Some things are right or wrong because of the nature of the issue, not the politics of it and there are some things that affect us all or could affect us all.  One of these problems is the abuse of a doctrine called "Eminent Domain," sometimes called condemnation, expropriation or, most accurately, "taking."

While researching this I discovered that the actual doctrine of Eminent Domain is basically that a government has the right to "take" property it deems necessary for the public good.  It has always been the right of sovereign nations to do this and such a standard practice that the founding fathers did not address it in the Constitution.  Fortunately, George Mason of Virginia opposed the Constitution because it had no "Declaration of Rights," stirring up a debate that gave us the first 10 amendments, commonly called "The Bill of Rights."  And, like so many other of our rights, these founders had the foresight to include a clause in the Fifth Amendment saying "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."  We see by this clause that the practice was known and they sought to address it.  This and the 14th amendment, ratified in 1868, guaranteeing, "...No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

This entry was begun as a rant about a privilege which governments, even our very own government here in the United States, see as a right.  I suppose it may be, perhaps has to be, but it seems that in a free and Democratic society such as ours, the public, "We The People," ought to have a voice in such matters.  This is often not the case and it is often abused.  Yes, even here, in our country, even in the very state of Colorado.  As I was doing my homework for this entry, I discovered there are 10,000 documented cases of "Eminent Domain Abuse" in this country and one is right here in my own backyard.  One of the biggest land grabs in history is being attempted right here in Colorado. 

http://www.pinoncanyon.com/

 The U.S. Army is currently trying to take half a million acres, 418,577, to be exact, or 654 square miles (or 261,610 Eastern U.S. square blocks for you city dwellers), with the idea of eventually taking a total of 2.5 million acres, or 3906 square miles, an area roughly the size of Delaware, Rhode Island and Washington D.C. combined.  The Pentagon had originally put a moratorium on major land acquisitions like this but surprisingly enough waived it for the Army.  I thought I would go to the Army's website and see what they had to say about it, but the press release only states that the Army is going to purchase this much (418,577 acres) land.  Their site does not mention their further reaching plan or that there are ranchers that do not want to sell.  There are people who have been on the same piece of land for 5 generations.  And what if the land is not for sale?  The Army spokesman said in a news broadcast on KVOR that they have not and will not rule out getting the property by any means, including the condemnation and eminent domain process.  In other words, they will take what they want.  (Notice that sentence ended with a "period?"  Yep.  They will take what they want.  Period.)  Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi got it right with the title of his recent column, "Land Grab Gives Army Bully Image."  Because that is exactly what is going on here.

The Army is not only trying to take private property but is destroying a way of life as well.  I cannot describe in one blog entry about eminent domain what the great-great grandfathers of some of these men went through to build these ranches or the culture of the West.  If you want to understand the spirit of these men, you can read fictional accounts in almost any book by Louis L'Amour.  "Galloway," "The Daybreakers" and "Ride the Dark Trail" come specifically to mind.  While they are fiction, they do capture the character of these people.  Before the wagon trains, before the Santa Fe Trail, before Horace Greeley's admonition, "Go West, young man," there were the ancestors of these men and women in Southeastern Colorado, opening the way for this great nation to expand.  Great way to pay 'em back, I guess, "Oh, sorry, Mr. Pioneer Rancher's Ghost.  You helped make this country what it is today, thanks, but we're going to steal your land back now."

I have always been a big fan and supporter of the Army.  As any one who has ever stopped by this blog knows, besides having stinky feet, I consider myself a Flag-Wavin', Right-Wing, Gun-Totin', Hetero-Christian-Pro-Life-Love-The-Army-Support-The-Mission-Conservative, but what they are about to do here is wrong and abuses a power that should be administered sparingly, when at all. 

 While some of the ranchers are willing to sell, many do not want to and many can't, because potential (private) buyers back out when they find out what the Army is trying to do.  My question is also, "What is the public good?"  Who are "The Public" and how will they benefit?  Shouldn't the people who actually live in the area, the citizens of the towns and counties that are affected, be considered part of "The Public?"  Whose good?  The good of the Army, maybe, but that's about it.

The Army claims they will be bringing in 10,000 soldiers and this will help the Colorado Springs economy, but I would like to know, since the average private only makes $18,000 a year, which is at or below poverty level and certainly not addressed in the minimum wage bill just passed (figure frequent 20 hour workdays here and then divide the 18,000), will this be a real big boost to the economy?  Probably not, except that there will be more pizza delivery drivers and convenience store clerks as most people in the Army need other jobs to support their families.

So, five generations of work, not to mention that the area is full of places of

historical,  
archaeological and anthropological significance.  
One of the largest sets of dinosaur tracks is in the area as well.

Wagon tracks from the Santa Fe Trail are still visible here (the grass hasn't grown back over 100 years later) so, ecologically and environmentally, what will happen if tanks start maneuvering here?  Of course the Army will promise to protect these things, but what about the livelihoods of the ranchers and farmers in the area and the small towns and small businesses that depend on them?  What about the previous promises the Army has made?  The Pinon Canyon website, details how well the Army kept them.  Read the Pinon Canyon website; talk to some veterans or most any Indian about how well the government keeps its promises even when you keep your side of the deal.

So, what do you do if the U.S. Army says that they need your property and will get it by any means including stealing it (I was always taught that if you "take" something that doesn't belong to you, that's stealing), even though your family has been there since before the wagon trains?  Since before the area was even a territory of the United States?

