UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar

After Brock Lesnar's impressive UFC debut in a loss against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir and his demolition of perennial UFC contender Heath Herring, I thought it was a little early to award Lesnar a title shot against Randy Couture. Even so, the UFC is a business, this fight drew great pay-per-view and live gate numbers, and I think Lesnar is a worthy top-of-the-card fighter.

My prediction going into this fight was that, unless Randy clocked Brock early in the fight like he did against Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga, thereby stunning him and allowing him to grind out a ground-and-pound decision, Randy would probably lose. I thought Brock's size, reach, strength, and youth were just going to be too much for Couture to overcome, and as I saw in the fight tonight, I was right. The first round of the fight was pretty pedestrian, with both guys testing the other's punching range and jockeying for position in the clinch along the cage. In the end, I gave it to Brock because his strikes were a bit more solid and Randy couldn't take him down. In the second round, after a little bit more of the same type of fighting that took place in the Round 1, Brock landed a crisp, but not crushing right hand behind Randy's ear that stunned and floored Couture. Brock then mounted him and dropped what seemed like 30 or 40 hammer fists until the referee mercifully stopped the fight, making Brock Lesnar the new UFC heavyweight champion.

Brock is an exciting fighter, but he still has a lot to learn, and outside of his training camp, he will learn it against top notch competition. His next fight will be against the winner of the interim title fight between Frank Mir and Anotnio Rodrigo Nogueira in December, and in the future, I can't wait to see him fight other heavyweights like Shane Carwin, Gabriel Gonzaga, and especially Cain Velasquez. For tonight though, it's a tip of the cap and a toast to the new UFC heavyweight champ, Brock Lesnar.

President-Elect Barack Obama

I can't say I'm surprised to utter these words, as they are the only thing worse than saying "President-Elect John McCain", but I still wish this man were not going to be president in just a short couple of months.

Here are just a few of the reasons that I have serious reservations about Senator Obama as president, and it is by no means an all-inclusive list:

1.) His rise from the cesspool that is Chicago politics;
2.) The twenty plus years he spent in the church of "Pastor" Jeremiah "GD America, US of KKK A" Wright;
3.) His associations with the worst sorts of criminals and people in general (i.e. Weather Underground terrorists William Ayers and his wife (he launched his political careers in their home), Father Michael Pfleger, Louis Farrakhan, convicted felon and slumlord Tony Rezko (who cut Obama a sweetheart deal on his home and the land it is built on), communist Frank Marshall Davis (who Obama referred to as his "mentor"), and his support for current Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (who lost the presidential race, but was appointed prime minister as a deal to stop the savage violence he unleashed as a result of his bogus claims that the election was stolen);
4.) His campaign's support for ACORN, the company currently accused of vote fraud in nearly every battleground state in America, to the tune of over $ 800,000.00;
5.) The fact that nearly every statement of his, including those of support for the people purportedly the closest to him, seems to come with an expiration date to be determined by political expediency;
6.) His promise to raise taxes on virtually every producing member of society, while at the same time giving welfare payments, er, I mean "tax cuts" to people who already pay no income tax at all; and, last, but certainly not least,
7.) As reported by Kenneth Timmerman of Newsmax and countless other reporters doing work the mainstream media didn't want to do, Barack Obama's presidential campaign was rife with fraudulent and illegal contributions, and worse yet, the same security systems in place to prevent such donations for the campaigns of John McCain and Hillary Clinton had to be INTENTIONALLY disabled by the Obama camp to allow these fraudulent contributions to occur. Silly old John and Hillary, playing by the rules with an "in your face", "elbow thrower" from the sewer of Chicago politics will get you beat every time.

Perhaps the most sad part of all this is that the list I just put together is all a result of thing that happened during the campaign...imagine what will happen during an Obama administration. This man will have to deal with a turbulent economy, a resurgence by China and Russia, an Iran speeding toward nuclear capability, and Islamic jihadists who want to kill us. Don't get me wrong...as my wife so kindly pointed out, it is my Christian duty to pray for this man I didn't vote to elect president because God is in charge of who gets lifted up and brought down, but it is also my American duty to oppose with every fiber of my being every policy and action that harms my family, makes America less safe, and/or runs afoul of the Constitution. I will do both with equal vigor. Finally, I will pray that America eventually wakes up and comes through the Hopey McChangitude era in one piece, and I will trust God with the outcome no matter what.

Honeymoon Recap and Early Marriage Reflections

Well folks, tomorrow will make one month since I got married. I would have posted about the honeymoon a little sooner, but I have been buried under a pile of work and have been trying to dig my way out ever since I got back. It never ceases to amaze me how much work can pile up in such a relatively short time, but I digress.

Althea and I took a cruise to the Caribbean for our honeymoon, and it was great, save for one very big, totally not cool thing. I contracted a nasty stomach virus right at the end of the trip, and I think it was from food poisoning. This now makes food poisoning occurrence lucky number seven, and it was miserable. It's possible that, when God was handing out things, I mistakenly asked for extra food poisoning or He misheard me...but either way, I take it back. We were supposed to get off the ship and go to Busch Gardens with Althea's cousin and her daughter, but I could barely make it off the ship, through customs, and onto the plane home. As bad as I looked and felt, I am just glad I wasn't declared persona non grata by customs on the grounds that I contracted some strange island virus. Even so, on the flight home, Tennessee Titans backup QB Chris Simms sat behind Althea and I on the plane. We chatted briefly, and he seemed like a very nice guy and a good team player. Because he was so gracious, I decided not to point out to him the irony and karma of him committing to play for the Tennessee Vols, then de-committing to play for the Texas Longhorns in order to take the job from Texas' senior starting QB Major Applewhite under very sketchy circumstances, only to be drafted by and become the starting QB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then losing his job due to injury, also under very sketchy circumstances.

Our cruise was 7 days...we boarded on Sunday, and we were at sea Sunday night and all of Monday. We went to Grand Cayman on Tuesday, Isla Roatan Honduras on Wednesday, Belize on Thursday, and Cozumel, Mexico on Friday. This was my first trip out of the U.S., and I got to see 4 countries in a week, which was very exciting. Althea and I spent Sunday and Monday exploring the ship, eating as much as we possibly could, and doing activities (bingo, watching comedians and other shows, etc.), and that was fine, but we were ready to see some sights and different places by the time Tuesday came around.

Tuesday in Grand Cayman was an absolute blast, although it did rain quite a bit while we were there. Our excursion in Grand Cayman was a combination of going to the Turtle Farm, visiting "Hell", and swimming with the stingrays in a place called "Stingray City". The first stop was the turtle farm, which as you might guess, is where turtles are bred, raised, and housed. Our guide was fun and informative. He taught us a lot about the history of the island and the role of turtles in the island's history. The turtle is and/or has been used for everything from food to shields to furniture to clothing. While some of the turtles at the farm are used for food, most of them are kept alive for breeding purposes, as many of them are endangered species. The turtles range from less than 10 pounds as babies to over 900 pounds as adults. I got to hold and take pictures with some of the turtles, and it was really cool.

After the turtle farm, we stopped by a small town in Grand Cayman known as "Hell". At first, I though that wasn't really the town's name, but it actually is, and they even have a post office there. After Althea ate some fresh coconut which was cut with a machete by some random guy selling coconuts, we sent postcards to our families from Hell, which gave them a pretty good laugh when they received the postcards. The reason it is called Hell is due to the rock formations present in the town. I took some pictures of the formations, and they really are creepy. Add in Satan, some sulfur, a little fire and brimstone, and some tortured souls, and it would look just like you might imagine Hell would appear. For obvious reasons, we didn't want to stay there too long, so it was off to Stingray City.

For me, this was the highlight of our Grand Cayman excursion. When I first heard of Stingray City, I literally though it was a place somewhere on land, but it isn't. In fact, it is a sandbar out in the ocean where stingrays congregate. I was then and remain now truly amazed at how such a place came to be. Apparently, at some point in the past, the people of Grand Cayman realized that stingrays were prevalent in the area. So, instead of killing them off, they decided to befriend them. Eventually, the stingrays became trained enough to know that the humans would not hurt them, and that instead they would get fed for playing with and allowing themselves to be petted by the humans. The boat ride out to the sandbar was long, and it rained so hard on the way out there I was afraid we wouldn't get to leave the boat. Fortunately, the rain stopped just before we got to the sandbar. Now understand, all I could think of when I first stepped out of the boat was about Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter who was killed by a stingray, and that's what Althea was thinking too, so of course I went first. Once I got in the water with the guides and watched them pet and feed the stingrays without dying, I was fine. I took quite a few pictures with the stingrays, including pictures of me holding them, hugging them, and even a couple with a giant stingray resting on my back...it was awesome. Althea got in the water and had a good time with them as well, then it was time to ride the boat back to the island.

When we got back ashore, I was starving, so we went and ate some really good food at a nice local restaurant. This served as my introduction to the horrible exchange rate in Grand Cayman. This country is a banking haven, and it houses a staggering amount of money in comparison to the size of the country itself and its economy as a whole. As such, the currency there is very stable and valuable, so the exchange rate when we were there was one U.S dollar for every 80 cents Cayman money. Our meal was $44 U.S., but because of the exchange rate, it ended up costing $56 U.S. Fortunately, the meals there already have the tip added onto the ticket, thank goodness. We got a couple of small souvenirs, but that's about it because of the exchange rate, then we got back on the ship and set sail for Honduras on Wednesday and Belize on Thursday.

