Could It Be?

The woman who most resembles the witch that had the house fall on her in the Wizard of Oz, Nancy Pelosi, has indicated that she wishes to retire from the House of Representatives. I'd like to be the sole proprietor of the lottery that would sell tickets to the millions of Americans who would like to win the privilege of holding open the door for her as she slithers off into the sunset. I'd mare a fortune!

HBO Buffoon...

Bill Maher, he of some minor notoriety and exposure as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, purposefully invoked self-promoting publicity for a derogatory caustic remark he made in reference to Denver Bronco quarterback Tim Tebow this past Christmas weekend. As the Denver NFL team was being decisively trounced by the Buffalo Bills, Maher tweeted, "Wow, Jesus just f***ed #Tim Tebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere...in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler. 'Hey, Buffalo's killing them!'"

For his alleged satirical comment, Maher continues to receive caustic criticism from outspoken Bronco fans and conservative Christians, many of whom have called for the boycott of HBO, while a number of other irate individuals have gone yet a step further by cancelling their subscription to the HBO channel. Several of the more moderate talking heads have suggested that Maher should be just ignored, as comedians, as a rule, shouldn't be taken seriously no matter what spills out of their mouths. I am of the personal opinion that if words indeed have consequence, then the individual uttering those pronouncements must take responsibility for their authorship.

Maher, a practicing and avowed apatheist, that is a person who considers the question of the existence of god(s) as neither meaningful nor relevant to his or her life, appears to conflict with his own self-styled beliefs. One might assume that Maher recognized Jesus to be no more than a man of historical prominence, but when he tosses in the personage of Satan, Maher gives more than passing credence to the suggestion that the Devil, by its other common name, is a viable entity. You can't have it both ways, Bill. If there is a ying, there has to be a yang. Furthermore Bill, since you apparently and purposefully placed Hitler, also a significant person of historical prominence, in the environs of hell, one but can assume that you also recognize that such a place exists, which goes beyond your theology that good and evil is limited to earthly terra firma. Your personal contradictions are embarrassingly showing, Bill.

Tebow has thus far had the good sense not to enter into a tweeting exchange with you, Bill. Regardless of your personal vendetta against him or anything remotely religious, Tebow has no need to defend his position of faith in a belief that is far more grounded in moral and spiritual principals than your shallow philosophy that mankind is no more or no less the sole author of his ultimate destiny. If there is a God, and I like Tim, firmly and resolutely believe that there is, then the God that you so quickly dismiss as being irrelevant to your existence may be ignoring you for the moment, but I am sure that He will provide you with just as much satirical rope as you may desire to eventually allow you to have a personal exchange of viewpoints with Mr. Hitler in that place that you recognize in your tweet to be where he currently resides. Hitler will be waiting up for you, but don't look for Mr. Tebow.

A Most Welcomed Christmas Gift...

CONGRESS HAS RECESSED AND GONE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.

THANK GOD!!

Memories Of Christmases Past...

Remember that Christmas when Santa didn't bring you anything on your "Wish List," but your little brother got everything he had asked for? Remember how disappointed you were? But like a good little trooper you pretended to be happy for him until your parents left the room and you tossed him playfully to the floor and stuffed Playdough down his throat? Remember how much better you felt? Remember how you were so glad that your parents finally allowed you to be off restriction the first day of March? What a Christmas memory that is. Right?

Helpful Christmas Hints...

Want to know what to do with all that left over Christmas wrapping paper? Here's an idea... Wrap the entire family in it, set the timer on the trusty Kodak, smile like you've been up to something, and "Ta Da!" You've got next year's family Christmas card already checked off of your list of things to do.

No need to thank me. I'm glad to do it. Until next time, here's hoping you don't scotch tape yourself to the cat.

A Dog's Tale...

