Obama mistakes

As the presidential campaigns advance Obama is making more and more mistakes.

Several days ago McCain came out in support of drilling more in the Gulf to ease gasoline prices. Obama said his statement was just a trick to mislead voters; that drilling more wouldn't affect gasoline prices for a least five years.

Obviously, Obama doesn't believe in forward thinking! Apparently, he feels that we should worry about five years down the road until it gets here. What will gasoline prices be in five years if he is elected President?

Former General Wesley Clark, who has endorsed Obama, came out questioning McCain's qualifications to be president. He doesn't feel that being shot down over Vietnam is a qualification. Well, neither do I. But what he went through and did while captive qualifies him as a National Hero and his years of service in the Senate qualify him as much as anyone... which is more than Clark has done. He couldn't even get his campaign off the ground.

Obama's mistake? He hasn't disavowed Clark's endorsement! If Obama means no one should question McCain's patriotism then Obama should not just distance himself from Clark he should denounce and disavow Clark.

It's time for Wesley Clark to take his retirement seriously and retire to private life and close his public mouth!

Obama-Dobson argument a “political blunder” for Obama

Obama isn't going to win any Evangelical votes by attacking Dr. Dobson. Dr. Dobson is too respected by Christians, in general, and we will not accept or tolerate attacks against him. Sen. Obama better make sure of this facts prior to preaching to the choir!!

Even though Evangelicals haven't been real keen on McCain there is nothing like an attack on our own (Dobson) to unify us in our decision November and it isn't going to be Senator Obama and his left wing pastors!

Washington DC, Jun 29, 2008 / 06:04 pm (CNA).- Gary McCullough, director of Christian Newswire, has called Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s attack on Focus on the Family president James Dobson a “political blunder” that could have a significant impact on Evangelical swing voters who were otherwise lukewarm towards Obama’s opponent, Sen. John McCain.

Sen. McCain’s past ambivalence towards same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research, McCullough wrote, had not excited the hard core of evangelicals.

“The evangelical community had been fairly unimpressed by John McCain.  But Obama has shown a grave lack of political wisdom: he did not let this sleeping dog lie,” McCullough said in an opinion piece published on Christian Newswire.

Dr. James Dobson’s June 24 radio show critiqued Obama’s use of Scripture in justifying his political policies and positions. The next day Obama responded to the evangelical leader’s critique by saying that Dobson was “making stuff up,” which McCullough said was “an indirect way of calling Dobson a liar.”

McCullough said Obama’s treatment of Dobson eliminated any sympathy Obama would have received for the attacks on his religious associations, such as his long relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama’s remarks also would be perceived as an insult towards “the single, most powerful influence on evangelicals,” he claimed.

Dr. James Dobson’s radio show reaches about 1.7 million listeners.

“His mistake could prove to make the difference in November -- in favor of McCain,” McCullough wrote.

Speaking to CNA, McCullough said that Obama’s remarks concerning Dobson shows he gets into trouble when he is “off-script and not reading from a cue card.”

“He picked a fight that he can’t unpick,” McCullough suggested.

Post Turtle

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.

Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our President.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, 'Obama is a 'post turtle'.

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what's a 'post turtle'?

The old rancher says, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, feet a'flailing in the air, that's a 'post turtle'.

'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass put him up there.'

long and short of it

One week ago tonight Cheryl took me to the hospital with difficulty breathing and chest pains. I was promptly admitted to the cardiac floor. The fear was that the thalidomide I'm taking for the myeloma may have caused a blood clot.

After a series of tests including a bronchial flush (I call roto-router of the lungs), a walking stress test with echocardiogram and a whole lot of other unpleasant stuff and many pokes for blood it was finally determined I have a mild staph infection in my lungs.

I was dismissed late Tuesday evening with a prescription for a medication to protect my kidneys from the dye used in the stress test. There wasn't a pharmacy in the near vicinity that had even heard of the medication. After many telephone calls by Cheryl and a few from me my admitting doctor arranged for the hospital internal pharmacy to give me the medication (it was just 3 doses).

On Wednesday the Pulmonologist called and prescribed an antibiotic for the infection. I take 1,000 mg per day for ten (10) days which is two horse pills.

I'm still having a little difficulty breathing sometimes but it is getting better. I go back to the Oncologist on Wednesday and Cheryl is planning on being back for that. No she didn't neglect me while I was in the hospital. She had some critical meetings she had to attend so my sister, Linda, the RN, came to be with me.

