Ron Paul asks ... What If?

During the run-up to the 2008 Presidential Election, I took a few of those online tests to determine which candidate best matched my views. In every one, my approach and philosophy of government aligned more with Ron Paul than with any other candidate. I always appreciated his passion for the Constitution and his Libertarian bent, but because I disagreed with him about the War in Iraq, I never really considered voting for him. I felt the Bush administration pursued a policy needed to protect this country. While I never considered Bush a conservative, I appreciated how he acted in a way to protect this country. However, Ron Paul's speech has me rethinking my position.

Rittman High School graduation

Here are some scenes from the 114th commencement at Rittman (Ohio) High School.

Cars torched in Wayne County fire

Here is some video footage I shot on my cell phone (a Palm Centro) of cars that were torched during a fire behind the Wayne County Care Center outside of Wooster on Memorial Day 2009.

Sonia and the rule of law

Obama; Wafer-thin margin

Rasmussen Reports.com notes on its site that the Daily Presidential Tracking poll has President Barack Obama's approval rating at +1, the second time he has reached this low point. Obama was last at +1 on May 2, 2009. His highest rating was +30 on Jan. 22, 2009. He has only been in double-digit positive territory once since March 6.

The +1 rating on Tuesday was before his his announcement of Sonia Sotamayor as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The influence of her nomination should show up within the next few days. As for this dip, it likely has to do with former Vice President Dick Cheney challenging President Obama on his decision to release the memos regarding the enhanced interrogation techniques and the president's own Democratic Party opposing him on closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay.

I thought for sure Obama would have dipped below zero by now, but he has not. He has come close, but has always rebounded. I will be watching to see if Sotamayor will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Thank you, veterans

When to remember, when to forget

Here is a sermon I preached this morning at Lighthouse Christian Church outside of Orrville, Ohio. Some of the "code" you see in the sermon are FAS-favorable attention step; CT-central thesis; CS-clarification step; G-goal; ILL-illustration; and TS-transition sentence. I use a modified sermon outline taught to me by R.J. Kidwell at Cincinnati Christian University.

Remember Sermon Outline

Publish at Scribd or explore others: sermon creator

Constitutional Crisis

Obama: My good friend, what's his name

President Obama has no idea who is secretary of defense is. He refers to Secretary Robert Gates as William Gates. This, despite the ubiquitous and obligatory TelePrompter.

Free TelePrompter with every purchase

The Great, Powerful Ozbama

Geithner: Too early to look at unwinding U.S. ownership

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) questions Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about what will happen when TARP money is paid back (it will not necessarily go toward debt reduction) and when will the U.S. government return control of companies like GM and AIG (hint: not any time soon).

Gershwin meets progressive rock, LTE style

Liquid Tension Experiment, which includes three from Dream Theater -- Mike Portnoy, John Pertrucci and Jordan Rudess - and Tony Levin, gives its rendition of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and it is incredible. I have been a Gershwin fan since the early 1990s when I heard the London Symphony Orchestra perform some of his compositions in Daytona Beach, and it is a pleasure to hear how "Dream Theater" treats one of Gershwin's most enduring and popular works, Rhapsody in Blue.

My wife and I recently watched a fictionalized biography of Gershwin on American Movie Classics. During the performances of An American in Paris and Rhapsody in Blue, I could not help but thinking if Gershwin had lived in these times, he might have been part of the progressive rock music scene. I believe he might be composing the type of music Dream Theater does.

I was happy to hear Liquid Tension Experiment performed -- and recorded -- Rhapsody in Blue. Below, you can see trailers for the deluxe DVD set being released later this year.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:cfd9977e-105a-4d72-a106-c8edd06ab2b0&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="LTE Live in NYC DVD Trailer">Video: LTE Live in NYC DVD Trailer</a>


<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:37ff9511-0cd8-4fec-9544-8154d1985fe0&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="LTE Live in LA DVD Trailer">Video: LTE Live in LA DVD Trailer</a>

Obama: The giver that keeps on gifting

I have not read of any gift given by President Obama to Irsaeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the above was inspired by a tweet from @mkhammer.

Was Geithner separated at birth?

You tell me, should Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner have been tapped to play Mr. Spock in the new Star Trek movie?





Update:
Here are two of the three Spocks with Jimmy Fallon.

Dish Network wrecks my Preakness

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

Thanks to Dish Network's satellite problems, service for my local NBC station dropped right before the gates dropped for the Preakness.

So, for those of you who are like me and did not get to see the video live, thanks to NBC Sports we can see the amazing race.

Jimmy Fallon Slow Jams the News, again

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

If it's not print, this is not a bad way to deliver the news.

Obama: Puttin'a a cap in their checks

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama said he was capping executive pay at financial institutions receiving government assistance (aka TARP/bailout money). He set the cap at $500,000, which he said was a fraction of what executive pay was.

I find this odd coming from a man who received $745 million in handouts in his run for president. Check out the graph from OpenSecrets.org showing how much he raised compared to the other presidential candidates, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Initially, Obama said he would accept public funding, and McCain agreed. Only McCain remained true to his word. As a result, McCain received far fewer handouts than Obama ($368 million).

So, Obama did not want to put a cap on what he could raise from the American taxpayers when he ran for office, but now he wants a cap on executive pay. Seems just a little hypocritical, doesn't it?

Dream Theater: A Rite of Passage video

Obama: Is he really looking forward?

Major Garrett of Fox News asked press secretary Robert Gibbs if President Barack Obama believed Nancy Pelosi's accusations that the CIA lied to her and misled her regarding briefings about enhanced interrogation techniques. Gibbs replied that the president believes the best thing to do is to look forward.

Funny Mr. Obama wants to look forward now. Every time something goes wrong, the first thing he does is to look back at the Bush-Cheney administration and blame it for the country's woes. All Mr. Obama wants to do is remind us he inherited this, that and the other thing from the previous administration. Obama and his appointees have spoken so often about inheriting problems from Bush that I jokingly tweeted how I wondered if Obama had to pay estate taxes because of all he has inherited.

I have no idea if Pelosi is lying or not, but Obama needs to be a man, take a stand and quit skirting the issue.

CNBC: Unions vs. Taxpayers

Do the United States need to be more like socialist Europe? Should government redistribute wealth? Should taxpayers foot the bill for everyone's health care to drive down the cost for automakers? Check out the video from CNBC.

Pelosi: Surfin' USA?

Community Organizer Tip No. 1

Tell me this is not the future of the Bible

Chaos and Harmony

Obama's health plan

Wages and prices often play leap frog

Another of the Harding College cartoons explaining why America is the finest country in which to live. This time, it explains why the retail cost of goods is so much higher than the material costs.

Geithner: Capitalism will be different

In the top video from YouTube Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says capitalism will be different. Will it be different because the government will control it instead of the private sector. Will Geithner's brand of capitalism be socialism?

The video below is the full program.

Wanda Sykes at correspondents' dinner

Cheney: U.S. not in the torture business (CBS)

Update
I took the video down because it kept autoplaying. I could not figure out how to turn that function off, though I changed the values for autoplay. Nothing worked.

Consequently, here is the link for Dick Cheney talking on Face the Nation about how the U.S. is not in the torture business. See story and watch video here.

Happy Mother's Day from Paul Potts

Obama going 'off the cuff' at correspondents dinner

Riding the Sippo Valley Trail

After it looked like there was no more threat of rain, Wendi and I decided to take a ride on the Sippo Valley Trail, which, depending on how you look at it, either starts or terminates in Dalton, Ohio.

Instead of turning back once we reached the Stark County line, we decided to ride on the crushed limestone for a while. The Wayne County portion of the trail is paved, while the Stark side is not.

The ride was not too bad, though there were some spots that were a little soft due to the earlier rains. As we enjoyed the beautiful country side, we spotted the cows in a pasture, along with a horse. So, we decided to snap a photo for posterity.

We ended up riding 6.4 miles, averaging 9 mph.

Obama's next big public works program

Condi Rohrschach Test

If you think former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is losing it under the grilling of a student at Stanford University, you are likely an Obama supporter.

If you think former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is putting a gullible student in his place by schooling him on the realities of the world, you are likely a W. supporter.

Hit me with your best shot

The number of Republicans continue to slip slightly while the number of Democrats in this country remain flat, RasmussenReports.com revealed earlier this week.

Yet, despite the decline, in a generic congressional ballot, the Republicans beat the Democrats by the thinnest of margins, 40-39. The margin of error is +/- 1 percentage point. So, realistically, the actual numbers could be switched.

However, given the popularity of President Barack Obama, one would think the Democrats would enjoy a comfortable lead. They have virtually had a lock, with relatively few exceptions, on the generic congressional ballot for at least the last year-and-a-half, based on RasmussenReports.com polls.

Add to this a Republican Party that has been in disarray since the final year of President George W. Bush's second term, when he seemingly became disengaged. Somehow, Sen. John McCain, long considered a RINO (Republican in name only) managed to win the party's nomination, and he ended up running an abysmal campaign. The only bright spot of the campaign, based on the base's reaction, was the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, and McCain seemed to never fully embrace her. (Could it be because she garnered more attention and adoration than he among the party faithful?)

The Republicans have failed to put forth a compelling and consistent message, yet despite all of their foibles, the Democrats are not pulling away in the generic poll. There has been much discussion about starting a third party among disaffected conservatives, those who think Republicans are merely Democrats-lite.

Given all of this, and the fact that there are fewer Republicans, can it be the Democrats are in for a tough 2010 election cycle?

When you hear a politican's flashy rhetoric, duck and cover

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it

Thanks to @Bob_Schaffer for the link to this cartoon from Harding College Extension Department made in 1948 to educate us as to what makes this country great.

Obama: Is he wearing his critics down?

Barack Obama's Presidential Approval Index stood at +9 Friday, the highest mark since March 21, according to RasmussenReports.com. Obama's PAI started at +28 on Jan. 21, 2009, rose to +30 two days later, then generally has been in steady decline with some fluctuations.

After enjoying such high favorable numbers in the early days of his presidency, Obama has only cracked a double-digit PAI on two occasions since March 7, 2009. He reached a low point on May 2, 2009, when the Presidential Approval Index slipped to +1.

I think any number in positive territory is OK. As I stated before, even if it were zero, then there would be as many people who strongly approved of the president as who strongly disapproved -- and the rest would be in the middle. Consequently, it is balanced.

What intrigues me is how did it go from +1 to +9? What caused the movement? Is it that the president wants to go after those who shirk their responsibilities by not paying taxes? Well, what about all of his appointees who had personal tax problems? Was it because of causing a scare in New York with Air Force One, spending $329,000 on the photo op and not owning up to the responsibility? (Do you believe he really did not know where his plane was?)

Could it be something else? Are Americans just growing weary of Obama and his leftward advances? Perhaps Obama has just worn them down into submission. At any rate, he is at +9. I figured he would have dipped into negative territory by now.

GOP ad on Guantanamo

Air Force One: A new era dawns

Note: I updated the "cartoon" to make Obama look more like a statue. -- BW

Wooster Area National Day of Prayer

Dream Theater: Free mp3 download

Road Runner Records is offering a free download, for a limited time, of "Rite of Passage," a song from the upcoming Dream Theater release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings."

The opening of the song reminds me of the intro from "In the Name of God" from the "Train of Thought" album. This song is harder, like the "Train of Thought" songs.

The first listen I did not like it so much. Now on my third listen, I really like it. The download is for a limited time; the company said 24 hours, and I am not sure when the clock started ticking.

Enjoy.

Here is the "Train of Thought" songs:

Train of Thought - Dream Theat...

newsboys: New face, new voice ... almost

The newsboys have a new release out today, In the Hands of God. The release features longtime frontman Peter Furler, however, live shows will not. Michael Tait, formerly of dc Talk, joined the band to sing at concerts.

Peter will still be involved with the band, including songwriting and production, but Tait will be the live voice for the newsboys. The band will be at the Alive Festival. According to the Web site, Peter will be making his final Alive appearance with the newsboys on June 20.

Here is In the Hands of God:

In The Hands Of God - Newsboys

Tim 'The Taxman' Geithner to hunt down other tax cheats

When Jean Baird was honored

Before Jean Baird passed away, she was recognized by the Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross as a community hero. Here is a short video of her being recognized.

No media bias in D.C., right?

This video shows how the White House press corps responds when G.W. Bush walks into the press room and when B.H. Obama walks in.

Obama: Leftward, ho!

Biking on the Sippo Valley Trail

Wendi and I rode about 12 miles today on the Sippo Valley Trail from Dalton, Ohio, to the Stark County line. The Dalton/Wayne County side is paved and very nice. The Stark County side is crushed limestone. We rode on the Stark Count portion once, though we have been on the Dalton trail a number of times.

It took us about 1:10 minutes to ride the 12 miles. The paved trail is only 3 miles long between Dalton and Stark County, so we went there and back twice. Afterward, we ate sandwiches on a picnic table at the Village Green Park in Dalton. Very enjoyable day.

The first time Wendi and I went out this year was for a 3-mile ride through Secrest Arboretum on the campus of Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. It will be good to see how we handle the hills this time. It was very difficult for me the first time out. We rode one, big loop. I hope we can do three big loops for a 9-mile ride.

Even the stones cry out for Churchill

Give Us The Tools (1941) - Win...

Do Your Worst (1941) - Winston...

Uh, uh, Gibbsy, we have a problem

Obama's first 100 days in photos

Check out President Barack Obama's first 100 days through photographs from the White House's collection posted on Flickr here. I really appreciate Pete Souza's photos.

Over the Rhine doin' just fine

Over the Rhine posted some photos from a recent concert in Texas on the band's Facebook page.

I became familiar with the band when I moved to Cincinnati in 1993 to study at Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary (now know collectively as Cincinnati Christian University). I was hooked from the moment I first heard them. Eve and Patience still rank high in my book; I love those releases.

Over the Rhine was a favorite of many students. While I have never seen the group in concert, I did get a chance to see them live, so to speak. I was working at a theater in Kenwood, and Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler were among those who showed up for a special screening of Shadowlands, a movie about C.S. Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins.

Enjoy some of the band's music:

Films For Radio - Over The Rhi...

Money, It's gotta be the shoes

Followed a link on The Drudge Report to a story about first lady Michelle Obama's tennis shoes costing $540. I am not sure why everyone is so caught up with her having nice, designer tennis shoes.

The Obamas are not poor. They are not living paycheck to paycheck. They can afford them. What is the big deal.

I don't want the government regulating how much people in the private sector earn (whether there is taxpayer money involved or not ... if you don't like the way the business is operating don't give it any money), and I certainly don't want pundits and the like to tell people how much they can spend on tennis shoes, jeans, dresses, hair cuts and the like.

If the Obamas want to remove $540 from their budget to purchase a pair of shoes, then let them. Never mind what the money could do (like sponsor a child for nearly a year-and-a-half through Compassion International), it does not matter.

This is supposedly still a free country where people can make decisions like what to wear, what to buy and what to enjoy. No matter how hypocritical it might appear given her husband's penchant to steal from the rich to give to the poor, it is still their right to spend their money how they see fit.

If the shoe fits, you must acquit. No, wait a minute. If the shoe fits, wear it.

They want private health insurance to fail

Rush Limbaugh was taken to task (and taken out of context) when he said he wanted President Barack Obama to fail. The context of what he said was that if Obama pursues policies aligned with socialism, then he wants him to fail.

Listen to the crowd's reaction in the above video as U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) talks about how Obama's health care reform will not allow the private insurance industry to be competitive. Listening to the crowd, I get the sense they want the private insurance industry to fail. How many people are employed in the industry?

I guess if it is wrong to hope one man fails, then it must be a greater travesty to want a whole industry to fail and millions of people lose jobs, causing financial hardship to families and children.