DOG SHOOTS MAN

Wesley Chapel, Florida:

A 78 year old man is recovering in a Tampa hospital from a life-threatening gunshot wound inflicted by his heretofore faithful hunting bulldog, Eli. Occupying his usual seat of honor between his master, Billy E. Brown, and another unidentified male hunter, the pick-up truck in which all three were riding was laboring to navigate the heavily rutted trail, bouncing violently up and down and side to side. Eli became so agitated and distressed that he elected to vacate the passenger seat for the assumed safety of the truck's floorboard. In doing so, Eli came into inadvertent contact with Mr. Brown's high powered hunting rifle, which discharged, striking Mr. Brown in the right, upper thigh. Having traveled approximately eleven miles into the woods, Mr. Brown suffered a sever loss of blood before he finally was able to receive emergency medical treatment.

This near tragic story would otherwise have ended at this point, except Eli's unfortunate misstep is gardening some unexpected and unwanted notoriety. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is convening their executive board this week to vote unanimously on bestowing their most coveted Metal of Merit award to Eli for having the temerity to take up arms on behalf of the much beleaguered and defenseless deer. While PETA is hailing Eli as a hero, the National Rifle Association is calling for Eli to be relegated to the nearest dog pound and to revoke his owner's NRA membership for failing to train Eli in the proper and safe use of firearms.

Representative Darrell Issa (R- Vista, CA.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has suggested that it might be in order to issue a subpoena to Eli in order to have him testify before Congress so as to ascertain whether the weapon involved in the incident was one of estimated 2,000 lost firearms that "walked" across the Arizona boarder with Mexico as part of the now infamous and failed Fast and Furious gun tracking scheme concocted by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Representative Issa wants to know "what Eli knew and when he knew it." Rebutting the alleged allegations that the Justice Department was yet again negligent in this latest near death incident, U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, Jr., delivered a prepared statement emphatically declaring that Eli was "unknown by any person in the Justice Department" and any allegation to the contrary would suggest that Eli was a "deliberate plant by the committee in an attempt to further embarrass and bring undue criticism upon the Justice Department." Eli, thus far, as made no public pronouncement regarding the sudden onslaught of turmoil swirling around his furry head.

Liberal pundit and minor television personality, Jon Stewart, is labeling the entire messy affair "just another example of the vast, on-going right-wing conspiracy to undermine the progressives' agenda to bring sanity to the nation by banishing all firearms from the public sector." Asked to cite factual documentation and/or quotable sources to underpin his allegation, Stewart stated that, for the moment, he felt no need to concern himself with the trivial notion of factual proof, as the mere fact that he declared the matter so makes it so. Continued Stewart, "Besides, I just like saying 'vast and on-going right-wing conspiracy.' It has a nice ring to it."

Politically biased talk shows are all clamoring to have Eli appear on their respective broadcasts to present his insider perspective on the incident. MSNBC is reported to be willing to pay Eli a very significant undisclosed amount of dog biscuits to appear on their morning show, and FOX wishes to produce an hour-long documentary on Eli's life. David Letterman is trying to entice Eli to come on The Tonight Show as a featured participant in Letterman's regularly scheduled segment "Stupid Pet Tricks." Said Letterman's producer, "Eli will more than make up for the sudden cancellation by Vice President Joe Biden's previous agreement to appear in the same segment."

Poor unhappy and deflated Eli. Devastate and clinically depressed that he caused such pain and suffering to his beloved best friend, all Eli wishes to do in the near term is to remain in seclusion beneath his master's front porch. Expressions of support and condolences are solicited and appreciated through personalized cards and letters, or by befriending Eli on his Facebook page. Hurtful statements such as "Guns don't kill people, dogs with guns do" are particularly offensive and should be avoided at all cost. Let the healing begin...

JUST FOR THE RECORD...

This man bores the snot out of me and I'd like to smack the living crap out of him with that beer bottle. Stay elusive my friend...

From One Turkey To Another...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE...