The hope that we have lies in the fact that besides being a Democracy, "Of the People, By the People, For the People," our country is a Representative Republic.  The Army, while being an authorized arm of the Government, is not the Government.  Go right now and check out http://www.pinoncanyon.com/ .  Give it a thorough going over.  The site offers a comprehensive look at what is going on here.

There are a number of representatives who are conscientiously working to define more carefully how this power may or may not be used, but they won't know it's important to you unless you tell them.  The great thing about the Internet is that you don't even have to get up from where you are at right now.  You can visit the U.S. Senate, The House of Representatives, the Whitehouse and the Supreme Court in mere seconds.  State, county and local governments also have websites which you probably have used.  You can be an activist and never have to leave the comfort of your computer desk and find out how your specific elected officials feel about this issue.  Ask 'em.  Then ask what they are doing about it.

I apologize that this is a longer entry than I have done in quite a while, but it is important to me and I think it should be important to everyone else, too.  Please consider putting a link to http://www.pinoncanyon.com/ on your websites and e-mail it to everyone you know.  I encourage all my readers to write about this problem or the problem of Eminent Domain Abuse, especially the ones that agree with me.  Hahaha!  That was just a joke, but you know, I seldom if ever "tag" anyone with meme's so instead, please give this some consideration.

Remember, the good Book says, "Thou shalt not steal."

Photos used by permission of http://www.pinoncanyon.com/ and hosted on http://photobucket.com/

A couple of weeks ago we had a huge apartment fire that burned for three days and destroyed 135 units in near-zero weather.  Firefighters with ladder trucks plucked 62 people from balconies while many others had jumped and tossed their children down to neighbors.  The building, which had recently been inspected, was built in the 60's before a lot of the modern fire codes were in place and went up like a box of farmer matches.

Gazette Slideshow

AP News Clip

It was 5 alarms and took a battalion of 100 firemen, many of whom responded within 3 minutes, over 72 hours to put out.  It was in a busy, built-up part of town and it is much to the fire department's credit that the damage was contained to the one building of 135 units and a church.  If you look at the slideshow and/or video you will see that it is a miracle that only two people were killed.  31 people were treated at the hospital including a firefighter who sprained his ankle slipping on the ice and many hypothermia cases from standing around in pajamas when it's 8 degrees.  Still, it could have been a lot worse, which the arsonist, who was mad at his girlfriend, was hoping.  First degree murder of two people he didn't even know.  The fire forced some residents to leap from balconies in their nightclothes.  Firefighters plucked 62 people from windows.  The place was destroyed partly because CSFD put people's lives first and saved all but two people.

Now, because of one man's foolish anger and stupidity, 2 people are dead and almost 200 people have lost everything they ever had.  These were poor people, squeaking by from week-to-week, who couldn't afford renter's insurance.

One of the many things that makes me proud to live in Colorado Springs, CO, is that, even though the city has grown (In some cases irresponsible growth, but that's an issue for a Colorado Springs blog) to quadruple the size it was when we moved here 18 years ago, it has always had a small-town feel.  People come together and help.  We are a giving community and whatever and wherever the disaster; hurricanes, tsunamis, 9/11, earthquakes or whatever, there is always a radio station(s) or newspaper or TV station(s) or church (es) that will start a drive to take donations to help victims.  There are always so many ways to offer help.

Janet, Margaret's sister, who is relatively new to the community, is not aware of all of this yet, so when a pair of high school age girls came to the door carrying a coffee can with a picture of a small child on it, the old softies, her and Grandma, gave them some money.  They were told, "We're from Coronado High School Student Council and we're trying to raise donations for little four year old (Insert some name here) who lost everything in the Castle West fires," immediately their soft little old hearts were crushed.  "That poor baby!  No toys or clothes!  Oh my!  Oh my!  Here.  Here's some money.  It's all we have, but you take it!"  Thank goodness it wasn't payday.

Trusting souls.  Gullible.  They didn't ask where Coronado is (way over on the West side of town) or even to see their ID.  She didn't know that this is not an acceptable way to raise funds in this town and on the rare occasions when it is done, children (and the parents who go with them) are instructed on how to identify themselves, etc.  When Margaret heard about it she called Coronado to confirm what we both knew, that it was a scam.  "This is not a normal way we do fundraisers."  Neither Janet nor Grandma could give a reasonable description of the girls and so the matter was chalked up to experience and used to lecture on what to do in the future.

A week later Margaret happened to be working for Mrs. Neighbor-On-Top-Of-The-Hill when the doorbell rang and Margaret answered the door.  Standing right there at the door were what turned out to be the same two smiling, cheerful young people.  Well, one looked bright and cheerful and one seemed kind of worried and agitated and didn't say much.

"Hi there!  We're from Coronado High School Student Council and we're trying to raise money to help 4 year old Little-So-And-So who lost everything in the Castle West fire."

"Coronado, you say?  What are you doing over here?"

"Oh, we're going all over town."

"What's your name?"  Worried girl looked even more nervous.

The girl gave her real name to Margaret and said she had just moved here from Alabama a week ago.  Margaret, playing her cards close-to-the-vest as it were, did not openly question how she got elected to Student Council, then.

"How do I know you're from Coronado?"

The girl opened her jacket and proudly displayed a Coronado t-shirt.

"Uh-huh.  Well, (girl's name goes here) I don't think so."

