Since Tammy Bowers is on vacation, I really miss her posts on her blog: writesteps
Soooooo, I thought I would post a Tammy kind of entry.
Ok here goes:
Everything is Rainbows
Blueskies with puffy clouds
Children playing
Pretty flowers
Ok, I am really not making fun of Tammy, she is one of the sweetest, kindest, most generous and loving persons I know. I dedicate this entry to her, no Politics, no satire, no naughty pics, no controversy. I want to see the world as Tammy does. With joy in her heart and a smile on her face. She is what a Christian should strive to be. We are COMMANDED by God to have Joy. Tammy has joy! God Bless You Tammy and thank you for introducing me to blogging, my life is more complicated now! Haha!
I miss you already Tammy, please come home soon and bring Dan with you please!! I can't golf alone!
(The photo below is a bit racy, although I have seen MUCH MUCH Worse at the local Courthouse pool in the summer! If you might be offended I am sorry, but it is vital to understand the story. Thank you in advance for your latitude.)
So, not that I approve of, nor am I a fan of MySpace, but when this story broke a month ago or so, I thought it was pretty funny.
This young lady became mayor of Arlington and proceeded to increase the budget, get some new income for this small town and in general was doing very well as mayor according to the townsfolks.
Then, someone in town, rumored to be a teacher at the High School, found her MySpace page and the story was all over the world.
Well, this story has ended. From the Associated Press:
Voters in Arlington, population about 500, voted narrowly on Monday night to recall Carmen Kontur-Gronquist. The tally was 142-139. City officials said the recall is effective today. Kontur-Gronquist said the pictures of her in black bra and panties were taken for use in a contest about fitness, but a relative posted them on MySpace in hopes it would improve the social life of the single mother.
They predated her election, but she said she saw no reason to take them off the popular Web site once elected three years ago. Later, she closed access to them. Opponents said it wasn’t fitting for the mayor to be so depicted. They said they also disagreed with her on issues about water and the local golf course.
Now, the interesting thing is, there are all kinds of stories online about the woman who let the story out. Here are some quotes I found about the teacher:
That woman, Lorena Woods, has no place to point fingers at anybody. Is she still teaching? Cause she shouldn't be. She was my 7th and 8th grade teacher. She was a child herself, she thought she was a popular teenager. She would degrade "uncool" students in front of the "cool" students, just for her entertainment, and to make herself more popular with the "cool" students. I could list of few things that she did that is completely unacceptable to do as an authority figure to students. Its hard enough to be a teenager, the kids don't need a teacher to pick on them too. She was a horrible, HORRIBLE teacher. And she would take her little teachers pets on day trips, hockey games, sleep overs at her house. She was their friend and not their teacher, and you think if they were to do something wrong in class they would get in trouble no! And if a student had a hygiene problem, wouldn't you think she would talk to them privately, NO not her, she would discuss it in front of the whole class. She threw tic-tacs at a student in front of everyone, so her pets could have a good laugh. She would look at one of her pet students with a sense of gratifaction after humiliating another student. She does not need to be teaching.
Lorena if you think Carmen did such a bad thing by posting her photo's on My Space ( the most important word being My) then what do you think the resident's of Arlington should do with you for taking your 8th grade class to Hooters? Ye with-out sin cast the first stone. If you spent as much time helping your students instead of being of the mentality of their age group and gossiping among the students effecting the lives of these student to the point of suicide then you might be more effective in these young peoples lives. Yes I said suicide, you know what I'm talking about. Shame on you for being one of the problems in theses students lives instead of helping solve their problems. You should not be a teacher. In face I wouldn't trust you to care for my dog.
There is more on this story: the lady that seems to be most upset, the Teacher as quoted about above, is evidently making a power play now herself. Her mother has been proposed as the new Mayor!! Will have to follow this story further!
All I can say is, I am very glad that our own Janet Taylor has not done a MySpace photo session:
Larry Norman, 'father of Christian rock music,' passes away in Salem at age 60
February 25, 2008 Larry Norman, the singer, songwriter, and producer known as the "father of Christian rock music," died of heart failure on Sunday in his Salem home. He was 60.
Norman was an eccentric visionary whose songs drew controversy from both the conservative religious establishment and the secular music press for his lyrical mix of radical religious, political, and social themes. His 1969 solo album Upon This Rock was the first Christian rock record, and his milestone 1972 release Only Visiting This Planet is considered one of the best albums in the genre. His music was an influence on such diverse artists as U2, John Mellencamp, and the Pixies. "Larry was my door into the music business and he was the most Christlike person I ever met," former Pixies singer Frank Black said Monday upon hearing of Norman's passing.
