The Government Sucks

If you know me well at all, you know that I have strong issues with the government. Let me just give you a little bity taste of why our government is screwed up.

Think of the airport. you have to wait in line for HOURS. Not a single person going through security is please that they have to wait for so long- be treated like crap- or even miss plane because you can't cut in line- or because there is only 1/567 security lines open. Guess who is in charge? the government.

Think about the post office. I mean this is genius- have people pay for a service, and don't be liable if the service doesn't get done (mail is lost/ not delivered) unless you have bought additional insurance. What other service company doesn't nsure their work and the service that you pay for - but instead makes you buy the service and pay insurance to assure the service? If you get your carpet washed- you just pay for it- you don't have to buy additional insurance to get your carpet clean.

Lets think of some other wonderful government programs/ agencies: IRS, FEMA, basically the entire executive branch, Dpt of Education... baseball??...I could go on...

Okay, why is the government expending so much money to disclose baseball players who have used steroids?? isn't there some bridge to nowhere it could be using that money on instead? Ok, maybe its just me, but I don't think steroids are that big of a deal- its your body, do with it as you please! As long as te steroids being used are legal- it makes for better baseball! Who is the government to tell us what we can and cannotput in our own bodies? If Jose Canseco wants to have a small you know what to have big muscles- let him! (Have you heard how NewYork City banned trans fat? don't even get me started)

Privatize, delete, just get the government out of it (and stick to the minimal things the federal government is supposed to be doing)! How much further are they going to go? Will it ever stop?

Colonial Days

Finals are a trying time. I used to love staying up late and doing crazy things during finals week as an undergrad- it was the best week of the year! But law school is different. I actually have to study (novel idea, I know). Not just a little memorization, not just rereading some stuff but getting others' notes reading them, buying outlines, buying supplemental books, and putting all of this knowledge into an outline of good length that you then must memorize. It is stressful and horrible, and you just have to look to the day it will be over and Christmas can begin...

Thanks to the recent ice storm, yesterday's exam was cancelled- you may think that is nice- but when you stay up til 4 studying for a 9 am test and then wake up the next morning to find it has been moved to wednesday- right before your 2 pm really hard test- you just feel spent. All that studying the night before and you just have to to it all over again tuesday night- in connection with studying for another class. Then Tuesday's exam is cancelled and moved to Thursday- this had originally been P-A-R-T-Y -- D-A-Y- now.... exam day.

2 weeks of studying is long enough- please don't prolong this anymore! Pray for power to be restored so I can take these freaking exams- and be done with it. I don't mind having colonial day exam time- I don't need heat or electricity- give me a feather and a jar of ink and I can take an exam!

Hannah (and Simba too)

Hannah is now in doggy heaven. So here is a tribute to a very special dog that is very much missed.



















She loved riding the jet skiis!























Here she is with her Christmas treat last year.

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After a long and fun day at the lake.

Simba died a few months ago too- We'll miss him greeting us everytime we get home and leave!

Rondominity

So the best art of the past few weeks... Ross and Ally had a beautiful wedding on the beaches of Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica. The only picture I have is after the ceremony with lots of monkeys, but more pictures will be available soon.

Other great things:

• Thanksgiving is only 2 short class days away


• I just got 80 bucks in credit card rewards (I only had to spend a mere 10K over the past seven years to get it) and its just in time for Christmas


• Monika and I will be sitting very near to Rob Thomas at the Matchbox Twenty concert in march. Rob and I will be together at long last


• Christmas is near and I'll be onlyone semester short of having a JD and being OUT of law school.


• Brooke and I get to finish Prison Break this weekend so we'll be caught up with the show- woohoo (and we'll start Project Runway soon also)


• It is a beautiful fall weekend, perfect for some shopping and lots of football (go Texas Tech and Dallas Cowboys)


• I get to redo a room at home- I love decorating and painting and trying to make rooms fun and beautiful

Decency, Responsibility, Respect...

These (decency, responsibility, respect) are all very important traits. Apparently someone with a newly wrecked blue car does not possess these qualities.