"But the people across the street are bagging up some toys right now."

"Um.  No.  You have to leave now."

The more you know Margaret, the more you will know that there are three things you must never, ever do.  Don't ever lie to her, don't play her for a fool and don't try to harm someone she cares for, friend, relative or client.

I returned from my errand to pick her up at Mrs. Neighbor-On-Top-Of-The-Hill's house and there was steam rising from the top of her head, lightning flashing from her fingertips and fire shooting out of her eyeballs as she told me what had just happened.  Mrs. Neighbor-On-Top-Of-The-Hill didn't want to call the cops herself as she feared someone returning to get her back.

"This little (long pause while she searched for an appropriate word) Girl-Who-Gave-Her-Real-Name thinks I'm stupid!  How many people has she hit in the last week, like Janet and Grandma or Mrs. Neighbor-On-Top-Of-The-Hill?  And then to tell me she moved here from Alabama a week ago and is on the Student Council of a high school that is not even around here?  Mrs. Neighbor-On-Top-Of-The-Hill probably would have given her money, too, if she was able to answer the door and I wasn't there."  Along with assorted other fumings, ventings and vituperations.

Margaret talked to Janet and verified the description of the two girls, and after a brief call was again placed to the principal at Coronado, who does NOT have any student with that last name at all (but did have a police officer standing there) a call was placed to the El Paso County Sheriff's Department.  I don't recall the officer's name and don't want to go look for it, but it was a redheaded female officer I shall dub O'Toole.  A very professional woman, but you could see why, even though she was professional, redheads and the Irish have a reputation for anger.  Margaret told Officer O'Toole the whole story with Janet and Grandma verifying details.

"And you gave them money?"

"Um, yes."

"How much did you give them?"

"Four dollars."  A collective "whew" went up all around.  We hadn't known how much she had given them and were afraid to ask.

"Well, I'm going to check with the local schools and see if they have any students registered under this name."  We knew at the time that the girl must be stupid, but not that she was stupid enough to give her exact real name.

We received a message a little later in the day, "Officer O'Toole calling.  We have both girls in jail.  Since your sister gave them money and they represented themselves as a charity that doesn't exist, they are charged with felony fraud, which automatically requires us to take them to jail.  They confessed to everything.  You and your sister will likely be asked to testify if the case goes to trial.  Would you be willing to testify?"

Um.  Yeah!

Remember, The Good Book says, "Thou shalt not steal."  It also ought to say, "Don't mess with Margaret!"

P.S.

   I haven't changed my mind about moving, but having received excellent advice from several sources I am taking my time on deciding.  I appreciate everyone's help, thank you so much.  Thank you, too, for stopping by and reading my stuff.

I really enjoy getting comments, even those that someone could possibly construe as patronizing and condescending.  I had thought about doing a whole entry about the topic, but the time that I have to write is limited so I will just reiterate what most people who know me already know:

I know and understand HTML and CSS and have written a number of websites.  I do use a program called "EasyHTML" from Toni Arts which is handy for making redundant keystrokes and lets you see "real time" what your page looks like.  No matter what the experience level you are, this is a great little program.  Besides, Most of the hosting sites I have seen have at least as many templates available as good old Blogdrive.

I am a business owner and have been for several years.  The idea of using Zazzle (had anyone been paying attention) is kind of silly for me when I have all the equipment to make and produce the t-shirts, mugs, hats, etc.  Why settle for 10% - 17% profit when I can get a lot more?

Prestige?  It's rather more like, "Why wouldn't I?  I can get so much more, so much more reliably, for a similar price."  Besides, (Warning:  broad generalization coming) isn't blogging kind of a self-centered activity?  Don't many bloggers have something to say they want everyone to hear?  Anyway, I will show you all some samples of what I have been looking at directly.

I haven't made any definite decisions, but here are a few of the choices:

Currently I pay $4.95 and get 50 MB disk space, 1GB/Month bandwidth, and up to 5 customized template saves.  I also have an unlimited photo gallery, but there is nothing that is HTML editable and for a while the owner of Blogdrive was pushing photobucket as the preferred source for photo hosting.

A few of the hosting sites that I have looked at are (I was going to post all the things each one offers, but figured that you could go there yourselves and see everything they offer):

Godaddy 

Squarespace (This is the one that FTS used before he discovered life beyond cyberspace and started living his dream.)

EZ Webhosting, with the interesting feature of rollover bandwidth

http://www.siteground.com/

ix webhosting which is located in Hopkinsville, KY a town with some good friends in it and on top of that, I've always liked Kentuckians.

http://startlogic.com/special_promo.html

http://onewebhosting.com/Plan_A_Hosting.php

And Wordpress which is what Monique over at Accidental Thinker uses.  I have respect for her opinion since she must have something on the ball to get promoted to VP (congratulations) and is a good, family-type person.  Many of these others offer the Wordpress software for blogging.

Also, among other things, many of them also offer live, 24/7 phone support.  Hmm...Talk to a live person instead of being abused by a volunteer in a forum?  Actually, most of the volunteers here at the Blogdrive forums are not all mean or all condescending and patronizing and they do the bulk of helping people out.

I will not just up and leave you guys and will not make it difficult to get to me.  I plan to keep all of my favorites and stay in touch with you all.  I know some of you have me linked on your sidebar (which I appreciate SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!  To me it is an honor and a privilege that you not only come here, but also link to me.  Thank you so much.) and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience this might cause.