Honduras and Belize were basically the same type of country, only with different people and attractions. Both countries are very poor, the exchange rate is very favorable to the U.S. dollar (18 Honduran dollars to 1 U.S. dollar and 11 Belize dollars to 1 U.S. dollar), and neither one struck me as particularly safe or stable (although it was not as bad in this way as I have heard Jamaica is). In Honduras, our excursion took us to see two very large shipwrecks, which were interesting to see. We took a lot of pictures of the ships, and the stories were interesting also. From there, we went to see a "lost" tribe up in the mountains of Honduras. I am not sure how "lost" they are when tour buses come up there every day, but it was still interesting. We got to see their native dances, eat some of their homemade foods, and we got some pictures of breathtaking views from atop the mountains. After a little shopping and eating a meal consisting of some very questionable-looking fish in the tourist part of Honduras, we went back to the ship and set out for Belize. In Belize, we took a guided bus tour of the island, and went to see the Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. Some of the structures we saw were absolutely amazing given how long ago they were built. With so little technology or modern construction equipment, quite a few very large structures of varying purposes were built by a very intelligent ancient people. The most interesting structure was a field where the Mayans played games. What makes it interesting was that the games were played to see who would be sacrificed to the gods. Amazingly, the WINNERS were the ones that were sacrificed to the gods, because the Mayans only believed in sending their best people to their gods. Personally, those games sound like ones that I would either not play or intentionally lose, but that's just me. After taking a bunch more cool pictures and me getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we went back to the ship to set sail for Cozumel.

Our time in Cozumel was probably the most overall fun of the trip, and it's really the only place from our whole trip I would consider going back to. In addition to the great exchange rate, the shopping there is endless and the food is simply amazing. The excursion we chose for Cozumel was an adventure park, where we got to climb towers, do some rappelling, fly across zip lines, and do some snorkeling. I must say that, despite her fear of heights, Althea was a champ and did a great job at everything she tried. On the climbing towers, I made it to the top of the first one, and almost made it to the top of the tallest one before my arms gave out from exhaustion...makes me wish I'd listened to the guides when they said to climb with my legs more so than my arms and that I had worked out more before the trip. The zip lines were a blast, and we would have done them in Honduras, but Althea had no tennis shoes, so we had to wait until Cozumel, because the park provided climbing shoes for us. After a free drink and eating the tastiest fried cheese I have ever eaten at the park's restaurant, we went back to the tourist district and took still more pictures, ate more great food at a local restaurant owned by 2 Americans from Atlanta, and Althea shopped until both she and our wallets dropped.

From Cozumel, it was back to the ship, then back to Tampa. My thoughts on the cruise are generally positive. The beds and pillows were surprisingly comfortable, and the rocking of the sea at night helped me sleep rather than making me seasick. The nice restaurant at which Althea ate every meal except one (the one that she insisted upon and which made me sick) served consistently great food, and you could eat as much as you wanted. I averaged about 3 appetizers, an entree, and a dessert per dinner meal, and you have to be careful about telling your server you really like the food, lest you end up with another entire entree in front of you (not that I am complaining). The housekeeping staff was very professional, and our cabins were always immaculate when we came back. The events coordinator was a hilarious British woman who was so much fun, and pretty much everything we did on board was enjoyable. My one suggestion is that, if you see food, people, and/or a food preparation area that looks unsanitary in any way, or if the food tastes a little questionable on the first bite, just say no! I will likely go on a cruise again at some future date (Alaska or the Bahamas is next on my list), but it will have to be a while so I can forget how sick I was from the food poisoning.

Finally, people have been asking me since I got back how married life is. My answer is always the same: it's pretty good, and not all that much different from dating and engaged life, with one notable exception of course. ;) My point here is that marriage is not a cure-all, and 2 people should not get married hoping it will fix the problems from their dating and engaged life any more than 2 people should get married just because they have a child. The same problems and issues that exist prior to marriage will still be there when the honeymoon is over, and if left unaddressed, they can certainly wreck a marriage in a big hurry. Marriage is a huge decision and a covenant before God not to be taken lightly, and no matter what the future holds, I am not and will not be sorry that I married Althea. She is a great woman who loves the Lord and who won't take any crap off me, and that is a rare and desirable combination indeed. I love Althea very much, and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for us.

Why I Held My Nose and Voted for John McCain

I will be honest...John McCain was beyond my last choice to be the Republican nominee for President this year. Mike Huckabee is an intelligent, funny guy, a former governor, and a great communicator who believes in America's greatness. That said, he was a big spender as a governor, soft on illegal immigration, and his glibness sometimes reminded me of Bill Clinton without the bimbo eruptions...so I never backed him at all. First, I supported Fred Thompson, perhaps the most qualified and articulate primary candidate on all the issues (social, economic, and national security) the GOP could field this year, but he is a much better man, actor, and thinker than he ever was a politician. Then, I backed Mitt Romney because he would have likely been the best candidate to make sure the economy stayed strong. Romney, although a governor, was a businessman first, and the only candidate on either side with much in the way of non-government, private sector experience. Even so, he was a lightweight on foreign policy, and virtually all of his positions are the opposite of what they were when he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.

John McCain basically got the GOP nomination because he was the last man standing, and because it was his turn. I will cover in detail another time the multitude of reasons for which I voted against Barack Obama, but here are the only reasons I voted for John McCain:

1.) his service as a naval aviator and the strength he showed as a POW;
2.) his foresight to be correct on the surge, which has led to us being on the cusp of victory in Iraq; and
3.) his choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

That's it, that's all folks, and it isn't a long list. Many Republicans forget that McCain was, as recently as a few months ago, the favorite GOP Senator of the New York Times and other mainstream media outlets because he screws conservatives and conservatism every chance he gets. Among other things, his positions on immigration, free speech, and judges, as well as his economic policies are all distinctly NOT conservative. Once he ran against the Obamessiah though, the MSM turned on him in a nanosecond, which is more than a little ironic because, when/if he loses the election and goes back to being who he really is and screwing conservatives and conservatism at every turn, the MSM will love him all over again.

The conventional wisdom out there has McCain several points down, with a limited electoral map to get to the presidency. Commentators have likened his odds to having to draw an inside straight to win a hand of poker. I think that's about right, as his chances don't look good. The economy, America's first "black" presidential candidate, and a mainstream media completely in the tank for his opponent have conspired with McCain's own numerous faults to all but seal his fate on November 4. Here's to hoping that the Democrats don't get a 60 seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority...otherwise, things could get tough and ugly on a lot of fronts in a big hurry.

Crazy Lefty Blogger Kills Her Roomie by Stabbing Her 222 Times

A blogger over at the left-leaning Huffington Post blog killed her roommate and former lover by stabbing her 222 times...man, that is a lot of stab wounds! I have no idea what could make someone that angry, but that many wounds, it's definitely personal. Unfortunately, the killer (Carol Burger) shot herself in the head and killed herself before she could be arrested and stand trial for her crime.

I'm with Right Wing News on this one...I haven't seen any conservatives, even at an Obama rally, committing or inciting this kind of violence. I will also remember this murder the next time some lefty loon in the mainstream media blames a murder on someone on the right. I don't care who it is or what political persuasion someone holds, this kind of violence is reprehensible, worthy of condemnation, and deserving of justice, but right now, all I hear from the left is crickets chirping.

Just Married!

Well, yesterday was the big day for Althea and I...and it was absolutely perfect. Anyone who knows us well at all knows there have been some bumpy patches in the wedding planning and over the course of our engagement. That said, we have always loved each other no matter what, and we would not want to walk through this life with anyone else.

The day turned out so well I could scarcely believe it. The food was very good, and everyone had plenty to eat. The DJ played great music and kept the reception and party going until after dark. He said he has been a DJ at hundreds of weddings, and he has never seen a pair of families that partied as much we did and seemed as happy as our families did today. Our husband/wife photographer team were outstanding, taking plenty of pictures to preserve our memories of this awesome day. Our hosts were gracious, wonderful people who worked extremely hard opening their home to us and preparing it for our wedding, and Jim (the husband) was our minister. Thank you so much Sandy and Jim for allowing us to be married at your gorgeous home.

Most importantly though, everyone I loved most and who loved me the most in this world was there, and the same was true for Althea. Althea's dad, brother, and grandmother came up from Trinidad, and several other of her close family members came in from all around the U.S. On my end, in an extraordinary miracle and move of God, both my parents came to the wedding and it was peaceful. Even my rascal of a little brother flew in from California, and he looked absolutely smashing in his suit, God bless his little ruffian soul. I even had some co-workers I now consider friends (Ginger, Keya, Wendy, and Bruce) as guests and groomsmen (thanks Charles and Chris M.!).

Finally, my best friends, what else can I say about them? Nathaniel, who wasn't able to be with us due to extreme illness...get well soon brother, we missed you and know you were there in spirit. Terrance, we have known each other since the first day we were both young bucks in the law...your insight, wisdom, and judgment are second to none, and it has been and will continue to be my privilege to know you until we are both old, grizzled, legal warhorses.

Mike, my brother and my crazy friend, we've been homeboys since we were both snot-nosed, 18 year old punks at college without a pair of nickels to rub together between us...but look at us now. I'm a successful, married lawyer, and you are as multi-talented as anyone I know, and you can do absolutely anything to which you set your brilliant mind. Whether it is writing, acting, modeling, martial arts, dance, some combination of or none of the above, you will excel beyond my wildest hopes and even your own wildest dreams, and I can't wait to celebrate it with you. If you look up a picture of two men having each other's back in the dictionary, there's a picture of our similing faces. I love you man, you're the best.

