Mr. Garner Goes To Washington

On the Eve of New Year's Eve, Rush Limbaugh is rushed to a Hawaii hospital with chest pains. News reports mention his condition as "serious" but little information is available. Hours later, it's reported that he's "resting comfortably" at the hospital. The hours in between paint a pathetic picture of our country: New York Daily News described Limbaugh as a "radio loudmouth" and a "right-wing talk show host." The article also mentions that Rush's "nemesis" President Obama and "target of Limbaugh's bile" Nancy Pelosi were also vacationing in Hawaii this week.

Sandra Bullock is gorgeous. I'll just go ahead and get that out of the way. She's not only physically beautiful but her apparent confidence, humor, charm, and warmth radiate from her on screen, during interviews, and everywhere else. I can't recall any movie with her that's flopped. No, not even Demolition Man . Recently, one of Sandra's perspectives changed. To her, Christians were people who lectured her on how to live her life while she thought she was living a pretty good life. Christians appeared to speak about Godly living while having affairs and mishandling money. Sandra's perceptions of Christians changed with meeting Leigh Anne Tuohy, the woman she portrays in The Blind Side . Leigh Anne showed Sandra the reality of Jesus Christ by simply being herself and being real. Until meeting Leah Anne, Sandra was comfortable in her definition of Christians.

God amazes me how he weaves tapestry. So many lives and circumstances flowing around day after day and sometimes those threads cross - showcasing how wonderfully in control He truly is. On Thanksgiving week, Leah Helms was clinging to threads of hope. Hope that her newborn son's heart could be healed. Hope that her broken heart could be healed. Hope to see her other 3 children in Mississippi. Hope that her tears would dry up. Leah was alone in Washington, DC, and 2000 miles from her family and friends in Brandon, Mississippi. She and her barely month-old son Pierce Allen Helms had been at the National Children's Medical Center since November 1. Doctors there were Pierce's best hope of survival. He was born with congenital aortic stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of his aortic valve.

DC / Baltimore drivers are rude. Not NYC rude. That rudeness is expected and almost permissible...a natural byproduct of a concrete jungle with too many people, too little road, and too hurried lives. No, the selfish aggressive driving in this area is confounding to say the least. Parking spaces are wonderful displays of people's behavior. After searching relentlessly for a space and finding one - unoccupied or soon to be - another driver approaching the opposite direction should see the turn signal you recently engaged. Instead they attempt to claim your parking space. Had they seen it first? Doubtful. Plus, you called dibs. Sometimes a honk can shake them into reality but other times they still manage to claim your space. Perhaps it's the singular focus of securing the cherished parking prize that causes drivers to be blind to someone's blinker. But when dibs are called on a space, respect it!

If you Facebook, you may recall a recent fad where people sent around a list of "25 Things" about themselves. These lists contained facts about the sender and encouraged receipients to share 25 items about themselves. Often the rebel about such campaigns, I abstained at the time but opted last week via Twitter to share "50 Things" of interest about me. Here's the list and feel free to comment:

"When did you become some political?" That question is asked of me routinely by random friends in various wording. Fact is, five years ago, before moving from Mississippi to the DC Metro, the extent of my political expressions were limited to voting in elections. I didn't discuss or write about politics. Frankly, I rather despised politics. These days, it's impossible to be a conservative and not speak up while living near DC. Limiting the amount of political sharing on my Facebook page is a daily goal. After all, no one wants to only hear about one genre from someone all the time. Sadly, there's a lot of material out there that most of us shield our eyes and ears to it or have it spoon-fed by the the media instead of researching and forming our own conclusions. At least two people have defriended me on Facebook and several more dropped off my Twitter feed as a result of my conservative views. Their loss. Some things simply must be shared. Such as the recent...

People lash out at things that they don't understand and at things that scare them. It's rather clear that liberals don't understand and therefore are scared of Sarah Palin. Since she came out of the proverbial woodwork of Alaska and onto the national scene of a Presidential campaign, the media has lashed out at her like hungry wolves waiting for any chance to pounce. Remember her wardrobe, for example? The media highlighted the Republican National Committee’s purchase of $150,000 in clothes for Palin, even though the dresses would be donated to charities. The story was page-one for The New York Times. Yet, Barack Obama’s trips to Hawaii on a chartered Boeing 757 cost $800,000 and received appreciative "nods" from the media. Then Presidential Candidate Obama used a Boeing 757 for two trips to Hawaii over the summer for a vacation and to visit his failing grandmother. Palin being a modest person without a wardrobe to withstand 24/7 campaigning had clothes gi...

Elizabeth Taylor released a statement about the death of Michael Jackson. "My heart…my mind…are broken," the statement begins. "I loved Michael with all my soul and I can’t imagine life without him." Midway through the statement, Taylor says, "My life feels so empty. I don’t think anyone knew how much we loved each other." Now, I don't wish to cheapen or mock the friendship Taylor and Jackson experienced. It's not my place to judge that whatsoever. But how many other people, fans, and gawkers who didn't share anything close to their relationship are claiming they feel the same way?

DISCLAIMER: I've never had a blog post which has needed a disclaimer but this one probably deserves one. I've been told that knowing me is an education. So, if you keep reading this, prepare to be educated about me and some painful accounts of the nether regions. You've been warned. I have seen Satan's tool and it is the cystoscope. Well, actually I haven't seen the cystoscope up close and personal - only in this and similar online images. However, I'm scheduled to see this instrument of torture for real in two weeks. This story begins last Saturday. The family went to see "Up" (HIGHLY recommend seeing it - but it's a tear-jerker for parents and definitely grandparents) and when the movie was over I noticed an odd pain lasting a couple seconds in my abdomen. The sensation seemed the size of a quarter and was in my lower right pelvic area. At the time, I wondered if I had eaten too much popcorn and needed to "take care of business" soo...

At the beginning of this year, these were Kate Gosselin's words in an interview with Today's Christian Woman : "I can honestly say Jon is my best friend." Kate also says, "When the babies were born, I was well aware that our marriage could crumble. It was close to doing so at times. But we survived that first year. And then the second one. And then each year after that. Even though the issues have changed, it's never gotten easier. "But Jon and I are more determined than ever that we're in this together. We've told our kids many times that we're always going to be a family. There are no other options. Sure, Jon and I take our stress out on each other, and no, that's not always good or healthy. But we work hard as a team every day."

Perhaps it's easier to think about my own mom and how much I appreciate her considering that yesterday marked two weeks since she fell. She had surgery on her shattered shoulder April 27 and that week was a blessing to spend with her and dad. She's healing nicely but it'll be another month or so before things are back to normal. My mom's always taken care of someone much like her own mother. When my older brother and sister were out the house, she had me to raise. Once I left the house, she had Dad. Now, her husband and children are taking care of her. It's a bit unnerving for her. The woman who's always fussed over everyone else now has to accept people helping her.

The phrase "separation of church and state" has been used so frequently in the news (and perhaps I hear it more being in DC/Baltimore region), that I seriously question if anyone really understands the origins of the phrase and how it's been polluted? For many, I'll assume they think it means keeping church or religion out of all government and government supported entities. Wrong.

Like most men, a beauty pageant isn't planned TV-watching. It's a program that happens to be on and often becomes background fodder while other things happen about the house. This past Sunday, my attention tuned in briefly to generate surprise at the political questions being hurled at contestants. No question has received more attention than the one asked by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton to Miss California USA Carrie Prejean: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit. Why or why not?" Prejean replied: "Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be - between a...

You've heard plenty of news and stock reports about our national debt, trillions of dollars and bailouts. But what does it really all mean? The video below is a 30-minute summary of the feature-length film I.O.U.S.A. This film examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. This isn't political rhetoric or scare tactics. This film spells out the facts in cold, hard facts. Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Like an ignorant college student with a credit card, America continues to create debt which it is incapable of paying off. Pointedly topical and consummately nonpartisan, I.O.U.S.A. drives home the message that the only time for America's financial future is now. About Film: www.iousathemovie.com Learn More: www.pgpf.org Act Now: www.teapartyday.com

This is a bit odd for me to write a post about "Jon & Kate Plus Eight." The only reason I watch the show is if Kim has Netflixed a season (we don't get TLC) and I'm relaxing with her. Kim's a fan of it and has read Kate's book. But why this post? This family lives in our neighbor-state Pennsylvania, Kim and I concluded that Jon's personality is very similar to mine, and I'm sick of all the trash about them on the web and in the blogosphere.

When I first learned that Maryland Senator Ben Cardin is proposing a bill to save the newspaper industry, I chuckled. Bailouts are the way of Capitol Hill these days, but this maneuver shows how out of touch Cardin is. Sorry, Senator, everything doesn't need a bailout. History has shown that throwing money at an entity rarely is the best answer. It's the easiest response since it requires responsible parties to not work the problem. More often, the people associated with this bailout-handout become lazy and expectant of more assistance (um, welfare?). If you perceive this view as negative or jaded, just take a stroll though history and you'll trip over the facts repeatedly.

The question may have already been whispered, shouted, or sobbed by Alysia Grace or Cassidy Hope: "God, why my Daddy?" Last Sunday, the father of these two girls, Pastor Fred Winters, was taken from them by a stranger's bullet. While all the facts are still being disclosed, this minister was a husband, father, son, perhaps a brother, and certainly friend to countless others. Not new to headlines, violence has slowly crept into churches in communities across the nation. Recently, a worship service in Michigan was disrupted by activists promoting homosexuality . Yet, that event pales in comparison to last Sunday's execution .

The day began gloriously. Kim had Friday 2/20 off and its always a pleasure to be stirred by the 6:50am cellphone alarm only to find her still beside me (she leaves for work around 6:00am). I took some extra time in getting a shower and heard Georgia speaking to mommy on my exit from the curtain. After getting dressed, Georgia was using the the potty and protested, "Daddy, I'm sleepy!" Now, it's 7:30am, and anyone has a right to be sleepy at that time. I certainly was. However, for G to declare this is truly a white flag waving in devastated defeat. On an average morning, I would've climbed into bed and learned if she had slept well, what she had dreamed, and been presented with a multitude of facts (usually determining how many days until Wednesday and her ballet class, that God made the sky blue, or a search for her lost "sleepy socks") but she got up on her own and we didn't have that moment so I wasn't sure if she had a "bad night....

After working in broadcasting for 20 years (last 10 in TV) and tending to multiple websites associated with Nielsen markets #89 and #9, I came to the realization that local TV websites should be searching desperately for relevancy. When something is relevant, it's thought about often, applied to one's life, and is frequently utilized. This statement rarely applies to local TV websites.