting for bills without reading them, assigning powers to Congress that are not in the Constitution, ruling against the will of the people, dismissing his constituents, and calling his dissenters un-American, then Steny Hoyer is your candidate.
     If you want a Constitutional conservative, in favor of limited government, limited spending, low taxes, states' rights, accountability, small businesses, and individual liberty, then vote for Charles Lollar. Here's the link to Charles Lollar's website.
     The choice is clear. Steny Hoyer needs to go home. Enough is enough.

States' rights and the 10th Amendment...

     Here is a great website about the Tenth Amendment. Lots of great information. I've added the link to my sidebar, under Restoring America. 
     For a quick overview, read A Citizen's Guide to the Tenth Amendment.

What I believe...

     I believe in God. I believe that God is the source of my joy and my strength, and deserves my consideration and my praise. I owe my life back to God, and I must live like it.
     I believe that in the fullness of time, God humbled Himself, and took the form of a Man here on earth, to reveal God's new covenant to the world. He suffered and died on the cross as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and He conquered death through His Resurrection. I believe that following Jesus is the way to salvation, but that God is merciful, and He decides whom to save. My salvation is personal, and does not depend on everyone else's collective salvation, nor on my willingness to be part of a global collective that does not understand that common good refers to what is good for each and every individual, not simply for most of the group.
     I believe in the strength of the family. I believe that to undermine the family undermines our society. I believe that after God, parents are the first authority. I believe that children are in all cases a gift from God. I believe that children should respect their parents, and parents should likewise respect their children, and look for the best in them. I believe that the home is the domestic church, and is the first and most important place of learning.
     I believe in the rule of law. I believe that we are a country ruled by laws, not by men or special interests. I believe in the Declaration Principles and Natural Law... That we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights... among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property). America is a representative republic, not a democracy, and certainly not an oligarchy.
     I believe our Founders were divinely inspired. I believe the Constitution is perfect, just the way the Founders wrote it. I do not believe it is a living, breathing document, that must change and expand with time. I do not believe the Founders were purposely vague because they could not foresee how life would be today. In fact, as you can read in The Federalist Papers, the Framers were not vague at all. I believe they rightly intended to place strict limits on government, because they knew exactly how man's nature can be, and feared power and corruption in government.
     I believe in American exceptionalism. I believe in freedom. Honor. Individual liberty. Personal responsibility. Merit. I believe in the goodness of the American we, the people.
     I believe our elected leaders should represent us and serve us. They work for us... we do not work for them. I believe that if they run for office because they claim to have ideas and solutions that will improve America, and they fail, they ought to take responsibility, and not spend their entire tenure blaming their predecessors.
     I believe in subsidiarity, whereby power rests with the most local able problem solver. I believe it is foolish, impractical, and arrogant for anyone to think he can centrally plan the lives of three hundred million Americans... or seven billion people worldwide, for that matter.
     I believe it is immoral for the government to spend more than it possesses... passing on insurmountable debt to us... and to unsuspecting generations to come.
     I believe it is immoral for the government to seize and redistribute wealth. I believe that we should share our talents and blessings, because we are called to, and because we choose to, not because the government forces us. I believe that we should be able to keep most of what we earn, no matter how much that is, and that we should decide how to use it. I believe that we should be able to pass our savings on to our children, without the government stepping in to confiscate it. Theft is not justice.
      I believe in the free market and private enterprise, not Marxism, Communism, Socialism, or State Capitalism, where the government controls the market. No bailouts. No special favors.
     I believe we should be good stewards of God's creation, including His unborn creation. God said, "Be fruitful and multiply." I do not believe that overpopulation is threatening our planet, any more than I think that God, in his infinite wisdom, would allow the very breath we exhale to be a poisonous gas. I do not believe man is causing the earth's climate to change. I believe the same people who claim to want to protect the planet look the other way at, and in many cases promote, the destruction of human life here. I believe that we serve God, not the earth. I do not believe we should forfeit our sovereignty to the United Nations as part of a global, transnational, new world order in the name of sustainability (social justice, environmental justice and economic justice).
     I believe that life begins at conception and ends with natural death, and should be protected. I believe that God alone decides who lives and who does not. I believe that without the right to life, all other rights are worthless. I believe that abortion is the greatest evil of our day, and humans should not be destroyed for material comfort, or in the name of "mercy."
     I believe that non-Americans who wish to live here should come through the front door, and abide by the immigration process established by law. I believe that all Americans should obey our immigration laws, as well. Non-Americans are not allowed to vote in American elections.
     I believe the wall of separation between church and state is a twisted, manufactured excuse to eliminate God from all public discourse. The Constitution established Freedom of Religion, not freedom from religion. Our Founders were guarding against an establishment of a national religion, the reason they left their homeland to begin with. They were trying to ensure religious freedom of expression, not restrict it.
     I believe progressives have been working to destroy America for more than a century. I believe they are in our government, our churches, and our schools. I believe that my children should be able to go to school and not be indoctrinated with environmental justice or revisionist history.
     I believe the Tea Party movement has exposed the progressives, and has changed politics as usual in America... and I say, it's about time. I believe the Democratic party has been fundamentally transformed into the Democratic Socialists. The Republicans have been undergoing a transformation of their own, albeit slower, and would do well to pay attention, before they become irrelevant as well.
     I am proudly part of the Tea Party movement. I believe in Constitutional originalism, the rule of law, limited government, low taxes, the free market, a guarantee of equal opportunity, not necessarily equal results, personal responsibility, personal charity, a deep reliance on God's Providence, peacefulness, a strong family, love of country, and the right to life and liberty.
     Because of my beliefs, I have been labeled a danger, a racist, a homophobe, a hater, a bigot, unstable, crazy, not thinking clearly, clinging to my guns and my religion, stupid, a hillbilly, an extremist, and an enemy.
     More and more, there is a clear choice for America. Please choose her leaders wisely.
     And please pray for God's protection.
    