Last but not least, I have to pause to remember my grandparents on my Dad's side, Claude Whittaker and Claudine Whittaker. Both of them are in heaven right now, but I know they were there smiling down on us today. They would both love Althea very much, and I wish they could have met her here on Earth. My grandfather taught me more about being a man and seeking the things of God than anyone I know, and I was lucky to have such a shining example of a Godly man in my life. Granny and Grandpa, I miss you so much, and I will see you again (and Althea will meet you for the first time)...but not today. :)

For now, it's off to the Caribbean for Althea and I, then we come back and start building our lives together one day at a time with God always at the center...and I can't wait.

It's Palin! :)

My gripes with erstwhile GOP presidential nominee John McCain are well-known and well-documented on this blog. I anticipated having to hold my nose with an industrial size clothespin due to his positions on the issues (especially immigration), and because his reaching across the aisle to work with Democrats led to the same result as any past "bipartisanship" in American history (namely, the American people getting screwed). I figured the stench would get worse when he selected his VP, most like another boring old white guy with tons of baggage. Romney would have brought a wealth of economic and private-sector experience, but his own pointed criticisms of McCain in the primaries would have filled up a thousand Dem-cong attack ads. Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman would have caused an outright conservative revolt due to their pro-choice beliefs, and would likely have led to an Obama win in a landslide similar to the one Reagan won in 1980. Mike Huckabee might have placated the evangelical wing of the party, but he has an almost Democrat-esque smarmy attitude and righteous indignation should anyone question the great Huck-ster. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty would have been the next best choice, as he is a solid conservative governor with high approval ratings in a purple state that he might have swung to the GOP, but he strikes me as someone not quite ready for prime-time. I think that, in a few more years, he might make a good top of the ticket candidate, or failing that, a good Senator.

In sum, most conservatives, present company included, had given up any hope of having a conservative to vote for from either party in either the top or second spot on the ticket. So imagine my surprise when John McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. At the ripe old age of 44, she is an extremely attractive and telegenic mother of 5, a staunch conservative, and someone who has more executive experience than the Obamessiah. Even more than that, Palin has a record of actual reform working in the best interests of the people that does NOT include sticking her finger in the eye of conservatives at every opportunity...so what's not to like? Judging from the initial reactions throughout the blogosphere, conservatives love the pick, the Dem-cong all have a serious case of heartburn, and this election just got substantially more interesting. While Palin isn't perfect, I think and hope that Palin will do very well on the campaign trail, and will provide a stark contrast to angry ol' Joe Biden from Delaware, and I will feel much better pulling the lever for McCain in the fall with her on the ticket.

UPDATE: To quote Rush Limbaugh, it looks like this pick was, indeed, a home run. Since McCain has elected to accept public financing for the general election, his last day to raise money from private donors in Sunday. Since selecting Palin, McCain reports fundraising of over $7 million and counting and an increae in volunteerism for the campaign. Home run indeed. :)

Brock Lesnar Dominates Heath Herring at UFC 87

Even though all three of the main card fights went to a decision, UFC 87 was one of the better pay-per-view events put on by the UFC. Kenny Florian smartly refused to get into a brawl with Roger Huerta, and used superior technique to win a unanimous decision. In the main event, Georges St. Pierre clearly showed that there is a substantial talent gap between him and everyone else in the welterweight division. He went all 5 rounds against #1 contender Jon Fitch (who I met in person out in Vegas, and who looks to be a beast in great shape), and administered one of the worst beatings I have ever seen that didn't result in a knockout. The scores were 50-44, and one 50-43, and at the post-fight press conference, Fitch's face looked like he'd gone ten rounds with a sledgehammer and lost. I think this is Exhibit A in support of my theory that every person has a maximum talent level that they can reach through heart, hard work, and toughness, but that, beyond that, there are just some people who have more God-given talent than everyone else. And if those people (like GSP) reach their maximum potential at the peak of their physical ability, everyone else should watch out.

Turning to Brock Lesnar, one of my favorite athletes in all of MMA, he served still more notice to the heavyweight division that he is for real. Among the reasons I have been a big fan of his are: a.) the fact that he's a family man first; b.) that he told Vince McMahon and the WWE to shove a long-term and very lucrative contract at the peak of his popularity because he wanted real competition; and c.) he is a legitimate athlete with an outstanding wrestling pedigree.

In the fight itself, it was widely thought that Lesnar would try to take down Herring like Jake O'Brien did a couple of fights back for Herring. He certainly did so, but not before faking out Herring masterfully in the opening moments of the fight. Right after the opening bell, Lesnar faked a shot on Herring, then uncorked one of the most vicious right hands I have ever seen. It connected so hard with Herring's face, it sent the 245 pound plus fighter sprawling and back flipping onto the canvas. Lesnar followed it up with three rounds of good ground and pound, and pounded out a unanimous decision victory. Lesnar had several opportunities to finish Herring if he even had rudimentary jiu-jitsu skills, but according to his camp, they didn't want him to get caught in a stupid submission if he was dominating the fight. That is certainly understandable for this fight, but it is something he will need to work on if he intends to be a champion one day.

At the end of and after the fight, unfortunately, he acted like he was still in the WWE. Not only did he treat Heath Herring like a mock steer and pretend to ride him rodeo style, he also did a mock lasso routine, and talked an unnecessary amount of smack after the fight. MMA is a different game than the WWE, and I don't think the sport needs "heels" and bad guys to survive. Brock needs to show more class in future victories than he did this time if he expects to gain any respect at all from the fans. He needs to understand that most of the self-promoting thugs and "bad asses" who have come into the UFC have flamed out in spectacular fashion. Even more than that, he has enough talent that he doesn't have to do that, and it isn't his personality anyway. All he has to do is be himself, keep learning the game, and I think he will be heavyweight champion one day in the near future. Let's go Brock, time to grow up and man up!

August Resolutions Update and Notice

Well, the great news is that my annual review at my job went even better than expected. In addition to having our bonus structure revamped in a way that is much more favorable to me and rewarding of the efforts of individual attorneys, I did receive an increase in my base pay on top of that. Assuming I bring in the same fees I did last year in the upcoming year, the combined pre-tax salary increase should be in the neighborhood of an additional $17K per year. That will be extremely helpful in terms of defraying wedding expenses and paying down bills in married life afterward.

On another note, it looks like our wedding will be moved from the place we were planning to have it (a chapel in Adams, TN that included everything except for the photographer) to a private residence here in Nashville (which, while closer geographically, means that we will have to come up with catering, a DJ, decorations, and other wedding-related things, and all with about 60 days to go until the wedding). In light of this, I am going to be discontinuing my monthly resolutions (on this blog and in real life) until further notice to make sure I get through the wedding with my sanity. I am just hopeful that my workouts don't suffer too badly so that I am in acceptable shape on the beach and the cruise ship during my honeymoon. Pray for me, and wish me luck...I will need it.

Vegas Baby, Vegas

As you might guess from the headline, I just got back from my vacation/bachelor party in Las Vegas (Nevada, of course, not New Mexico) on Tuesday. I spent the next couple of days at work trying to get caught up, only to get very sick last night. If I were a betting man, I would wager that it had just a little something to do with the extreme lack of sleep from my trip. I've already gone to the doctor and got my medicine, I can't talk very well due to my illness, and I can't sleep any more, so I figure now is as good a time as any to do my Vegas update.

Las Vegas is Spanish for "The Meadows" in English. While it is definitely accurate in the sense that the city is an oasis/meadow in the middle of a whole bunch of desert, that's where the accuracy ends. Meadows are typically calm, open, breezy, etc., and Vegas is none of those things. For one thing, the heat is just stifling. My flight into Vegas touched down before midnight, and I got to my friend's apartment around 1 A.M., and it had just cooled down to 99 degrees. During the time I spent there, there was not a single drop of rain, and daytime temperatures hovered between 108 degrees and 116 degrees. "Dry heat" or no, it was still uncomfortable to the point that I would break out in a sweat walking from my friend's apartment to the car. Also, all the really cool stuff that anyone would want to do is mostly packed into a very tight area around the Strip, with a few outlying things of interest. Other than that, it's all desert all the time. I think a better translation for Las Vegas would be "the land of excess", because nothing there is done small. Everything, and I do mean everything, is bigger, taller, brighter, louder, more in your face, more revealing, etc. than anywhere else I have ever been. Perhaps most obvious of all the things in Vegas that are "more" and bigger" are the prices! My God, I paid anywhere from $3 to $9 for a simple bottle of water, most individual sodas were $2 to $4, potluck plates (i.e. rubber chicken and stale veggies) were $7 to $11, and deli sandwiches, DELI SANDWICHES were twelve freakin' dollars. I know Vegas is a tourist place and that some mark-up is to be expected, but that's just ridiculous. I would ask myself how these people sleep at night, but I already know the answer to that one...on a mattress(es) stuffed with $100 dollar bills.

