Fantasy Football Consultant

I was flabergasted to read that a guy actually developed a business doing what he loves--fantasy football.  People actually pay him for advice on who to pick.  It started as a hobby and he became so popular that it's his full-time job!  I say good for him!  I think it's awesome that he's able to be so good at analyzing players and teams.  I just saw him briefly on TV the other day!  I know there's consultants for just about anything--now even for fantasy football!

My husband and I don't have any fantasty football team, but if we did, I doubt if we'd be paying anyone to find out who we should pick.  Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of building your own team?

9-yr-old Throws 40 mph

In the news today is a 9-yr-old boy in New Haven, Connecticut who is so good that the league says he can't pitch in tha league anymore.  He throws 40 mph and hasn't hit anyone yet.  Apparently, he has good control too! 

This should not happen!  Everyone should be encouraged to always do their best and when their best exceeds expectations of others, they should be awarded, not penalized or made to feel like they shouldn't do THAT good. 

This incident reminds me of a book I read about lElgin, a 10-yr-old little leaguer, "The Youngest Hero" by Jerry Jenkins.  It was a very good book that I enjoyed a lot!

For the story, here's the link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080825/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bby_too_good_to_pitch

Best Bagger--Denise Farley

In the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER on August 16, was an article that caught me eye: Portage Grocery Store Bagger Quickly Wraps Up State Title. Yup, apparently there is even a competition for bagging groceries! Denise Farley who is a bagger at Giant Eagle is the fastest grocery bagger in Ohio. She will go to compete in the 2009 National Grocers Association USA Best Bagger Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 5. It's an all-expense paid, 4-day trip and she also won $1,100.

She bags quickly because she doesn't like waiting in line herself. She checks out the customer and bags according to how much she thinks they can carry easily. If it's older people, she makes the bags lighter for them. It thought that was very nice of her.

She also eye's up the groceries and puts the heavy stuff on the bottom. You'd think that's just common sense, and it is; however, there are baggers who don't do it that way.

This is they type of news I enjoy--happy news!  It just goes to show you our American culture are so competitive that we even have competitions for this.

Stray Shots or Doesn't It Matter?

I believe God is in control.  He is the giver and taker of life itself, so when I hear about people getting killed by stray gunfire, I am torn between thinking "See, another needless death because guns are so prevalent" and "Well, I guess their time was up so it really doesn't matter how they died." 

In the PLAIN DEALER today I read an article about a mailman in Cleveland, Ohio, who was simply in his bed and "a stray bullet from a gunfight down the street came through a wall in the front-left corner of his home and struck him in the chest."  Talk about minding your own business--what a shame.  He was 38 years old. (It's like we've gone back to living in the Wild, wild west.) 

Other incidents were mentioned in the article as well including:  "Daniel Lewis, age 75, shot dead on June 27 while sitting in his wheelchair outside his home;

Tony Haynes III, age 8, died the same day after a suspected drunken driver hit him as he rode his bike;

and last week, a robber shot and killed Ebony Jefferson, age 31, as she sat with relatives on her front porch mourning the death of her mother who died of cancer two days earlier."

It seems all these deaths were senseless and certainly tragic.  Yet, the  Bible account of Ahab's death in I Kings 22:29-40 could be looked at as a fluke too.  He disguised himself so the Syrians would know he was the King of Israel but got killed anyway with a "Stray" arrow.  Verse 34 says:

However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armor joined.  He shouted to his chariot driver, "I've been hit!  Get me out of here!"  He died later that day. (contemporary English Version)

God is in control.  God protected Jehospohat when Ahab tried using him as a decoy.  We don't always know why God allows certain things to happen to good people, but God is always good and sometimes, I think once we've accomplished what God has in store for us to do, then he calls us home.  There are some things I don't understand about the Bible but I try to stay focused on   Jesus. 

The important thing is to be ready to meet our maker by receiving Jesus, God's only Son, as our Savior and putting our trust in Him to forgive us our sins.  Our life is like a vapor--short!  Our last Bible verse for VBS this past week was Joshua 24:15 which says, Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.  I have chosen to serve the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of my life.  I hope you have too, but if not, perhaps you will today!

The Gay "Marriage" Issue

In the news yesterday I was sickened at the sight of two grown women kissing.  It said the State of California, USA married them!  Another picture showed two guys walking hand in hand after their "marriage." 

This is just deplorable, that they consider themselves to be married.  Hello people . . . marriage is a sacred bond between a male and a female!  Duh!!!!  It's bad enough gays flaunt their inordinate affection for each other but to call it marriage????  C'mon!  Get real. 

If they have to be together to "protect their rights" they could at least call it a partnership, or friendship.  Why defile marriage?  This is just absolutely outrageous to me. 

I hesitated writing a post about this, not because it's something I feel strongly about or because it's controversial, but because I didn't want to offend anyone who is gay (even though I don't really understand it or approve).  When I saw a post on another blog though that applauded gay marriages and called straight folks who were against it "narrow minded assholes" I was pretty offended myself!

So, here I am ranting about what I think of it.  It is just so ludicrous it really bugs me!!  God help us!

Take Away the Guns Already!

When I read in the news about people getting shot during arguments, it just seems as plain as day that people should not be permitted to own guns. I know, all the hunters get riled when they hear this, but isn't the value of human life more important than hunting for pleasure? IT SHOULD BE!

Anyway, the latest here is the story of neighbors not getting along. One is a firefighter, family man with a young child. The other are people who like to party and have some fun. On the Fourth of July, the "partiers" were shooting off fireworks late at night while the firefighter's child was trying to sleep. In the firefighter's own words, "I snapped." He got his gun, went outside and killed three people and shot two others--just like that.

I can't help but think that if he didn't have a gun, three people would still be alive today and the other two would not be wounded. Furthermore, the firefighter would not be in jail away from his family facing the death penalty. The families of the victims would not all be grieving.

This is just one episode, it happens a lot! People always get angry, it happens. But without a gun in hand at the time, the consequences would be far less severe. I would not have a gun in my house, ever! If you have one, please rethink this and don't take the risk of something similar happening to you.

A couple good fiction books about this topic are "Nineteen Minutes" and "Perfect Match" by Jodi Picoult. I highly recommend them both!

Alternative to Overcrowded Prisons

I am against the death penalty, even for the scum of the earth, because where there's life, there's hope.  Also, death is so final.  I believe taking the life of another person is wrong (unless accidentally in self defense).  There have been times when innocent people got sentenced to jail and even death which is a gross injustice! 

I think money spent on feeding and sheltering lifers in jail is a big waste.  My alternative would be to send murderers, and any who get life sentences to some deserted island or a very cold place like Antartica and just drop them off with no food provisions or anything.  Kind of like a real "Survivor" situation. 

They would either learn to work together or die.   

 

Political Book

THE ETHNIC PRESIDENCY HOW RACE DECIDES THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE BY EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON

The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House is an explosive look at how racial and ethnic conflict has openly and covertly played a crucial role the past three decades in influencing, shaping and ultimately deciding who bags the world's biggest political prize, the White House. It tells how racial politics will play an even bigger role in the 2008 presidential election and future elections.

It examines Obamamania, the Hillary and Bill factor, the soaring Latino vote, the silent but potent Asian-American vote, the immigration wars, the GOP's love-hate relationship with black and Latino America, and Bush's effort to recast the GOP from a clubby, ole white guys party to a party of racial diversity. The first primary is January 29.

Here is a sampling of questions The Ethnic Presidency asks and answers:

Will America accept a black president? Can Obama be that president?

Will America accept a woman president? Can Hillary be that president?

Will America accept a Latino president? Can Bill Richardson be that president?

Will America accept a Mormon president? Can Mitt Romney be that president?

How the GOP played the Southern Strategy through Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. to repeatedly win the White House. Can and will they abandon it in 2008?

Did blacks and Latinos elect Bush?

Have the Democrats taken the black and Latino vote for granted?

Why have Presidential candidates other than John Edwards avoided making poverty an issue?

Why immigration will be a stealth factor in the 2008 campaign. And did it help or hurt John McCain?

Will Rudolph Giuliani's contentious relations with blacks as New York mayor hurt or help his White House bid?

EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON - BIO

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author, syndicated columnist, political analyst and commentator.

He has been a frequent guest on Hannity and Colmes, The O'Reilly Factor, The Big Story, EXTRA, and numerous CNN News and Talk Shows.

He was a regular commentator on CNBC's The Dennis Miller Show.

He has been a guest on the Today Show, Dateline, The Lehrer Hour, and BET News, America's Black Forum. He is a frequent commentator for the American Urban Broadcast Network and Ed Gordon's News and Notes on NPR

He is a featured columnist for www.BlackNews.com, www.BlackAmericaWeb.com, and www.Alternet.org.

He is associate editor of New America Media
His op-ed columns appear in the Baltimore Sun,L.A. Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Christian Science Monitor, and other major newspapers.
He is the author of nine books that include:

Black and Reds: Race and Class in Conflict, 1919-1990 (Michigan State University Press, 1995)
Betrayed: A History of Presidential Failure to Protect Black Lives (Westview Press, 1996)
The Assassination of the Black Male Image (Simon & Schuster, 1996).
Beyond O.J.: Race, Sex and Class Lessons For America (Middle Passage Press)
The Crisis in Black and Black (Middle Passage Press, 1998)
The Disappearance of Black Leadership (Middle Passage Press, 2000)

For more information, visit this link

www.amazon.com/Ethnic-Presidency-Decides-White-House/dp/1881032256

or visit www.ethnicpresidency.com to order your copy.

Dennis Kucinich's Autobiography

The Courage to Survive by Dennis J. Kucinich (5 stars)

Enlightening & Interesting

Even though I am not very interested in politics or political figures, I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography by Dennis Kucinich, former Mayor of Cleveland. It is a fast read because it's so well written and fascinating. He shares how his family lived in poverty and struggled along. He had health problems but still had a desire to help other people. Parts were sad while other parts were cute and humorous. It gave me insight into how the poor live and a new respect for Dennis Kucinich.

--Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"