Northton

My fellow Amercans.  It's been a long ten years since I took office, literally, from Al Gore.  Hehe..  When I started my reign in office, the country was in peace, the economy was doing well, heck the only thing on the news was Bill giving some Bimbo the Tour de Pants. 

Once I got in office, the terrists attacked us for no reason, so we went to Afghanistan and kicked some Al Kaydas to the curb .  But then I got to thinkin'..... while we're here we might as well shut Saddum Hussein up once and for all.  'Sides, it's good for the country.  If we're gonna have a new world order we're gonna need some new world LAW and order!  Hehe!  Yeah, I didn't mention a lot of things I could'a, but then you wouldn't have agreed to go!  Hehe!

But before I go, I just want to say thank you.  It's been fun.  I've enjoyed leading the world but I need a nap.  Now that Dick is president it's time for me to take on a different role.  I'm gonna be a fire engine. 

Thank You.

And remember,  there's an old saying in Tennessee... I know it's in Texas, probly in Tennessee, that says, "Fool me once.......  shame on.......... shame on  you............ you fooled me we can't get fooled again."

Four Western oil companies — Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, and BP — are in the final stages of “talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields.”

See full story.

What do you think?

Is this the real reason we went to war with Iraq?

The way things are going now, and with gas pumps reading like slot machines in a nightmare,  Americans are looking for ways to cut back! 

Some businesses are going to a four day work week, working four ten-hour shifts instead of five eight-hour shifts to save on gas! 

These are hard times, my fellow Americans, and hard times call for hard answers!  If everyone worked four day weeks, Americans would save big bucks on gas and get an extra day off too! 

I challenge every good American to ask for a four day week immediately and for businesses to shut down for one extra day per week! 

I challenge every good American to support this effort by not complaining about the minor inconvenience of losing one day of shopping!

Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." 

It's time to save our pennies, America! 

I challenge each of you to keep America strong!

I challenge you to give a day to lower gas prices! 

I challenge you to

Give A Day To America!

The Swami is in!  I am getting a news flsh from the other side! 

On June 3rd, 2008, Obama will claim victory in the primaries by a vote of delegates! 

Also, someone in an apartment complex will lose their celphone and miss an important interview.. Not sure why that matters.  See you next time! 

The Swami has Spoken!!!

Music, it's the stuff that makes life interesting when you're bored, cheers you up when you're feelin' down, and brings back memories of days gone by.  It makes you stomp your feet, shake your booty, and bang your head. 

Van Halen can make you feel like you're in a fighter jet, Beethoven can make you feel like you're in a dream, and Snoop Dogg makes you feel like you're in the hayouse. 

Music is so many things to so many people.

Why do you listen to music? 

What's your favorite genre and why?

Who's your favorite new artist?

As you know, I wrote a blog earlier this month predicting the imprisonment of 270 Illegal Immigrants on my blog, "Telling the Future, It's Easy!"

Read the story HERE.

Am I awesome or what!!!!

I am having a visioooooon!

I see 270 Illegal immigrants being locked uuuuuuuuppp!

For false paperwooooork!  Around May 23rrrrrrrd!!!

I have forseen it!

Hello fellow Bloggers!

This is the eleventh of eleven installments of:

"How to Be A Real American"

That's right, we are discussing Our Bill of Rights (YOUR RIGHTS!).

So far we've discussed the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and much more. If you're like me, this has been a learning experience because I have never studied our constitution and it's meaning.  This is the final installment of the series.  If you have been following along then perhaps you have learned a lot as well.  If not, then check out my blog archives and catch up on our discussion of the first ten amendment to our Constitution, or just join in and talk about what you think.  Either way, you are invited to speak what's on your mind.

This is a no delete zone.

You have the right to free speech here.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

Part Ten

 The topic is open for discussion.

What do you think?

Are we teaching our children enough about the Constitution in school?

How does learning about the Constitution affect your life?

Will you be more likely to stand up for your rights or the rights of others as a result of knowing what they are?

Do you feel our rights really count, or does the government just do whatever it wants?

Can we expect to have our rights to be respected without hiring an attourney and going to a court of law?

Does the media do enough to inform citizens of their Constitutionally guaranteed rights?