Yes, Marty, I also love the KJV.  There is no more scholarly work on the planet today.  Those scholars, working under a mandate from the king, feared making even the slightest error and Ecclesiastes has been one of my favorite books (and is one of the most misunderstood, you have to read it beginning to end, like a sermon) for a long time.

Remember, the Good Book says:  "For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."

I apologize to the faithful that come here looking for something from me.  I have been really busy and sometimes I have been sleeping in until as late as Four O'clock.  Among other things I am looking for a server to put up a website and move away from Blogdrive.  I think I can get a better deal.  My problem has been the veritable plethora of offers to wade through.  Many of them sound good, but they all seem to have a catch to them.  Sure, $5.95 a month might sound good, but if you only get that price by signing up for 2 years, how do you know you're even going to like the service?  And then there are domain names.  Some offer free registry with purchase, others you have to take care of that yourself.  You have a vast array of software choices, from some that have everything to some that have nothing.  I think that is going to be one of my goals this year is to get my own website going and then leave Blogdrive.  I will let you know well in advance when the change will happen.  I think it will give me more freedom and I can post the website I made from basic HTML as well as blogging and doing new things.

One of the places offers 2 domain names in its package!  This would facilitate another goal of mine, which is to re-start my t-shirt business.  I haven't done anything with it for a long time since I lost money, but I have really been itching to re-vamp it.  My original plan was to go to fairs and shows, take your picture and put it on a t-shirt or souvenir calendar or coffee mug and I think I may have given up on that one a little too soon, but I can also help organizations do fundraising, you design a shirt(s) to have your members re-sell, I make them up and sell them to you for a cheap price and you re-sell them for a profit.  Bands, radio stations, plus I have several ideas for conservative messages that I think will work, too.  I have contacted my friend's bookkeeper to get an estimate on what he would charge and was surprised to get such a cheap price.  My trouble last time was partly the paperwork end of it.

There were more things I wanted to talk to you about but I can't remember them all right now.  I just wanted to let you all know the latest and that I still am here.  One of the things I want to do is get another laptop and start working more on my writing again, which of course would include more posts here.  It's already 5 and I have not blog-hopped at all today so I have to run.  Thank you to everyone that stops by to read my words or, as in the case of the humor blog (which I have been trying to keep up with a little better), hopefully laugh at my words.

So long for now and remember, the Good Book says, "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things."

Hmmm...Where to start?  I guess I'll just jump on in.

The last two weeks have seen snowing and blizzard conditions here that are worthy to be compared to Wisconsin winter conditions, but without the good snow removal.  In my estimation, they (Colorado Springs) are prepared to deal with a storm this size maybe once a year, but then under the usual conditions here it just melts in the next couple of days.  They don't get one giant storm after another, dumping feet of snow on the ground, blowing into four foot high drifts and staying a week until the next storm does the same thing.  And Denver was more poorly prepared than Colorado Springs.  Alas, contrary to Skunkfeathers' (Maybe he should change his handle to "Snowfeathers") kind wishes to me, there were no 16 year old boys with snowblowers, just me and my non-plutonium shovel.  It doesn't even talk.  (Blogger's link-back system was smarter than me so just go to Skunfeathers' blog and read about his Plutonium snow shovel.  You should find it.  I need a neighbor like him.)  After the plow guy had packed the van in the other day, I shoveled out a couple hours and 25 pounds of kitty litter later and parked on the other side of the street.  Yesterday he just made a 4 foot pile at the end of my driveway all along the curb.  Heavy and hard-packed so I just shoveled a little path for the mailman and for us to get over the snow bank and will keep parking across the street.  I would have taken some pictures but the girls have the camera with them in Texas.

They were due to come home yesterday, but there was sleet and freezing drizzle in Amarillo, so they stopped there.  Tabitha is in good spirits and has been using Ashley's phone to call and keep us informed of how she and her sister are doing.

Today is the last day of the year and I looked back at my list of resolutions for this year.  Here is what I found:

1. I Resolve NEVER to pet-sit again as long as I live.

I kept that one, although the lady with the dog that bit me four times never asked me again, I am glad I re-read this or I may have done something very foolish.

2. I Resolve to read the Bible all the way through.  Our church gives out BREAD (Bible Reading Enriches Any Day) charts that go between the Old and New Testaments.  I have read it through a couple of times before but what usually happens is I get sidetracked on studying something out and forget about where I was at, get discouraged and give up.

I didn't keep this one.  It happened like it does most every year, I start off with good intentions but then I get sidetracked on studying something I read and go off on a tangent and never get back to where I was.

3. I Resolve to try to update these blogs at least once or twice a week, even if I have nothing to say.  (Oh, yeah Herb, how is that any different?)

I had just started to get into the swing of doing this when the laptop went belly-up.  Now I have gotten discouraged about doing it.  The only thing that keeps me going at all is the knowledge that there really are readers out there and they leave me comments.  If nobody commented, I would quit.  (I hear your conspiratorial whispers out there.  Gonna stop commenting now, eh?  Well, just for that I'm gonna keep on writing this blog.  Ha!  So there!  Nanny-nanny-boo-boos!)

4. I Resolve to update my blogroll and links and keep them that way.

I did this and it already needs to be changed and updated again.

5. I Resolve to finish a story and submit it somewhere.

I was doing my writing stuff on the laptop.  I did complete a couple of pieces, but did not submit them anywhere.

