The Tebow Effect

This photo has been making its rounds on Facebook and emails lately so much that I really had to take a better look at it. I have to honestly say at first glance I read it as the why is this ok (under Tebow) and why is this not? (under the group of people praying). Maybe because it is how my mind works or maybe it is because of my geographical location. I mean we don't see hoards of Muslims in the south bowing to Mecca on the street or in a public place. We see teapartiers protesting, occupiers rallying, people gathering to worship outside on Easter morning, and LOTS of southerners partying loudly at tailgate parties, but I guess I could count on my one hand when I have EVER seen even one Muslim fall to the ground at noon and pray. As a nurse, I did have patients whose families would have their prayer time in the room. They never made a huge deal about it that I remember. I have had families gather around a patient to pray for healing, or safety in surgery. Maybe I needed to get things done and this was not the most opportune time, but out of respect I let both families finish. Maybe because I am a nurse I have been trained to be more sensitive to different cultures and religious practices. Asians patients will not eat or drink anything cold after they give birth, families bring in soup and hot tea. I don't remember stomping around saying "this is America we eat our food cold!!".

Why do we have to be so ungracious?

The picture of Tim Tebow almost makes me laugh. This is a guy who proudly displays his religion, his salary is more than I will ever think about making in my entire life, his product deals, sponsorships, book sales will garner him millions of dollars. I am not going to feel sorry for him and I am certainly not going to say he is a martyr for the Christian cause, how ludicrous. One poster mentioned that "persecution was just a part of Christianity". Really? This man is being persecuted? Ask some Christians in India what real persecution is like.

Each Sunday we go to the church of our choice, we read our Bibles publicly, we hang verses on our cars, plates, purses, shoes, whatever else we chose. This is religious freedom. When someone wears their traditional garb, bows and prays to the God they hold as dear as we hold ours, and stops for a time of worship in a country that has told them to come here for religious freedom, do we really mean it? I am not even talking about the crazies that spout their fear mongering of the "Islamization of America" or screech continually that Sharia law is coming I am not talking about paid entertainers like Limbaugh and Beck whose job is is to stir it up and laugh all the way to the bank. I am not even talking about our own politicians that seem to live to stir up fear and hatred on a local level. I mean good and smart people with a working brain and conscience that are happy to have their freedom and want everyone to share that same feeling.

Where does the love and grace come in that we all talk about in those praise songs we sing?

I am not saying we shouldn't be vigilant, I am not saying there are people we may not trust, that is human emotion, but to lump a whole group of people in a pot and say there is no redeeming value to this group, how can a Christian do that? It baffles me to say the least.

There are a lot of really bad football players who do a lot of really bad things (drugs, murder, infidelity). Do we lump Tebow into that category? Well, of course we don't. He is a Christian, he would never hurt anyone.

Don't get me wrong, I would bet Tim is a great guy, he probably loves his family and friends and has a heart of gold.

I bet Tim's gonna do just fine.

Are you really pro-life?

A big ol game of chicken..

I watched the President last night, watched him talk about the fight over the debt ceiling. I never really remember there being much of a fight over it before. It was raised many times over the last few administrations, and a total of over a hundred times in all, if I understand correctly. I do not, in any way, claim to be an expert on financing this countries debts, I can't show you graphs or crunch numbers about our failing economy. What I can do though, is use common sense to understand exactly why "they" are making this so difficult. Hmmmmmm.....

I heard John Boehner, with his perfectly sprayed tan and helmet-y hair bemoan the situation. I heard him express great misery at the fact that Obama would not take his deal (I guess he forgot to mention the other members of his own party who refused to take it also and the tea party terror he was experiencing because of it). I saw him screw up his face while talking about his two children that he would be leaving this mess to, and you know what? The whole time I was thinking, "you big old lying dog of a hypocrite". (Yup, that's what I was really thinking)

It amazes me that the Republicans take absolutely no responsibility for the state of this country's economy. They take the house in 2010, promising jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs. When the jobs don't show, who do they blame? They speak of their concern for the American people, how they could never raise taxes, meanwhile they fail to mention taxes will not be raised on the middle class and that the tax rate is the lowest it has been in years. They worry about taxing the "job creators" (this is what they are calling raising taxes), but yet they blame Obama for not creating jobs. If these millionaires are creating jobs, where are they? They rail against entitlements and spending, make teachers the bad guys, cut education, BUT refuse to consider the wars we are currently in, continue to protect wall street, corporate welfare, and taxes on private jets???? huh?

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Obama agreed to most of what the GOP wanted, put entitlements on the block and even agreed to more cuts in discretionary spending than they had even asked for. Ohh my gosh, they must have said, ohhhh no, what now? What do we do now?? Farcical comes to mind.

Sooooo...... the people defending medicare and social security are vilified and again the democrats cave, cave and cave some more BUT it still isn't enough because we really know what this is all about, now don't we? The good of the people, the welfare of the poor, the children who don't happen to be in the uterus, but still have no healthcare or food or education or chance.

My point is not whether we should raise it or not, it is WHY is it all the sudden such a big deal, when it never has been before?

This political game playing should disgust all of us.