 Do you care?

Brothers and Sisters, we are gathered here today to discuss the most natural and frightening thing in the world, death.  Most of us find it disturbing to consider our own mortality.  What will happen tomorrow?  How long will I live?  What will happen to me after I die and what purpose has my life served?  These are questions that have been studied for all of man's existence and for good reason. 

It is natural that we want our lives to continue, that this existence should go on forever, for the alternative is truly frightening, that it will all end and nothing remain of our efforts.  If you are like me, then you believe that death is the end of your life.  You know that nature has a plan, and it doesn't include you, at least not for long.  You believe that there is a vast and perhaps infinite universe that is far beyond understanding, but one thing rings true, and that is that death will take us all whether we accept it or not. 

What is the purpose of death?  Death makes room for new life; it allows life to change, to grow, and to continue in new and wonderful ways.  For how can new flowers grow if the old ones never die?  How can life evolve unless the old is replaced by the new?  Modern science has shown us that even the stars have a limited lifetime, that entire galaxies are gobbled up on a daily basis, along with their inhabitants.  The question that haunts us is, What will happen to me after I die?  The scientific view says that, after we take our last breath, after the heart stops pumping blood to the brain, that it, our mind, will disintegrate very rapidly.  Like a magnetic tape under a huge magnet, the memories, all of the years of learning and experience are gone in a matter of mere seconds. 

You may be saying, Surely there is a purpose to life.  Surely all of our experience and knowledge were not in vain.  Surely, we must live on, at least in some way or another, and you would be right.  We do live on, but not in ourselves, not as ourselves.  The good news is that there are copies of the tape.  All that you know may be passed along to the next generation, by teaching, by writing, by sharing your existence with the world at large.  Even your very genes can be passed along, but as the saying goes, You can't take it with you.

This life is reality.  This life matters.    Make your life matter.  Make your decisions, about what you do, what you buy, and about what causes you support, matter.  Don't wait until after you die to make a difference.  Don't waste this precious gift of life while you still have it in your possession,  and don't worry about what happens after you die, because it's completely out of your control.  Take comfort in living well and accept life for what it is instead of what you wish it could be.  Accept death as your own personal retirement and prepare for it accordingly by making the most of your life today.

Crude oil is currently at $116.59 per barrel, more than double the price of $50 per barrel in May 2005.  Gas prices have risen from $2.43 in 2005 to $3.83 now, an average of $0.47 per year.  Things are expected to get worse, but even at this rate, gas will cost  $4.00 per gallon by next year, and over five dollars per gallon by 2011.  And that's only if things stay the same.

Are we ready for these prices?

Can America's economy survive when gas is over five or ten dollars per gallon?

Will Americans be able to afford housing and feed their families in the near future?

What do you think?

Like the mortally wounded Mercutio of the famous Shakespearean play, "Romeo and Juliet", America has watched as the two leading houses in America brawl in the streets.  We have fought the good fight, but we are wounded by the sneaking jabs of these two miserable entities whose purpose is to control our government at any cost.

I am, of course, speaking of the Republican and Democratic Parties.  People of differing ideologies flock to join the fray, constantly fighting and calling names, jabbing and punching each other's figurative lights out with insults and tirades.

I am of a mind to vote for the person who I think will best run this country.  Unfortunately, the common man is no longer able to compete in this divided nation.  You must, to win the presidency, join one of these two factions that hold an iron grip on the people.  You must, in order to vote this year, vote for either a Democrat or a Republican.  Two choices, far right, or far left, there will be no compromise.

Some say division is a good thing, but I say:

United We Stand

Divided We Fall

These two houses are corrupted, America. 

Let's stop the division. 

Let's make our politicians work for their country instead of their party. 

Do your part.   Vote your heart.

Some people say America is blessed, and after eight years of George Bush, a president who believes God is on his side, we should truly be blessed.  But, rather than assuming we are blessed, we must ask ourselves how blessed we really are.

2005

17,700 murders in the US.  17,700 people cruelly killed by their fellow men and women.

God Bless America!

2005

 75,000,000 people in America are struggling to make ends meet.  36 million of them live below the poverty line.

God Bless America?