6. I Resolve to find a place to join like http://www.fictionpress.com/ or http://www.fanfiction.net/ or http://www.fanstory.com/.  It may be the last one because that is the on that Writer's Digest suggests.

Nope.  Didn't do that one.

7. I Resolve to try to love a liberal.

This was the most educational one for me.  I have found that I can like a liberal quite a lot and can accept one as a friend, but now more than ever I know I cannot accept, let alone embrace, the ideology.  The more I learn about the way these people think, the more frightened I become.  The farther left they are, the scarier they are.   They can be funny though.
 
8. I Resolve to try to get my weight down to "overweight."

I did not really accomplish this, but I didn't really try, either.  The joke of this comes from an Abbott & Costello routine contained in the original radio broadcast of "Who's On First?" aired on 4/17/47 that goes something like:

(The boys walk into a sporting goods store.  They are greeted by a witty clerk.)

Clerk:  Good afternoon, boys.  As Buster Crabbe said to Johnny Weismuller, "What dive did you come out of?"

Abbott:  I'd like to see a baseball uniform that would fit Costello.

Clerk:  So would I.  My, you're certainly a pudgy little rascal, aren't you?  Aren't you overweight?

Costello:  I'm one-hundred and twenty pounds overweight, but I'm going back to my normal weight.

Clerk:  Eh, what's normal?

Costello:  About sixty pounds overweight.

Clerk:  Well, if you really want to lose weight you ought to try exercising with a couple of dumbbells.

Costello:  I'm ready whenever you and Abbot are.

So, anyway, I didn't lose any, although I didn't gain any, either.

9. I Resolve to enter something in some writing contest somewhere.

Well, I actually did this, but won't know anything until March of '07.

10. I Resolve to make more long-distance calls to friends and family.

   I kind of did this.  Since my mom died I have tried to call my dad a couple of times a week.  I call Carter occasionally and had been calling Harold but his phone's out of order.  I don't call my brothers like I should, though.

11. Since you are reading this on the 2nd you can tell I need to put "Stop Procrastinating" on this list, and maybe I will add it next year.

Well, this isn't a list of resolutions, so I guess if I try this again I will have to be late with it.

Five and a half out of eleven, I guess that ain't too bad.  Happy New Year to everyone!

Remember, The Good Book says:  "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

Tabitha is starting to slowly feel better but the question remains as to what was going on.  Her doctor has suggested a Pediatric Rheumatologist/Neurologist who may be able to eliminate some things.  Thanks for all of your prayers.  It means a lot.

The time has come to celebrate that the great, invisible, Creator-of-all-things made Himself visible to us and lived.  There are so many ways people celebrate; I just wish we would see a little bit more of the baby that was born in a barn.  Even at our local "Parade of Lights" festival, out of 73 floats there were only two with the Baby Jesus and none with a Menorah (I believe the story of Judah Maccabee and the Miracle of the Lights).  Even one of the mega-churches only had an advertisement for their play on theirs.  That's disappointing.

Those Judean stables were nothing more than a cave "out back" with some shelter built over it.  Having grown up in a religion that did not celebrate any holidays or birthdays I know many of the arguments about why Jesus could not have been born on December 25th, and you know what?  It doesn't matter when he was born, it matters that he was born, however, after doing some research; I found that due to its Mediterranean location its winters are rainy, but not frigid like a Northern Wisconsin winter.  I went to the Israel Meteorological Society's website and found today's forecast was partly sunny, with a high of 64, low of 45.  I got this quote from the GoIsrael.com tourism website:  "During September-November and April-June, temperatures are comfortable, there is little rainfall, making for ideal beach going weather and pleasant hiking in the desert regions.  Visitors to Israel in the summer should bring light clothing and bathing suits.  Winter visitors should have warm clothes and umbrellas.  Israel's winter is fairly comfortable and hiking outdoors is a pleasant option."  I found one person's website who said they sang Christmas hymns in ninety degree heat.

It seems to me that while the weather might not have been much fun for an older man (some historians say Joseph could have been in his 40's, old for the time, even though nowadays 50 is the new 30) on his way to be taxed with his young (Mary could have been as young as 13 or 14), pregnant wife to travel on foot (It is possible they had a donkey) the 75 miles through mountainous terrain, it could be done and since it was an edict from Caesar it had to be done.  Then when they arrive at the Inn, which was no more than a large house with a big open room where people spread their blankets out on the floor and slept end-to-end, head-to-toe, to find there was no room.  Any private areas would have either been taken by the very rich or by Roman guards.  There was always room for Roman guards, if you catch my drift, and thus two direct line descendants of King David himself could not find a space on the floor.

"You can sleep in the stable."

"But my wife is pregnant.  She's about ready.  We came all the way from Nazareth, which, believe you me, Mr. Innkeeper, is no picnic with a pregnant woman and a stubborn donkey."

"I'm sorry for you.  I have heard so many sob stories tonight you wouldn't believe.  You, your wife and your donkey can sleep in the one empty stall out there.  It will be warm and quiet."

"But what about the baby?"

"My wife is a midwife, she'll come help you, you'll have a nice bed of straw and she just washed all the barn-rags so there'll be plenty to swaddle the child in."

Since Joseph had seen an angel that told him about who the baby was, I wonder how much arguing and kvetching went on?  He knew he had seen the angel but what could he do?