Ok, so I have this Dad......

Most dads start out these days right in the delivery room (much to many's dismay) and are there from the very first breath of a baby's life. Mine was (pretty close anyway, it was the 60s), then sadly he was gone. From what I hear, he was a really great man (if you can call a soldier baby in his early 20s a man). I look at his pictures and he seems like a boy. The thing about war is that I am sure there are many times a person fighting thinks about dying. I would think especially if you have a new little family, you think about the future, and the scenario of "what if I don't have a future?". I don't know what it is like to be fighting a war, cannot even imagine what goes through one's mind, but if he was ever worried about what would become of mom and I if he didn't come home, he shouldn't have.

I have this dad who has always been there for me, anything I ever needed. From the bike with the sissy bar, banana seat and basket with flowers, to the heavy duty swing set with the slide, the Datsun with the sunroof, because it was the best! He taught me to ride a bike, took me to special birthday dinners, made it to every special event, was there for all the father daughter banquets (some I didn't even want to go to). He crashed all our baby showers (everyone expected it and loved it)and the first time I watched Steve Martin in Father of the Bride, I thought, "hey, how did they know my dad so well?".

He rescued mom and me, swooped in and gave us a great life filled with lots of fun, great family vacations, worked so hard so mom could be a mom, and always put everyone else's needs in front of his own (he still does that to this day). He was "blessed with only girls, always out numbered. There were actually panicked calls home from Kroger like "with wings, without wings, regular, super, dry weave, mini???" Bless him! We just returned from a family vacation where he got to take his middle grandson to a military museum in Florida; no princesses, no American Girl dolls, no estrogen! He must have loved that!

Is he perfect? Probably not, but he is pretty darn close. His favorite thing to say is "I just want to bless you" and boy has he ever!! Love you WB!

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7807099/

Ouch, my head!

The American people make my head hurt. We wanted change!!! We voted in change, now...ehhh..not so much. The health care bill is flawed, it's crap, it's socialism...umm, excuse me Senator, the health care bill is what you have, you seem to like it just fine.
This thing in Wisconsin baffles me. First, you would have to REALLY believe in what you are fighting for to protest outside in Wisconsin....brrrrr. As a nurse, I have always been on the fence about unions. California nurses have great nurse to patient ratios, excellent pay scales, good benefits, etc. So I am not really sure. I guess the south has always been told to be scared of unions, but I am not really sure why. Sort of like when I ask people why they hate Obama so much and they say, ehhh..I'm not really sure, I just know I do. That's me and unions. I guess I should educate myself a little better on unions, but there are so many other fish to fry, as we say down here.

I also would love to say to the protesters...Hey, you voted these people in, right? I mean. what did you expect? That they would fight for you? That they would tell the truth? Hmmm...you get what you ask for.

Anyway, this picture pretty much sums up how I feel about many of the partisan poop- fests we find ourselves in today. Have a good Tuesday!

My favorite Oscar night

The Oscars were tonight and I didn't watch them, I rarely do. I do remember a special Oscar night just a few years back that I spent in Hollywood, only a few blocks away from all the hoopla! I had this brand new, precious angel of a baby sleeping right on my chest named Quentin. My sweet nephew. I also had some sweet brothers-in-law there to watch the Oscars with while we just stared at how beautiful this baby was (and still is). Blessed!

Dear Mr. President

Barack, may I call you Barack? You know the kid at school that none of the popular kids like? The one who the adults know will really make it, but just can't seem to cut it with his peers? The one that brings special holiday treats for everyone in the class, not just the one whose name he drew? The one that brings leftover pizza for lunch and looks forward to eating it all day, only to give it to the popular kid when he asks for it, just so he can be liked? That kid. You are that kid.
Please, for the love of Pete, stop trying so hard. They cannot stand you, they will never like you. You will never be "in". Acknowledge and move on. Stop giving interviews to ass hats like Bill O'Reilly, stop trying to be so diplomatic, when a journalist (and I use that term loosely)asks you why people hate you, don't laugh, demand respect. When he interrupts you 48 times, tell him to shut his mouth, you are the President of the US and deserve respect. Tell him what you really think about Fox News, you don't respect their narrative, why do you feel you need to placate them?
When political cartoonists and wingnuts draw your family as monkeys or Michelle as a fat slob(which she certainly is not), be offended, I am. No one treated Laura Bush that way, you deserve better, say so! You are smarter than them, you are better than them, you have a great family, are a great dad and husband, now be a great President. You are a role model for millions of kids who were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths, who don't vacation in the Hamptons, whose parents both work like dogs and maybe they have to work a little harder for everything they have.
Now you are siding with people who do not seem to care about the very people who hold you in such high regard. The people who voted for you because you promised to make a difference. To change the rules and stop the madness, and now you are becoming part of it.
You are trying too hard to compromise, for Heaven's sake, you are the President. Remember all the things Bush did that were terrible for the country and he did them because he was the "decider". He made up reasons for war and came out smelling like a rose. You walked straight in to the absolute cluster bleep he created and now you are apologizing for it.
Grab them up and be the progressive President that people voted for. I know you will never read this, but I feel better. Thanks.