Norman was born on April 8, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas. At the age of 3 he relocated to San Francisco, California with his family and in the mid-'50s became fascinated with the music of Elvis Presley. During this time he also frequently accompanied his father on Christian missions to prisons and hospitals. At the age of nine, Larry began writing and performing original rock and roll songs at school, experimenting and incorporating a spiritual message into his music. In 1959 he performed on Ted Mack's syndicated television show The Original Amateur Hour on CBS.
Upon moving to San Jose, California, he began recording for Capitol Records with his band People! in 1966 and for the next 2 years performed concerts supporting The Doors, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix, among others. People! scored a Billboard Chart hit in 1968 with a cover of The Zombies’ song “I Love You.” Norman left the band the day People!’s debut album was released.
His solo albums recorded in the 1970s on his own independent label Solid Rock, and the albums of other artists he discovered and produced, laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Christian rock music industry, a genre which largely shunned him and his music. According to Portland news/radio station KXL, Norman's early social positions caused a stir among many conservative Christians. His views against racism and poverty caused him to receive multiple death threats in the 1970s. A widespread ban on Norman's music, which is largely still in effect today, existed in Christian stores. This ban was due not only to Norman's social positions, but his preferred company as well. Said Norman in a separate interview, "The churches weren’t going to accept me looking like a street person with long hair and faded jeans. They did not like the music I was recording. And I had no desire to preach the gospel to the converted."
Time Magazine once called Norman “the most significant artist in his field.” Over 300 cover versions of his songs have been recorded by artists such as Petula Clark, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Black, and Cliff Richard. His songs have also been recorded by contemporary Christian artists like DC Talk, Rebecca St. James, and Audio Adrenaline. He performed for The White House, twice - and in Moscow at the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium. He headlined venues like The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, The Palladium and London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall, which he sold out six times, once filling it twice on the same day. In the last 40 years Norman has released nearly 100 solo albums.
In 2001 Norman was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame alongside Elvis Presley. At the time of his death he was working on an album with Frank Black and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, which will be released later this year.
In a message he wrote on Saturday, Feb 23, the day before he passed away, Norman said: "I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home. I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help. My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be funeral information posted on my website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.” His siblings, mother, and friends were with him through late Saturday night and Sunday morning when he died peacefully in his sleep. There will be a public memorial ceremony for Larry Norman at 10 a.m.Saturday at The Church on the Hill, 2707 Maranatha Ct., Turner, Oregon.
The above story just came out.
I am at a loss. Larry Norman introduced me to "Christian Rock". "I wish we'd all been ready" is still to me the most powerful Christian Contemporary song of all time. Larry, Randy Stonehill and Keith Green paved the way for the people who are reaping the benefits of their hard work and sacrifice. Those guys never made the big bucks, they just wanted to make music and see people saved.
He was a wonderful man whom I had the chance to spend several times with over coffee at the Starbucks in Liberty Plaza. He was already sick and knew it wouldn't be long. He knew where he was going and was excited to get there! He had a lot more music to do though, so now Heaven is better by far with his being there and ROCKING OUT THE PLACE!!
I would love for anyone who was touched by his music to express your feelings here.
I did not watch so I can't comment a whole lot but I have seen some footage and heard some sound bites.
Observations:
John Stewart? Remember Bob Hope? That pretty much sums it all up.
When did the show become a political rally? I know it's been awhile but when I was a young lad, I couldn't wait to see the glamorous stars gather for this event. Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, James Stewart, John Wayne, etc.
These people came together to celebrate the craft of film making.
Now it is a platform for whatever the "artists" want to convince the "sheeple" they are missing out on.
Every year now it is foul, disgusting films and horrible characters that dominate the winning categories.
John Stewart even said that Hollywood needed a hug due to the amount of violent and dark movies that were up for nomination. The even sadder thing though was his comment "thank God for unwed mothers" referring to "Juno" a movie about teenage pregnancy.
Yep, that is the state of America!
We honor teenage pregnancy.
I do hope that you did not waste your time honoring these evil people and their foul lifestyles.
Well, I have finally started to see the light! Obama is the shining beacon that will bring ALL of us together!! Can you sing "Kumbaya"?
White Christian Supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan has endorsed Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States of America.
Speaking from his Kentucky office in Dawson Springs, the Imperial Wizard exclaimed that anything or anyone is better than having that "crazy axx Bxxxx" as President.