"You know, Mr. Innkeeper, this baby isn't just any normal baby," Said Joseph, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "He's the Son of God.  The Messiah that should be born here and just think, it could happen right here in your inn!"

"Well," said Mr. Innkeeper in an equally conspiratorial whisper, "I'm the Queen of Sheba!  Now get out of here before you bother everyone else and I throw you out!"

Sin entered the world by one man, Adam and separated man from God, so God himself had to come to save us from our sins.  The only way to save us was for another perfect human of Adam's seed to be born and be tempted, only not sin.  The wages of sin is death and if this perfect man did not sin, then he could pay the wages of sin for us.  The only way he could do this was if the egg were not impregnated with the sinful seed of Adam and thus the plan was conceived (pun intended).  God's plan (In Biblical Greek, Logos, translated "Word" indicates not only the plan, but also the person who made up the plan, an integral, inseparable union of person and plan.) was to deal with the problem of sin by himself and so was created in the womb of a virgin, ("Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son...") the man, Christ Jesus.  He was the only invisible God in tangible form.  "I am the Lord and beside me there is no savior." "Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."  The manmade doctrine of the Trinity, created in 325 A.D. which states that God is three people, is wrong.  There are not three co-equal, co-existent, co-eternal beings, that are all different and yet somehow the same being, there is only one God and his name is one.  The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.   He was not a second person, somehow inferior, though co-equal, that the big daddy god sent out of heaven, he was God.  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  When you look at the face of Jesus you look directly at God.  He was 100% God and 100% man at any given time.  By being 100% man, he was tempted the same way all men are, but since he did not start out with Adam's sinful seed, he had the power to overcome temptation and did not sin.  This is how he can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities and can say, "Yes, I have felt that way."  He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not.  He was despised and rejected.  He was tempted.

He was not born as a king, but was born in a stable and laid in a food-trough called a manger, that the oxen ate from.  (Ever watched a cow eat, all slobbery and sticky?)  They wrapped him in some (clean) barn-rags and laid him in there for a bed.  Probably his first visitors were Bedouin shepherds who, having been visited first by an angelic messenger who was then followed by all the host of heaven appearing in the sky singing to herald the birth of the baby king, went to find this strange thing.

At the same time a group of astrologer/astronomers, "wise men", the so-called "Magi," had followed a strange and brilliant new star that had never been seen before, to the palace in Jerusalem.  The star "told" them that a new and important king was born.  These were important men, (think Daniel or Joseph as second-in-command to the king) who likely traveled in large caravans, which would cause no little stir in Jerusalem as they approached.  The Bible does not say there were 3 wise men, but it does mention 3 gifts.  Even though an argument can correctly be made that Jesus could have been as old as two when they arrived I also know God and know that he could easily have timed the whole thing so they would show up at the stable.  The reference to the "house" could merely indicate that the innkeeper had found a spot for them.

Anyway, whether you understand the baby in the manger was the Almighty Creator of the universe or just feel sorry for the poor little feller in the feed-trough, at least think about him in the next few days.

Remember, the Good Book says:

Matthew 2
     1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him...7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
     9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Luke 2
     1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
     8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Just a quick note to all of you.  I had a sick kid, we're talking two seven-hour nights in the E.R. sick, and haven't been near the computer in a couple of days.  She had neck pain that shot into her head and down her back and later on through her limbs and she was given dozens of blood tests a CAT Scan and even a Spinal Tap.  Nothing.  "Must be something viral."  When they had her hooked to Morphine and other stuff she was fine, but the first night they sent her home with Vicodin and that didn't even touch it.  Next night they gave her something a little stronger and by now her real doctor had been contacted and she got some stronger stuff to take home.  Went to the Doc, they had done every test she could think of and a few she hadn't and nada.  So she is home with a couple of different prescriptions and we have still had to work and so, as I have mentioned a time or two before, the computer loses.  I will keep you posted, but she is determined to go to this thing in Texas no matter what.

Now here is a lesson in customer service and positive PR that some websites would do well to learn from.  In my last entry I mentioned, sort of "en passant," that Carter and I had started our website, the long-awaited, much-anticipated "Republic of Bob" on a website called Wetpaint.com.  I referred to my disdain at the editing system and was greeted with the following comment on my blog:

 

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"Posted by Kevin @ 12/08/2006 11:47 AM PST

Hi Herb! We're glad to see you're using Wetpaint. With regard to comments, you can change the setting to require folks to register/sign in before leaving comments if you so wish. And if you have a moment to let us know where we're falling short on the editing side of things, we'd love to hear it...we're always trying to get better. If you want, write directly to kevin at wetpaint dot com. Best, Kevin"

 

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I was impressed, since, as you will see (and if you are a Blogdrive user, you probably know, since so many have gone to Yahoo! 360 and elsewhere), I have never been contacted by anyone at Blogdrive except volunteer help-staff on the forums.

 

I decided to take Kevin at his word and had the following e-mail conversation with him.  I put it in chronological order to facilitate easier reading and took out my home address.  Otherwise it is verbatim.  I will definitely be using them for more things.  If I get a chance I will e-mail Pen, also, about her diet blog.

 

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"Dear Kevin,

First of all let me thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving me a comment!  I have been with Blogdrive as a blogger since October of 2004 ( http://herbthiel.blogdrive.com/archive/1.html ) and have never had one of the owners/leaders/bosses, etc. visit or leave a comment.  They don't even stop by their trouble forum when there are major problems with their servers unless the customers are preparing to hang them in effigy.  The help forums are usually manned by volunteers, so to see your comment was a welcome surprise and appreciated.  I suppose you found my blog using some sort of "bot" to seek out mention of your site since I don't have lots of readers, but I do have some loyal ones.

