I wanna move to Australia

I'm a bit of a political junkie, heavy on the conservative side, and the recent goings on in congress makes me want to choke something.  They are the ones who got  us in the financial mess we are in, and the democrat leadership  in lockstep pretend that it's the current President's fault.  They aren't looking to help fix anything, they are looking to score political points.  This crap began with Jimmy Carter and got worse with Bill Clinton and George Bush, but most of the damage was done with that bill back in the Clinton administration, the Community Rehab Bill or something like that, that forced lenders to lend mortgage money to people who weren't qualified and couldn't afford to buy, so we could have more minorities owning homes.  Now that things are falling apart, the fox is guarding the henhouse.  Luckily there are a few sane brains in congress (house republicans).  I don't support any bailout that doesn't include incentives like lowering the corporate and capital gains taxes and that also adjusts the "mark to market" accounting rules that are exacerbating the whole mess.  I have heard those things talked about on the internet, but not in congress. I hope my 401K isn't eating it right now, but it probably is.  Maybe I should hide all my money under the bed.

The Blue Angels are in town!

This weekend is the bi-annual airshow.  Lots of cool military planes and antique biplanes, etc. are in town.  I was at work from 0815 until 1930 (7:30 p.m. for you landlubbers) and didn't write a single parking ticket.  Most of the day was spent hanging around the airport watching the airplanes.  I got to see the Blues practice, and also saw F-15s, F-16s, Korean War era Migs, C-130s, and some acrobatic planes.  There was even a WWII B-25 Liberator there.  Worst part was that I didn't have my camera.  Bummer.  Since it was such a long, although unproductive, day, I will compensate by taking off three hours early tomorrow afternoon.  That'll give me a little longer weekend. 

By the way, Jen and Becca, do you remember the airshows in Pensacola we used to go to?   

The Obama Lady

We were watching the Bronco game after  church when someone rang our doorbell.  It turned out to be a little old lady wearing about three Obama buttons and carrying a clipboard.  She asked if Cathy was home and if I was Grant.  I told her yes to both and then mentioned that we were republicans and were voting for John McCain.  She wished us good luck and left.  I guess she didn't get the memo about getting in people's faces.  Our next door neighbor has McCain posters in his front yard.  I wonder if she stopped there...

Me! ER! Chest pains! Noooooooooo!

Actually, yes.  And I lived!  The courageous nurses and doctors at St Mary's ER knew just what to do when I showed up unannounced at about 11 a.m. last Sunday, saying I was having chest pains.  The angel at the receiving window first told me to go wait in the waiting room, but then she looked at my sign-in sheet and saw the words "chest pain" and decided that maybe I could come in immediately.  They made me take off my shirt and undershirt, had me lay down on a gurney, then stuck a lot of electrode launch pads on me and did a quick EKG, then left.  I guess they must have been studying that EKG for a long time looking for who knows what, because nobody came back for about two hours.  After a while I looked at Cathy, who was dumb enough to come along, and said, "I don't think I am having a heart attack."  

"How do you know that?"

"If I was having a heart attack I think someone would have been back by now."  

She laughed.

They did send a nurse (male, but a nice guy) to get a bunch of blood, bringing back nostalgic memories of an engine failure at night in the training command where I had to land my broken helicopter in a field.  After taking 20 or 30 vials of blood he said someone would be by to take me out for a chest x-ray (in a couple of hours). 

There was an old dude and his old wife in the next gurney over, and he was about ready to leave, but the ER doctor wanted a nurse to walk him around the halls a bit to see if he was ok because his claim to fame was that he fainted in church.  So, a few minutes later a nurse came and had me get out of the gurney and started walking me around.  I thought she was taking me to x-ray, but then she turned me around the wrong way, and then everybody realized that she had grabbed the wrong patient.  We all had a good laugh then she took the old guy for a walk.  I got back in the gurney and when I went to get the picture taken I rode in the gurney.

The whole thing proved that my heart was ok, (no heart attack) but the doctor wanted to exert some more authority over me and make me wait some more to justify the outrageous ER bill that was going to go to my HMO, so he ordered a gall bladder ultrasound because he figured since the pain wasn't from my heart, it must be from my gall bladder.  That turned up negative too.  Boy, did he look silly!  

We finally got out of there at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  Best anyone can tell, I had some kind of esophagus reflux or something.  Now I'm told I can't eat fast food, especially if it's fried. I might as well be dead.  Today, which is Thursday and Cathy's birthday, I had to go back to the hospital for a treadmill stress test, that again showed that my heart is healthy.  I might have that heart attack when I get my bill from HMO though.  That is gonna hurt. 

Wow!

The font in the previous post isn't blue!  But it's still underlined.  Go figure.

Ethen's Birthday/Baptism

I was going to let Jennifer and Erik get first crack at posting pictures of Ethen's birthday and baptism extravaganza, but the haven't seemed to find that round 2-it thingy that almost nobody seems to be able to find in a timely manner.  Notice that the pictures are in reverse chronological order.  Also, I have no idea why I am getting a blue underlined font.  Anyway, here goes:

Another day that will live in Infamy

President Roosevelt described December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as a day that will live in infamy.  Today is the 7th anniversary of another day that will live in infamy, the Islamic terrorist attack on the United States.  Those evil men killed 3000 innocent people who had done nothing to them, and brought down two mighty buildings that were American landmarks.  Seven years later, they have not been able to mount another attack within our borders, although I am sure they want to.  President Bush has kept us safe.  Whatever else he may have done, right or wrong, he fulfilled his duty to protect our country.

What a difference a few years make.  Politics is more personally destructive than ever before.  It is not enough to disagree, there are those who must discredit or destroy the lives of those they disagree with.  People have willingly forgotten God.  Those who still remember Him are mocked and ridiculed.  I think we are like the Nephites in the Book of Mormon days; we as a nation have become divided into classes with those who are lifted up in the pride of their hearts and those who are looked down upon and reviled.  We live in perilous times and the world is ripening in iniquity.  Now as never before we need to listen to the Lord, listen to his called and set apart leaders, and hearken to what they say.  If we do, we will not be moved out of our place.  If we don't, we will not be blessed.  As the prophet Joseph Smith said, "When the Lord commands, I obey."  It's that simple.  

Please vote!

I have posted three images on my blog.  Next month I have the opportunity to have two works of art displayed in city hall.  Please double click on these pictures and comment on whether any of them you think are good enough to display.  Be honest.  Negative criticism won't hurt my feelings.  Thanks.