Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

And now some comments...

I enjoy blogging. I wish I had more time to do it and had the chance to do one of the things I love doing, which is seeking out stories and commenting on them. It's only natural considering I work in TV and am a current events fiend. One of the things I don't like about blogging however, at least in this format, is that I wish the comments I do get, once I publish them are not shown on the blog unless you click on them. Every once in a while, I like to publish the comments I get. So here are a few, first off about my friend Trish who passed away on March 29th of this year;

From Larry, regarding our friend Trish;

"I lived across the street from Trish for the last 5 and a half years. My family and I loved her very much. She always had a warm kind word to say. We will miss her more than we can express. We will continue some traditions started by Trish, playing kickball in the street with the kids is one of them. So grab a bag or Doritos and a Beer it's kickball time! We love you Trish!!! ;-) "

and another from Beth;

"Hi there,
I graduated high school with Trish, and am absolutely shocked by this news. I hadn't seen her in years and years, but remember her as SUCH an upbeat, positive, warm person. She was a cheerleader in high school, which was, for all intents and purposes, a prep school filled with "old money" and "new money" folks and the cliques that came with both. Trish truly stood out as someone who had so much going for her, she could have "afforded" to be a complete and utter snob, and still have been liked. Instead, she was warm and kind to everyone, and was adored for it. Do you know what happened? I'm just in total disbelief...can't figure this out. It sounds like you guys were close, though, and although we've never met, I'm sending you good thoughts, and my sympathy. Take care."
Beth

Beth and Larry, I will miss her terribly as you both will. She was a delight and I am just now coming out of the funk I found myself after she had died. I pray her family will be okay.

I got some comments about Bill Maher and his remarks about the pope's visit to America. I got one that I erased accidentally from an anonymous poster who questioned my position on free speech. Something to the effect of "where in the constitution is there a limit on free speech". Well, I do agree, there isn't a written rule regarding free speech, but as the old rule goes, you don't yell "Fire" in a crowded movie house nor do you yell "hijack" in an airplane. The truth is, you have the right to say what you want, it's just that people don't have to listen. The reason I found Maher's comments disgusting is, 1) factually they are untrue, 2) they were slanderous of a man that millions consider a leader 3) Bill Maher thinks that religion is the biggest hoax foisted on humanity. He has a right to say what he wants, but he deliberately went out of his way to use his show to slander the pope. If he had any class, and he doesn't, he could have just not commented at all. I could go on and on, but that isn't the purpose of this post. From others regarding Bill Maher's comments,

Anonymous said,
"It is NOT enough to lodge a complaint with HBO. I cancelled it yesterday and let them know why. Not long after 9-11 Maher made remarks praising the "courage" of the insane criminals who hijacked the planes and the uproar over those remarks caused ABC to cancel Maher and his show, Politically Incorrect. HBO knows I will not pay them again until Maher is fired."

and from another anonymous, maybe the same;

"Please sign the petition at FireBillMaher.com "

Since HBO is a subscription pay network and only on cable/satellite, advertisers are not affected by his remarks. Therefore, the FCC and any advertisers can not do anything. You can sign the petition if you want, I did. I have never liked his slimy way of doing anything and I have never found him funny to begin with. I don't watch him at all, but since I do work in the media, I tend to run across stories that many people don't see or don't see right away. I understand there is a lot of pressure on HBO to discipline Maher and it would be good, but I am not holding my breath. Perhaps the best thing to do other than canceling your HBO, they do run some good stuff, "John Adams" was a great original production, is to turn off HBO when Maher's show comes on and sign the petition. Trust me, Cable and satellite have somewhat of a better monitoring system to check ratings over OTA (Over the Air) and they will notice the drop in viewership.

And regarding Hillary, this one from a pretty regular poster regarding her thighness and her "feeling the holy spirit"

pregador27 said;
"I was just embarrassed for her. I was wishing she would just stop talking- she seemed so ignorant. "

And then I got one posted by another anonymous, I think I know who this is, but in regards to my drunk driving arrest in '06;

"Still boozin' and cruisin?"