Hardly A Measured Response

There can be no argument that the police departments of numerous American cities have had their hands full the last couple of weeks trying to maintain some semblance of civil order in the wake of the dozens of Occupy Wall Street protests. Meted out responses have run the full spectrum; from initially permitting the demonstrators unencumbered access and usage of public and private properties on which to stage their protest, to forcefully banning the continuation of the protest by dismantling their camp sites, with each adopted tactic meeting with varying degrees of acceptance and success.

Equally obvious is the understanding that no law enforcement agency or uniformed police officer is void of the inherent stress in the task of enforcing the laws designed to evenhandedly promote and secure the general welfare of the public. In doing so some individuals rights are going to ultimately be usurped and disenfranchised in order to better serve the greater good. Those select few who are charged with the responsibility "to protect and serve" in such occasions of civil disobedience are going to discover themselves to be caught in a quandary of having to make momentary decisions as to what degree of persuasion is to be brought to bear in the situation presented. For some police officers, as may be evidenced by the many instances where actual filmed footage has documented such confrontations, they are "damned if they do" and equally so if they don't.

Nevertheless, there are times when it is clearly evident that the employment of excessive force has been brought to bear on a situation in which otherwise a lesser means of enforcement would have proved successful in bringing about the desired end result. Such was the case when this past Friday two uniformed police officers, employed by the University of California-Davis, used pepper spray on a small and non-confrontational group of university students who had peacefully assembled for the purpose of expressing their united displeasure with the university's ever-increasing increase in tuition fees. If it may be deemed so, it is a minor blessing that the two officers were only armed with canisters of pepper spray and not assault rifles, as was the case during the so called "Kent State Massacre" in May of 1970 when four unarmed university students were killed and nine others wounded for having the audacity to protest President Nixon's announced escalation of the Viet Nam war. Differences of opinions and diverse ideologies too often have a way of becoming needlessly confrontational when one or more parties bring implements of immediate persuasion to the discussion. Thus was the deplorable case with the UC-Davis police department on Friday.

This personal opinion piece is not intended to support or refute the merits or the lack thereof of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, although strong opinions about the validity and veracity of the movement I do possess. I express only a profound disdain for the inhumane tactics that were employed on the UC-Davis campus. These students, as it is equally true for the current undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in all of our publicly funded universities and colleges in America, are painfully discovering and are having to confront the realization that the goal of acquiring a college education for the vast majority of middle class Americans, as well as those aspiring students who find themselves in lower classifications of economic wherewithal, is becoming more and more a luxury that only the more economically endowed can afford. To be pepper sprayed into accepting that premise as the new normal without the student's legitimate right to peacefully and constructively protest otherwise, if not a crime of unprovoked and unnecessary violence, it ought to be.

Higher education should never devolve into a private right, but be diligently protected and preserved as a public good. Pepper spraying defenceless students is not the manner by which to further that ideal.

Why Camels Don't Fly...

Pictured above is a brand new A340 Airbus, the largest passenger jet airliner ever manufactured for commercial production. Below is the same aircraft that met a catastrophic end when improperly operated by an Arab flight crew.

This particular Airbus was hangered in Toulouse, France, having yet to log a single hour of flight time, and was awaiting the scheduled acceptance and delivery to Eithad Airways of Abu Dhabi. Assigned to conduct the pre-delivery tests, that was to consist of only on-the-ground pre-flight procedures, was an Araba flight crew representing Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies. Having failed to take the time to read the run-up to take-off section of the aircraft's manual, the flight crew throttled up the four engines to full take-off power. Rocketing down the runway the on-board computers activated the take-off warning horn, thinking the empty aircraft had reached maximum take-off speed and rotation of the aircraft into the air should occur immediately. However, since the Arab crew had no intention of actually taking off, the flight controls to set the flaps and slats for that procedure had not been configured for an actual take-off.