The "long and short of it"... the weekend was short, really short and the week was long, very long. I had difficulty keeping tack of the day and date. You'd think I was taking medicine!

Hurricane Katrina vs Devastating Iowa 500 Year Flood

Aren't Mid-Western values great! Some of the best, hardest working, honest people in the world live in the mid-west and I'm proud to be a mid-westerner!

• Why aren't all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons and asking for help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods?
• Why isn't the media asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn't solved the problem?
• Where are all the FEMA trucks and trailers?
• Why isn't the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels in Chicago?
• When will Spike Lee say that the Federal Government blew up the levees that failed in Des Moines?
• Where is Sean Penn in his rescue boat and the Dixie Chicks?
• Where are all the 24/7 lurid news tales of cannibalism and unnecessary drownings?
• Why did Iowans evacuate so prematurely; why are they not holed up in deathtrap sports centers?
• Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes and big screen television sets? When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a 'vanilla' Iowa, because that's the way God wants it?
• Where are the people declaring that George Bush hates white, rural people?
• Why are the Iowans not complaining more and demanding to be saved?
• How come in about 2 weeks, you will never hear about the Iowa flooding ever again?

Deep thoughts...

6/18/07 Oncologist visit

Today's visit to the oncologist was interesting. In the past two weeks my hemoglobin has gone of 12.1 to 12.2. Not much change but it is in the right direction and is pretty good considering I have cancer.

I have been having a few side effects from the thalidomide but nothing that I thought was unusual. However, I have been experiencing some light headedness and difficulty breathing. The oncologist think I might have a blood clot which can be caused by the thalidomide.

In order to determine what is going on they sent me to the hospital to have a CT scan. I had it this afternoon and it didn't show anything. So, tomorrow I will go back to the hospital for an echocardiogram. If that doesn't show anything then I will go to the pulmonologist but they really don't think I'm having a lung problem.

Life is interesting and now, on to something else.

58 states

In a speech a few days ago Obama announced that he had been in "57 states" and had only one more and then he will have been in all of the states.

I missed something... when did we get 8 more states and where are they?

If Obama doesn't know how many states are in the United States of America is he really qualified to lead this country? Can he possibly understand what our constitution says?

Of course, you won't see or hear anything in the main stream media about this faux pas. He is the "darling" of main stream media.

Think twice before voting!

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

I am a huge James Patterson fan! I have read almost all of his books and the ones I haven't read are on the reading list when I get enough money to buy them. I even keep a list of his books, with the ones I have read marked, in my PDA. I have never picked up a Patterson book that I didn't love and spend all my time reading until I was done with it. This is another hit for him and very different from most of his books. It really shows what a great writer he really is.

There was no way I felt I could do justice in writing about this book so I went to the James Patterson website and copied their description below:

AN IMAGINARY FRIEND
Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, a powerful Broadway producer, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany's. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He's perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can't stay forever, though. On Jane's ninth birthday he leaves, promising her that she'll soon forget him.

AN UNEXPECTED LOVE
Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone–a handsome, comforting, funny man. He's perfect. His name is Michael...

AND AN UNFORGETTABLE TWIST
This is a heartrending story that surpasses all expectations of why these people have been brought together. With the breathtaking momentum and gripping emotional twists that have made James Patterson a bestselling author all over the world, SUNDAYS AT TIFFANY'S takes an altogether fresh look at the timeless and transforming power of love.

Pelosi is at it, again

Pelosi seems to think she is the solution to everything. She meets with leaders of countries that are our enemy, she makes the decision as to who will be the Democratic nominee for President, etc. Too bad she hasn't led this House of Representatives to resolve a few issues that affect the American people, like the price of gasoline or the housing market or a lot of other issues that she and Sen. Harry Reid blame on the President. Anyone that understands our Constitution knows that the President can not enact legislation, it take Congress. Too bad this Congress has been too busy playing the blame game instead of doing the "peoples' work." Once again, DON'T RE-ELECT INCUMBENTS!

Pelosi's vow to 'step in' doesn't sit well with Clinton supporter

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's vow yesterday that she will "step in" to settle the Democratic presidential contest if the nominee hasn't been determined by late June isn't making one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's more vocal supporters very happy.

USA TODAY's Fredreka Schouten spoke today with Allida Black, a professor at George Washington University and co-founder of the WomenCount PAC, which wants Clinton to get the nomination.