Although there are dumpy parts and ghetto areas just like anywhere else, I have never in my life seen more money crammed into a smaller space than I saw there. Probably the biggest examples of this are the casinos and the condos. The casinos just seem to get taller and taller, with more hotel rooms, bigger gaming areas, and more clubs and other attractions as you look from place to place. And the condos, I mean, wow...I just thought the condo building boom in downtown Nashville was something. It's nothing compared to Vegas. I mean, in Nashville, I'm not sure how the upper end condos will sell because I just don't think there are enough folks who have the money for it and either want to make Nashville a permanent home or use the condo as an investment property. In Vegas, it's a little different. Even though most of the new condos going up out there START in the $500K to $700K range, I have no doubt that there's enough money floating around out there to get some of them filled. The condo problem in Vegas is twofold: 1.) Vegas is definitely a tourist spot, not a place to make one's home for the most part; and, 2.) the housing market is absolutely awful, with Vegas among the leading cities in the nation in foreclosure rates. I'm not sure how the issues with all the new condo construction in Vegas will be resolved, I'm just glad it's not my problem.

So, without further delay, let's get on with the trip recap. I flew into Vegas late Wednesday night (July 2). Mike met me at the airport, helped load my luggage, then, on the way back to his apartment, we stopped at Denny's for a light late-night meal because I hadn't eaten anything of substance all day. We got back to his place, unloaded my luggage, and went to bed. After sleeping in a little on Thursday (July 3) to recover from the jet lag and adjust to the time change, Mike and I got up and drove a few miles to the South Point Casino. I went to an old-school barber shop there, and got my first ever shave with a straight razor from a guy who is very good at what he does. It was a little pricey, but it was definitely worth it, because I came out looking so fresh and so clean-clean, setting the tone for my hotness for the entire rest of the trip. :) After that, we ate some lunch, and went to work out at the Las Vegas Athletic Club. It's a huge facility with multiple pools, sauna rooms, a hot tub, and tons of workout equipment. I really enjoyed working out there. After a quick meal at Carl's Jr. (Hardee's for the western U.S.), we went home, got cleaned up, and watched "Natural Born Killers". It was at this time I met Mike's new girlfriend, Kinderly. Kinderly is an interesting character, and isn't really like most of the women Mike gets serious about. In addition to being more physically attractive, it seems like she might actually be his peer intellectually. I was definitely interested to see how Mike dating someone who is his equal (or even superior in certain ways) would play out over the course of this trip.

As it turned out, that night, Mike had to work for a few hours at the club he has been working at for a while (which was/is not guaranteed money for its workers), then go audition at another local club that would be guaranteed money for him every time he works if his audition went well. Instead of going out by myself, Kinderly offered to keep me company, so after we dropped Mike off, we went to The Stratosphere, an extremely tall building on the Strip that reminds me a lot of the Space Needle in Seattle. We went to the bar located high atop the city and had a drink while enjoying a spectacular view of the Strip. Once our drinks were done, we went over and picked up Mike from work #1 and dropped him off at work #2. Then, Kinderly and I decided to roll on down the hill (1.5) to Club Tabu at the MGM Grand while Mike was working. Now, Kinderly and I talked about this (BTW, she is very smart, just as I suspected), and we were in agreement that life is a series of moments truly experienced and lived in the present. Don't misunderstand, Kinderly is my best friend's girl and I would never do anything to disrespect that, but that time we spent together at the club that night was just right. I don't think it could have been any better with anyone else in that moment. We acted silly, had some drinks, and totally danced our butts off for several hours straight. Eventually, Mike got off work and joined us, and we all danced the night away until the club closed at about 4:30 A.M. We considered going out somewhere else that night/morning, but ultimately decided against it, so we all went home and crawled into bed around 5:30 A.M.

On Friday (July 4), we were all a little tired, so I slept in until about lunch time, when my body just wouldn't let me sleep any more. Since the main mall in Las Vegas is right across the street from Mike's apartment complex, I went over there, walked around, did a little shopping, and shook the cobwebs out of my head. From there, I went to several other places to pick up some supplies (CDs, club party favors, cameras, etc.) that we would need for the rest of the trip, and I got a sandwich at a little Bulgarian hole in the wall dive for lunch. Although the sandwich wasn't that great, I figured I should at least sample some of the local cuisine while I was out in Rome, er, I mean Vegas. After that, I went home and got a quick workout in (swimming and martial arts cardio), watched some movies, showered, and dressed for what would be our latest night/morning of the entire trip. Since Mike didn't have to work, he was with us from the beginning this time. Thanks to my foresight and online research, we were able to get into Rain (a club) at the Palms Hotel and Casino without paying any cover. I had seen this club on TV many times, and I had always wanted to go. The club had some cool things (fountains and flowing water in multiple places, gorgeous woman dancing on these swings that dropped down from the ceiling but still hung many, many feet off the ground, and this equipment above the light fixtures that shot out fireballs in addition to the smoke and lights high above the dance floor), but it didn't really start bumping until later in the night (around 2:30 A.M.). Mike, Kinderly, and I were all dancing our butts off and having a great time, then we decided to roll on down the hill to an after hours club called Drai's, which stayed open until about 6 or 7 A.M. While there, we all danced some more, had some drinks, gave and received light shows, and had a great time. After that, we decided to roll down the hill just a little more (4 total) to a club called Seamless, which is open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year (only closed for Christmas). It was a great place to just hang out, talk, and calm down before time to go home. Since I was having such a great time, I called a couple of my friends (Charles and Terrance) to let them know all about it. On thing about Seamless though: the bartenders there were aloof and rude, so I complained to the manager and he gave us a card for 4 free drinks that would have otherwise cost $75 dollars if we had ordered and paid for them. The manager said we were a calm, cool, well-dressed party, unlike most of the coke-heads and X-heads he sees on a daily basis, so we had that going for us, which was nice. At that time of morning, my stomach wasn't really in the mood to drink any more, so I let Mike drink all the free drinks we got. At about 10 A.M., we all started to get tired, so we got a ride home. I will say this though...any place, even Vegas, is not nearly as cool in the hot light of the next morning when you're still wearing the samee clothes you had on last night as it was the night before. We all finally got into bed at about 10:30 A.M. on Saturday (July 5).

After a few more hours of sleep, I got up, watched a couple of more movies, made some phone calls, showered, and had Mike drop me off at Mandalay Bay. This was probably one of the biggest highlights of my trip. The Ultimate Fighting Championship ("UFC") was having a pay-per-view event at Mandalay that night. I had originally hoped to be able to get a ticket to see it live, but the only tickets left by the time I was ready to purchase a ticket were $800 ringside seats. I just didn't have that kind of budget for this trip, so instead, I opted to pay $50 to see it on closed-circuit TV in one of the ballrooms there at Mandalay. I'm not sure exactly where the Events Center (where the fights took place) is in relation to the ballroom in which I watched the fights, but sometimes the rumbling and the noise in that place truly made it seem like the fights were happening right on the other side of the wall. The ballroom itself had four of the largest movie-type screens I have ever seen arranged in a square, back to back with one another so that, no matter where you sat, you would have a perfect view of the fights. I ate before I came in, but I did bring a couple of drinks, and the experience was so much better because I ended up sitting next to a couple of very knowledgeable UFC fans with whom I discussed fights throughout the evening. Right before the fights started, everyone in the ballroom was in for an awesome surprise. The UFC had three fighters come down to the ballroom to meet and mingle with the fans: Stephan "The American Psycho" Bonnar (the "Ultimate Fighter" Season 1 runner-up to Forrest Griffin), Amir Sadollah (the winner of the most recent season of the "Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest", and also the guy I was rooting for to win the whole show), and Jon Fitch (the #1 contender in the UFC for the welterweight title who is set to fight the current champion, Georges St. Pierre, at UFC 87). I got cell phone camera pictures (I didn't have a real camera because I didn't know this would happen) with all three fighters, but picture disaster would strike later. Jon Fitch is a welterweight, and I outweigh him by almost 70 pounds, but when he and I squared off for our picture, I was struck by the distinct feeling that he could thrash me without mercy in the Octagon. Even so, the 2 pictures of us squaring off turned out great, but when I tried to show them to Mike later, I accidentally deleted them both! :(

After the fighters left, it was time for the show to begin. The preliminary fights were OK, but the main event, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (the UFC light heavyweight champion) vs. Forrest Griffin (the #1 light heavyweight contender and winner of the "Ultimate Fighter" season 1), is what everyone was waiting for. This fight did not disappoint, and may be a candidate for Fight of the Year honors. Each round was very competitive (except for Round 2, which Forrest dominated), the action was back and forth, and I lost my voice yelling at the screen during the fight. In Round 1, things were pretty much even until Rampage decked Forrest with a hard right uppercut to the jaw and laid some decent ground and pound on him...Round 1 to Rampage 10-9. In Round 2, Forrest found his range with leg kicks, and one kick to Rampage's lead leg looked like he almost kicked the man's kneecap out of place. Rampage was hobbled, so Forrest took him down, laid on some ground and pound, and tried a couple of submissions until the end of the round...Round 2, 10-8 Forrest. In Round 3, Rampage seemed to have recovered, and while he took some more leg kicks, he got a little better of the stand up exchanges, so score Round 3 a close 10-9 for Rampage. Rounds 4 and 5 were virtually identical...neither fighter went down, and Forrest was the aggressor, landing slightly more leg kicks and more punches. Also, in Round 4, Forrest caught Rampage in a triangle, but he powered out of it. I gave Rounds 4 and 5 to Forrest 10-9, leading to a score of 48-46 Forrest. The judges' cards come in, and it's a unanimous decision, 49-46, 48-46, and 48-46, and Forrest Griffin is the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion. The crowd in the Events Center and the ballroom went absolutely nuts, Forrest was elated, and Rampage was gracious in defeat. I had a great time. After that, Kinderly came and picked me up, then we went to pick up Mike from work #1 and dropped him off at work #2. We went back to the apartment, took naps in separate rooms, then went and picked up Mike from work #2 at about 4 A.M. No one was in the mood for further partying that night, so we went to bed.

