Common Sense

I knew this person well:

An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly, rather
true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He
will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could
not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an
abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by
his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,
Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If
you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do
nothing.

Response to Teresa's post of Star Parker's article

It is difficult for me to decide which portion of Ms. Parker's writ is most offensive.

Let's start with the first paragraph. She begins by claiming that President Obama does not even 'like' the United States. On its face, it is difficult to imagine that anyone believes that Obama does not even 'like' the United States much less love it. He has stated the opposite countless times. She must think that not only does he not like the US, he must be a liar as well, since she seems to know that he doesn't even 'like the free country that elected him' even though he says the opposite. Such an onerous first paragraph ought to make any reader wary.

Second paragraph. She attempts, very feebly, to defend this position by trying to connect Obama to other black Americans who, she supposes, do/did not like America. She only mentioned one of these scoundrels: Jesse Jackson (who opposed Obama, siding with Clinton). Somehow she construes that Ombama's recent encounters with Chavez and some Saudi king prove her point. I have been very courteous to many people of whom I think very little, but this does not make me any less strong in my convictions. Since when is civility, even long suffering civility, anything but a virtue? Such a loose defense of the first paragraph should make us even warier.

Fourth to sixth paragraphs. She claims that Obama is cooling our relationship with Israel while trying to warm up to the Arab world. She gives ZERO proof that Obama is treating Israel less well that previous administrations have. Not even the slightest anecdote. Has he announced cutting our aid $ to Israel (the single biggest recipient of all our aid)? No. Has he revoked any agreements? No. Has he said anything that would lead one to believe he is abandoning even a little bit Israel? Nothing that I know of. Sophomorically, Ms. Parker seems to believe, as would a junior high student, that one cannot try to foster friendships without dropping others. Her sparse logic is supposed to convince us that the United States is changing its values regarding Israel?

Values? Ms. Parker is either very sly with her semantics or very mistaken with them. She is confusing values with foreign policies. Whatever values moderate Christians and moderate Jews share, they are not very different from those espoused by moderate Muslims. The term Judeo-Christian as we consider the United States is merely historical. Jewish immigration to the United States took place entirely because Jews had no religious homeland at the time and this continent afforded them a opportunity greater than that from wherever they hailed. Muslims did not immigrate much at all to the United States until relatively recently. They were not much part of the immigrating world until conquered by European colonizers, and that is where they immigrated to.

The reason we support Israel to such an extent is because American Jews have numbers, lobby vigorously in Washington, and form major voting blocks in some areas. It is a matter of time before Muslims will be doing the same as their numbers grow. They have already begun. Some consider us a Judeo-Christian nation, but if it is so at any levle, it is because that is what history has given us, not based on religious inter-affection. (Consider centuries of Christian-Jewish animosity).

From there, and wow, it gets crazy, Ms. Parker explains why Christians and Jews are superior (what other word could I use?) to Arabs giving stats from Freedom House. She ignores political, historical, and tribal realities in all of the countries she cites.

These stats prove of course that our values are superior to theirs without any consideration of the complexities that create the realities she castigates. According to her, if Muslim countries are less well off, it is obviously because their Muslim values are not up to snuff. Precisely the opposite is true: we are a freer country than most of those cited specifically because the western world is in the processing of continually secularizing its values, freeing them from religious restrictions. Liberal Democracy as an ideal has little to do with Christian and Jewish religious values, history proves it. The Muslim Arab countries, indeed most Muslim countries as a whole, on the other hand, are clinging to their old and ridiculously outdated religious values or have movements that are using violence to attempt to force a return to more primitive times. They are less free precisely because they hold to their religious values.

In the United States, there are evangelical wackos who actually look forward to the bloodbath that would accompany Muslim countries attacking Israel so that Christ can return. I wonder if Ms. Parker might be one of these?

I did it! Number 300

So what do you think? I got the 300th Blog!

This is number 299

I've almost got him beat!

Everyone bear with me

Everyone bear with me but I have to create a couple of blog topics in a row so that I can be the guy that gets the 300th Blog. You see, I just gotta beat Brian.

Kim and Amy's anniversary

Well, today we celebrated 31 years of marriage. We are nearing that 1/3 of a century mark.

Obama Middle East policy shows change in values (OneNewsNow.com)

I don't have time to comment on this right now...I have to run, but I thought I would post it and hear your thoughts on it. Teresa

Map of the Swine Flu Outbreak

Here is a map of the swine flu outbreak. Note your location and take care.