2008

 One of every 100 households is facing foreclosure.

uhhhhhhhhh.....

Please, God, don't bless us any more.  We can't afford it!

What do you think? 

Can Americans continue to ignore reallity and continue to live as though everything will just "work out fine", or is it time for a change?

These estimates are based on a web search of US demographics.  They were not altered or chosen to support one view or another.

I find it disturbing that, in this day and age, people still believe in ghosts, goblins and gods.  I read as they go on and on about how messed up the world is, how terrible the world is, and then there is a severe disconnect from reality. 

Why must people imagine that there is a vengeful monster from another dimension, or should I say, dementia, trying to secretly run things?  Why would a god hide?  Is he chicken?

Please, listen to yourselves talk.  Listen to your own crazy ramblings.  Wonder why the world is messed up, start with people who still make superstition their number one goal in life!  Listen to yourselves rambling on about old wives tales!  I cannot fathom how people still believe these far out stories created by cave people!

What about you?  Are you living in dreams with imaginary friends, or are you living a real life?

Alright!  I am so bored of hearing people say the word "liberal" over, and over, and over, like some sort of mindless droning mantra for divisive people with nothing to offer in terms of information.

I am not saying that it is not fun to call names and poke fun, but there must be a limit as to how many ways you use a single word.  Even in the most liberal English,  "liberal" does not mean, "anyone who disagrees with my opinion".   If you must argue about something you know nothing about, please visit this site: http://www.funbrain.com/kidscenter.html and learn some new words.  Broaden your mind!

I really appreciate all of you bighearted bloggers who make the blog a great place to exchange ideas freely,  and who generously give of your time to be entertaining and informative.  Remember kids:

"Don't Whine!"

"Don't Delete!" 

and

"Don't Be A One Word Wonder!"

Did that sound whiny?

Hello fellow Bloggers!

This is the tenth of eleven installments of:

"How to Be A Real American"

That's right, we are discussing Our Bill of Rights (YOUR RIGHTS!).

So far we've discussed the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to eat Krispy Kreme donuts, and much more. This time we will be discussing amendment ten of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The Tenth Amendment makes explicit the idea that the federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution, however, this amendment has been bypassed, and states' rights may have been violated.

Per Wikipedia: The Commerce Clause has been cited in many cases that have allowed the federal government to limit what were previously considered rights "reserved to the States respectively or to the people. In Wickard v. Filburn (1942), the Court ruled that federal regulations of wheat production could constitutionally be applied to wheat grown for "home consumption" on a farm--that is, wheat grown to be fed to farm animals or otherwise consumed on the farm. The rationale was that a farmer's growing "his own wheat" can have a substantial cumulative effect on interstate commerce, because if all farmers were to exceed their production quotas, a significant amount of wheat would either not be sold on the market or would be bought from other producers. Hence, in the aggregate, if farmers were allowed to consume their own wheat, it would affect the interstate market in wheat."

So basically the Federal Government is now in charge of anything that can be bought of sold or used because its use will affect interstate commerce.

"Medical marijuana was explicitly made legal under California state law by Proposition 215; however, marijuana is prohibited at the federal level by the Controlled Substances Act. Even though the woman grew the marijuana strictly for her own consumption and never sold any, the Supreme Court stated that growing one's own marijuana affects the interstate market of marijuana, citing the Wickard v. Filburn decision. It therefore ruled that this practice may be regulated by the federal government under the penumbra of the Commerce Clause."

Who but a lawyer would say that with a straight face?

Who else would say that the federal government should overrule state law because, by not selling it, a woman's home garden produce is affecting national weed demand, and therefore, national commerce! Next thing you know, we won't be able to sing karaoke because it affects national record sales! (In my case it could cause a considerable drop in sales.)

Okay, okay, I'm back in my chair. As we have seen, this "Commerce Clause" can be used to give the federal government power over anything that can, or even can't, be sold no matter what the individual state laws say.

What do you think?

Is the federal government abusing states' and individuals' Tenth Amendment rights?

Is the use of a commerce clause a valid action or just a slick way for the federal government to overrule state power?

How will this slippery use of federal law affect all of our other rights "guaranteed" to us in the Bill of Rights?