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A Fight for Rural America

9/30/2014

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If you live in rural America, you could face a similar problem soon, especially if Plum Creek Timber is in the neighborhood.

PLUM CREEK VERSUS RURAL LIFE
IN ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA:

 A Modern Day David versus Goliath

Many of us remember the story of David and Goliath from days in Sunday school as children. The brave young David, the future King of Israel, volunteered to do battle against the Mighty Goliath, a Philistine, with the fate of his nation resting in the balance. As they squared off in the open field with large throngs cheering on both sides, the disparity between the two was obvious. David was strong but small and Goliath was a giant of a man, with bulging biceps and a menacing appearance which would make any warrior fearful.

The two stood silently peering at each other, but as Goliath began gradually closing the gap between them, David suddenly pulled out a slingshot, fitted it with a small stone, and began his wind up. Goliath looked confused but fearless until David unleashed the stone in his opponent’s direction and scored a direct hit, right between the eyes on Goliath's forehead. The giant had a strange look of shock on his face as he staggered and fell to his death. The battle was over and David was victorious.

Now fast forward to the current time here in Alachua County. We are in the midst of a modern day David and Goliath battle but with the size and strength measured in different ways. Plum Creek (PC), a large real estate investment trust (REIT), has requested a major exception to the county’s comprehensive plan in order to rezone sixty-five thousand acres of rural land, primarily wooded and wet. Being the largest landholder in both Alachua County and the nation, they feel entitled to do as they please regardless of the consequence to others and they have used a powerful public relations approach to sell their idea. While they do harvest timber on much of their land currently, the end goal is increasing the value of their land so that they can sell it high, after buying wilderness or wetlands cheap due to the seeming unlikelihood of massive development thereon at the time of purchase.

How do they increase the value? They do so by requesting rezoning for huge portions of their holdings to the most intense development level, in our local case multi-use classification, land which is very wet, much of it actually wetlands, and wooded property in the rural Eastern portion of the county. The land was categorized as rural by the most recent county comprehensive plan, recognizing the importance to maintain both rural and urban characteristics to the county and thereby allow for varied lifestyles. Current residents in the area in question are rural, live in accordance with very stringent requirements enforced by the county, but now they are faced with a wealthy large company attempting to change their way of life and impact their water in ways that heretofore were unimaginable.

The area in question is a watershed area with direct impact on area lakes, including Newnans, Lochloosa and Orange Lake, as well as the ground water levels and the aquifer. Numerous professionals in the water and forestry fields, including Dr. Robert Knight and Mr. Jack Putz, have discussed their concerns which are critically serious yet PC, with its large paid staff and consultant base disagrees and practically refuses to discuss the issues in any detail. Their presentations have been "dreams and fluff, not stuff".  Additionally, the huge cost of infrastructure in such a rural and isolated location is not something they intend to address. The purpose of their proposal is to increase the value of the land (entitlement) through attainment of rezoning approval to allow heavy density in what is now a significant portion of their holdings. These holding are located in a significant part of what remains of Old Florida or “Cracker Country", a swampy, wetlands area which used to cover fifty percent of the state.

While PC is clearly a Goliath, a large group of citizens including this writer, organized originally by rural folks but now including many city residents who see the danger imposed to the county’s environment, have joined together to fight this huge project. We call ourselves Stand By Our Plan, which means standing by the existing Comprehensive Plan for future development. The group’s makeup is quite unique, consisting of both ends of the political spectrum and everything in between. It shows that when people have a common interest and can get past the personal political bias that each of us holds to some degree, we can build a strong and cohesive force for action. The group is not opposed to all development, but it is certainly opposed to development where the lay of the land is violated, water is either depleted or loses its high quality and common sense is flushed down the toilet. And after completing four planning workshops following the county planning staff’s tentative recommendation for disapproval, PC is now leveraging its power through its financial clout with the local newspaper and groups that it has blessed with its contributions to demand that compromise be considered.

So now the problem appears to be most directly with the County Commissioners, a group that consists in its majority of elected leaders who have taken no position. They have received the planning interim report, have heard from the citizens who are opposed as well as some in favor, and they are also now privy to some very technical data by subject matter experts on water and forestry. The one thing they can’t deny is the clean water problem that the county, as well as the entire state, is facing directly and the impact that this project will have on the character of life in Alachua County. Will it be a varied lifestyle community with options for both urban and rural living as it is now or will it forsake its heritage to emulate its large neighbor, Jacksonville? That is at the heart of the argument and the irony of the situation is that many citizens in the entire area moved to Alachua to escape just what they are considering.