Please give us some ideas

For those coming to the Family Reunion in St. George we would like some ideas of what you might enjoy. We thought about dinner theater tickets to Tuachan (Annie), trip to Zions National Park, Bryce National Park, hiking, baseball game tickets, picnic, possible show tickets in Mesquite or Las Vegas, renting a party boat on Lake Powell, golfing, Tanner Amphitheater (Randy Anderson Band), or just sitting around talking. It should be noted that there basically will not be any kids coming but mostly adults who have said they would be coming so we can pretty much gear it towards adults, i.e. our kids will be in Idaho or girls camp, I understand Brian's boys are not coming, Fabienne and her younger kids can't make it so mostly it should be adults. Let us know if you guys would have any preferences. Thanks.

For what its worth...

For what its worth, I wrote the 100th Blog for the year 2009 on the Wortham Family and Relatives Discussion board.

The Truth Commission

A Truth Commission (only a politician could come up with such a term!), sometimes referred to as the Investigation Commission, is currently being pushed by many Democrats in Congress, particularly Senator Leahy (D-Vermont) and House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA). The aim of the Truth Commission would be to determine who authorized torture (if it can be called that and is another topic altogether), who carried it out, and who knew about it and when did they know it. The Obama Administration appears to be against such a commission because it fears getting side-tracked from their other goals and it fears such a commission would be perceived as a 'witch hunt.' I support the Obama administration's position, but for different reasons. I think such a commission would harm our national security and make us appear weak to our enemies.
The political backlash from such a commission would harm the Democrats and help Republicans. Some Democrats in Congress actually knew of the torture procedures and tacitly approved them, so they would be hurt by such revelations. It is evident to me that Pelosi knew everything, but is denying that she did because the political fallout from her base would be severe. Since I am a conservative, I would not cry over the damage to the Democrat party, but the safety of the nation is more important than scoring political points. I stand with the Obama administration on this issue (provided that he does not flip-flop again).

On taxes

I rarely think about taxes.  The pace of life doesn't allow the common worker the painful luxury. Every now and again I glance at the columns on my pay stub, but I very rarely dwell much on them.  However, Alan's comments set me to thinking about them again.  

All told and after all refunds, I paid about 23% of my income to various governments:  county via property taxes, state via income and sales taxes, and federal via income taxes, social security taxes, medicaid taxes and interest income.  There are other taxes that are easy to not notice or forget, especially those on communications, travel and entertainment.   Some taxes seem entirely hidden,  I don't notice them and pay no attention to them.  I buy a bottle of wine at the state wine store, the taxes are included and nowhere listed on the bottle or receipt itself.   

How tough to have to pay instead of receive a refund.  Writing that check is an extra burden. You feel as though you get nothing back, especially after the money was once in your pocket:  payroll deductions give the opposite impression:  you never had it.  I feel for Alan and I hope he can find a solution.

In the past, there have been times when I have been furious because I disapproved so much of the government's use of my money, especially when Democrats have been in the minority and have had little input on the distribution of my tax dollars.  In those times, I had only to realize that my money was going to things that I greatly approved of.   Dad and Mom, soon Kim, receive social security/military retirement.  Eventually all of us will receive a monthly check. Nick is on social security disability.  I approve of all of this and am particularly grateful for what Nick receives.   We look forward to the day when he can return to work.   Grandma Haacke could not have survived even nominally without her social security and medicaid.  

There are many examples:  military spending, VA hospital and care spending, education, the various administrations that help keep us healthy, our infrastructure, a lot of things. I am happy and even proud to pay for them.   When I consider all that I get, I feel I pay a fair price.  

  

Mom's Message

Dear Children,

I realize that I have not been writing to you this Saturday but I had an excuse because Françoise was visiting. Yesterday, Deric and his family came to listen to our talks. I talked about my mission and the joy it brings. I also said that we must keep our focus on our ultimate goal which is Eternal Life. Dad talked about being grateful. After, we had dinner together at our place. Françoise went back home later when Deric left.

This past week I had 3 doctor appointments and we kept busy. Dad planted some flowers and cleaned up the backyard. We will have plenty of apricots on our tree and a few neighbors have already asked for some.

I still like doing arbitration for FamilySearchIndexing and Dad is doing some Indexing too.
I am still going through my “stuff” and see what I can discard. I dislike to trash things, therefore I accumulate a great deal. I am always thinking “we never know that some day we may need this” or “this is special”.

On the 22nd, we will have our 31st sealing anniversary. I am so grateful to be married to Dad! He is a very good man that I love and appreciate very much.