"Look upon me, and be merciful unto me, as you always do to those who love your name." ~ Psalm 119:132 

Is it, or is it not, your money?

     The government is considering disallowing or reducing the mortgage interest deduction, the child tax credit, and pretax health insurance accounts, among other tax deductions. Read here from the Wall Street Journal.
     Any time I read about the government looking for ways to "save money" by limiting your tax deductions because "they cost the government too much money," I always go back to the same question... Whose money does the government think it is? 
     They think it's theirs, of course.
     They can spend it better than you. So they take more of your money... and put it back where it belongs... into its own hands... and out to those it deems worthy.
     Somehow, I don't think this is the definition of justice.
     Next week, you will be given a clear choice in the voting booth. Do you want a bloated government, seizing more and more of what belongs to you? Or do you want freedom?

Funny Guy Friday... My wife is soooo nice!

    Every so often, I hear someone ask why Catholics say prayers to the Blessed Mother instead of going right to the Big Guy. The answer that I have heard that makes the most sense is that you pray for Mary to intercede on your behalf to ask Her Son to grant your prayers.  
     Let me tell you, this works. On a much smaller scale, the same sort of thing happens in our home. There have been several occasions when I have come home from work, and Cheryl greets me with the usual, How was your day?
     Then after the usual small talk, she gets around to, I got a call today from so and so and they have a problem with their son... or She has an issue with her ex-husband... or He needs some help with moving furniture.
    This, of course begs the question, Well why are they calling you? You can't help them with their son/ex-husband/furniture. I mean, it's not feeding the masses or anything, but she really can't help them.
    Well, they thought that I might be able to ask you to help them out and they didn't want to bother you, she tells me, as if it is okay that she bothers me.
     I have no problem with this whole process, and for the most part it is not a bother. But what happens once I show up to do the actual favor, does get under my skin. The folks that call my wife to ask her to ask me to help feel the need to tell me... Your wife is soooo nice! 
     Let me get this straight... she is home asleep in bed while I am doing my good deeds and you want to tell me that she is the nice one? Why don't you call her and wake her up and then we'll see how nice she is? I have been there for that, and nice is not the description that I would use. 
     I have moved furniture in several different states, conducted a two day pro bono trial for a woman she met at the bus stop, unloaded a thousand boxes of Girl Scout cookies, drafted documents, retrieved documents, and selected her friends' sons on my baseball teams despite the fact that they can't play a lick. I get the joy of telling Junior to stop making mud pies in right field, so my wife can be the nice one.
     This week, a request from a neighbor resulted in a bit of an adventure. My mission was to go to the courthouse to retrieve a document for her. Simple enough... but the only information that she had given me was a name and a date. Unfortunately, that date happened to be twenty eight years ago. No case number and no guarantee that the case was even in the county where I happened to be. It was up to Super Agent Me to fill in the blanks and deliver the goods to my wife's "client."
     I started my quest at the courthouse in the Clerk's Office, to see where they keep the really old case files. I made contact with some old friends and was sent to the basement, where I met a very nice young lady who was in her second week of work.
     She advised me that I needed a case number, and the only way to get that number was to go to Land Records. I hate Land Records----it is just very confusing. The people that go to Land Records know what to do with all those books, but I have been there once before and I have no idea.
     I relayed my prior experience in Land Records to my new friend, and she pulled me aside and whispered under her breath, They don't have any staff over there, but if you go in and act like you are confused, someone will offer to help you out.