My problems with wetpaint are simple.  I think anyone who has a website, even if it's free, ought to be able to edit the HTML on it, creating their own backgrounds and changing templates to fit their own whims and fancies.  There is a lot you can do with HTML.  You could also allow some javascripts, which are a lot of fun.  Also, the "easy edit" buttons don't allow changing colors, text background or any font sizes other than the 3.  Those are the ones I can remember in particular at the moment.

The reason I cc'd Cavtrooper is that he is the other main member at the site for right now and we are something sort of akin to partners, except that he is quite a bit uglier.

I do appreciate your interest and think that wetpaint is pretty cool, just awkward at the moment.  If I didn't like it I certainly would not have signed up.

Herb"

 

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Carter King

 

"I are not uglier."

 

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Me Back to Carter

 

Yer feet are smellier too.  Don't know if you saw the comment on my blog that I am referring to.  I am guessing that Kevin is somebody of a certain amount of import.  Do you think I said it all pretty concisely?

 

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Kevin to Me

 

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the note…we REALLY appreciate any and all feedback from those who use our service.  More often than not, they know our product better than we do.  And they always come up with the best suggestions on how to make it better. 

I found your blog through Google Alerts or Technorati…can't recall which but both do a pretty good job of surfacing Wetpaint mentions.

With regard to your specific feedback, here is a couple of thoughts and what we're up to here to address them…

HTML editing – when we started Wetpaint, our target was the non-technical person who wouldn't know HTML from a hole in the wall.  We went about eliminating its need through our WYSIWYG editor.  Our biggest surprise when we did this was the feedback we got from folks who did know how to use HTML.  Man….they really like it (and we agree…it serves some super useful purposes).  We're working on allowing HTML into Wetpaint.  At the same time, we're also trying hard to keep someone who doesn't understand HTML from freaking out when they see it on the site.  At the end of the day, we think it's much more valuable to get as many people involved in the conversation as possible.  If technical know how limits participation, the technology is doing a disservice.

Javascript – totally agree with that one.  We're working on pretty much anything that would enhance your ability to customize the site to your specifications.

Fonts – totally agree.  Our next release which is in a couple of days will allow you to change fonts and font sizes.  Font color will come soon thereafter.

Thanks again for the note and if anything pops up in the future, please let me know.  And if you have any specific feature requests, pass them along.

Best,

--Kevin

Wetpaint

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Kevin,

Thanks for the response.  It makes sense about HTML (w/CSS) if your target market was people who know little technically but want to join in the fun.  It is perfect for beginners and since you have all of these other changes in the works as well, I think I probably joined at the right time.

Would you mind if I posted our conversation on my blog?  I would like to show people the kind of customer service I got.  I did this with a Nabisco e-mail correspondence I had and it went over really well.  I think that, (when I get time) I will add a link, not only to the Republic of Bob but to wetpaint itself.

Thanks Again,

Herb

 

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Hey Bob,

Feel free to post our conversation on your blog and I hope you and your cohort continue to use Wetpaint going forward.  And for the ultimate in sucking up and thanks for adding a link, send me your address and t-shirt size and we'll deck you out in full Wetpaint paraphernalia, if you're so inclined.  J

Talk to you soon,

Kevin

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COOL!!!

Herb Thiel

 

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Me to Kevin

 

So I better ask again if you want Carter's info or not.

 

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Kevin to Me

 

Sure…sorry…too little coffee today.

 

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End of correspondence.

 

So I sent him Carter's info as well.  Now that was nice.  I have always been taught that a pro-active approach to customer service is a lot better way to get and keep customers.

 

And the Good Book does say, "It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth."

So, I was at my favorite trivia site, Gullible.info and found this little tidbit:

"• 18 percent of blog posts indexed by Google blog search begin with the word "so"."

So I'm sorry, I just don't have time to do much writing of any sort, even though I have been so graciously "Phaved" by J F Z. (Thanks!)

So, anyway, I have to make a choice; either keep the blog open and only update whenever I have the chance and not lose too much sleep about the quality of the writing or quit the blog.  After I thought about it I decided that I have too much to say, just not enough time to say it all in, I just feel guilty that people come here and there is nothing new to see or read.  We have been working a lot of hours so the girls can go to the Winter Heritage conference, similar to the one we host here in the Springs during the Summer months.  The whole church youth group is going and has been having bake sales and things but it is not going to be near enough.  Normally, when I had the laptop, this would mean a lot more writing time.  I can write poetry in my notebooks but to write stories and blog entries I really need a computer.  Plus, I have been sleeping in of late, sometimes till 4 AM.  By the time I read Carter and Gronk's e-mails, check Drudge and Accuweather it's time to make sandwiches and head out the door.  Plus, in our "spare" time, Carter and I have been founding The Republic of Bob.