To compound an already dire situation, one of the ADAT flight crew deactivated the Ground Proximity Sensor that silenced the take-off alarm. Another wrong decision. This fools the computer into thinking that the aircraft is actually in the air and flying. Automatically all of the aircraft's brakes are released, thus propelling the aircraft at even greater speed toward the end of the runway. Not one member of the seven-man crew recognized the imminent danger that was rushing towards them or they would have throttled back the jet engines from their maximum power setting. The brand-new aircraft plowed into the blast retaining barrier at the end of the runway, rendering the aircraft a total loss. Nine people on board and one on the ground where injured, three seriously.

The $200 million dollar "mishap" occurred on this past Thursday, November 15th, but a total reporting blackout of the incident was initiated by the major news media in France, deeming the coverage of the story would prove embarrassing and insulting to Muslim Arabs. Well, I can certainly emphasize with that sentiment. The Airbus should have had enough sense on its own not to crash.

Just goes to underscore the old admonishment, "When all else fails, read the instructions."

Choking On The Rhetoric...

CONGRESS DEBATES THE MERITS (OR LACK THEREOF ) OF PIZZA

This past Wednesday afternoon our nation's indebtedness surpassed fifteen trillion dollars. Our elected officials in Washington D.C. are spending money as though it is merely gains of sand on a tropical beach. The appointed twelve members of the Super Committee, charged with the responsibility of trimming 1.2 trillion dollars in Federal spending reductions by next week, can't even agree on when to take a restroom break. But what are the illustrious members of the House of Representatives spending their otherwise unencumbered time? The all important and weighty issue of whether or not PIZZA is to be classified as a vegetable. Are you kidding me!?!

Let's slap these good old boys on the back and congratulate them on reaching a consensus that resulted in an approved bill that abandons a previous proposal on the table (pun intended) that would have removed the serving of french fries and pizza from federally funded school children's menus. Thank God. Pizza may indeed not stand the test of scrutiny when it comes to the best choice for a child to consume as a nutrition source, but the elimination of french fries? Well, that's damn near unamerican!

Listen, I'm not here to debate the merits, or lack thereof, of whether or not pizza is a vegetable or if french fries are truly French. The blatant fact of this gigantic waste of time is that the Federal government has no business sticking its dietary proclivities in the noses of what our children are consuming daily for lunch. What Congress should diligently be concerned is the increasing relationship between poverty and hunger in this country. The question looms, it's not about what our children are eating, but the fact that many are not eating anything nearly enough.

Three years after the onset of the 2008 financial and economic crisis, hunger remains alarmingly high in the United States. In 2010, 17.2 million households (approximately one in seven) were deemed "food insecure," the highest number ever recorded in this country. In 2010, children were food insecure at times during that year in 9.8 percent of households with children (3.9 million households.) Chew on these additional facts... The drop out rate of high school aged children overall, regardless of ethnicity, is over 10%, with some ethnic groups elevating that percentage far higher. In some U.S. cities the drop out rate is over 50%. Poverty in this country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's report released in September of this year, rose from 15.1% (46.2 million) in 2010, up from 14.3% (39.8 million) in 2009, and the number of individuals who find themselves in the criteria of being impoverished continues to climb. And our elected representatives can find nothing better to be concerned about is whether or not pizza is a vegetable? No wonder we citizens have bestowed a 9% rate of approval on this body of incompetents.

The business of education in this country needs to be permanently removed from the control of the Federal government. It needs to be reverted back to local control, where the local educators and parents can best determine how best to teach their children, how best to retain them and what is best to feed them. The laudable program of "No Child Left Behind" has no lasting merit or value if the child's parent has no job by which to have sufficient income to place nutritional food on the family table. The welfare of this nation is not to be relegated to a welfare state, wherein every malady's alleviation is the sole province of the Federal government. And to waste even a minute on the ludicrous subject of pizza vegetable worthiness speaks volumes on just how inane our system of governance on a national level has become. The hell with them. Let them eat cake! Then kick them out of office.