This blessed morning I awoke to this:

The passenger door doesn't open. Obviosly there is body/ paint damage. The bumper is falling off and bent. The grill probably has to be replaced. My light got knocked out and apparently some anchors got screwed up.

I was parked next to the curb- someone jumped the curb and hit my car ridiculously hard. What are the chances? Maybe leave a note next time- even if you can't pay! Step up and take responsibility! This is time number 2 so far in my life that has happened.

So, just a $500 deductible later and who knows how long without my vehicle, it will be as good as new. AND, I had to deal with yet another rude, stuck-up cop. As you may well know, I generally can't stand cops, so this was especially trying.

The Presidential Race

I wasn't too excited about the upcoming election... Giuliani, Romney, Cheney,... They all just do what the republican party wants of them. They're all pretty wishywashy. They don't believe in the real ideals of the republican party like small government- at all (they would increase the size of government with all their ideas for the future- thank you FDR for giving the government soooo freaking much power).

But I'm pumped now. Dr. Ron Paul is a libertarian-republcan from Texas. On his website it says:

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

Basically, he is consistent and actually believes in a smaller federal government. I am amazed at how much power the government has over our lives and how much power it exerts internationally. Do you really want the government to be able to overhear conversations you have with someone overseas? just because it is intenational- they can do it. You may think "well I'm not doing anything wrong, so it won't matter." I'm convinced that is now innocent people get put in jail- their words or actions being taken out of context and used against them.

He's not the perfect candidate, but I worry what our lives will be like in 10, 20, 50 years as Americans. We won't have any freedoms left for the government to take away, and after that we won't care about our nation anymore if we have nothing to live for in it. He needs our help in the republican primaries or he'll never become president!

At least go check him out and compare him with other candidates you support: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

You can also check out his youtube videos:

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/video-network/

"I am a god"

Upon recent self-evaluation of myself, I realized (among SO many other things) that I have too much pride.

Not only is it evident in my relationship with God, but in my relationship with others. I have always been a person who would go out of my way to be nice to someone whether I know them or not. Are you stranded 3 hours away in the snow at 4 am? I wouldn't think twice about coming to help you. But in everyday situations I am full of myself. I always have to be right, I don't think about others' feelings, I don't go out of my way to think of how I can be a servant and put God and others first. I'm changing that now.

It is interesting that in the sermon on the mount in matthew 5, the very first thing Jesus speaks of is the "poor in spirit." Then he goes on to mention other people. But there is a progression there... 1) only once we empty ourselves (Matthew 5: 3), and 2)spiritually mourn (verse 4), and 3) humble ourselves (verse 5) can we be filled with a hunger and thirst for righteousness and godliness (verse 6).

I struggle with he very first step on this progression towards righteousness and I have been a Christian for 11 years! I have tricked myself into believing I was so humble, yet I am just as guilty as the king of Tyre Ezekiel prophecied of in Ezekiel 28:

In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a
god in the heart of the seas." But you are a man and not a god, though you think
you are as wise as a god.

When we act with pride, are we not putting our faith, our love, and our trust in God on hold and replacing it with trust in ourselves thinking we are as wise as a god? Put your pride aside. Put your pride in Christ.

Only once we fully empty ourselves, can we move to real spiritual mourning for sin, become truly humble and meek, and be filled with a complete and fullfilling righteousness in Christ.

Wedding Time

The secret is finally out (I didn't know how much longer I could hold it in)! Instead of getting married in the traditional, everyday way- Ally and Ross are getting married on a beautiful beach at sunset in Costa Rica! Oh and the wedding has been moved from Labor Day 2008 to November 1, 2007.
I'm so excited for them! Keep them in your prayers.
Mom, Dad, and I will be heading down there on October 31 (I hope I see monkeys out our hotel window...). Pictures will be posted soon (it is a short 17 days away)!

Independence

Good and bad news this week:
1) Bad- The cowboys had their first meaningful loss against the freaking Patriots
2) Good- Texas Tech kicked some MAJOR A&M behind

Now for more pressing matters...