And there is one other very important factor that must be addressed very strongly. PC has marketed their Envision Alachua Plan (a more apt name would be the City in the Swamp) as a development of ten thousand five hundred homes and fifteen million square feet of commercial space as a model development and a huge job creator. They are even called by some influential members of the community as a developer when, in fact, they don’t develop or create anything. If you just get down to brass tacks they are a landholder looking to sell the land for as much money as they can get, nothing more, nothing less. And it is absolutely astounding to see community leaders and even some elected officials fall for the hype hook, line and sinker. This even appears to includes a few elected leaders who actively supported the current comprehensive plan when it was considered and approved but, in all fairness, appearances in politics can be deceptive. They aren't always what they might seem.

There is, however, one Commissioner, Mike Byerly, who has actively stood for retention of the current plan, openly opposes the PC proposal and has given of himself to present the rationale for his position to any group desiring his input. He has taken much heat from PC supporters but is resolute in his support for our cause and we appreciate it.  He has offered to debate with them on the plan in a public forum but they have refused.

So what should take place now that the issue has reached the level of deliberation by the Board of County Commissioners? Should they negotiate with PC, figuring that if they don’t the county may end up with an even worse situation than what is proposed, as one prominent commissioner has stated? Or should they deny the application and let PC figure out where it goes from here?

In my humble opinion, it is crystal clear that the application should be denied and sent back to the applicant. One has to look no further than the report filed by the Growth Management Department. Among other things, the applicant failed to show the need for the development where proposed nor the ability of the land in question to be acceptable due to its fragile environment with extensive wetlands and lack of infrastructure. The applicant submitted an incomplete application with many important substantive questions unanswered. The issue of impact on the area’s clean water, the county’s desire to maintain rural lifestyle options in the rural Eastside, and how the major public improvements necessary would be paid for were ignored.

If PC wishes to rework their application and resubmit, they are certainly entitled to do so, but they have also indicated in several venues that they could, if they wish, just go ahead and sell off the land and let developers build on five acre plots as is currently allowed. To that I’d say three things: first, there isn’t a huge market today for rural five acre lots with septic tanks and wells; second, much of the land in question will not allow development in that manner due to environmental constraints and, thirdly, PC has spent a goodly portion of time saying it is a great corporate citizen in Alachua County. To take the route of least resistance out of spite certainly wouldn’t endear the corporation to anyone in Florida. Remember, they still own six hundred thousand acres that they may want to sell one day. They really need to think about it.

As a member of the David team, I think it is important that we stay our course, always be ready to consider bits and pieces that certainly would make good sense to the community, but never be bullied into such a massive project due to fear.  There is plenty of land already zoned for various levels of development in the county, it just doesn't happen to be land owned by PC.  The winds in the community are clearly moving in our direction, so let’s just wait for now and see what comes next.

Immediate compromise? Absolutely not. Consideration of a reasonable proposal that protects the environment that God has given us and also doesn’t destroy the life of the folks who live the rural lifestyle? Yes, the door is always open to responsible change, but we’ll always approach any possibility with our eyes open.

Remember, we were given dominion over the earth with the charge that we use it wisely. No issue is a better example than this one of where we must do so.





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The Third Day of Rain

9/29/2014

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This morning dawns gray and dreary marking three days in a row.  And while I'm used to more sunshine than rain, particularly in early Fall in Florida, I know that the rain is important since we always face a thirst for water water problem that of late can never be fully quenched.

So here's to the rain, the glorious rain which gives us life, makes all living plant life beautiful, holds down the dust and allows the clean air to blow unfettered and is one of the most important things that God provides us in our natural environment.  Oh, it makes the barn chores a bit messy sometimes with the horses muddy and a bit ornery from being wet, and sometimes the air smells musty during an extended rain due to the impact of the nearby swamp, but the rain is glorious and critical to all that we do.  We must always remember that.

And it also affords me more free time to write, something that I love to do.  Maybe today I'll write a story about that pesky coyote that keeps my Mountain Boys busy or perhaps I'll write a rebuttal to the last newspaper article which just came out praising Plum Creek's City in the Swamp plan.  And, of course, the opportunity to watch the natural changes in nature day-by-day also affords a great reason to write a piece about how God gives us those things we need despite our taking them all for granted.  Whatever the choice, I can't miss a good chance to write even if for no other reason than to continue honing my skills, for it is a never ending work in progress to attain the level that I want.

What about you?  Throw yourself into whatever endeavor you have, be it work, hobby or avocation.  Do the best at it that you can and, at the end of the day, when the sun just might start peeking through with the bright cheerfulness that it brings, you'll feel better about yourself for it.

Have a great Monday, folks, and always remember the One who made you.  He is the reason for our being.  God bless you all and enjoy your wet Monday and I'll get back in the political mode tomorrow for sure.  See ya.

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From Suffering and Shame to Glory

9/28/2014

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"On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain."
            -From the hymn The Old Rugged  Cross,                    words  and music by Geo. Bernard, 1913

When I arise before dawn on a Sunday morning to prepare myself spiritually for my Bible school class,  I always think of this well know hymn and it's deep meaning.  I guess it comes from my fond memory of my dear departed aunt, a true Christian in every thought and deed and one who had a great impact on me as a child.  She had some good times and some bad times, but she always presented herself in a bright and uplifting manner and clearly had the Spirit of Christ at the center of her being.

It is such a wonderful hymn, for in its words and music it clearly depicts for us what Christ did for us.  Sent to earth in human form with a divine mission, he spent his early years preparing himself for those final three years of earthly life when he truly changed the world.  Oh, he didn't change the hearts of all and was, of course, put to death by those who were either jealous of him or the message he bore, maybe both.  But he changed the world by bringing hope with his love and devotion to the hearts and minds
of all men.  He brought the message that thousands of years have not been able to erase and the courage and strength through suffering that so many have lived through or died for which is indicative of why He came.

Today we find ourselves once more on an earth going through monumental times of danger and wickedness.  Satan uses every trick in the book to convince us that by following him we can have the world as ours.  But what does that mean and what does that do to the soul?

I think if we really open up our hearts we know what that means.  It means that if we listen to the Fallen Angel and his false words any supposed "gift" that he gives comes at monumental cost.  Riches and material things that he might offer will only last while on this earth, and the damage that it will ultimately cause to us through our self-centered living will lead to damnation.

If we only open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, the third part of God sent to us from Jesus following His Ascension, we will instead offer our lives to the Christ and, by doing so, we will decide to live our lives putting Him first in all that we do.  We may still have some tough times and  will certainly face tribulation, but in the end we will Glory in life with Him forever after this life is done.  And that's what the message of this hymn is all about: moving from suffering and shame to Glory.

So when you go to church today, or even if you are not a church goer, please take a moment to ponder the message of redemption offered to us by Christ, who went through so much suffering and shame on this earth just for us.  What a truly miraculous and divine gift. It's there for the asking; just get down on your knees and open your heart to Him. He wants you living with Him forever, not cold and dead.

Have a wonderful day and may God bless you with His love and grace always.


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Is Our Army Replacing Citizens with Illegals?

9/27/2014

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I usually like to spend my blog time on Saturday morning on light, "let's relax and have fun" topics, but I just have to get something off my chest.  Yesterday I was listening to Laura Ingraham and a topic came up about the Army's plan to enlist a number of illegal aliens to fill special needs that they can't fill with American citizens.  Top among the needs are interpreters, men and women who can effectively speak and read in languages in lands where our troops might be operating.

Now I know that we have allowed some legal aliens to serve in our armed forces, some even being offered the opportunity to become citizens upon successful completion of their contract, but never before have we allowed illegals to do so.  It is inconceivable to me to allow lawbreakers to enter the Army and I think the consequences of this will not end well.  Let's take a moment and look at a few reasons I feel this way.

The Army is currently undergoing a significant reduction in force.  Obama wants to cut active duty military forces so that he has more money to put into social programs, many of which reward those who decide not to do all they can for themselves. It is a big part of the reason why we have a $17 trillion deficit and growing.  And with the Army in the process of cutting ten thousand active soldiers from the force this year and an additional twenty thousand next year, where is the money coming from for these interpreters and other unknown specialties.  Further, with the large number of legal immigrants now in the country of active Army age, and many who are now citizens, why wouldn't we try to fill these positions with these folks?  It doesn't appear that we are even trying to do so.