"I thought it was undemocratic," Black said about what Pelosi told The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday. Never in the history of our party have we precluded any candidate from going to the convention floor. ... I'm an elected delegate from the state of Virginia. ... She has no right as a leader of this party to say the party has to make a decision before the convention. That's what the convention was created to do. ... I don't want Nancy Pelosi telling me who my nominee is."

...

Posted by Mark Memmott at 02:43 PM/ET, May 29, 2008

Congress is to blame

As I have said many times, Congress has done nothing for the past 1 1/2 years since the Democrats took control. It's time to get them out of control. However, the best alternative is to... DON'T RE-ELECT INCUMBENTS!

Blame Congress for High Oil Prices [full article]

By MACKUBIN THOMAS OWENS
May 29, 2008

Gasoline prices are through the roof and Americans are angry. Someone must be to blame and the obvious villain is "Big Oil" with its alleged ability to gouge consumers and achieve unconscionable, "windfall" profits. Congress is in a vile mood, and has dragged oil industry executives before its committees for show trials, issuing predictable threats of punishment, e.g. a "windfall profits tax."

But if there is a villain in all of this, it is Congress itself. That venerable body has made it impossible for U.S. producers of crude oil to tap significant domestic reserves of oil and gas, and it has foreclosed economically viable alternative sources of energy in favor of unfeasible alternatives such as wind and solar. In addition, Congress has slapped substantial taxes on gasoline. Indeed, as oil industry executives reiterated in their appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 21, 15% of the cost of gasoline at the pump goes for taxes, while only 4% represents oil company profits.

To understand the depth of congressional complicity in the high price of gasoline, one must understand that crude oil prices explain 97% of the variation in the pretax price of gasoline. That price, which has risen to record levels, is set by the intersection of supply and demand. On the one hand, world-wide demand has accelerated mainly due to the rapid growth of China and India.

...

This doesn't even include substantial oil shale resources economically recoverable at oil prices substantially lower than those prevailing today. In an exchange between Sen. Orin Hatch (R., Utah) and John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company during the May 21 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the point was made that anywhere from 800 million to two trillion barrels of oil are available from oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

If Congress really cared about the economic well-being of American citizens, it would stop fulminating against IOCs and reverse current policies that discourage, indeed prohibit, the production of domestic oil and natural gas. Even the announcement that Congress was opening the way for domestic production would lead to downward pressure on oil prices.

...

Mr. Owens is a professor at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and editor of Orbis, the journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

McClellan

McClellan says he believed in Bush as war started

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says he didn't object to the way the war in Iraq was sold to the American people at the time because he, like other Americans, gave the president the benefit of the doubt.

McClellan told NBC's "Today" show on Thursday that although he had worried about the rush to war, he felt affection for President Bush and trusted his foreign policy advisers.

McClellan says in his new memoir that he came to realize that the war was sold with propaganda that inflated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. He says administration officials didn't deliberately lie — but they became wrapped up in trying to shape the story to their advantage, and ignored intelligence that didn't fit the picture.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Of course the media isn't telling that this book was published by the same publisher that publishes George Soros. Yeah, the Soros of MoveOn.org, the liberal organization that all democratic candidates have to obtain an endorsement from. McClellan's first interviews were with anti-Bush NBC (Today) and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who isn't even a journalist.

I never have cared for "kiss and tell" in real life or books, so I won't be wasting time or money on this book.

Spurgeon: A New Biography

Spurgeon A New Biography by Arnold Dallimore is an abbreviated biography of the great London pastor Charles H. Spurgeon. There have been many biographies of Spurgeon published but most are multi-volumes.

I have never been much on biographies. To the best of my recollection I have only read two biographies, Kathryn Hepburn and Lee Iocca. But this is an exceptional one. Dallimore pulled some of the most interesting aspects of Spurgeon's life and works with and through the Metropolitan Tabernacle of London to focus on.

It is amazing that in the 18th century London church he was able to attract multiple thousands to his services. It is especially impressive considering the official church was and is the Church of England and he and his congregation were Baptist. Also, amazing was how much he was loved by people in America and how copies of his sermons were in hot demand in many countries of the world.

He established a Pastors' College, orphanages, ministries for men and women, ministries for the poor, evangelism programs and most of these were at his own expense paid for by the sale of his books and sermons.

Whether you enjoy biographies or not this one is worth reading. It isn't a suspenseful, thriller page turner but it is a book you will want to stick with and read to the very last page.

Pastor Hagee and Rabbi Scheinberg Respond to Recent Controversies

Make no mistake, this is one Evangelical Christian that undoubtedly supports Rev. Hagee. It is unfortunate that the media has focused on a statement made many years ago and made it to be something that it is not. Any person who is familiar with Rev. Hagee's work knows his stand on Israel and the Jewish people.

