Posted by
SonOfTed on Saturday, September 06, 2008 10:59:47 PM
(A blog inspired by one of my favorite writers, Thomas Sowell…)
We’ll begin with:
25 things you might not know about John McCain
The Associated Press
1. He has a stuffed dancing hamster on display in his Senate office.
2. His wife says her obsession with electronic gadgets and technology is one of his pet peeves.
3. He says his pet peeve is politicians who talk too much. (He admits that he's guilty, too, sometimes.)
4. He's not much of a shopper, but he likes to buy rugs when traveling abroad.
5. His favorite book is "For Whom the Bell Tolls," by Ernest Hemingway.
6. He was addicted to the TV show "24."
7. He carries a lucky penny in his pocket.
8. He played Scrooge in the POWs' staging of "A Christmas Carol" at the Hanoi Hilton.
9. His movie favorites include "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," "Casablanca," and "Viva Zapata!" He and wife Cindy have seen "Mamma Mia!" twice.
10. He talks to fellow prisoners of war, those with whom he shared a cell in Vietnam, almost daily.
11. He has seven children. The first two he adopted from his first wife's previous marriage, the third was born to him and his first wife, the next three were born to him and his second wife, and the seventh they adopted from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. He has four grandchildren.
12. His wife was in Bangladesh on a charity mission and brought home baby Bridget without checking first with McCain.
13. He describes himself as "a person who is mostly normal."
14. His parents "eloped" and got married at Caesar's Bar in Tijuana, Mexico; McCain's grandfather accompanied them.
15. He's serious about the finer points of barbecuing, and he likes to deep-fry turkeys in peanut oil.
16. He wasn't happy when Hudson, the neighbors' black lab, ate the tenderloin he'd been marinating to grill for dinner at their ranch in Sedona, Ariz.
17. He doesn't like to be alone.
18. At Christmastime, he likes to supervise the lighting of about 1,000 luminaria candles on their property in Sedona with family and friends.
19. Going on vacation with him is anything but relaxing. His children call it "Camp McCain."
20. He's an early-bird, not a night-owl.
21. He doesn't e-mail. He doesn't surf the Web. He likes to read the newspaper in print. He's attached to his cell phone.
22. His office window sill is overrun with stacks of books. He hands books off to friends once he's read them.
23. He's into fruit trees. And birds. He keeps binoculars and bird books at the ready in Sedona. His pet collection: two dogs, two turtles, a cat, a ferret, three parakeets and 13 saltwater fish.
24. His wife is super-rich. They have a prenuptial agreement.
25. He programmed digital remotes at the family's homes in Phoenix and Washington so they can call up DVDs in any room.
Source: http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/mccain/articles/2008/08/29/20080829mccain082925things.html
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Bits & Pieces of my thoughts:
I consider myself a moderate, right leaning traditional conservative. If someone calls me a "neo-con", it's a label and says more about them than it does about me.
As for my religion it's mostly private. But my pastor has encouraged me to give of my time, treasure and talent... to share it with the world in all that I do (work and social) and to have compassion for ALL life in the manner taught to me by my Lord Jesus Christ. I have actively worked to do so all my life.
If "Planned Parenthood" had it's way with mothers like Sarah & Bristol Palin, Trig (and many NORMAL kids) would not live.
I know lots of Trigs, adult and adolescent. I work with them virtually every workday. I think Trigs everywhere should be given the time to live, even if they need special help. Some of them have major health problems and do not live as long as we do. Others can see and do things on a level "out of the box" that makes the rest of us look small. How many Einsteins & Picassos have been terminated prior to birth over the years? We shall never know. Out of millions of terminated pregnancies I am sure that there were more than a few.
Pro-choice to many means "allow abortion to 17 year olds without parental notification". That is NOT a mid-road position. In far too many cases, abortion stops a beating heart. My pastor has a filmed abortion video available for anyone to watch who doesn’t think a fetus is a kid.
As for stem cells, when I was in middle school my biology teacher told me that people "had been seeking the Fountain of Youth" since exploration of our world first began and always would be... yet we are mortal. If you don't believe people are clutching at a Fountain of Youth, look at a picture of Joan Rivers some day.
When they talk of miracle cures, everyone jumped on the stem cells bandwagon. I said to myself, there has to be a BETTER way than creating fertilized embryos (which if left alone will become PEOPLE) than harvesting our CHILDREN to save ourselves.