Sunday (July 6) was mostly a day of taking it easy. I slept in, watched some movies at the apartment, then did some more internet research on restaurants. I wanted to eat at least one great meal while I was there, so I looked through just about every big-time, big-name steakhouse in Las Vegas before settling on N9ne at The Palms Hotel & Casino. Over 90 percent of those who reviewed it gave the place a 4 or 5 star rating. Mike, Kinderly, and I had 7 P.M. reservations, and due to his girl running fashionably late, we made it just in time. The place wasn't that crowded, but I did run into Josh Koscheck (a UFC contender at 170 pounds/welterweight who is on a good winning streak but not very popular with the fans). I did say hello and congratulate him on his win from the night before at UFC 86, but I didn't ask him for a picture because he was eating with his family. As for dinner, we had a great shrimp appetizer with a sweet and spicy sauce that was wonderful and unlike anything I have ever tasted, and they brought us multiple kinds of bread, all of which were great (except the Italian parmesan bread, too hard and not fresh). Mike had the surf and turf (with crab legs instead of lobster, and the crab meat was fabulous), Kinderly had the organic chicken with a glass of Shiraz, I had the filet mignon, and the table shared some grilled asparagus and cheesy potatoes with a spicy kick. All of the food was wonderful, and the portions were big enough that we had leftovers to take home. After dropping off the food at home, the three of us went to see a show called "Bite" at The Stratosphere Theater. The theme of the show is a vampire who has a harem of vampires that he adds to as time goes by, but he is still looking for his long lost true love to complete him. I know it sounds silly, but somehow, it worked. I paid a little extra and was able to get us seats within arm's length of the stage. All of the dancers were incredibly sexy and talented, and while it wasn't Cirque de Soleil or anything, it was definitely entertaining. I actually thought about my Dad once, thinking that, only in Vegas could (sometimes) topless dancing vampires be dancing/writhing/flying around to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"...good times. After the show ended, we took some pictures, then went home to bed at about 2:30 A.M.

Monday (July 7) was my last partial day in Vegas, and I spent most of the day packing and taking it easy. Once the packing was done, after bidding an emotional farewell (with instructions to take care of Mike) to Kinderly, Mike and I had a quick lunch at In & Out Burger, a Vegas institution, then spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures, most notably at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. That should make for some good memories. When the picture taking was done, it was time to go to the airport. I checked my bags, hugged Mike, and thanked him for a great time and for being a great host. I spent my last bit of time in Vegas at the airport shopping for gifts for Grace (Althea's daughter) and Shanice (Althea's niece), reading, and talking to Kinderly and Althea on the phone. The flight home was relatively quick and uneventful (I read one entire book and started another), and before I knew it, I was back in Nashville, hugging and kissing Althea, and happy to be home.

In sum, my trip was a lot of fun. I saw some sights, went to a lot of cool, fun, and unique places, went to a show, saw some great fights, worked out and swam a lot, took lots of funny pictures, and busted all kinds of moves on the dance floor at some of Vegas's hottest clubs. I started this trip with 2 goals: no run-ins with law enforcement, and don't do anything to cost me my upcoming marriage. I am proud to say that I had a fantastic time while accomplishing those goals.

If I had to pick a theme song for the trip and for Vegas overall, it would be "Hollywood's Not America", by Ferras. I picked this song because I can see how someone could easily get caught up in the lights, glamor, money, sex, and excess of a place like this, and even if they made a lot of money, it would be very easy for anyone to forget who they are and where they came from and/or to lose themselves here. Here are the lyrics:

Born Helena Jane
With a restless soul
She moved west to California
Became a centerfold
But once you change your name
Well the pieces fall
Now she hardly recognizes
Herself at all

And there’s never any rain
When you want it
A hollow little game
And you want it
Looking for a thrill
But you’ve done it all

So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America
So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America
Oh, yeah

And everybody here
Is from somewhere else
You can make a million dollars
But you might lose yourself
And you can take the heat
But will your heart grow cold
They say acting’s just pretending
But even that gets old

And there’s never any rain
When you want it
A hollow little game
And you want it
Looking for a thrill
But you’ve done it all

So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America
So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America

And I know
What you’re doin’
I know that you
You can be
Anything you want to be

So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America

So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America
So long
Put your blue jeans
Back on girl
Go home
Remember Hollywood’s Not America
It’s not America

In closing, to my host and homeboy and his awesome girl, thanks for showing me a great time, and to Vegas, thanks for being, well, Vegas...I'll definitely visit again. What else is there to say? Oh yeah, to quote Trent from "Swingers", "Vegas baby, Vegas."

July 2008 Resolutions

I am glad to report I kept up my workout schedule throughout the month of June, working out every other day just as I did in May. Two months in and building momentum, just have to keep it up.

I fly out tomorrow to Las Vegas for several days for a vacation/bachelor party. I am extremely excited and look forward to a great time. Just like I have told my friends, I have two resolutions for this trip: 1.) no run-ins with law enforcement; and 2.) don't do anything that could ruin my relationship with Althea and/or our upcoming wedding. Pretty much anything else is fair game, so it should be a blast.

Finally, with all the upheaval at work over the last couple of weeks, it has been somewhat lost in the shuffle that my annual review is upcoming July 23, one year from my actual full-time hire date. Originally, the review was supposed to be April 23, 2008, which would have been one calendar year from my start date. At first, I was upset that it didn't happen then, mostly because I could have used the extra cash from the anticipated raise I am likely to receive. As it turns out, God has a plan even when we don't see it. I think I am probably more valuable to the company now than I was even a few short months ago, which should mean a better outcome at my review. My resolution until then is to work as hard as possible and do everything I can to remind my employer what an asset I am to the company.

June 2008 Resolution

As corny as it sounds, I don't think I have any new resolutions to report for the month of June. On the good news side, I was able to keep my May resolution about working out, on average, every other day. Additionally, I was able to keep my April resolution of serving on an Encounter team during the month of May. It was an enriching experience, and it definitely brought my relationship with God and certain people in my life to another level, all while making the acquaintace of some new Christians in the process...good times!

That said, given the instability and pain in my left knee, I have been unable to take advantage of the MMA gym membership I have. As time passes, I hope that will change, and besides, I can always go work out on the weights and bags there if need be. There's an old military adage about making sure to consolidate the gains you have made, especially in terms of territory taken. That's my resolution for June...to keep, at a minimum, working out every other day throughout the month of June just like I did in May. Hopefully, my gains in the gym will begin to result in losses on the scale in very short order. In addition to my Hawaii honeymoon, I have my Las Vegas vacation/bachelor party coming up next month...and since there's a good chance there will be some topless times on that trip also, gotta start bringing the buffness!

"The Shack", by William P. Young

Once of my friends from the ministry in which I am involved recently recommended to me a book called "The Shack", by William P. Young. Once I read all the great feedback about it online, I went and bought the book and once I started reading it, I was unable to put it down.

I can't really put into words what an experience this book was for me, and, as I am told, for quite a few of my friends. One of the things many people, Christians and non-believers alike, often ask about God is this: Why does He let bad things happen to good people, and where is God in the midst of our worst, pain, trials, and suffering? Although this book is work of fiction, it posits as good an answer to those questions as any scholar, theologian, or secular journalist as I have ever seen. Even though the "shack" is a fictional place, everyone has such a place in his or her life, whether it is someplace tangible or a place in their mind due to things they experienced which, at the time and possibly since then, were undesirable and painful. Just like the main character in this book, people generally have two choices in life: 1.) they can spend countless amounts of wasted time and spirit-sucking energy trying to "hide" or "protect" these things from the light of day and from God, OR 2.) they can go directly to the source of their pain, confront it head on, and with God's help, push through the walls they have erected (walls that, in times past, may have been necessary for coping and survival, but which now block the way to healing and keep them in bondage) and move forward in life with a lightness and freedom they never thought possible.

If you want to learn more about the author, you can go to his blog here and/or his Myspace page here. All I can say is read the book...I can't recommend it strongly enough. Much love to you all and God Bless!

--Chris :)

May 2008 Resolutions

Due to my commitments to the ministry in which I am involved, work obligations to prepare for my one year review at my job, and the preparations to move out of my apartment into my fiancee's condo for good later this month, my workouts in April were virtually non-existent. While I know that those other areas of my life are going well due to the attention I have given them, it is much harder to continue to succeed in multiple areas of life if your body begins to break down. Honestly, right now, I don't feel all that well physically and I am not in nearly the shape I will need to be, especially given that I will be walking on a Hawaii beach topless for a week on my honeymoon about five months from now.

My company's softball team started its spring season last month (running from April to June), but with the training coming up in about a week and my one year review pending any day now (meaning I have to get as many big wins in my column as possible at work), the martial arts classes I am paying for (yes, I did join the gym I discussed possibly joining back in this post) may have to wait until later in the month or possibly until June. That said, I figure that I have at least one workout a week (one softball game) scheduled into my weekly routine until June. I figure if I can do that, and fit in workouts of some kind 3 of the other 6 days a week, that will get me to 4 workouts a week, or an average of a workout every other day. There's also a possibility that, when the company softball league ends in June, I may sign up for a flag football or soccer league to try and get my cardio up over the summer.