"The Last Full Measure"

A fellow blogger and friend, John Coffey, graciously presented to me a couple of years ago the Civil War Trilogy authored by the late Michael Shaara and his son, Jeff, who today continues to be recognized and acclaimed as being among the best councilors of Civil War history. John and I share an impassioned fondness for this unique period in America's history, being enthralled with the individual accounts of the hundreds of persons whose stories gave greater depth and meaning to this epic struggle of ideologies that transcends the mere recording of the bloody battles fought upon our country's landscape.

Of the three volumes, The Killer Angels, Gods and Generals, and The Last Full Measure, the latter book proved to be the most enthralling to me, as it captured the slow but steady death throes of the Confederate cause in the final two years of the war. The opening paragraphs recount General Robert E. Lee dejectedly retreating from the Waterloo of the Confederacy; Gettysburg. Staring southward across the swollen Potomac, Lee was heartsick that his brave army of Northern Virgina had been so severely repulsed by the Union forces. Once again, Lee realized that the fight would again have to waged to a bloody conclusion on his beloved Virginia soil if the south was to have any chance of establishing its independence.

The book culminates principally with Lee's surrender on April 9th, 1865 of the remnants of his beleaguered but still defiant army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Soon to follow, President Abraham Lincoln would die form a confederate sympathizer's gun shot and the hope of a peaceful transition from war to peace - "with malice toward none" - would die with Lincoln's last breath.

Having been so enmeshed in the book, where the author so purposefully and eloquently thrust me as a silent observer into the midst of the competing generals conversations within the confines of their respective field headquarters, as a noncombatant on each side of the many battles that left thousands dead and dying on a dozen fields of conflict, and as a humbled participant watching reverently as the ragtag soldiers of the confederacy stacked their arms a final time to return at long last to their loved ones left behind so many years before, I now wish to add to my personal "bucket list" a trip to northern Virginia where I may begin to trace the footsteps of the retreating Confederate army as they valiantly repulsed with ever dwindling odds the steady and unrelenting advance of the Union army's tide of victory.

I wish to begin my nostalgic journey on the northern side of the Rappahannock River, then cross over into Fredericksbug, where the confederate army unveiled victoriously again its fighting determination; then to Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and all way stations in between until I come again to the Appomattox Court House where I will stand in reverent awe in the very room where a host of gallant and determined men brought to a final conclusion a most unique era of honor and pride in conflicting causes that ultimately made our nation the envy of the world.

I thank my friend John for his gift of these books that presented this small yet significant slice of our nation's history in a manner that stirs the soul and elevates the lesson of human history as best taught by those who endured the making of that history.

"JUST SHUT UP, JOE!!"

Our second doofus-in-charge managed to once again insert his rather sizable foot into his forever open mouth when during a speech in China this past week Vice President in charge of inane, stupid comments lauded the Chinese government's one-child per family policy. Apparently Biden's off-the-cuff comment, seen in some circles as merely being purposefully acquiescent to our nation's largest debt holder, would appear to have been providing tactic if not overt approval to government population control.

It seems that dim-witted Joe would sanction a government forcibly limiting the size of a nation's families in order to fit the government's budget, rather than trimming the national budget in order to fully serve the nation's families.

I for one, a Johnny-come-lately to the issue of family planning, would gladly henceforth endorse the notion of limiting the number of children within a family unit had Biden's mother and father exercised that option upon little Joey's conception. Since that obviously never occurred, the best I can hope for is that Joe will take the initiative to insert his genitals into his mouth from this point forward so as to prevent any future little Biden's from being loosed upon this earth. Darn... Too late...

Do mankind a gigantic favor, Joe. Just shut the hell up!

"Got This Postcard....

The nation's economy is on the brink of going to hell in a very deep handbasket and our clueless President determines he is in need of an eleven day vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Good for him! I want him to practice being on vacation so that, God willing, there will be sufficient numbers of the unemployed and disenchanted voters, come next November, to present him with the realization that he is to be permanently on vacation beginning in early January of 2013. Enjoy your tax payer's underwritten reprieve, Mr. Obama. The clock is ticking...and we're counting the days.