A reminder that we will be gone from the 22nd until the 25th and that we may not be able to receive your emails.

Enjoy the Spring weather.

With my love,
Mom

Ganae Dances

Ganae dancing at her ballet recital in Brussels yesterday. I only got a small portion of the dance though.

The Speaker of the House speaks too much nonsence

Is she out of touch or what? Astro turf? The lady needs to be voted off into the sunset. Those people at the tea parties were not all rich Americans. And....it wasn't just Bushes policies that got us here in the first place. It started back in Clintons era and 9/11 boosted it. Corruption helped to foster it...and not just in government. There are a lot of factors that got us here. For her to say the it was the former administrations fault that we are in this situation irks me. She is clearly not in touch with the American people or their issues.

April 15

Today I officially disqualified myself from serving in the Obama Cabinet: I paid my taxes.
We had to pay an additional large sum of dollars because Yumi receives one paycheck from her employer, and I receive two paychecks: one from BYU (part time) and one from TLS (full time translation), so each employer withholds taxes at the lower level of each of these incomes. When combined together, we are shoved into a higher tax bracket and we end up short every year. Last year, I changed my BYU withholding from 4 exemptions to 0, but to no avail, we still come up short. Looks like we'll have to not take any exemptions whatsoever for the remainder of the year.
If I knew that my tax "contributions" were being spent wisely, I wouldn't feel so badly about it, but as it stands, it is a meaningless contribution to AIG, banks, car manufactures, executive bonuses, congressional staff bonuses, pork spending, reckless spending (e.g., $90 hammers), wasted foreign-aid spending, Kobe wagyu beef for the White House, office remodeling for every Senator and Representative, and so on.
In contrast, what do I need said large sum of dollars for? I am putting a child through college, I need to add to Robin's savings account for her future needs, I need to pay ongoing medical expenses for Robin's doctor appointments and medications, I have a mortgage to pay, and the list goes on and on. So it is disheartening to see an additional large sum of our hard earned money disappearing into the gaping maw of the federal treasury.

Best Comeback

If you ever testify in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this policeman.. He was being cross-examined by a defense attorney during a felony trial. The lawyer was trying to undermine the policeman's credibility...

Q: "Officer -- did you see my client fleeing the scene?"
A: "No sir. But I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender, running several blocks away."
Q: "Officer -- who provided this description?"
A: "The officer who responded to the scene."
Q: "A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?"
A: " Yes, sir. With my life."
Q: "With your life? Let me ask you this then officer. Do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?"
A: "Yes sir, we do!"
Q: "And do you have a locker in the room?"
A: "Yes sir, I do."
Q: "And do you have a lock on your locker?"
A: "Yes sir."
Q: "Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with these same officers?"
A: "You see, sir -- we share the building with the court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room.."

The courtroom EXPLODED with laughter, and a prompt recess was called. The officer on the stand has been nominated for this year's "Best Comeback" line -- and we think he'll win.

Posted by Alan for Mom.

The Glenn Miller Mystery

Hunton Downs is the author of a book titled "The Glenn Miller Conspiracy: The Secret Story of His Life - and Death." The book contains his research into a cover-up in the death of famed big band leader Glenn Miller. Downs contends that Miller wasn't killed in a plane accident over the English Channel in 1944-- that was a story made up by the US government, because they didn't want the public to know how he really died.

Downs suggests that Miller, who spoke German, had been enlisted by Eisenhower to serve as a secret envoy, to try and convince some German officers to end the war early and offer terms of armistice, but Hitler got wind of the effort, and Miller was captured. Miller was eventually taken to a Nazi-controlled brothel in Paris, where he was interrogated, tortured, and killed. Reportedly, some US soldiers saw Miller's body dumped there. The cover-up was intended to save embarrassment about his being found in a brothel.

I haven't read the book, but since I work late at night, I often listen to the Coast-to-Coast radio program. The radio host had Hunter Downs as a guest, and this is the first time I had ever heard of the Glenn Miller mystery.

A Tale of Two Reporters

Three pirates killed and a hostage rescued.
Whose story do you believe?
Chris Cizilla spouts the White House line.
Jeff Emanuel spouts the right-wing line.
Choose your favorite Kool-aid flavor. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Travel plans to Kim's Retirement Ceremony

I am not trying to drum up business for Debbie (she is doing just fine) but if you need airline tickets, car rentals, or hotel you might want to give Debbie a call because quite often she can come up with some good deals. We were talking with Dad and Mom tonight after dinner and she found round trip airfare from Las Vegas to Dulles National for $212! Sometimes she can get some really good deals. Her business name is Star Travel & Cruises and her toll free number is 1-866-684-3232.