But most of all, I don't think it's possible to reduce our active strength at a time when the President is sending troops hither and yon for all kinds of humanitarian and non-combat missions while neglecting their very prime reason for being in service.  Our national defense has gaping holes, military personnel are rotating much too rapidly in and out of country and we have relegated many overseas duties to the National Guard.  We've never used the guard to such a degree in this way before and it shows our clear lack of readiness. And Obama spends so much of our military resources on on social experiments that have no place in  a combat force.  It's time to stop the madness.

If you are the parent of an ROTC student finishing up four years of the program at college and now can't get a commission due to Obama's mishandling of our military, my sympathies are with you.  One of the best sources of commissioned officers will lose it's popularity when students realize they've been had.  And remember, we always need trained officers; they can't be created overnight when the proverbial "fan" gets hit.


Okay, folks, I got that off my chest, but I hope you will consider the danger of what we face in an increasingly difficult and dangerous world.  But put it in the back of your mind for today and you can think about it further on Monday. For now I smell a tailgate party and football in the air.  Enjoy a carefree Saturday, don't forget to thank your Maker tomorrow for all that He does for us and give your concerns and troubles a short breather.  God bless you and God bless America. 


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Eric Holder Resigns, Will His Replacement Be Worse?

9/26/2014

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So Eric Holder has decided to leave the Justice Department.  After six years of stonewalling investigations of many Executive operations including Fast and Furious, the IRS and so many more, he claims he wants more time with his family.  Holder has probably done more than anyone to make sure that corruption and crony-capitalism could continue unabated throughout his tenure.  And meanwhile Obama partied, laughed and vacationed knowing that his good buddy Eric would keep the audit trail so convoluted that no one could follow it.

Perhaps I am giving Holder too much credit for covering Obama's back.  After all, the spineless Washington Republicans have been happy to voice outrage and little else.  They are absolutely terrified of someone calling them racist plus they think they can just coast to victory on Obama's failing poll ratings.  So whether it's Holder or whoever fills the position, the same blame America first viewpoint pinpointing slavery from many years gone by will still be used to divide the nation instead of uniting it.  Why do I say this?  Because Obama is the catalyst of the view that Holder respresented for him.

Never before has there been an Attorney General who called the nation whose laws he was supposed to enforce "cowards".  Never before has an Attorney General been found in contempt of Congress clearly within the bounds of the political system and call that body shameful.  And never before has an Attorney General gone out of his way to presume the guilt of a law enforcement officer before the investigation was done.  His biased and clearly agenda-driven time in office has truly been a disgrace. 

So who is going to replace him?  Well, if you really want to be concerned, this afternoon rumors were floating around that Al Sharpton was going to take a lead role in finding a replacement. Really!  Sharpton, of Tawana Brawley fame and also the MSNBC host who can't read the teleprompter would be a sure indication that the biased racial context of the Justice Department would show no abatement.  But relax, folks, because later today that rumor was proved to be just that.

One likely candidate is Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Governor and a true Obama friend and clone.  Many think, however, that he has much higher ambitions and doesn't want to be left with the baggage from a clean up or cover up for Holder.  After all, United States District Court Judge John D. Bates today ruled in favor of Judicial Watch that the Obama Administration has to release the Vaughn files, the listing of documents not released on Fast and Furious.  That now seemingly long ago scandal and its gun running to Mexico has Eric Holder's fingerprints all over it and it might include the President as well.  This may have been the reason for Holder announcing his departure on this particular date.  It's a lot less damaging when the truth comes out of you are out of office rather than still holding the job.

So while we don't know who his replacement is, we can be sure that it will be another loyalist to Obama who will once again put politics ahead of country.  But despite this, I'll bet there is one former federal employee who will be sorry to see Holder go.  Remember Lois Lerner?  Without Holder there running cover the IRS scandal and her involvement is bound to become another hot item for Republicans to salivate over.

It should be an interesting upcoming couple of months.  Fasten your seat belts and get ready for the ride.  And congratulations to Tom Fitton and his Judicial Watch team for forcing the government to release the information on the Fast and Furious case.  JW gets things done where others fail.