That should be enough to get a good foundation in place to meet my fitness goal, which is losing 20 pounds (I am up to 245, nearly my college football playing weight, except that I'm nowhere near that cut or strong as I was back then) by the time the wedding and honeymoon get here in October. This action plan to get myself back closer to and eventually into the shape I need to be seems to have a good chance for success, so I am excited to see how it plays out.

April 2008 Resolutions

OK, so time for some honesty on the resolutions front. Due to extra work responsibilities, the renovation of my fiancee's condo, and my own lack of discipline, I fell off the wagon in spectacular fashion during the month of March for two of my previous 2008 resolutions: my resolution to stop drinking soda pop and attempting to work out every other day (as I successfully did in February). In addition to getting back on track with my soda pop resolution, my April resolution is to commit to serve on the final "Encounter" team. The website for the ministry that puts on the training is here. I went through this experience back in 2006, and it has literally changed my life. I believe that being on a team that would help put on one of these trainings would not only give me a refreshing reminder of the principles I learned there which have seved me so well, but it would also give me an opportunity to sow into the lives of some of my loved ones so that they might have their own life-changing encounter with God. I am going to put myself into this 100% and trust God to meet me there and multiply my efforts into blessings in the lives of others many times over. I'm so excited!

Barack "Hopey McChangitude" Obamessiah Has No Clothes

I always found it interesting, if not surprising, that the mainstream media, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dem-Cong tried to anoint Senator Barack Obama (Socialist-IL) as the candidate who could transcend race and even politics. Given the rampant skepticism with which I view most any politician, I certainly wouldn't mind listening to someone who could actually do that (assuming such a person exists), but it isn't this guy. Since the whole scandal regarding his pastor and spiritual advisor, Reverend Jeremiah "G-d Damn America" Wright broke, perhaps the most surprising thing about all this is that the mainstream media is actually reporting it. First, Obama tried to say he didn't know about such statements and hadn't heard anything like those statements, then he had heard those statements and didn't agree with some of them, and finally, in his widely trumpeted speech on race, he defended his pastor, rationalized and equivocated, and closed by throwing his white grandmother who raised him under the bus WHILE accusing all white people of racism.

It may not be enough for the Hildebeast to overtake him in the polls or keep him from the nomination, but I can guarantee that those statements, along with his wife's comments that America is a mean country, will not endear Obama to the average voter. It will make for an interesting general election, and if anyone but Mr. Civilized (read: politically spineless), John McCain, were running against him, we could be looking at quite an opportunity to run away with the election even though it's six months away. As it stands, Obama will likely edge out Hillary for the Dem-Cong nomination, the MSM and the other Dem-Cong enablers will rally around him, McCain will squander this golden opportunity, and we will be in for another razor-thin margin of victory in Election 2008. Here's a linkfest, courtesy of Newsmax (here, here, and here), GOPUSA (here, here, and here), and Emperor Misha (here, here, and here), along with some money quotes below. Obama is not the candidate who transcends race, he is the candidate of race...and while he may not be the second coming of Jesse Jackson as Bill Clinton suggested, he has no qualms about using the same, tired old race-baiting demagoguery and ethnic warfare that has been a staple of the Dem-Cong for the last 40-50 years, so in my book, he's a part of the same sorry lot.

Newsmax

Ron Kessler:

"When we hire anyone for a job, we look at their record. Barack Obama’s record is now clear for all to see. For two decades, Obama has been attending a church where paranoid hatred of America is preached on a regular basis. For two decades, the senator has counted as his minister, friend and adviser a man who says that America created the AIDS virus to kill blacks, puts blacks in prison rather than killing them off, and deserved to be attacked on 9/11 because of its racism."

“If your spiritual advisor makes outrageous statements, it’s incumbent on you as a leader to denounce those statements,” says Brad Blakeman, a former Bush White House aide who heads the conservative Freedom’s Watch. “Silence is an admission that you agree with what your spiritual advisor pronounces.”

Michael Reagan

"Try as he might, Barack Obama cannot claim the innocence of a lamb in his long years of worshipful association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He was either fully aware of the seething racial hatred that motivated Wright, or something of a blithering idiot who can’t spot a racist hater when he spends years genuflecting at his feet.

Barack Obama is not an idiot. He is a brilliant orator who exudes charm and arouses near-worship from his host of giddy, hypnotized supporters. He is also a committed socialist and a talented salesman for his brand of Marxist snake oil.

Beware of camels bearing gifts, and politicians promising utopia."

GOPUSA

Doug Patton:

"We are judged not just by our words, but by the company we keep. The litmus test should not be whether or not everyone a candidate knows is ideal. That is an impossible standard. The true measure of a man is in his ability to choose friends with which he can be proud to stand shoulder to shoulder, not those about whom he must equivocate and for whom he must apologize."

Thomas Sowell:

"There was no way that he didn't know about Jeremiah Wright's anti-American and racist diatribes from the pulpit.

Someone once said that a con man's job is not to convince skeptics but to enable people to continue to believe what they already want to believe. Accordingly, Obama's Philadelphia speech -- a theatrical masterpiece -- will probably reassure most Democrats and some other Obama supporters. They will undoubtedly say that we should now "move on," even though many Democrats have still not yet moved on from George W. Bush's 2000 election victory. Like the Soviet show trials during their 1930s purges, Obama's speech was not supposed to convince critics but to reassure supporters and fellow-travelers, in order to keep the "useful idiots" useful."

Michelle Malkin:

"Barack Obama -- the self-anointed soul-fixing, nation-healing political Messiah -- has lost his glow. That is the takeaway from the beleaguered Democratic presidential candidate's "major" speech in Philadelphia yesterday.

For all of his supposedly unique and transcendent understanding of race in America, Obama's talk amounted to the same old, same old. The Glowbama mystique has gone the way of the Emperor's clothes. Instead of accountability, we got excuses. Instead of disavowal of demagoguery, we got whacked with the moral equivalence card. Instead of rejecting the Blame America mantra of left-wing black nationalism, we got more Blame Whitey. Same old, same old. ...

Even as he denied that he was justifying and excusing Wright's demagoguery, Obama was doing just that by invoking slavery, Jim Crow, segregated schools, violence in the inner city and, yes, denial of access to FHA mortgages, to explain how we get to Wright spewing "G-d Damn America!" on Sunday morning."

Emperor Misha

"Not convinced? They’ve been members of this church for over 20 years and contributed $22,500 to in 2006. We can only conclude that the views of this alleged church and pastor agree with their own personal ones. Uncle Jeremiah is simply put, an anti-semitic, segregationist, race-baiting, America-hating bastard. ...

Attempting to down-play the bigoted bastard as representative of other influential black pastors isn’t answering the question. Social Gospel? I suppose that’s the anti-semitic portions of your ideology Jerkemiah. It’s pretty obvious now that we’ve had a peek into the ’spiritual’ life of the Husseinasiah, of his real feelings."

"Hopey McChangitude is just concerned about the pore and oppressed masses, bringing joyous tidings to them in the form of greenbacks freshly stolen from you and me. It’s called “politics” and “buying the votes that brung you."

"Senator Obama’s speech was enlightening, not for his remarks on the ‘original sin’ of slavery, nor how he threw his own grandmother under the bus. What is truly the gist of his remarks is how people that are outraged must be outraged for a reason.

Injecting race into the remarks of Jeremiah Wright is the obvious thing to do, but I don’t care one wit about race. Nor does Barak Obama; except to use the discussion to parry the criticism. The real problem with the Reverend’s comments is the outrageous rhetoric. ...

He seems to be saying that people who are perpetually outraged must have a valid reason and it is up to me to figure it out why and do something about it. ...

I, for one, am outraged that Barack Obama accepts this outrage as “natural“. This is not how civilized people interact. People like this “Reverend” need to be shoved off to the fringe and not be taken seriously. Senator Obama has not marginalized him in 20+ years— he must believe in the way the message is spoken.

For all you outraged people: I’m sorry, but I don’t feel sorry for you."

It's Well Past Time to Send "Palestine" Into the Ash Bin of History

Chalk this up as one more reason I will never get elected President. The terrortards of Palestine celebrate at the news of eight murdered Israeli students, then they name him a "Holy Islamic Martyr"?! Are you kidding me? This is the equivalent of a U.S. President handing out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a homegrown American terrorist who murdered people in another country (think Adam Gadahn, the California born white guy who turned terrorist and joined Osama and al-Qaeda, and who is now delightfully dead). Read this post by Mike over at Cold Fury, and this one by Emperor Misha (SERIOUS LANGUAGE ALERT!), then let the bedwetting terror enablers worldwide weep when I tell you agree with EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. To hell with the Palestinian apes and their alleged suffering. If Israel decides to let them live, they should do it eating sand and without a nickel of American or Israeli taxpayer money. Give the Palestinians a state? No way, no dice, no how, never should happen. Read Mike and Misha, and you'll know what these 7th century savages really deserve...on a kind day.

Cold Fury

Bribery Backfire

"Mahmoud Abbas’s official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper has honored the killer of the eight high school students gunned down this week with the status of Shahid - Holy Islamic Martyr. In so doing, the PA is sending its people a straightforward message of support for the terror murders and the murderer. According to the PA interpretation of Islam, there is no higher status that a human being can achieve today than that of Shahid.