This is the first time in Klan history that any member of the KKK has ever publicly supported an African American candidate for the presidency.
KKK lodges all over America have been gathering and holding rallies supporting the black presidential candidate. Grand Turk Cletus Monroe has also been very vocal about the election and has donated thousands of dollars to Obama's election fund.
"The boy's gonna do it. My Klan group has donated up to $250,000 to the Obama fund. Anything is better than Hillary Clinton. Hell I'll even adopt a black kid from Africa before I vote for Hillary."
"A few years back we were lynching blacks. Now we're gonna vote for one to be president of the US of A, damn it! Anyone or anything is better than Hillary Clinton - anything!!"
Placards for Barack Obama have been put up around the Klan's Headquarters and the KKK have announced a television ad campaign to support the African American candidate.
Yes, my friends, this man MUST be THE choice for all of us. He is truly a UNITER!!
VOTE OBAMA, CAUSE ANYTHING'S BETTER THAN HILLARY!! RIGHT CLETUS???
Big Head DC has discovered alarming similarities between a speech made by Sen. Barack Obama on February 16 while campaigning for president in Wisconsin and an October 2006 speech made by Deval Patrick, the current Democratic governor of Massachusetts. The coincidences would seem to indicate that Obama copied several lines and linguistic speech patterns from Patrick’s “Just Words” speech for Obama’s own “Words Matter” speech. Indeed, words do matter. And they matter even more when they are one’s own words. The two speeches can be compared, in all their eerie detail, via YouTube:
Plagiarizing a speech during a presidential campaign was enough to end Sen. Joe Biden’s first bid for the presidency. From Wikipedia: In 1987, Joe Biden ran as a Democratic presidential candidate. When the campaign began, he was considered a frontrunner because of his moderate image. However, the campaign ended when he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party. Though Biden had correctly credited the original author in all speeches but one, the one where he failed to make mention of the originator was caught on video. In the video Biden is filmed repeating a stump speech by Kinnock, with only minor modifications.
Mitt Romney just dropped out. So, that means there is NO Conservative candidate for President. We are going to have to live with that. BUT Do you realize that we still have one third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives to elect. That is where the REAL power lies. Remember when Bill Clinton was President, we had a majority Republican Congress and we had the most prosperous times in our history. NO ONE is talking about this part of the 2008 Elections! Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and all the rest of the talk shows are ignoring this, wallowing in their grief over the Presidential candidates. Friends, WE STILL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! Let's make sure and get out the word, this is not over yet!!
STATEMENT FROM DR. JAMES DOBSON of FOCUS ON THE FAMILY:
I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.
I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has sounded at times more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP caucus in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry's running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does NOT make the medicine go down. I cannot, and will not, vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience.
But what a sad and melancholy decision this is for me and many other conservatives. Should Sen. McCain capture the nomination as many assume, I believe this general election will offer the worst choices for president in my lifetime. I certainly can't vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on their virulently anti-family policy positions. If these are the nominees in November, I simply will not cast a ballot for president for the first time in my life.
These decisions are my personal views and do not represent the organization with which I am affiliated. They do reflect my deeply held convictions about the institution of the family, about moral and spiritual beliefs, and about the welfare of our country.
I told you all of these things already but now it is starting to see the light of day.
If you respect Focus on the Family and Dr. Dobson, you will not take this lightly.
To any Obama supporter who claims to be a follower of Christ I ask one question:
In 2004, John Kerry and John McCain considered running together to defeat George W. Bush.
In 2007, when asked if Hillary Clinton would make a good president, John McCain said "she would make a fine President".
In 2001, John McCain considered leaving the Republican Party to join Jefferies who became an Independent, throwing control of congress to the Democrats.
John McCain constantly caters and panders to the liberal side of the Republican party and in fact other than on the military, is a liberal on most policies.
After much consideration, I think it is very important to email or message to Gov. Mike Huckabee, telling him that every vote he gets is siphoning votes from the only Conservative left in the campaign who stands a chance to win, Mitt Romney.
Huckabee, CANNOT win. I will not stand by and watch the Republican Party be destroyed by John McCain so I am urging all Conservatives, Christians and anyone who stands for The American Way to cast your vote for Mitt Romney.
Yes, he is in a cult. Some have a problem with that, but I can live with the fact that he is moral, a great businessman, a family man, strong military, strong Pro-Life, strong Anti-Homosexual and very much in the Reagan cut of Conservatism.
Everything is Rainbows