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Is Obama Playing "War for Dummies"

9/25/2014

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We've got a real problem on our hands, America, and our dear President seems to be at the very heart of it.  After months of procrastination and denying that the Al Qaeda world had any spark left, we have seen an offshoot, ISIS, grow from the "Jayvee Team" (Obama's term) into a large and well funded, well equipped Army creating havoc and terror in the center of the Middle East.

Obama decided he has to do something to make it look like he leads, so he opted for limited air strikes, making it clear that there would be no ground troops and no "shock and awe".  This way he thought he could appease the war hawks while not totally losing his Left following that wants to surrender to the enemy before any hostilities begin.

But there's a problem with that strategy and even our weak current Joint Chiefs of Staff knew this couldn't work.  What's that, you ask?  It's very simple, it is an impossible task from an air only campaign.  We've been carrying out limited air strikes for about six weeks and ISIS is still gaining ground.  Just within the last week the Iraqi Army lost over three hundred men in a pitched battle.  Even if air strikes are successful, you must hold the ground and this requires ground troops. 

I don't like to use the term "boots on the ground" for it makes it sound as if the soldiers risking their lives are not real.  I think Obama thinks in such terms because he has no feeling for the hard work and danger our soldiers go through.  His shameful "latte salute" to the two uniformed Marines tells it all; if he was a sincere man he would personally apologize to the troops for showing such disrespect.

So now we're in a real mess, a problem that would have never come up had we left a decent residual force in Iraq when the pullout was conducted.  Once again, Obama refused to listen to anyone with military experience and he has no one to blame but himself.  But the problem, however, is that he won't suffer from his stupidity. Our military personnel will. We here at home are likely to do so in the future as well.

And one other thing needs to be addressed regarding Obama's claim that we have no troops in harm's way.  It would be very unlikely that air strikes would be called in without observers on the ground in proximity to the action.  I don't think we have developed robots yet that are capable of carrying out a forward observer's duties, so Obama either doesn't know or he is just spreading more falsehoods.

I don't know where this is going to end up but I think all Americans better get ready to defend themselves and their homes.  With our feckless government allowing trained American ISIS recruits to return home, the indications of what's to come is of great concern.  Why do you think these newly trained terrorists returned home and why did our government allow them to do so?  That is a question that each of us must answer ourselves and I think we all know what the answer.

It's time for each of us to get up close and personal with our Maker because I think we are rapidly approaching the point where only He can help.  Get right with Him, get ready and stand for God, family and country, and by country I mean the good American people who will stand with you.  It is likely that the time is close at hand.

God bless America and God help us all.
  "War for Dummies" may be right on our doorstep.

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Obama + New York = Traffic Overload

9/25/2014

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Anyone who has ever visited New York City during rush hour knows traffic can be excruciatingly painful.  Creeping and crawling and getting nowhere fast, New Yorkers just take it in stride.  Oh, they curse and complain, but that is just a way for them to get the frustration out of their system.

But then there are the times when Barack Obama visits, and since he loves New York he visits a lot, and the crawl turns into a dead stop.  Most recently this was noted as he attended the UN Climate Change Summit and his motorcade meant that average citizens would double and trip the time for their daily travel home in rush hour.

Mr. Obama's arrogance seemingly knows no bounds as he quipped during a visit to the Clinton Global Initiative, "I never have any traffic problems when I'm in New York.  Traffic just moves right along."

And to make the matter even more insulting to New Yorkers, he told Chelsea Clinton who is in the latter stages of pregnancy, "If you go into labor don't worry, you can use my motorcade. They'll zip you right to the hospital in no time."

Meanwhile New Yorkers fumed and even went to twitter to tweet out messages asking the President to go home and stay out of New York.  Fat chance, the narcissist-in-chief rarely shows any concerns for his fellow citizen as he lives a king's lifestyle with nary a care.

It's enough to make you think of the days when Bill Clinton, while visiting Los Angeles, literally closed the airport runways while he got a Hollywood haircut while on board Air Force One on the runway.  I guess Clinton and Obama are two peas from the same pod. 

Liberals, they just can't help it. It's just the way they are.  But I bet you can't think of a time when Ronald Reagan behaved in such a way and the answer is no, because he didn't.  He revered the American people rather than look down on them as lowly serfs.