And there are no more repellent swine currently extant than those who glorify the wanton murder of innocent schoolchildren, and inculcate a reverence in future generations for the filth who perpetuate the endless cycle of Palestinian terrorism. As Gateway Pundit says, somebody really ought to show this to Condoleeza Rice and the other enablers in the hapless, clueless Bush administration — until the dolts finally comprehend that these monstrous savages are not in any way friends or “partners for peace” of any enlightened nation, nor deserving of one more red cent of American support. Capt Ed says it:

We have tried to bargain with Palestinian terrorists for decades. They have reciprocated by aligning themselves with Iran in some cases and continuing their terrorism independently in others. The US has gotten pressed into this position by its European allies, which continue to see Israel as the problem. We need to show them this newspaper and announce that we will pull all support for Abbas and instead fortify the Israelis in order for them to conduct the war that Abbas and Hamas apparently want so badly. That’s infinitely preferable to giving even one cent in support to officials who celebrate the likes of Abu Dheim.

We’ve played along with this sucker’s-bet charade for entirely too long; cut ‘em off. Let ‘em eat sand, until they’re ready to renounce their twisted, genocidal ambitions and join the civilized world — which ought at last to nut up and stop defiling its supposed principles by proffering wretched apologia for these depraved atrocities."
*********************
Emperor Misha

"Our friends at Cold Fury note that the subhuman sack of Levantine dogshit who murdered 8 yeshiva students a few days ago is already being eulogized and celebrated by our “partners in the peace process”, the paleswinians.

I don’t know. Perhaps we’re supposed to be grateful that they at least held off the fireworks, sermons and celebrations of the murdering scum ’till after the funerals? If so, NO FUCKING SALE. Yet we’re constantly told by our own so-called “conservative” government that we need to keep pressuring Eretz Yisroel to negotiate with those baby killers and death merchants. I repeat: NO FUCKING SALE.

Yes, I’m a Zionist, and I’m damn proud of it. Few things are more amusing to me that to hear The Usual Suspects sling that label at me in an attempt to insult me. Insult me? What, next you’re going to cut me to the quick by telling me that I’m strikingly handsome and an unrepentant conservative as well? Ouch, please stop! I’m bleeding here! The pain, the PAIN!

There are numerous reasons, too many to mention, why I’m a Zionist, but why not take a couple of the Big Ones?

One, which should be obvious to anybody possessing even a shred of common human decency not to mention intelligence, is that Eretz Yisroel belongs to the Jews. It always has, and you don’t need to dig out or even believe in the Bible to get that one. There has never been a “Palestine” owned and inhabited by Arabs, even a subretarded mongrel with the most basic and rudimentary of reading skills can ascertain that without spending more than half an hour of research on it. Don’t even think about challenging me on that one, because I will ignore it. You might as well argue that the world is flat, that argument would be no less unsupportable by actual facts, and my life is too short to waste time debating that issue as well.

Another is that it is painfully obvious just what happened to the Jews as a result of being thrown out of their ancestral homelands. Sure, you can point to “golden ages” where Gentiles and Jooos have been living together in perfect harmony, but sooner or later the shit is going to hit the fan and people start looking for somebody (other than themselves, of course) to blame for the pissy situation that they’ve brought upon themselves. And guess who that group is going to be? The minority who, being used to hardship and having to make it in foreign lands, actually do well while the locals are getting high on bread, circuses, orgies and self-pity. It’s inevitable. It could even happen here, and don’t kid yourselves by saying that it couldn’t. The solution? Well, I don’t know, maybe letting the Jooos at least have the option of living in a country where they aren’t a minority only accepted for as long as the locals are too busy getting fat and rich to become squirrely about the “outsiders?” A country that just so happens to be the actual country that they were forcibly exiled from, a country that has belonged to them for longer than the fucking Roman Empire? Call me crazy, but I think that it sounds perfectly reasonable. As to the Arab squatters who either sold their land to the Jooos after WWII or ran off hoping that they could come back to reap the spoils once their friends were done murdering all the Jooos: Tough fucking shit. Rule number one about starting a war: If you lose, you don’t get to call for a “do over.” If that’s too fucking hard for you to handle, then I suggest that you sit on your asses and refrain from trying to commit genocide in the first place.

Do we hear massive outcries for the return to Germany of East Prussia, Schlesien, Elsass and Lothringen? No? BECAUSE THEY FUCKING WELL STARTED A WAR AND LOST THOSE TERRITORIES AS A RESULT OF LOSING THE WAR!

Now tell me why different rules apply to the Arabs who already sit on 99% of the Middle East?

I didn’t think you could either. Actually, I KNEW you couldn’t. That’s why questions such as that one are called “rhetorical.”

Second, and this is where all of you secular atheists are more than welcome to tune out, I love you just the same, we just happen to disagree on that one issue which is fine. Really it is. I promise I won’t force you to go to church or kidnap your kids and send them to Sunday School:

The Bible says so and yes, I actually do believe that G-d was serious about what He said. Dead serious. It’s sort of a requirement for this whole “being a Christian” thing, in spite of what the fad “Bible optional” denominations would like to have you believe. More specifically, and this pertains to this whole “we must negotiate with the child killers and give them a state” bullshit, here’s a passage that I lifted from my good friend Steve H. at Hog on Ice (you should read the post too, because it’s excellent):

1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-
2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.
3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.
6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

[Deuteronomy 7:1-6]

Pay particular attention to verse 2, and with particular particularity the passage: “Make no treaty with them,”

I don’t know how G-d could be more clear without resorting to modern visual aids such as carefully drawn diagrams an a PowerPoint presentation.

You don’t want to take my word for it that trying to “make peace” with a group of animals most known for being encouraged to lie to the “infidels” in order to gain treaties, or “hudnas”, useful only to keep from being beaten to a pulp until you can regroup and resume your efforts? A group of subhumans whose declared goal, DECLARED GOAL, is to make Eretz Yisroel and, indeed, the whole world “Judenrein?” You still believe that I’m being “too harsh” or even “unreasonable?”

Well take the Word of G-d for it, then. As to myself, that’s good enough for me.

Sadly, and I know this from experience, that one paragraph above will be enough for at least some seculars to completely disregard the five (5) paragraphs above that one where I painstakingly outlined my very secular argument in favor of Eretz Yisroel’s right to exist. I know full well that even my great care in putting the secular argument in front of the religious one won’t have an effect on some people as soon as they reach the bit about G-d. Heaven forbid that they should get the Christofascist Cooties by actually agreeing with somebody who believes in G-d!

I know this will happen, even though I also know that the vast majority of my highly valued secular friends out there will be perfectly capable of separating the two and, frankly, I’m past caring, which I readily admit is a failing of mine as a Christian.

Because I also remember Genesis 12:3

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

And that, in the end, is all that truly matters.

Take your chances if you must. I know that I want to end up with my name in That Book, and I think it’s pretty clear what you have to do or, more importantly, NOT do in order to get there.

Thatisall.

Am Yisroel chai!"

Eight More Innocent Israelis Gunned Down in the Name of Allah

In this Jerusalem Post article, we learn the sad news that a Palestinian terrorist (redundant, yes, I know) forced his way into a school and killed eight Jewish students before being killed by police. With all the armed incursions by Mexican drug gangs (supported by Mexican military forces) into the southwestern U.S., it seems like only a matter of time until something similar happens in America. Right now, they seem to be content destroying private property, killing animals, and murdering Border Patrol and police officers from border states to protect their shipments...taking out a bus full of schoolkids in the wrong place at the right time doesn't seem so far fetched. I'm glad the scum who slaughtered these children while they were trying to learn and better themselves (unlike his people, who react to books and knowledge something like vampires do to bullets made out of crosses dripping in garlic) is already getting his just desserts from his 72 Virginians and hopefully some well-endowed demons someplace toasty, but I am getting sick and damn tired of the Israeli version of John Francois Kerry (Prime Minister Ehud Olmert) and the spineless enablers in the Bush Administration conspiring to get innocent Israelis killed every time a Palestinian feels aggrieved. One of the happiest days of my life will be when Israel gets a real leader who tells Hamas they can shut down the attacks or be steamrolled into the next life by the IDF...then does it, and tells the U.N., the EU, and anyone else who doesn't like it to pound sand. Until then, we'll just get more headlines like this one. Read the whole thing, pray for the families of those children, and for the soul and continued existence of Israel.

8 Murdered by Terrorist in Jerusalem
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 6, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Police confirmed Friday morning that the Palestinian terrorist who opened fire at central Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva late Thursday night, killing eight students and wounding 11 others, carried a blue Israeli identity card and came from east Jerusalem.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Police Operations Department commander Asst.-Cmdr. Yoram Ohayon said that the attacker was from the village of Jabil Mukaba, near east Talpiyot. He said police were checking whether the gunman had accomplices and how he made his way to the yeshiva.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco told the radio station that during overnight searches, police had found a car they believed was used by the terrorist. Franco said that it was the car the attacker worked with on a regular basis, estimating that it was the vehicle he used to travel to central Jerusalem to perpetrate the attack.

The names the victims of the shooting attack were released Friday morning.

They were identified as: Yohai Lifshitz, 18, from Jerusalem; Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16, from Shilo; Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, from Kohav Hashahar, Neria Cohen, 15, also from the capital, Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, from Neve Daniel, Avraham David Moses, 16, from Efrat, Roee Roth, 18, from Elkana and Doron Meherete, 26, from Ashdod.

The funerals of all eight fatalities are due to take place at 10 a.m. Friday.

The 8:45 p.m. shooting at the yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood broke a two-year lull in terror in the capital and sent students scurrying for cover from a hail of gunfire - a reported 500-600 bullets - that lasted for several minutes.