    This will be easy, I thought. I can look confused with the best of them. A good agent, er uh, lawyer, must also be a good actor.
     I must say that I carried it off to perfection---dare I say, I looked like a complete idiot. I did such a good job that not just one person came to my aid, but two people came to my aid. Once they located the book I needed... a huge book that listed all of the cases from 1942 to 1988... my excitement began to build.
     I blew the dust off the book and began my search. I felt like Nick Cage in National Treasure. The answer was there... I could feel it.
     I found the case number and ran back to the courthouse to get the file.
     On the way there, I ran into a friend of Cheryl's, and after chatting for a few moments, I told her what I was doing and she said, Cheryl is so nice. Uh-huh.
     Anyway... I went back to the basement and met up with my new found friend. The whole time I was thinking, Where do they keep all of these files? The answer is... They don't keep files, they keep microfiche. Microfiche is cool---very spy like. I had to place the microfiche in the little machine and scan for the document that I needed. Very cool!
     As I reviewed the file, I discovered names of deceased lawyers, retired judges, and lawyers who later became judges. The whole thing was very much in keeping with the action adventure movie that I had going on in my pea brain.
     Finally, I found the specific document that I needed, and I discreetly asked my friend to make me a copy (taking care not to use my credit card, as you never know who might be trying to trace my whereabouts).
     I took my copy, and used a different route back to my car, crossing the hallways on many occasions, watching for anyone would follow me back to my office to try to steal my find.
     Once back at my office, I viewed everyone suspiciously, even my secretary, whom I have had doubts about for months. I had come this far, and I was not going to let it be spoiled by anyone.
     Later, under the cover of darkness, I was able to deliver the secret document to our neighbor, and my mission was accomplished.
     On a side note, I just got back from delivering the document and listened to a message on our phone... thanking Cheryl for the favor. She is soooo nice!
     I did not have to wait for the message to self-destruct, as I took the tape, myself, and threw it out of the window.
      

October Surprise?

     So the NAACP just released a scathing report about the Tea Party Movement. Everything makes perfect sense when you discover who wrote it. Read all about it here, from The Blaze.
     What a coincidence that this report comes out just days before an election.
     When you cannot win on the battlefield of ideas, you simply smear.
     No surprise here.

Indoctrination update...

     You may have read my post about the indoctrination field trip. Here is my update.
     Yesterday, after reviewing what appeared to be another go-green science lesson, I contacted a representative from the STEM program at my daughter's high school, to discuss what I feared was a green trend for STEM science.
     She apologized about the field trip, and assured me that the children were not supposed to see the global warming exhibit at the museum. The museum curator had been instructed to show them the infectious diseases exhibits only.
     She further assured me that our school's STEM program has no agenda to indoctrinate the students with the man-made global warming point of view. She said the current science assignment examining climate data trends was designed to enable the students to discover the natural causes of changes to our climate, not just accept the current drum beat of man is the cause. The point of the exercise was not spelled out, but I will take her word for it.
     I further mentioned two speeches from the Secretary of Education and the Undersecretary of Education, given at last month's Sustainability Summit, regarding the STEM programs, and the Department of Education's mission to turn our students into "good little envirionmental citizens" in this "green revolution."
     She assured me that at our school, they are not doing that.
     I believe her, because I still have hope that things may be different on the local level. But I will stay vigilant.

Brian Regan... Heroes and Texting...

It's a little old, but it's still funny.