Pastor Hagee's Statement

The past 24 hours have been extremely disappointing ones to me.  My disappointment has nothing to do with the fact that I parted company with John McCain this was best for both of us and for the country.   It is time the candidates and the media turn their attention back to the pressing issues of our day and stop focusing on what I did or did not say decades ago.

But what has been disappointing has been to see my life’s work the great passion of my life mischaracterized and attacked.  I have dedicated my life to combating anti-Semitism and supporting the State of Israel.  In taking a stand for Israel I have received death threats from anti-Semites and neo-Nazis, and I’ve had the windows of my car blown out beneath the windows of the rooms in which my children slept.  To hear people who know nothing about me or my life’s work claim that I somehow excuse the Holocaust is simply heartbreaking.

Let me be clear -- to assert that I in any way condone the Holocaust or that monster Adolf Hitler is the worst of lies.  I have always condemned the horrors of the Holocaust in the strongest of terms.  But even more importantly, my abhorrence of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism has never stopped with mere words.

I have devoted most of my adult life to ensuring that there will never be a second Holocaust.  I have worked tirelessly to eliminate the sin of anti-Semitism from the Christian world and to ensure the survival of the State of Israel. 

I have traveled the country teaching Christians to love the Jewish people and stand with Israel.  Our ministry has given over $30 million for humanitarian causes in Israel.   I founded Christians United for Israel to bring together all pro-Israel Christians into a movement that can support Israel during these very challenging times.

The fact is that all people of faith have had to wrestle with the question of why a sovereign God would allow evil in the world.  After Auschwitz, this question became more urgent than ever.

Many people simply could not explain how a loving God would permit such horrors.  After the Holocaust, they abandoned their faith in a sovereign God who intervenes here on earth.  While I disagree with this conclusion, I would never denigrate those who arrived at such a conclusion.

But I and many millions of Christians and Jews came to a different conclusion.  We maintained our faith in a sovereign God who allows both the good and the evil that is in the world.  We therefore search the scriptures for an explanation for that evil.  We believe that the words of the Hebrew prophets such as Jeremiah may help us understand the mind of God.  But our search for an explanation for evil must never be confused with an effort to excuse it.

What is more important than how we answer the question of where was God during the Holocaust is what we as men and women do here on earth to make sure that there will never be another Holocaust.  We must give meaning to the words “Never Again” through our actions.  It is to this effort this effort to fight anti-Semitism and to support Israel that I now return.  Thank you.

Rabbi Scheinberg's Statement
I have known Pastor John Hagee for close to 30 years. Pastor Hagee is a man of G-d, a visionary leader, a person of courage and integrity, a lover of people of all faiths, an embodiment of truth, justice and kindness.

I met him in 1981, when he stood almost alone in the defense of Israel, after Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981. At that time, while the majority of world leaders criticized Israel, Pastor Hagee declared: Israel we are with you.”  He was then as today a courageous Christian, guided by an unparalleled moral compass who distinguished right from wrong, good from evil. 

The same zeal and vision that moved Pastor Hagee in 1981 to stand in the defense of Israel,  has moved him to  strongly condemn anti-Semitism and bigotry in its forms. 

Pastor Hagee is a world leader in his support of Israel. For he understands that Israel is the only nation of the world who faces extermination for being a Jewish nation, for being a democracy, for being America’s most trusted and loyal friend among the nations,   He understands that no other nation in the world has yearned so much, nor given so much, nor risked so much, nor suffered so much for the cause of peace, as Israel and yet has been so criticized.

It is ironic and absurd that when Pastor was lecturing on one of the Jewish perspectives of the Holocaust that his words were twisted and used to attack him for being anti Semitic.  

Pastor Hagee said nothing of the kind.   Pastor interpreted a Biblical verse in a way not very different from several legitimate Jewish authorities.  Viewing Hitler as acting completely outside of God’s plan is to suggest that God was powerless to stop the Holocaust, a position quite unacceptable to any religious Jew or Christian.

No less an authority than the author of the Eim Habanim Semaichah, Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal of blessed memory wrote these words while cowering in a Budapest cellar in the very midst of Hitler’s Holocaust: “Furthermore, the sole purpose of all the afflictions that smite us in our exile is to arouse us to return to our Holy Land.”