I realize these are little things, but little things have a way of telling you how people really are and Obama goes out of his way to show you daily what matters to him.  And if that isn't enough, the pictures that surfaced today of him saluting his Marine guard with a styrofoam coffee cup in his hand just says it all.  Lack of respect, lack of protocol and lack of honor to those who protect him.  What a sad image for America.

Let's hope that when his term is up we will elect someone who will return dignity to the White House.  That will be just one more step in turning America's heading in the right direction.  Gee, I hope we can last that long. 

God bless America and may she ever be free..


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A Day I'll Never Forget

9/23/2014

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Boy, do I remember this date. Forty-five years ago at this exact time of day, I was en route by Greyhound Bus from my hometown in Southeastern Virginia to Richmond, the state capital, and the Army and Air Force Entrance and Examination Station (AAFEES) for entry into the Army.  It would be a day of being poked, prodded and tested in an environment where I began to question my humanity as I became just another serial number.

At the end of the long day, a group of us all designated to go to the same Basic Training Center were herded to Broad Street Station where we began our journey by train to Fort Dix, New Jersey.  Arriving in the wee hours of the morning, the drill sergeants were awaiting us at the station and the screaming and harassment began.  Thus began my entry into the Army and its method to turn young men into soldiers and we all learned quickly that it was a good idea to not stand out from the crowd, to follow the rules and keep your mouth shut.  Oh, we had our moments of mischief in order to test the system, but we also learned that we'd never get away with it.  Somehow, someway the drill instructors knew every feint and every trick.  It was like a mini-1984, eyes were everywhere.

Of all my memories of the eight week initial training, nothing is better remembered than the gas chamber exercise shown above.  Groups of us were marched into a block house filled with tear gas and wearing a mask, told to remove our mask and state our name, rank and serial number, than count to ten before exiting.  No matter how big a breath you took before following instructions, you always ran out of breath and had to at least take a small gasp of air, leaving your eyes and throat burning and coughing your lungs out as you left the chamber.  Invariably, when you went to wipe the tears out of your eyes, they came in contact with tear gas residue on your sleeve which set your eyes on fire again.  Five minutes later you were fine.

Then nighttime low crawl under fire was also a new experience, with the explosions and tracers over head in a barbed wire setting gave you just a small taste of what would be to come.  It was just the Army's way to start getting your mind set for what you were there for and their system is quite effective. Those who need to lose weight, those who need to gain do so and all begin to take the orders and rules seriously and understand that if you are not part of a cohesive unit you'll be the loser. 

And the daily forced marches in deep sand trails accomplished their purpose, making us lean and mean and stronger with our stamina improved dramatically.  They really had it down to quite a system although we thought at the time that they were sadistic.


When it was all said and done, I opted to accept an assignment offer to attend Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning  which added a much greater dimension to my Army experience.  Designed to turn a young private with a college degree into a commissioned officer, the training was more rigorous, mentally demanding and it taught just how much you can accomplish without sleep. 

I'll sum it up this way in the words of a Tactical Officer, a new OCS grad himself assigned to train us as he had just been trained.  On the first day while we were braced against the wall he said to us, "Men, remember how you felt on the first day of Basic Training?  You had status then."

And so another adventure began preparing me for the future.  While there were days when I hated it and saw no humor to what was happening to me, I now, many years later can look back and laugh.  You always forget most of the pain and remember the things that offered some humor.  And I think I am a much better man for the experience.

So here's to my days of training in the Army and the impact it made on me for all of my love.  I'm glad I did it.  God bless you all.

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Human Climate Change, My Foot!

9/22/2014

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So yesterday was the big day in New York City with the UN Climate Change March.  The reason I say, UN, is because in two days the UN will convene a one day Climate Summit to identify ways to save the world, or so Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and John Kerry would say.  Remember, Kerry said that man-caused climate change is the biggest security danger to the U.S. while radical Muslim terrorists are hacking off heads with reckless abandon.  Somehow I think he's gotten his priorities confused.

I guess the kids had fun, kids of all ages I might add, and the huge crowd of 200-300,000 carried signs supporting all things radical, including revolution as the means to their end while leaving tons of trash all over the route.  There's just something about being a protester for the Left that keeps you from picking up after yourself. I guess the Sanitation Department is quite busy but, then again, under Mayor deBlasio trash is a routine occurrence in New York City. 