Suddenly medical research discovered that the same stem cells are quite probably available in afterbirth and placenta.
That's thinking "outside the box".
So is recycling nuclear fuel rods to get the most out of them and then dissipating the radiation faster than nature would ever do.
And THOSE things, more than any other, are why I believe so strongly in LIFE and conservative, moral values. Every potential child should be able to enjoy the gift of life.
I'm GLAD my parents made the right choice.
There are plenty of crappy churches out there that will take your money and give you a show. That's why you gotta be an independent thinker and vote with your feet if they're out of line.
I have a unique perspective. My small state’s economy has THRIVED under Bush's tax cuts. States that are hurting are often spending a LOT on ridiculous things… more proof that big government is often much less effective than a smaller, streamlined version.
My governor and state legislature have also used our surplus to offer property tax relief to fiscally weary home owners.
Many state governments are a PERFECT model for a smaller, fiscally conservative FEDERAL governement. But the lobbyists and campaign donations to keep ambition going are just too much to resist.
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And finally a short story about me (I promise it will be short):
When I worked in state government, my colleagues and I worked in a big big IT office. At the time my team manager handled 8-10 people, but the "Programming" manager was constantly coordinating with the Team managers and all of us (80 or so programmer/analysts and project leaders).
Every once in a while, when the workload was heavy and tempers, morale, and moods were low he would put everything on the normal meeting agenda aside and we would all watch a video.
That video was called "A Bad Day".
I don't remember the man's name who narrated it, but he was one of John McCain's colleagues during their stint in the Hanoi Hilton.
1. He talked about the shock of capture, followed by the constant abuse and torture. NOT waterboarding or sleep deprivation, but the outright bone breaking, life changing beatings and hideous torture sessions.
2. He discussed laying in a small cell 24 hours a day, listening as your fellow prisoners were dragged off to be tortured and knowing that your turn was coming.
3. He informed us about the "tap tapping" code that they came up with, so that when someone was dragged back into the cell, the others could signal their faith and support via wall tapping. Even if the prisoners couldn't make eye contact or get the "thumbs up" to each other that Senator McCain talked about, they could communicate and support each other even if they couldn't meet and hold conversations. Their communication was by tapping.
4. So last night while John McCain was telling me more about this situation, I was RIVETED to my seat and in tears most of the time because I have heard this story many times before.
5. Those POWs (and the narrator) discovered something about themselves that many of us never will... how FAR the human spirit can be tested and STILL remain POSITIVE and HOPEFUL.
6. Their FAITH guided them through tough times, a stern faith in God and a sincere belief that their country would never forget them.
7. They did all kinds of things to pass the time when they could talk. In between, they did all kinds of other things and communicated the results by tap code. For example, the video narrator spoke of "push up" contests. Barely fed and with hardly any muscle tone, these men did hundreds and even thousands of pushups. They even held contests and I discovered that the man who usually won was the man who went LAST. Knowing what they had to beat was all they needed for motivation.
8. As Senator McCain pointed out, they did not truly understand just HOW MUCH freedom we in Western nations (and our own country of America) enjoyed until it was suddenly, shockingly taken away from them.
9. "Try spending a day in the Hanoi Hilton," was the POW video narrator's message. "THAT'S a bad day." But he also pointed out that we often put way too many limitations on ourselves and don't fully realize how much we are capable of achieving until we have no choice but to fight for our ongoing survival, each and every day.
After our "bad day", we could leave, go for a walk, head off to McDonald's, or share time with our families. If we lost our jobs we could go to an unemployment office and collect benefits while looking for a new one. Or we could go to a food shelter or a state/federally funded vocational rehabilitation center. Did society somehow deprive you of an education? These vocational rehab centers will often TRAIN YOU in the job skills of your choice for FREE.
But you have to get up off that sidewalk and get off those drugs or get off that alcohol, and you have to WANT something better for yourself.
America takes care of anyone who wants the help. But you have to get past your pride and ego first and ASK when times are tough.
Office morale was often high in my state office, and grumbling was still there but minimized.
Because seeing that video tape ONCE was all we needed to know.
God Bless America!!!
May He keep her safe from harm and help all of spread freedom and peace throughout this world.