I have seen Pastor's tears and Diana's tears at Yad Vashem.   They identify and feel the pain of our people, therefore I know that of all the criticisms that Pastor has been subjected to when he stepped into a political mine field, and of all the distortions of the truth that he had to contend with, this must be the most painful, because of his love for the Jewish people and his genuine total efforts to see that never again shall the Jewish people be alone in a world of apathy, hatred and anti Semitism.

A Holocaust survivor, who lived through the death camps of Auschwitz, recently declared at the San Antonio Jewish community commemoration of Yom HaShoah:  “If during the Nazi era the world had leaders like Pastor John Hagee, 6 million Jews, among them one and a million children, wouldn’t have been brutally murdered.”

thalidomide - day 2

Today is the the second day after taking the minimum dosage of thalidomide and I'm already feeling lethargic. I didn't expect it to settle in quite so fast; I really thought it would take 3-4 days, at least. I don't like feeling tired and "draggy" all the time. I took a long nap this afternoon and it didn't help

My back has been pretty achy the past few weeks but today it has hurt quite a bit. It may the the weather affecting it more than anything. It has been extremely humid today since early this morning. The dehumidifier hasn't shut off all day. I've caught myself arching by back several time which is a sign that I probably have some compression fractures that are getting bad.

I have certainly felt worse at times during the past four years and it's still too early to be feeling any affects from the multiple myeloma.

As they say, "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was your day?"

By the way enjoy the Memorial Day holiday, or if you're from the old school enjoy Decoration Day. And of course, as always... DON'T RE-ELECT INCUMBENTS!

drug therapy - thalidomide

After a little haggling and an initial denial by the insurance company my wife (Cheryl) got the thalidomide approved and the prescription filled yesterday so I started taking it last night.

Thank God for health insurance and Computer Services, Inc. (CSI). We have often said over the past four years we are so thankful that Cheryl went to work for them. There aren't many companies in this world that can claim "good to great" but CSI isn't just good they are great. The support that management and staff have provided has made this journey so much easier. It's too bad more of corporate America can't see the wisdom of an operation like CSI.

So far the only side effect of the thalidomide is probably the price. Without insurance a twenty-eight (28) days supply would have been $3,479.19. Yep, almost $3,500! We had to pay our co-pay of $35. Since the last time I took thalidomide, about two (2) years ago, the price has increased almost $1,500.

Over the next six (6) weeks I will be increasing my daily dosage from 50 mg to 200 mg. By the time I reach the full dosage, if it is like the last time, I will pretty much be an exhausted zombie. That is because thalidomide was originally dispensed as a sleep agent. In the 1950s they discovered that it caused massive deformities in babies whose mother took it to help them sleep.

Interestingly, the reason it created the deformities is the reason it helps with Multiple Myeloma. It stops the growth of blood veins and vessels. Because of this there is less oxygen in the blood to feed the cancer. This in turn, theoretically, helps keep the myeloma from growing as fast, thus prolonging life. Okay, that is a layman's explanation as I understand it. Anyway, I will take the thalidomide as long as I can tolerate it and as long as the doctors think it is working... then to the next step.

health update

Cheryl and I just returned from my check-up with my oncologist and found out that my remission has come to an end.

My skeletal survey showed no new lesions and no notable change in existing lesions. The urine test was clean with no monoclonal proteins (myeloma). However, my blood test showed some monoclonal proteins where six months ago there were none.

I will be starting Thalidomide again in the next few days. The doctor feels that this is the best opportunity to keep the myeloma in check for the longest period of time. The Thalidomide takes a while to build up to full dosage so I will be going for blood work and doctor checks every two weeks for the next six weeks.

ancient technology in Kansas

After having dug to a depth of 10 yards last year, New York scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years, and came to the conclusion that their New York ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the New Yorkers, in the weeks that followed, California scientists dug to a depth of 20 yards, and shortly after, the LA Times newspaper read: "California archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers."

One week later, the 'Ness County News,' a local newspaper in Ness City, KS. reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 yards in wheat fields near Beeler, KS, Larry the Cable Guy, a self-taught archaeologist and dyed-in-the-wool Jayhawks fan, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Larry has therefore concluded that 300 years ago, Kansas had already gone wireless."

Memo to Michelle Obama: Toughen Up Sweetie

Any presidential candidate that puts their spouse or any member of their family on the campaign trail making speeches has to accept that those people are going to be scrutinized just as the candidate will or should be. The Obamas need to toughen up and accept that if Michelle is going to be shooting her mouth off on the campaign trail she is going to be attacked.