Folks, don't kid yourselves, this is nothing to do with climate change and all to do with revolutionary institution of advanced socialism in the United States.  The UN and it's international handlers have been pushing this for years and climate change in the name of a "better Mother Earth" has turned it into a religion.  They don't want you to worship the God of Abraham but they want to force you to kneel in front of Gaia, the mythical earth God.  Meanwhile, behind this cover they attack capitalism,  a system which has afforded more people in the world with the opportunity to improve themselves than anything else.  Socialism, on the other hand, always turns out poorly once the state runs out of someone else's money to spend.  Margaret Thatcher said that better than anyone.

Now having put my two cents in, I want to make it clear that crony capitalism is not what I'm talking about with favor for it is nothing but a phony system where government picks the winners and losers while it skims a load of money off the top.  In fact crony capitalism is ever apparent in the climate change movement, as questionable products and fuel sources are touted and supported with millions of our tax dollars while the country suffers from the consequences.

No, real capitalism is where someone has an idea, takes risk with his or her own financial resources, and makes it on their own.  They are not guaranteed success, but if they can work their way through the process and produce a product that is a winner, they a rewarded accordingly.  That is where real success comes from.

Don't think that I am opposed to caring for the earth.  Why would I want to destroy the planet where I live and suffer because of it?  I wouldn't.  I just think that we need to look at things logically and measure things accurately, not doctor computer models with bad data and use them in place of reality.  We have only kept records on climate for a very short period while the earth has been around for many thousand of years.  Why would we want to believe a computer model when empirical data shows otherwise?

A prime example today is the current global cooling phase but, oh that's right, the climate changers say that is also caused by the same factors as human global warming.  Don't let them have it both ways.  Either it's getting warmer, staying the same or getting cooler, and to try to blame that principally  on man is ludicrous.  This earth of ours can outpoint man any day because it is the creation of God, who is omnipotent.  And the prime source of warmth and cold for that matter is the sun, another creation of God and its relationship with the seas which is, of course, also warmed and cooled by sun cycles.  We really don't understand the relationship of the changing sea temperatures, yet the radicals always want to blame int on man.   And while man has a miniscule contribution to change, a correlations is finally being recognized to changing sunspot energy bursts. For you see, when sunspot activity is high, it tends to get warmer; when it is low, like the current cycle which started seventeen years ago, it starts to cool.

I'll leave things at that.  What will tomorrow bring?  Well, we're going to find out but if it starts getting much colder like a mini-Ice Age, we may wish that some of those greenhouse gases, some of which we cause when we breathe, were around with more prevalence to hold in the sun's heat.  So the science certainly isn't settled, scientific knowledge always advances, but we humans seem to always grab at convenient answers for political reasons.  Keep the politics out of it and we'll be okay.

Have a great day in the sunshine and even if you are one of those worried to death about CO2 emissions, continue to keep breathing.  Don't let your zeal kill you because if you believe as the climate alarmists that you are the culprit, your solution might just do that.


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A Prayer for Living Our Faith

9/21/2014

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....Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.  - James 2:18

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and in anguish as He anticipated His approaching fate, He knew He was alone even though His disciples were nearby.  God had now placed Him in the position of suffering His horrific fate by Himself in human form in order that mankind might be offered the gift of forgiveness and salvation. 

We Christians know that the only way to salvation is through our belief in Him by faith, but I think it is also important that we listen to the words of James as he tells us that if we truly have faith we will live that faith.  Living that faith means that everything we do is because of that faith, meaning the we will love and serve others.  To love God is a challenge for good over evil due to our weakness and sinful nature, but to love our fellow man, including those who would harm us is something that is the ultimate proof of our love for Him.  And it  expected of us as we live by our faith.


Lord, We thank You for the many blessings that You have given us and we pray that we will always remember that You are the source of everything we have as well as our very being.  Help us to be strong in our faith and in so doing to live our faith in everything that we do.  Help us to love our neighbors  as we love ourselves and to always be open to forgiving others who have harmed us through love and by assisting them in also following Your way.

Give us the strength and courage to stand for Your law as expressed in both the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus and never to succumb to the temptations of this world, for the true gift that we seek can only be found by living for You.  Keep us secure in knowing that Everlasting Life at Your table is the only thing worth living for since living in this ways puts You first in all we do. 

In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

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    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

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