No, I haven't drank in over 16 months, thank you very much. I don't advocate drinking and driving at all and it was a mistake I made. But I don't dwell on it. You learn from your mistakes and move on and frankly, thank God it wasn't any worse than it was.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone who posted. I am going to try and figure out how to get it so that all comments will be posted with the appropriate post so you can just read them, whether they are good or bad. I really don't care, what makes this country so great is the diverse opinions and attitudes that keeps things interesting. Be well out there.

slayur

The perfect medication for Hillary

Click the picture to see it better

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Hillary feels the "presence" of the holy spirit

So, I am driving home Saturday night, listening to a Michael Medved show re-play from earlier in the week and I hear this from the "compassion forum" that Hillary was at a week or so ago. She explains how she feels the "presence" of the holy spirit. Really? wow, now when you think back to all the things that you have known or seen about her thighness, does spirituality strike you as something she is known for? this is the woman who once claimed that "she talked to Eleanor Roosevelt when she was in the white house."

Now, in the bible, in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, it says "Let no one be found... who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead..." in other words, don't try and communicate with the dead. Now, I know that can be a stretch, but what I mean is, I don't talk to my dead friends or even my dead father. But Hillary once said she "channeled" Eleanor Roosevelt.

Okay.

But here is the point I am trying to make. After all this woman has said and done over the last 15 years or so, listening to her talk about something spiritual or religious just sounds phony. Like she always sounds. Pandering to those of faith in order to get a vote, typical Ellie Mae. When asked about her "faith" she would have been better off saying, "you know, my faith sustains me, it brings me comfort and it's deeply personal and not something I really want to share with everyone. My faith is a guiding principal in my life and I pray for guidance in all I do and say." or something like that. The Democrats were really shocked in '04 when polling showed that Americans are a people of faith. Of course, they didn't understand that. They think (the left anyway) that having faith in God is some kind of misguided mumbo jumbo and superstition. They place their faith in man, in government and in anything but a supreme being as they believe they are the supreme beings. Here she goes on and on and on, ad nauseum.

What I like about President Bush is that he didn't go on and on about his faith. He said it was important and it helped guide him and I found his answers succinct and sincere. With HRC, I don't. She just comes off as phony as usual. Watch this clip and tell me if you don't get the same feeling. It's like she's trying to justify her faith and trying too hard.


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

This man is disgusting

Bill Maher is a disgusting individual. On his show the other night, he basically claims that the catholic church is a cult, blames the pope for the pedophilia scandal and then says the pope is a former nazi. Pope Benedict is none of the above. He was also pressed into service with the Waffen SS (at the risk of losing his life) when Nazi Germany was rounding up children to carry on the war. This man should be taken off the air and not allowed back on. There is a limit to "free speech" and such vile statements should not go unpunished. I would recommend that anyone with HBO lodge a complaint. I did.


Saturday, April 12, 2008

LOL, BO does damage control

From the Exurban League;

Obama does damage control.
Posted by Jon at 4/12/2008 11:37 AM and is filed under Jon,Politics,Humor
Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign veered into damage control mode today following the reporting of the candidate's comments at a San Francisco fundraiser.

Trying to explain rural white culture to the California billionaires, the Democratic candidate said, "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them... it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Although Obama merely stated the obvious truth, many voters in Pennsylvania were apparently angered by the characterization. To stem the backlash before the state's primary, the candidate hastily arranged a meeting with typical white people in rural Pennsylvania.

Obama's Rural Outreach Coordinator Miss Jane Hathaway (top left) called the 10-minute meeting a "rousing success."

"Contrary to some press reports, Sen. Obama has the common touch," according to Hathaway.


"He may not have understood the folksy references to possums and cement ponds, but the Clampett family was very receptive to the senator's economic assistance.


"By all accounts, the family will be supporting Obama on April 22 — especially if their newly-decorated car is any indication. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Yet one more twit in the music industry

There are all kinds of weirdos out there. Mostly in the entertainment industry, whether Movies, TV or music, you will find no shortage of nuts. Now along comes Alicia Keys. I am familiar with her work, though I don't listen to it, she has been on The Tonight Show and Conan among others, so I have seen her. But she states that "the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."

Huh? another great black leader from existing? just what we need, a "black" leader that's a thug and a criminal. So I guess now people like Keys and others think that someone like Shakur or Biggy Smalls are somehow destined to be considered a "leader" of the magnitude of MLK? And that the government is somehow in on this? Please, the government couldn't give a damn about either of those no talent and DEAD individuals.

As far as I am concerned, the whole "gangsta" rap genre is best described in one word "Crap". I find no redeeming value in music that promotes violence, degrades women, promotes drug use and is just obnoxious to listen to anyway. I suppose the argument can be made that there are Rock songs that do the same, but I have yet to hear the amount of Rock music that promotes killing cops and rivals like rap. To be fair, there's a lot of "Rock" that's not worth the trouble to listen to, some of it just baffles me how the artist's got signed. But hey, if they all want to kill each other off, that's fine with me, that means that less innocent people will get hurt and kids might find a better form of music to listen to.

I have always held that it takes no talent to do rap, as it's just sophomoric rapping over a monotonous beat usually provided by a drum machine. Most of the time you can't understand a thing they are saying as they usually can't speak English.


Keys Talks About Her Conspiracy Theories

NEW YORK (AP) - There's another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist."

Keys, 27, said she's read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead," according to an interview in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

Another of her theories: That the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."

Keys' AK-47 jewelry came as a surprise to her mother, who is quoted as telling Blender: "She wears what? That doesn't sound like Alicia." Keys' publicist, Theola Borden, said Keys was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Though she's known for her romantic tunes, she told Blender that she wants to write more political songs. If black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton "had the outlets our musicians have today, it'd be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself," she said.

The multiplatinum songstress behind the hits "Fallin'" and "No One" most recently had success with her latest CD, "As I Am," which sold millions.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Goodbye my friend

I have been struggling the last few days, well, not struggling so much, as thinking about the death of my good friend Trish. I have been pre-occupied with thinking about her and the times we spent together. Trish was a warm, sweet, funny person. We shared good and bad times together as friends often do, and when she, Son and I were together, and with other friends from the Chateau, we were family.

Years ago, I was clicking through the TV and though I never watched it, I ran across "The Wonder Years". I stopped to watch and I don't know why, as I am not much of a drama-sitcom kind of person. But I stopped because I heard this song. And after I heard that Trish had passed away, this song has stayed in my head. I decided that I had to post it for Trish and perhaps, for all of her friends and family that knew her and loved her dearly. I am not the kind of person that cries easily, but listening to this song and remembering Trish did make me cry. It's interesting how the death of someone so dear to you can make you realize your humanity.
I will print the lyrics below.

Rest my friend, Rest. God has come to take you home. God Speed, Trish, God Speed. I love you.


Goodbye My Friend
written by Karla Bonoff
1988 Seagrape Music (BMI)


Oh we never know where life will take us
I know it's just a ride on the wheel
And we never know when death will shake us
And we wonder how it will feel

So goodbye my friend
I know I'll never see you again
But the time together through all the years
Will take away these tears
It's okay now
Goodbye my friend

I've seen a lot things that make me crazy
And I guess I held on to you
We could've run away and left well maybe
But it wasn't time and we both knew

So goodbye my friend
I know I'll never see you again
But the love you gave me through all the years
Will take away these tears
I'm okay now
Goodbye my friend

Life's so fragile and love's so pure
We can't hold on but we try
We watch how quickly it disappears
And we never know why

But I'm okay now
Goodbye my friend
You can go now
Goodbye my friend
Tricia Marie Wyllie Sunkel

Tricia Marie Wyllie Sunkel, June 5, 1967 - March 29, 2008, Phoenix, AZ- Tricia Marie Wyllie Sunkel, 40, formerly of South Bend, passed away suddenly Saturday morning.

She was born to Judy (Satterlee) and James V. Wyllie. Trish is survived by her husband Brook Sunkel, and their children, all of Phoenix. She is also survived by her mother Judy Huckins (Chandler, AZ); her father James V. Wyllie and step-mother Sharyn Wyllie (Diamond Lake, Cassopolis, MI), maternal grandparents, Richard and Mary Satterlee of Englewood, FL., a brother, Timothy Wyllie of IL, two half-sisters, Karen (Jeffrey) Becker of Coconut Creek, FL; Jamie (Michael) Willard of Barrington, RI. , and step-sister, Kristi (Ken)Cysewski of Granger, IN.

She is survived by seven nieces and nephews, and many aunts, uncles and cousins who all loved her dearly.

Trish graduated from Saint Joseph's High School, South Bend. She received her undergraduate and Masters degrees from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona in Speech and Language Pathology where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

After graduation, she developed a sizable practice as a speech and hearing pathologist in the Phoenix area most recently at Chandler Regional Hospital.

Services will be at Hansen Desert Hills Mortuary & Memorial Park, 6500 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Visitation will be Friday, April 4, 2008 from 5-7 PM. The service will be on Sat., April 5, 2008 at 2:00 PM.

Contributions in memory of Tricia Marie Wyllie Sunkel may be made in her memory to the family to be used to set up a trust for her children or to the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation at www.arthritis.org. Arrangements entrusted to Hansen Desert Hills Mortuary, 480-991-5800.