Remember my campaign slogan: DON'T RE-ELECT INCUMBENTS!

 

Memo To Michelle Obama: Toughen Up Sweetie

Posted 5/20/2008 6:09 AM CDT

In an interview with Good Morning America, during which Barack Obama called the so-called attacks on his wife Michelle "low class" and "detestable" and warned the Republicans to "lay off my wife" he seems to ignore a basic reality of politics–when someone chooses to enter the political arena, whatever they say becomes fair game for the other side.

Responding to an ad by Tennessee Republicans in which they used Mrs. Obama’s remarks about being proud of her country for the first time in her adult life, Obama said this:

"The GOP, should I be the nominee, I think can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," Obama said. "I've been in public life for 20 years. I expect them to pore through everything that I've said, every utterance, every statement. And to paint it in the most undesirable light possible. That's what they do."

But I do want to say this to the GOP. If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful. Because that I find unacceptable," he said."

The Obamas seem to have forgotten how those in their campaign "attacked" Bill Clinton for statements he has made while campaigning for Hillary. Lord knows I’m not one to defend the Clintons, but fair is fair. Bill was criticized sharply for calling Obama’s lack of experience "a roll of the dice", for calling Obama’s opposition to the war a "fairy tale", and for his comparison of Obama to Jesse Jackson after South Carolina. Retired Gen. McPeak, an Obama co-chair, even compared Bill to Joe McCarthy at one point.

Cindy McCain’s lack of disclosure of her tax returns has been in the news as well. In fact the DNC has promised that it will continue to be an issue during the general election campaign.

When the Obamas complain about what they perceive as unfair tactics it comes across as whining, just as it does when Hillary laments about the alleged media bias against her. Again, if a spouse injects themselves into the campaign process, like it or not, their words and their actions are going to be fodder for the opposition.

My advice to Mrs. Obama is this; you’re in the big leagues now, sweetie (sorry ladies I couldn’t resist the temptation) either get a thicker skin or get off the stage.

The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Ph.D. with Jeffrey Zaslow is one of the most meaningful books I have ever read. I posted about Randy Pausch and the video The Last Lecture last year. It is not necessary to watch the video before enjoying this book but you certainly should take the time to watch it at some point.

Professor Pausch has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after leaving his position at Carnegie Mellon University he was invited back to give his last lecture which is a tradition. Unfortunately, the last lecture in his case had a special meaning.

This book is NOT a transcript of The Last Lecture video so don't think you can get it all from the "movie." There are no great revelations in this book but a lot of reminders pertaining to what we should remember, what made us who we are, what life is all about, and how we all want to be remembered. It also includes much about business, customer service, honesty and apologizing, sincerely. It is not a sad book but a celebration of life, specifically Professor Pausch's, but it could be any of our life's.

Maybe I feel a special connection to this book because Professor Pausch and I share a common factor... terminal cancer. Randy, nor I, nor any terminally ill survivor wants sympathy for the sake of our illness. Like most people we are looking for the way we can make a difference in our family's and friends' lives and be remembered in this world for something other than taking up space.

I've had a lot of thoughts and feelings about having cancer that I've been unable to explain. I think I found that explanation in this book and it is a great quote:

"Many cancer patients say their illness gives them a new and deeper appreciation for life. Some even say they are grateful for their disease. I have no such gratitude for my cancer, although I'm certainly grateful for having advance notice of my death."

Take a few hours and read this book!

Professor Pausch's web site is: www.thelastlecture.com.

Additional web sites mentioned in the book: The Entertainment Technology Center, www.etc.cmu.edu; the Alice project, www.alice.org.

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit by Dr. R. A. Torrey is a recommended reading from Back to the Bible located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The original copyright of the book is 1910. Dr. Torrey was a late 19th, early 20th century teacher, pastor and lecturer. He received his A.B. and B.D. from Yale University and also studied in Leipsig, Germany. He served as superintendent of city missions in Minneapolis and later served as superintendent of Moody Bible Institute.

I found this book to be timeless and extraordinarily applicable to today's world. I didn't feel it was an "easy" or "quick" read but required me to re-read and study some passages to better understand explanations of some Bible verses. I found a highlighter was useful to have within reach. This is really a "teaching" book and required (at least from me) some re-reading of passages and some contemplation. In addition, I think I will need to re-read it in a few months.

Although I recommend this book be prepared for some challenges and very thought provoking ideas. It is an excellent explanation of the necessity of the Holy Spirit in your life and how to obtain it.