Thank You Michael!!

Wow, it’s so hard to believe that the greatest musical legend of our time, Michael Jackson, has died. This is so unexpected, as he was about to embark on a fifty concert series in just a matter of weeks.

By the time I was old enough to hear and appreciate his music, he was well into superstardome. I think I was about 7 years old when I first heard the Thriller album, that was in 1987, and I was hooked. It was the first time I can remember attempting (and failing miserably) to dance. But the music made you want to move your feet. It was like magic. You couldn’t listen to Michael’s music without at least attempting to mimic his moves (and I still haven’t perfected the moonwalk). I recall looking forward to each album. I couldn’t stand the wait and anticipated each new song and video, because I knew it was going to be awesome.

I’m grateful to have lived during his time and to have experienced his music, artistry, and life. Michael Jackson dedicated his life to improving life for all people. He worked to raise awareness for the poorest of the poor in Africa, less fortunate children, and promoted love, compassion, and understanding among all people. His music urged all of us to take care of our planet, to seek brotherly kindness and acceptance, and to rid ourselves of hate and intolerance.

His life was truly sad. He was robbed of his childhood and struggled with legal problems throughout his adulthood. Yet, through it all, Michael strived to be the the best singer, the best dancer, the best performer. And he was! He changed the face of music and the music industry forever. God truly blessed him with the most amazing talents, and we were all blessed as he shared those talents with us. May he always be remembered for his love for his fans, his compassion and philanthropy, and of course, his legendary performances and genius with a microphone and a stage. Thank you, Michael. You will be greatly missed, the whole world over.

Those Awful Liberals

I wish I knew the author of this so I could give proper credit. My wife found this little narrative somewhere on the internet. I don't mean to plagiarize. I would give proper credit if I knew the source, but I don't. For what it's worth, this narrative should be an eye opener to all. Sometimes we take things for granted...

"Joe gets up at 6:00 AM to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

"All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

"Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

"Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

"It's noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.

"Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

"Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dad's; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republicans would still be sitting in the dark.)

"He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

"After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.

"He turns on a radio talk show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day).

"Joe agrees. 'We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I'm a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.'"