So, Wetpaint.com is kind of a fun place.  You can set up your site so that anyone can add to it, so that only account holders can add to it or so that it is by invitation only.  There is a link on the homepage to apply to be a writer on our site.  I think it requires starting an account with them, but I am not sure.  You can make comments anonymously, however.  Since I am the most-high ruler and great creator I have final and complete deletion powers.  Carter is the close-second in command Grand Poobah in charge of all things military and covert and The Really High Up There Minister of Ministries including being the Muy Big Honcho of the Division of the Bureau of Repetitious Redundancy Department of Duplication and Reiterance.  Gronk is in charge of rolling rocks and since he is so old and a time-traveling contemporary of Gak and Throk, he is the Minister of Rock and Roll.  Carter wants to set up a parliament, which would probably be a good way to bring in tax money and make the few rules we might have.  I haven't gotten to use my Veto & Delete power yet.

So, anyway, Wetpaint has some serious drawbacks in the editing department but does have the redeeming quality of being fun.

So, as the good book says, "So!  So!  Suck your toe/All the way to Mexico/If you don't I don't care/'Cuz you don't wash your underwear!"

I found the folder that had the pictures from my mom's last visit out here.  It was only three months ago that she passed away and only five months ago that her church sent her out here as chronicled here Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, and Day 7.  Many of you were "with" me at the time and will remember it.  Those are links to the entries of when they visited, in case you're interested.  (I put them in because sometimes Blogdrive can be a little convoluted to maneuver if you are trying to find something specific.)

I updated the Gallery with the pix from when they were here and some new ones of Douglas's 6 Month birthday.  I think he is as smart as his cousin Savannah, but in different ways.  He is also very athletic, pulling himself up on furniture and walking around it and crawling at 90 MPH.  He will be 8 months old at the end of this month.  He is already quite the charmer,too, let me tell you.

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Here is a reprint of last year's Thanksgiving entry which I rather liked.  Vote in the poll on whether the name should be changed or not.

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Givethanksing Day

The problem with pet peeves is that they are so hard to take care of.  You think they're under control and not going to cause any more trouble; you've stroked them and talked soothingly to them and explained things to them, but they wind up being as ornery as Carter's old tomcat, Smaj (A link from Carter's old blog about the passing away of the old fart).  Some peeves are greatly exacerbated by different triggers while others are always there.  My trigger got pulled and buttons pressed when I went to several major websites and saw the same moniker, "Turkey Day is coming!"

I don't know who the turkeys are that write this drivel, but it needs to stop.  For one thing, it is aesthetically unappealing to me.  Not only have all the major retailers almost completely bypassed the holiday, going directly from Halloween (starting in August) to Mammon and Filthy Lucre's great Holy Day, Christmas, which used to be short for Christ's Mass, not a former mass, such as X Mass.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and celebrate it heartily, but it is crassly commercialized.  Back to aesthetics, I think that the words "Thanksgiving Day" are much more graceful than "Turkey Day."  There is also something special about looking at retail displays that depict the Pilgrims and Indians feasting together.  True, generally speaking, they are often not very historically correct, but they do show the religious and spiritual nature of both groups.

Before you go taking me to task on the fact that the Indians were not Christians and all of that, I am far ahead of you.  It is for this very reason that this Holiday, more than most, should be respected and revered.  You see, if you are a preacher of diversity, then Thanksgiving Day should be your Holiday of choice.  Everyone should have someone or something that they look up to and give thanks to.  Everyone should be thankful.  Even if you have had a bad year, and I have had a couple of those in my time, there are still things that you have to be thankful for.  Some years you may really have to think hard, but if you try to enumerate the various blessings you have, they will come to even the most pessimistic and hard-hearted.  The fact that you are reading this blog means that you can at least have some sort of communication with the outside world.  I am thankful and a little humbled that you have chosen to spend a few minutes reading what I have to say.

It doesn't matter what religion you are, either, even if your religion is atheism, which requires faith, also.  You must believe in Darwin as there is no way to use the scientific method to prove or disprove his theories.  You cannot set up an experiment that will duplicate the moment of Creation or the Big Bang, you can only hypothesize.  But even you, my atheist and agnostic friends, should be thankful, even if you're thankful that you are not as stupid as me to believe in God.  Who are atheists thankful to?  I guess to their intellect, I don't know.  Maybe they can just appreciate things in life.

I do.  I appreciate a lot of things.  I have received many blessings from the Lord over the last year and of course he does so many things for us that we don't have any idea about as well.  There are so many times we don't have a clue about what he's done for us or how he's protected us and taken care of us.

We in the U.S.A. need to remember this as well.  There is a reason our founding fathers made "In God We Trust" our motto beside that it looked cool and would tick off the ACLU.  (If you don't think ticking off the ACLU would have given pleasure to a large number of our founding fathers you don't know them very well.)  Americans are so truly blessed with material goods as well as freedom; these blessings abound everywhere in such great quantity that sometimes it is easy to take it for granted.  Our poorest citizens have more than many in other places and even our bums and beggars are treated well.

This is a day which has come to be equated with feasting and celebrating, football and napping, but let's not forget that we need to give thanks on this day as well.  I plan to point this out to managers of retail establishments.  Complaining to the clerk does no good and only creates ill-will, but whenever I see banners proclaiming "Turkey Day" instead of "Thanksgiving Day" I will bring it up.  Will it do any good?  I don't know, but it will make me feel better.

Now, if you want to change the name of the holiday, I agree with the little Jewish girl named "Stick" in the comic strip "Pre-Teena" two years ago, whose idea was to change it to "Givethanksing Day" because that is a more accurate name.

Oh, and while I am giving my peeves some air, as soon as Givethanksing Day is over I plan to say "Merry Christmas" to everybody I see!

Remember, the Good Book says, "Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name."