One thing I struggle so much with is being independent to a fault. Christ wants us to cast our cares upon him, pray for each other, lean on one another, confess our sins to each other, and help each other out. I get so much joy from helping others (here, my intentions are often selfish, I actually do get joy from helping people even if it interferes with my day and plans), yet I can't rely on someone else to do anything. Not just the little things either- I just want to do everything myself, because then I know it will get done and be done properly- but there are deeper and more important things. Trust and dependence are so similar.
I can't trust other people with parts of me. I can't depend on them to pray for me. I can't entrust needs to them, because I fear what that person will do to them. But I think I am my own worst enemy.
I think that because I am so cynical about EVERY little thing, everyone else is too. I'm also afraid of being wrong. Therefore I am afraid to open myself up to the blessings of help/ assistance/ care/ love from other people because I am afraid of the hurt that could possibly come.
This is nothing new, its what every stupid, cheesy love story- movie is about (and we all know I can't stand the cheese). But realizing you personally have a problem and need some psychoanalysis is quite different from watching the Hallmark Sunday movie special.

I have to start focusing outward-not inward. Although I think it so important to self-evaluate and improve oneself (notice how every other word is "I" in this entry)- it isn't about me. We weren't made to live ou lives in a box and never open up to the world and never let the world in.

"Jonathan Lee Riches, He Delicious"

Anyone can appreciate this. It's good stuff. Even if you're one of the lucky ones who didn't chose to go into the legal field- you should be at least mildly entertained.

Jonathan Lee Riches (c) [apparently he thinks his name is copyrighted and puts the circled 'c' after his name in his complaints] is in federal prison and has way too much time on his hands. He has filed handwritten complaints against almost everyone and everything. One of his earlier "suits" had a 57 page list of defendants including (with all the spelling and typographical errors):

President George Bush

Dick Cheney

Condoleeza Rice

Tony Snow

Uniform Commercial Code

Other random government employees

Hilary Clinton

http://www.google.com/

The Pope

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

http://www.accuweather.com/

Usama bin laden

Bill Gates
John Deere Tractors

Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party

Island Def Jam Music Group

Shawn Carter d/b/a JAY Z

RJ Reyolds "Tobaco"

Gambino Crime Family

Nuclear Power Plant

Tony Danza

Isamic Republic of Iran

University of Miami

Geico Insurance

Vienna Convention

The Salvation Army

CNN

Magna Carta

Tsunami Victims

Red Cross

Houston Chronicle

Fruit of a-Loom

Donald Trump

Outback Steakhouse

The Taliban

Meals on Wheels

John Grisham

Columbine High School

UPS

George Orwell

http://www.askjeeves.com/

Kelly Clarkson

Plato

The Lincoln Memorial

OSHA

Various Budhist Monks

Christopher Reeves Widow

John Walsh, Host of America's Most Wanted

City of Crawford Texas

Medieval Times

Anna Nicole Smith

Brotherhood of the Snake

Larry King Live 9PM on CNN

Wu Tang Clan

New York Stock Exchange

The Da Vinci Code

Holocaust Survivors

Mt. Rushmore

King James Bible

The European Union

Gangs in Hong Kong

Verne Minne Me

Statue of Liberty

Fidel Castro

Kim Jong Il

Fort Knox

Phil Donahue

Yale Skull and Bones

Jimmy Dean Sausage Co

The Olsen Twins

Notre Dame

The Appalachian Trail

Nostradamus

Marco Polo

WKRP in Cincinnati

Fabio

Garden of Eden

Viagra

Louis XV

Planet of Pluto

The Virgin Mary

48th Annual Grammy Awards

Weird Al

Skittles Candy

His claims are even better:

Riches v. David and Victoria Beckham: "Soccer Piracy" -

• Riches (c) seeks 3 billion dollars to be paid to George Soros.
• He alleges a "mega conspiracy with Beckham and Major League Soccer. Beckham uses soccer balls that [are] satellite precision guided. British agent James Bond and Pakistani Intelligence sit in the stands with a remote. Soccer balls are mobbed into the net after Beckham touches it. Beckham goal stats go up, more commercials for him. He gets a Key to any U.S. city. Iraqi National bank loot. Beckham kicks back funds to Buckingham palace."
• He also states that for his 30th birthday, he was given a "Mattel soccer ball" that gave him lead poisoning, and causing a "Major chemical imbalance."
• Riches (c) alleged horrific things against Victoria: "Posh Spice is bulimic. Posh visited me at FCI Williamsburg on June 10, 2007. Ate the whole vending machine then used a porta potty," and also that she "uses Old Spice deodorant."
• He even explains freak accidents that have recently occured : "Sunday August 27th, 2007 Beckham was in Clearwater Florida for a scientology briefing with Tom Cruise. Beckham kicked a soccer ball in front of Hulk Hogan’s son Nick Hogan’s Toyota Supra. Making Nick crash. Beckham tried to run away. A soccer kick cover up."
• Apparently Beckham had it out for Riches (c): according to Riches "In the 90’s Beckham dropped soccer balls on me from the Empire StateBuilding. Beckham also told Frenchman Zadane to head butt me last month."
• Finally he requests relief in the form of a restraining order against the Beckhams since they "have intercepted my mind since the March of Dimes." Riches (c) has also had "nightmares of soccer abuse." [I think the Beckhams are in CA, and Riches (c) is in a South Carolina federal prison]

Riches v. Carrie Underwood: "Country Music Scandal" -

• Riches (c) claims to have copyrighted title to Carrie's hit songs including "Jonathan Lee Riches, He Delicious"
• Carrie is also "unpatriotic" as evidenced by: 1) burning her bra at concerts, 2) serenading communist soldiers, 3) text messaging the dixie chicks, and 4) being friends with Cindy Sheehan.
• She is also inhumane: she apparently picks on blind people at Wal-Mart.
• He claims she hired two Milli Vanilli look-alikes to jump him in the prison rec yard, steal his larynx, and thus take his constitutional right to free speech away
• He tries to get an injuction from watching country music television via satellite.

Riches v. Jeff Gordon: "Recklessly Drivin My Life Crazy" -

• Gordon is acused of racing drunk, his car can travel through time and has a trap door where Gordon drops oil and tic tacs onto the raceway, and apparently Gordon and the number 24 (Gordon's car's number) are out to get Riches (c).

Awestruck

I had been feeling a bit down lately. Not sick. Not incredibly overworked. Not sad. Worse. I haven't felt like going to church. I haven't felt like spending time with God. I haven't felt like praying. I haven't felt like being a better person. I HAVE felt like cussing. I have felt like spending my money on me instead of giving it to God. I have felt like being cynical about everything. I have felt like living life for me and for whatever I felt like doing in that moment. It wasn't that I didn't love God or didn't want to praise him, but I let the world and selfishness interfere.
It was my own fault- I let Satan get to me.
But God did something to help me get out of the rut.
Have you ever just looked at the sky? I mean just watched the sky for hours: from sunset to late at night- watching the sun set and the moon rise. The colors changing across the sky, couds rolling in and fading away, the moon appearing large and red, then rising to a smaller grey as the man stares down from it. Stars slowly appear. They seem to fade in and out. Some are red, others blue, and still other stars seem white. While shooting stars seem to come rarely and you always just miss seeing them when someone else points them out, when you just stare at the sky, they come frequently and with more brilliance- they seem to linger across the sky.
It isn't just a pretty picture. There is something about the sky that invokes a sense of awe in me. Everything is calm and peaceful when you have time to just stare into the sky. Maybe it is because of the special times I remember having- certain time under West Texas skies- that feeling of nostalgia. But I think it is more.
Why does something like the sky- the big expanse of space above us invoke such feeling?
For me, the sky is one of God's many ways to remind me of his awesome power. It's sad that I need such a reminder in a world where I am so blessed and have so many opportunities to show and feel his greatness. Sometimes I just choose not to look or to believe that it is me that is great and not God. But, for me, the sky is one thing I can never take the credit for. I can only be brought to praise God for his greatness when I see such an amazing sight.
I will still struggle with each of those things above. But the next time I push God away for a while with my sin, I pray that he will force himself back into my life. Maybe next time it will be in a different way: maybe through someone else, a close-call, some big event... but no matter what, God has given me a great thing- something that is always there and always reminding me of his greatness- all I have to do is look up and I see his awesome power and I am brought to praise him.