...And Now A Word From A Grateful Nation.

"STANDARD AND POORS DOWN GRADES AMERICA'S CREDIT RATING"

WAY TO GO, DUMB ASS!!

AISLE SIX...

I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog. Perhaps by doing so it will rekindle my flagging interest in keeping it more current. Maybe...

My wife, of almost 28 years, knows me like a well read, dog-eared book. She recognizes, as do I, that I have a very addictive nature. When I decide to do something, I throw myself into it head over heels. Thus that explains partially the underlying reason why I have elected not to pursue my blog fanatically over the past 12 months; another long time passion caught my full attention in the interim, which I'll explain at greater length further along in this post.

One of the reasons I decided to back off from attempting to compose a post on at least a weekly basis is that my blog was becoming too political; not in a positive way, but to the point to where I found myself becoming more cynical and angrier with every passing day as I observed how our polarized Washington leadership continually seems intent on sinking our nation to the point of no return. Like Don Quixote, my blog had become a feeble attempt to joust at distant windmills to no avail. I had lost my perspective. I was ranting. I was generating a lot of heat, but very little light. I had to back away.

The question became, "What to put in the blog's place to keep my creative juices engaged?" I decided to return to the hobby I had happily pursued before I move to Florida 27 years ago: model railroading. When Judi and I were married we moved from the town house we first inhabited as a couple and bought a home that, to my delight, had a detached garage. "Hurray!!" thought I. "Now I could finally build the model railroad empire I had been planning in my head for years." Not to be... As often times occurs with married folks, I was soon thereafter greeted by Judi with the news (and it was thrilling), "I'm pregnant." This announcement prompted me to get busy with creating a nursery for the anticipated arrival of daughter Megan. That project lead to another remodeling project, which lead to another, and a third, then a forth, and so on. I spent, as time and money permitted, the next 24 years remodeling our 86 year old home. It isn't totally finished, but now that I have a lot more time (due to the fact that I haven't been able to secure full time employment since 2008), I don't possess sufficient funds to tackle any of the remaining projects I had previously envisioned. Such is life into which bushels of lemons sometimes fall.

So, I again decided to try my hand at some sub-category of model railroading. Not in my detached garage. That is full to the gills with stored possessions of my 25 year old daughter (who is now residing in Chicago) and my 90 year old mother-in-law (who is residing in a local nursing home). Bless my wonderful wife's heart, she allowed me to use our dinning room table to construct my first 1/8 scale diorama in over 30 years (as long as I promised to clean up my "mess" after each modeling session). I began the project in February of last year and finished it this month...just in time to enter it into the local model train show contest next month. I'm excited.

Finally, I decided that if I am to continue to pursue my blog on an even semi-regular basis that I needed a new direction, and perhaps a name change would be in order. I'm thinking about entitling it, "Aisle Six." Why, you may ask. Three reasons. First, because the phrase "That's All I'm Saying" has been declared hackneyed, trite, and over-exposed. The urban dictionary explains that the phrase is like a "fire escape at the end of a sentence," whereby it makes it possible to deliver a rude comment and have it discounted as merely being an opinion disguised as an objective opinion, but an opinion that the author apparently doesn't really support. "I'm just saying..."

Secondly, I have a good friend that paid me a genuine compliment for some volunteer work I had accomplished for my church. I discounted his praise, flattered nevertheless, but wishing to downplay the role I had played. He countered by saying, "Take the cookie." In other words, accept the compliment. I appreciated his wise counsel.

And finally thirdly, my favorite aisle in the local grocery store is "Aisle Six." That's where all the brands of cookies are displayed. I will literally run over you for a cookie. I LOVE cookies! Send me to the grocery store with instructions to buy milk and bread, and I'm going to also purchase some type of cookies on aisle six. Never fails.

