Compassion - A Christian Concept

Scotland is in a tug of war with the international community. Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person to convicted of the bombing of Pan Am 103, is dying of prostate cancer. He intends to drop the appeal of his conviction so that he can go home to Libya to die.

There are two options: 1.) transfer to a Libyan prison 2.) Release on compassionate grounds.

I do not know about you but the latter does not make much sense. The Scottish government is contemplating showing compassion to a man who showed no compassion for the 270 who boarded the ill-fated flight four days before Christmas.

Perhaps it is a flaw in my thinking, but I do not feel an ounce of compassion for this man. His intent was to cause mayhem.

Secretary of State Clinton is supposedly putting pressure on Scottish officials but they are denying that they have withdrawn the decision to free al-Megrahi. All a spokesperson would say, anonymously of course was:

"We are aware of the U.S. viewpoint on this as we have consulted with the government and the American families of victims,"...

The tentative plan is to get this done before Ramadan. Since Scotland tends to stay out of international politics, my guess is they do not want to be deal with the kind of issues London is dealing with.

~Nancy

My brother Ray...

...on the drums - Eugene OR.
~Nancy

Disturbing...

Am I the only one who is sick of listening to the "anointed one" spin his BS over and over?

The President is elected to lead the country, not rule it. He is not a king, nor a dictator. That he feels he can order Congress to do as he says goes against what the expectations of his office are.

He would do well to review the Constitution and how it defines the branches of government and the role of each of those branches are.

Article II, Section 2 and 3 outline the role of the President. Bottom line he is a civil servant, as are members of Congress. He is not the be all, end all.

Yet the events of the last few weeks are disturbing. There seems to be a blatant disregard for checks and balances and his legal obligation to uphold the law. Case in point, an interesting read.

~Nancy

Stimulating

I don't quite understand how this 800 billion dollar stimulus bill is going to work. Obama said it needs to pass now because people are losing their jobs. How exactly is this bill going to save jobs and who is really getting the money?

The company I work for has announced that we are not getting raises nor bonuses. They are offering voluntary early retirement to those who qualify. Once that is completed they are looking at a lay-off of regular employees.

So why isn't the government saving my job? Where is the stimulus money to help my company avoid having to lay-off employees?

Traditionally seasonal staff comes in to help with the busy holiday season and we lay them off after the holidays. This ensures the year round staff is able to get their hours in to maintain their work status.

This year the lay-off will stretch to regular staff. They will be terminated, given a severance package and assistance to find a new job. For the first time I have real concerns about my job.

I have been there almost 20 years. I know that they can hire two people to replace me and not have to pay them benefits. I suppose with the severnce package, unemployment and my 401k I can survive for a little while. I don't know how I'll be able to pay for my medications.

So many things to think about. I'm trying not to stress and just go with the flow. I'm doing my best at work, not letting the thought of losing my job affect my performance.

A friend told me once that when one door closes another one opens...

~Nancy

The Unexpected

When I walked into work last night I got this really strange vibe. It hit me as soon as I walked through the door. It was really quiet. We were at the tail end of a major snowstorm so I figured we had alot of call outs.

My boss asked me if I had punched in yet and when I told him that I had, he asked me to sit down for a few minutes. I could tell this was not going to be a good conversation. A dozen faces and names went through my head as I anticipated the bad news that was coming.

One of my coworkers was visiting family in Lubbock TX and was killed in a car accident. She was driving on a highway next to a tractor-trailer that turned into her car. She was killed instantly.

She was only 31. She had a great sense of humor, smart, always went out of her way to help others. I met her in '01 when she worked on the United Way campaign. She was a regular on 3rd shift but worked where ever and whenever she was needed.

She trained our new and rehire holiday staff. She set up refresher training whenever there were updates.

Her SO worked on 3rd with us as well. They recently transferred to 2nd shift to start having a "semi-normal" life. She had recently purchased land in Lubbock and was interested in real estate.

I'm still trying to take this all in and understand why these these things do happen. I know there is a reason. Just isn't making much sense right now.

~Nancy

Baseball 24/7!

OK, I got the night off and decided to check the latest on redsox.com and found an article about the new Major League Baseball Network. Wouldn't you know it, my satellite provider offers it (along with NFL & NHL Networks).

MLBN is on 24/7... that's round the clock baseball! I turned to the channel and thought I'd died and gone to sports heaven! So now my sports lineup is almost complete: NESN, FSN New England, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, NFL, NHL, Fuel TV, Speed, Versus, Hunt. The only thing missing is NBA and maybe some of the other regional networks - with the exception of YES - ;)

Oh and MLBN is where Hazel Mae disappeared to. The guys at work will be happy to know that.

Unfortunately the Sox haven't made any significant moves. The Yankees have spent 400 million on 3 players. The only big deal we've made is locking in Pedi. Still no news on Tek. It would be a shame if they didn't bring him back - he's the captain and no one else can call a game the way he does.

Manny still doesn't have a deal. Apparently the Dodgers are offering him one year and the Giants are interested. Its really too bad that he has burned so many bridges. I honestly believed he would retire in a Red Sox uniform.

Players start reporting for spring training February 16. I'm getting baseball fever...

~Nancy

Question...

Why do some people spend time lurking

but never take the time to say anything?

~Nancy

Random Political Ramblings

I haven't blogged in a while. Work is getting crazy as we get into the holiday season. Being in the retail catalog business, this time of year is crucial to the bottom line. So my days are sleep, coffee, walk the dog, shower, coffee, work, walk the dog, more coffee... you get the picture.

I haven't expressed much of an opinion in public about the recent elections, since I am not an American citizen and, therefore, cannot vote. I have had many spirited debates with my 20 year old son. He supported Bush, has always felt that he has been the only president with the balls to stand up and stay true to his principles.

With that said however, he could not support McCain/Palin. As much as he wanted to see a Republican sworn in, his thought was that they were not the right pair, and this was not the right time.

When I voiced my concerns about Obama's socialist views and some of his associations with shady people, my son didn't seem that concerned. He has a strong belief in our system of government. He believes in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and doesn't believe that any sitting president can suddenly come into office and do away with the foundation of our country.

His opinion was that Obama was going to win and then reality will hit him square between the eyes. All of the campaign promises about "change" in Washington, change for the middle class, change, change, change are ways to get elected. When we wake up January 21st, the problems in the economy are still going to be there, the troops are not going to be home, people around the world are not going to waive the American flag above their own.

Obama threw out some good ideas. They were not realistic given the players in D.C. However, they were ideas that got the lower class excited about the rich finally getting there's. Spreading the wealth, that's the way it should be, right?

This country is the land of opportunity. This is a country where you can have a dream, work hard and become successful. If the government is going to take what you've worked for and give it to someone who doesn't want to work, where is the incentive to stay in the game?

Free healthcare is another pie in the sky promise. It is never free. Someone has to pay and they are the same people who pay for the current system that is in place. Then there are the insurance companies and healthcare workers unions. Um, insurance is a billion dollar industry, do you really think they are going close up shop? In a socialized or universal healthcare system, healthcare workers become government employees whose salaries are dictated by, you guessed it, the government. I don't think unions are going to let that one go without a fight.

I found this video via Mike at Cold Fury. None of the people in this post election interview had a clue about the issues facing our country. They supported Obama, well, just because. They didn't know who Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were, but could tell you whose party spent $10k on wardrobe. When given a negative fact about a candidate, they assumed the answer was McCain (the correct answer Obama). Most stated they got their news from CNN, NPR, PBS or better yet, they didn't watch television. One gets her news from the NYT.

Well, so much for all that change. Obama is assembling his players and most are the usual suspects, throwbacks to the Clinton administration. Rolling back Bush tax cuts ain't happin' any time soon. Many of the other current policies aren't going away either. But hey, promises are meant to be broken, right? Can't impeach a candidate because he broke a campaign promise, right? If that were the case, we could clean out Washington.

My son says he voted for Obama. His reasons were varied, but in the back of his mind its only four years. He's hopeful that the Republican party will regroup and be back by then. At the same time he thinks that some of Obama's ideas are ok and it won't be as bad as some are making it out to be. (btw, he doesn't watch CNN, NPR or PBS and doesn't read the NYT)

I hope he's right because I'll be a citizen by then and will not keep my mouth shut for long. ;-)

~Nancy

Its only a matter of time folks

Kenya has detained an American author and is now deporting him back to the United States. He was invited to Kenya by Christian missionaries that are concerned with the rise of Islam. He planned to file weekly reports.

The Kenyan government insists its not political but that he's there without a work permit. OK, that would make perfect sense until you find out exactly who this American author is and what he wrote.

The author is Jerome Corsi, and his best-selling book is "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality."

So coincidence he's been targeted in Kenya? I think not.

This is the kind of thing we are going to be up against with the left. See, you'll be able to say what you want about the right, moderates, Republicans, whether its the truth or not and the left becomes a group "see, hear, speak not evil" monkeys. But say the same things about the left, Democrats, Obamamaniacs and they'll become the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.

Ever wonder why Oliver Stone has never made a movie about Carter, Clinton, Gore or even Obama? He would never dare to entertain a screen play that might depict any of these "Great Americans" in a negative light. Every movie he's ever made has to have a dark, negative twist. In order to survive the lefts wrath he'd have to turn any story he'd tell into a sappy chick flick.

It ain't gonna be pretty folks. It was only the beginning when Democrats were crying that the right was taking too much of the talk radio air waves.

~Nancy

Tampa Here We Come!

Yogie Berra once said, "It's like déjà vu all over again", and that it is.

We knocked at Tampa Bay's door all season long. The season started with a bench clearing brawl and countless suspensions and fines. The season will now end with a brawl of another kind. But the Sox have proven that they've come to play. It's time to exact that revenge.

Not long ago a young Red Sox team looked alot like Tampa Bay. The nemesis has always been the New York Yankees, always stealing first place in the last series of the year and forcing the Sox into a wild card spot. The Yankees did it again this year but the difference, for the first time, is that they gained nothing in the standings.

The ninth inning events of game four of the ALDS went in true Red Sox fashion:

Jason Varitek foiled a squeeze play attempt and tagged Reggie Willits out as he tried to run back the third base. The umpire called him out, and as the two tumbled to the ground the ball popped out of his glove. (no change in the call)

Jed Lowrie hit a line drive into right field and Jason Bay, who was on second, didn't slow down as he rounded third base and slid home for the walk off win.

So its off the the ALCS. We've lost our '07 WS MVP, Lowell's hip injury will sideline him for the next round. We'll be OK...

Love that dirty water...

~Nancy