As for Debbie and I we are still looking at traveling out there but we have not made a final decision yet.

Band of Brothers (minus one)

Great photo we just need a caption and or a story to accompany it.

Be truthful or creative or maybe both!

Costa Rica was a blast!

I just thought I would throw on a couple of photos of our trip to Costa Rica. We ziplined over the jungle canopy, surfed the waves, climbed volcanos and saw some beautiful volcano lakes. It was a great vacation.

Mom's Message

Dear children,

We have been recuperating and now doing well. I have some minor health problems but that kind of thing is about normal for me. Dad is in very good health for his age. We still share our chores and like to work as a team. We love each other very much.

Next week will be kind of busy: I have an appointment with the Urologist on Monday, we have an appointment with the Dentist for cleaning on Thursday and I have some X-rays done on Friday. We still attend the temple weekly and love it. I am in the process of cleaning the house, some things are easy but I want to go through my file drawers and trash some of the things that I have been keeping for years. We are also busy with Family Search Indexing, Dad indexes and I arbitrate (not his work).

We have been invited by Debbie to have Easter dinner with the family and we will enjoy that.

Our new LTZ car is really nice and Dad often says that it is luxury. I never thought that Dad would have bought a burgundy red car.

We will be speaking at church on the 19th but I think that my talk will be short and let Dad do most of the talking as he is much better orator than me.

We plan on going to Fabienne's on the 22nd to come back on the 25th as we speak in an other Ward on the 26th. We will be attending Kim's retirement ceremony in May and have the Family Reunion in June.

We are busy every minute....except when we nap....

Have a great Easter Day!

With my love,
Mom

I am 45...not 44!

Hey everyone, FYI I am now 45 not 44. I was born in 1964. Thanks for the well wishes though.

Deric Wins the College Basketball Tournament Pick'em!

Deric Wins the College Basketball Tournament Pick'em!
Congratulations!

Happy Birthday Deric

Just wanted to remind everyone that today is Deric's 44th birthday. In my email to him I said the only other reason I could think of that the number 44 was significant was that Barack Hussein Obama is our 44th president.

Obama bows to King of Saudi Arabia but not to Queen of England

Obama bows to the King of Saudi Arabia (SA)...but he did not bow to the Queen of England. Is this a ploy to show the Muslim world of his willingness to be subserviant or respectful, or was he just cleaning the floor? Protocol says that he should not have to bow to his counterpart in any foreign country. Only the subjects of the SA Kingdom are expected to bow to the King. So why do you think Obama bowed to him and none of the other heads of state (either political or representational)that he met on his trip? I think he did a fine job to try and close the gap with his "words" in Turkey. He gave a very positive speech there to try and show respect to the Muslim world. I think the bow could be misintrepted in the Muslim world. Some radicals may now think that Obama agrees that there is a natural inequality and that Westerners (Infidels) should think of themselves as less than them. I don't beleive that as a general rule all Muslims beleive that...but radicals may read something very different and it might not help the war on terror effort.

The Twelve What?

It was brown shorts time for the editor of the Daily Universe today.

Tumbleweeds and Crickets

As I check into the Wortham Family and Friends Discussion (blog) I see an occasional tumbleweed blow by. Every now and then I can hear a hidden cricket chirp... Is anyone out there or has this forum dried up in the dusty wind? Hello---Hello---Hello. Well I even hear an echo. What the heck, I wonder if the nearby Saloon is open so that I can get a cold sasperilla... Oh good, it is open. I reckon I'll just sit here and crack open a few peanuts, throw the shells on the floor and wait for someone else to ride into town.

More details on my retirement ceremony

Here are some more details on my retirement ceremony which is scheduled for Thursday, May 28th 2009. It will be held at Fort Myer, VA. This is located next to Arlington National Cemetary just minutes from downtown Washington D.C. The ceremony starts at 3:00p.m. at Summerall Field and will be followed by a dinner reception at the Spates Community Club there at Fort Myers. If the weather is bad the retirement ceremony will be held indoors at Conmy Hall (Building 241).

The ceremony includes a jaw dropping performance by the Army Band and the Old Colonial Fife and Drum Corps. The pagentry is legendary and will certainly provide you with entertainment, a sense of patriotism, and memories to last a long time. I really hope everyone can come. I will however need a count of those who plan to attend so that I can order the right amount of food for the reception. Believe me, it will be worth your time and nickel to visit D.C. Kim