"There were horrendous screams of 'Help us! Help us!'" recounted Avrahami Sheinberger of the ZAKA emergency rescue service, one of the first to respond to the scene. "There were bodies strewn all over the floor, at the entrance to the yeshiva, in various rooms and in the library."

As security forces raced to the scene, the gunman fired round after round of ammunition into the library at the seminary, religious Zionism's flagship institution. About 80 students had gathered in the library to celebrate the Hebrew month of Adar II, which begins on Friday evening.

It was not immediately clear, late Thursday night, whether there was a security guard at the entrance to the yeshiva.

Initial reports of a second terrorist on the loose proved unfounded.

"We heard shooting and knew that something had happened," recounted Yitzhak Dadon, 40, who studies at the yeshiva. Dadon said he cocked his handgun and went up to the roof of the yeshiva, where he saw the terrorist spraying gunfire indiscriminately at the crowd inside. Dadon said he fired two bullets at the terrorist, who began to stumble.

At the same time, police arrived at the scene and an intense gunfight erupted with the terrorist lasting several minutes, witnesses said. The scent of gunpowder wafted in the air as undercover police stormed the building.

Franco said the terrorist was killed by an IDF officer who lives near the yeshiva and raced to the scene.

Rescue workers recounted a grisly picture of students hiding under desks and locking themselves in classrooms to avoid being caught in the hail of bullets.

Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered," he said.

"I heard an explosion and I quickly understood that this was gunfire," said Nuri Davidov, 21. "We hid in a room and, from a window, we could see the terrorist opening fire at other students."

"We had just finished evening prayers and suddenly we heard a burst of gunfire," said Dr. Yitzhak Luber, who was attending a class at the yeshiva. "We all immediately ducked on the floor."

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said the dead gunman was wearing a vest that at first appeared to be an explosives vest but turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.

Outside the yeshiva after the attack, crowds of angry onlookers shouted "Death to Arabs!" as rescue workers rushed the wounded to city hospitals.

Franco said that there was no specific intelligence warning about such an impending attack, although there were general alerts for terrorist attacks in the city.

Police were on heightened alert ahead of Friday prayers on the Temple Mount after a major IDF operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the week.

Hizbullah's Al-Manar satellite television station announced Thursday that a relatively unknown Israeli Arab group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza was responsible for the shooting attack. "Galilee Freedom Battalions - the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza claimed responsibility for the Jerusalem operation," read the message that flashed across Al-Manar's screen.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was informed of the attack after holding security meetings in Tel Aviv. He spoke immediately after the attack with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, and held consultations with his advisers and security officials.

Lupolianski told Channel 2, "It's very sad tonight in Jerusalem - many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem."

The Foreign Ministry said the attack would not stop Israel's peace efforts. "Talks will continue," a spokesman said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. "The president condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," the PA said in a statement.

In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in the air in celebration after hearing news of the attack on the yeshiva.

At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which is only a few minutes' drive from the yeshiva, the most seriously wounded student - who had bullet holes in many parts of his body - was rushed to the operating room. Spokeswoman Shoham Ruvio said he looked about 18 years old. Two other wounded students were in moderate condition, while four were lightly wounded. The age of the wounded was estimated at 16 to 28.

At Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, three wounded were received. Two were in serious condition in the trauma room, while one was lightly wounded.

According to eyewitnesses, the students initially thought that the gunfire was fireworks - part of a party underway to celebrate the beginning of Adar II.

The Mercaz Harav Yeshiva is considered the leading national-religious yeshiva in Israel, with hundreds of elite students. Among its thousands of graduates are leading public figures including senior rabbis and IDF officers. It was founded in 1924 by mandatory Palestine's first chief rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook. Its longtime head, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, died in September 2007.

Rabbi David Stav, one of many prominent graduates of the yeshiva, which has produced the bulk of the spiritual leadership of religious Zionism in Israel, said that the attack had been directed at the heart of religious Zionism.

"Mercaz Harav is the flagship of the entire religious Zionist movement," said Stav. "The terrorist targeted a place that symbolizes love for the land of Israel, love for the people of Israel and love for the Torah. No Jewish soul can remain indifferent to the horrible thought that a despicable terrorist attacked a group of young men who were busy studying the holy Torah."

Stav, who has been involved in interfaith dialogue with Israeli Muslim spiritual leaders via an organization called Kedem, said that Thursday night's attack underscores the cruelty and evil of Islamic-inspired terrorism. "Followers of Islam claim they respect the people of the book. But this horrific act proves the emptiness of their claims."

Rabbi David Simhon, the educational director of the yeshiva, said "the people of Israel will not be broken" by attacks such as this."

March 2008 Resolutions

My March 2008 resolutions are as follows:

1.) To do my very best to floss daily. Unfortunately, I did not inherit very good dental genetics, and although brushing and using mouthwash regularly is good, my dentist has kept on me about flossing to avoid future root canals. So, I guess there is no time like the present.

2.) To start training mixed martial arts, beginning with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I've pretty much always been a fan of the UFC, but I haven't done any real martial arts training, well, ever. Even without formal training, my stand-up game is not terrible, but it could use some work (perhaps with a good boxing and/or Muay Thai coach). I think I have found the gym I will likely join if I like the facilities and the instructors. Here is the website, and best of all, it's about 5-10 minutes from my fiancee's condo. I know it will probably be tough, but I'd like to give it a shot. Besides, having been an athlete for most of my childhood and a decent part of my adult life, lifting weights gets boring sometimes. Even with new routines, there's only so much of that you can do. Add to that the fact that all the brute strength in the world isn't going to help you against someone with superior training, especially if the fight goes to the ground. I'm excited to give it a shot and see what happens.

Angry White Men

Several bloggers that I read regularly linked to this outstanding article in the Aspen Times. The more I think about it, the more I believe with every fiber of my being that America is headed the way of the Roman Empire. Even more strongly than that, I believe that the individuals affectionately tabbed as "Angry White Men" in this aticle will be the ones that help put America back together the right way once the reset button is pressed (whether externally by war or by internal overthrow of the corrupt gangs of criminals in power in D.C.). My prayer is that myself and my descendants (especially my son(s)) will be counted proudly as members of this group. This article is so good, I posted the whole thing below.

"In Election 2008, Don’t Forget Angry White Man"
Gary Hubbell
February 9, 2008

"There is a great amount of interest in this year’s presidential elections, as everybody seems to recognize that our next president has to be a lot better than George Bush. The Democrats are riding high with two groundbreaking candidates — a woman and an African-American — while the conservative Republicans are in a quandary about their party’s nod to a quasi-liberal maverick, John McCain.

Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasbord of special-interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian and transgender people to children of illegal immigrants to working mothers to evangelical Christians.

There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the Angry White Man. The Angry White Man comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt-poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, deep South to mountain West, left Coast to Eastern Seaboard.

His common traits are that he isn’t looking for anything from anyone — just the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman and employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes and works hard.

The victimhood syndrome buzzwords — “disenfranchised,” “marginalized” and “voiceless” — don’t resonate with him. “Press ‘one’ for English” is a curse-word to him. He’s used to picking up the tab, whether it’s the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations or a beautiful wedding.

He believes the Constitution is to be interpreted literally, not as a “living document” open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives.

The Angry White Man owns firearms, and he’s willing to pick up a gun to defend his home and his country. He is willing to lay down his life to defend the freedom and safety of others, and the thought of killing someone who needs killing really doesn’t bother him.

The Angry White Man is not a metrosexual, a homosexual or a victim. Nobody like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina — he got his people together and got the hell out, then went back in to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier or a volunteer firefighter.

His last name and religion don’t matter. His background might be Italian, English, Polish, German, Slavic, Irish, or Russian, and he might have Cherokee, Mexican, or Puerto Rican mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.

He’s a man’s man, the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt white-tailed deer, call turkeys, play golf, spend a few bucks at a strip club once in a blue moon, change his own oil and build things. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams and doesn’t ask for a penny. He’s the kind of guy who can put an addition on his house with a couple of friends, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper for his truck, design a factory and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.

Women either love him or hate him, but they know he’s a man, not a dishrag. If they’re looking for someone to walk all over, they’ve got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women and says “Yes, sir” and “No, ma’am.”

He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libertarian or a Green. He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner.

He’s not a racist, but he is annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race. He’s willing to give everybody a fair chance if they work hard, play by the rules and learn English.

Most important, the Angry White Man is pissed off. When his job site becomes flooded with illegal workers who don’t pay taxes and his wages drop like a stone, he gets righteously angry. When his job gets shipped overseas, and he has to speak to some incomprehensible idiot in India for tech support, he simmers. When Al Sharpton comes on TV, leading some rally for reparations for slavery or some such nonsense, he bites his tongue and he remembers. When a child gets charged with carrying a concealed weapon for mistakenly bringing a penknife to school, he takes note of who the local idiots are in education and law enforcement.

He also votes, and the Angry White Man loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her on television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader. It’s not that she is a woman. It’s that she is who she is. It’s the liberal victim groups she panders to, the “poor me” attitude that she represents, her inability to give a straight answer to an honest question, his tax dollars that she wants to give to people who refuse to do anything for themselves.

There are many millions of Angry White Men. Four million Angry White Men are members of the National Rifle Association, and all of them will vote against Hillary Clinton, just as the great majority of them voted for George Bush.

He hopes that she will be the Democratic nominee for president in 2008, and he will make sure that she gets beaten like a drum."Gary Hubbell is a writer, photographer, location scout for films and photo shoots, and a ranch real estate broker. He writes a monthly column for the Aspen Times Weekly.