So, dear friends, if I decide to continue to blog I will probably depart from my cynical ways and attempt instead to be a provider of far less inflammatory rhetoric, leaving each reader with the admonition to "Take the cookie." time will tell...

"Ten Reason's Why I Like Al Gore..."

Let me see... Hum-m-m... Nope! Can't think of a thing!

"A City Morns..."

Not too many decades ago my home town of current residence for the past 28 years was unflatteringly referred to as "God's waiting room," euphemistically so labeled because it had been embraced as the final roosting spot for hundreds of our nation's seasoned citizens who had flocked from the colder northern climes to enjoy their remaining days basking in our warming sunshine. The streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, particularly along both sides of Central Avenue, were neatly spaced rows of "green benches" upon which our elderly residents would while away the day's hours in casual communal communication. Those iconic green benches have long since disappeared, as has the city's melancholy reputation, to evolve and reinvent itself into the state's fourth largest city, teeming with a vibrant, younger and proud citizenship that is eager to make and keep their hometown an enviable place to live and raise family.

Not unlike Tuson, Arizona, where the recent tragedies unfolded, St. Petersburg also regards itself as a "biggest, little city." With a population of just under 250,000, the axiom of six degrees of separation firmly and lovingly holds we citizens in its embrace. We all know somebody that knows somebody who knows us. We proudly celebrate each other's victories and morn each other's tragedies. On this past Monday tragedy wrapped its icy fingers around the throat of our city. Two of our city's finest, police officers Tom Baitinger and Jeffery "Yaz" Yaslowitz, were fatally gunned down in a hale of bullets inflicted by a wanted felon as he attempted to cowardly hide in the attic. Collectively our hearts stopped and the expressions of disbelief and tears of sorrow poured forth.

Today my home church humbly, proudly and reverently served as the host facility for the funeral of these two fallen policeman. An estimated 15,000 people were in attendance at the memorial service. It was further anticipated that thousands more of we St. Petersburg and citizens of Flordia watched on television with quite and reflective hearts. For we citizens who were so humbly served by these two men, who gave their full measure of service to their fellow citizens, it is the very least that we can and should do.

May God rest their souls eternally and honor each of these fallen heroes as we who remain behind pay our final respects to the two lives so well spent in our service.

"Three...Two...One...Bub-Bye!!"

The "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" finally and thankfully reached zero last evening when MSNBC permanently pulled the plug on the contentious liberal talk show host. In an ironic twist of his unfettered bias and inflamed diatribes against anything and everything conservative, Olbermann was afforded an unscripted ten minutes to say his goodbyes to his seventh place rated TV viewership; trailing irritatingly throughout his his eight year stint with MSNBC behind his arch conservative nemesis on the FOX News Channel.

Appealing principally to an audience of malcontents who prescribe to the philosophy that the world owes them a living just because they exist and that the government must provide for them a standard of living that they have no inner-driving ambition to secure for themselves, Olbermann ran afoul of his employers on several notable occasions, believing that he was first and foremost always the smartest man in the room, flaunting an air of superiority that thumbed its nose toward any entity of authority who had concluded otherwise. Obermann now unceremoniously finds himself to be thrust among the ranks of other unapologetic egos, such as fellow traveler Nancy Pelosi and her disenfranchised minions of ousted liberal Democrats, who, now like Olbermann, finds that they have plenty of time to lick their self-imposed wounds with no further ready access to a bully pulpit from which to espouse their arrogant, absent of fact, opinions.

MSNBC finally came to the ultimate conclusion, as did so many other fair-minded persons of intellect, that Olbermann was a self-proclaimed emperor sorely lacking in outer garments of substance and bid him a long overdue adieu. How much will I miss ole Keith's liberal rants? Let me count down the ways...

"HE'S CRAZY!! GET IT?"

ENOUGH SAID...

"And In This Case...

The Jury Is Still Out..."

"A Picture Worth A Thousand Words..."

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself.